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The Day of My UPSC Interview
August 4th 2021. The day of my UPSC interview and the fateful day that decided the course of my life. The day that came after a lot of toil and struggle…..Oh, wait, you’ve heard this story before, right? Let’s switch the script. I actually really enjoyed the day of my UPSC interview.
On 3rd August 2021, my parents, sister and I took an early morning flight from Mumbai to go to Delhi for my interview the next day. Why didn’t we go a little bit before, you ask? Well, it was the worst of times, namely the COVID pandemic. So even though we had the epoch of belief that we would not contract this deadly disease, the age of wisdom dictated that we must ideally reach Delhi so late that if we did contract COVID-19, the symptoms would occur after the UPSC interview. So, with everything before us, the four of us set off to Delhi, while my fiancée flew in from Ahmedabad.
We checked into our hotel, which was only 5 minutes from UPSC Bhavan and tried to relax. But the truth is that relaxing is just not something we do in the Shah Household. I had to be prepare. I had already fussed over three saree options, finally deciding on the very first saree I bought. During my mock interviews, I had already tested out 2 different at-home hairdressers in Delhi during my mock interviews. While they were adept with saree draping, they were terrible with hair. Finally, I concluded that a blow-dry at a salon was the best option.
After a quick lunch, I went to Geetanjali parlour and got my hair washed and blow-dried, while excitedly telling every hairdresser at the salon that I had my UPSC interview the next day. They were taken aback, perhaps due to the excessive focus on my appearance rather than on cramming for the interview. In any case, unlike my hairdresser in Mumbai, they at least knew what UPSC was — and perhaps did a better job with my blow-dry than they normally did.
When I reached back to the hotel, I found my father, sister and fiancée planning for the next day. Not for my interview, but for the time before it. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics were on, which, just like my UPSC interview, had been pushed due to the pandemic. However, the 4th August matches were important. It was the day that a promising javelin throw athlete, Neeraj Chopra, was going to have his qualifying round. It was at 5:35 am in the morning. My night owl fiancée seemed keen to wake up at 5:35 am to watch the round, but I put my foot down. No one was to disturb me till 7:30 am. I had to get enough sleep.
Though, of course, sleep proved to be elusive. We finished dinner early, and I said I would sleep by 9:30 pm. But I couldn’t. I hadn’t prepared the whole day, and I opened my notes to revise. I asked my fiancée to ask me questions from the 100-page notes I hade made for my most unusual hobby, “Learning about Speciality Tea”. He indulged me for about 45 minutes, after which he said, “Nirja, they are not going to ask you how Oolong Tea is made!”. Well, he was right. Resigned that I could prepare no more, I slept off.
Early next morning, we met at the breakfast buffet. Like many of my seniors had advised me, I began reading the newspaper. However, I was distracted by the fact that my family was focused on the TV behind me, as a crucial wrestling match was going on at the Tokyo Olympics. I asked them for a little bit of peace and quiet to prepare, but my father said, “Your interview board is also going to be watching the Olympics only!”. I shut my newspaper after only glancing at the headlines and began watching the match. After this, we went back to the room to get me ready. For the big day. THE UPSC INTERVIEW. I had to remind myself to breathe. I was in the afternoon session, so I had plenty of time as I only had to report by 1 pm.
I could not trust my mother, let alone myself, to drape my saree on such an important day, so I had called a parlour lady to the hotel. The pleats needed to be perfect, and for that, the parlour lady had brought along a hair straightener, and I laughed to myself at the extent to which women go to appear effortless. But lo and behold, another problem presented itself. In the stress preceding the interview, I had lost about 10kgs, and my blouse at least 4 inches too loose for me. But my parlour lady had a solution. She used a safety pin to tuck in the blouse, and it appeared to fit. Disaster averted!
I had planned my outfit carefully. I was going to wear the small set gifted to me by my aunt for my wedding, and the watch that was gifted to me by my fiancée’s grandmother. I decided on a half-up, half-down updo, as a bun was looking too prim. My make-up would be minimal, but not insignificant. Finally, I was ready. We took a few pictures, rechecked all the documents, put on our COVID gear and then left.
I remember reaching relatively on time, and being ushered in without much ado. The UPSC staff was relatively efficient. That’s it! It was just me and the UPSC board. It was showtime.
Once you enter, we were made to sit in 5 straight lines, one for each interview board. I heard that there used to be circular tables before COVID times, which might have been nicer. However, since I was the second to go, I did not speak with any other candidates. Sooner than I expected, it was time for me to head to the interview board. The staff member told me I had Sujata Mehta Ma’am’s board. I did not believe in researching UPSC members beforehand, and so just remembered that Ma’am was a part of the Indian Foreign Service.
The transcript of my interview can be found below.
Board — Sujata Mehta Ma’am
Education — B.A.LL.B. (Hons.), Gujarat National Law University
Work Experience — Legislative Assistant to Member of Parliament Fellowship, 2018–19
Attempt — 3rd
Home State — Maharashtra
Time — 25–30 minutes
Date — 4/8/2021, afternoon, 2nd to go
Marks — 206/275
Chairperson
(Before Ma’am began, she checked my documents and asked me to remove my mask and face shield if I was comfortable. She glanced at my picture and said, “So pretty!”. This instantly calmed me down. All the effort that I had put into choosing my saree and doing my hair had paid off.)
Q. Introduce yourself and tell us your educational background and work experience, if any.
I briefly said that my name is Nirja Shah and I am from Mumbai. I did my law from Gujarat National Law University, and I worked with a Member of Parliament as a legislative assistant, part of the LAMP fellowship. I had kept this part crisp, as I had rehearsed for most of my stock answers.
Q. What was the fellowship, and what did you do there?
Explained that the fellowship was a process by which youth of all academic backgrounds were selected by PRS legislative research and allotted to MPs to work with them for a year.
Q. Did you practice as a lawyer? Why?
I had not practised as a lawyer. I explained that I liked studying law, but realised my interest lay more in the practical aspects of law. Felt that policy-making was a good avenue to apply legal knowledge. So, I made the career pivot halfway through law school.
Q. What did you do at your fellowship?
I explained that the work was largely research-based, relating to any inputs the MP might give in parliament.
Q. Were you able to give any legislative inputs as well?
I spoke about the two private members’ bills I had drafted. We went into some detail about how the amendment we had suggested modified the law. It was a little bit technical, but since I had drafted the bill myself, I was able to give an adequate answer.
Q. Can you explain the difference between contract labour and the gig economy? Do you think that the gig economy is benefiting workers compared to contract labour? What are the benefits of the gig economy?
I explained the basic difference and related it to the previous private member’s bill I had drafted. I gave a few pointers about the safety nets in the contract labour economy compared to the gig economy. In terms of benefits, I mentioned that the gig economy allows flexibility, which may benefit women who are engaged in housework and childcare.
Q. I am sure you have heard about the issue of the demolition of the Maradu flats, which encroached the CRZ in Cochin. There was a similar case in Noida so why did the Supreme Court take a different stance in two similar cases?
I did not know the details of the Noida case. However, I knew that old constructions were exempt from demolition under CRZ norms, so I mentioned that. I also mentioned that I would have to see the complete details of both cases in order to know why there was a different opinion.
Q. Do you think that the Adarsh buildings should also be demolished in Mumbai?
I took a strictly environmental stance on this. I said that since it was a sensitive coastal area, and the courts and CAG reports have pointed it out, this demolition should take place.
Q. Then why did we compromise on ecology by making the coastal road?
I said that there were pressing developmental needs in Mumbai to reduce traffic and congestion.
Member 1
(These questions were mostly linked to law, which was a very comfortable area for me.)
Q. Why is the government the largest litigator in India? What can we do to fix it?
I had so much to say on this, but I only went for my two most interesting points. I said that the government has complex regulations and automatically goes for litigation and appeals even when the chances of winning are low. I also said that the National Litigation policy should be updated.
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Q. What features should the national litigation policy have?
I said that the policy was last made in 2010. The policy should outline the reasons for going to litigation or appeal. Also, the effectiveness of Public Prosecutors and the government lawyers should be assessed.
Q. Do you think one of the reasons is that there is no cost for litigation?
This was a new perspective for me, and I had nothing to add. I simply agreed.
Q. Do you think that the ground-level benefits of stricter labour laws are being felt? Does it affect the fundamentally unequal bargaining power between the labourers and employers?
I don’t remember what exactly I said, but it was along the lines of improving implementation measures along with knowledge of labour rights & allowing trade unions within the bounds of law.
Q. In Alternative Dispute Resolution, the Arbitration Amendment Act reduced the scope of courts in an appeal? Is this a positive step?
I said that it was a positive step. The entire point of Alternative Dispute Resolution is the opt out of the court system, so excessive court interference is likely to lead to more delays and confusion.
Member 2
Q. Can you name some Hindi poets?
This was a googly for me. I have studied Hindi, but only from 9th to 12th, as my second language in school was Gujarati. The member asked me if I could recollect any poets, but due to my poor knowledge in this area, I simply said I could not recollect anything at the moment.
Q. Often, we see that the Supreme Court overrules high courts. Should we impose costs on the courts for overturning decisions?
I said that sometimes there is a necessary correction of a High Court order by the Supreme Court. The complexity of the law is such that the position of law is likely to change over time. If we impose costs, that could discourage judges from making strong decisions.
Q. Do we have a hierarchy of courts in India?
I said that we do, and added a little bit about the High Court’s power over the district courts, and the Supreme Court’s power over the High Courts.
Q. Can you tell me about the collegium system? What is the recent issue about it?
I explained by covering the two recent developments of the NJAC and the press conference of the Supreme Court judges in a factual manner.
Q. What is the validity of legal opinions in courts?
I explained the amicus curiae system, but said that the judges are empowered to make their own decision.
Member 3
(This member asked me questions to which I had to give slightly longer answers, as I was not as prepared on these areas)
Q. What are the issues going on in the telecom sector? What is particularly happening to Vodafone Idea?
This was not an area I had depth in, but I remembered the 2G auction issue and the recent lower revenues due to the entry of Jio Network. However, when I was specifically asked about Vodafone Idea, I remembered that there was a tax liability issue, but I was not able to completely recollect the details. This is one of the answers which I could have prepared better.
Q. Why is the stock market going up while the economy is going down? Can you explain the factors on which each of them work?
Due to the COVID-era obsession over the stock market and my family’s interest in the same, I was adequately prepared. I explained about new age investors, US interest rates falling and increased savings due to lower consumer spending. I also outlined the factors on which the stock market and the economy work, which was largely theoretical.
Member 4
(This member asked a couple of questions on which I had to take a moral stance, which was tricky)
Q. What do you think about the All India judicial services? Do you think it should be done?
I said that AIJS should be done. It is time for more regular examinations and postings nationwide for the judiciary. The main concern is language, but since IAS & IPS officers pick up language in their cadre, there is no reason why judges cannot.
Q. So you went to Gujarat for college. There is alcohol prohibition in Gujarat, do you think it was effective? Do you think that prohibition should be there in states? What are the ill effects of prohibition?
This series of questions surprised me. Obviously, prohibition is never 100% effective, and so I did not want to seem ignorant by saying that alcohol was not available in Gujarat. So, I said that the black market did exist for this without any specifics. On the regulatory side, I said that prohibition has some benefits in terms of safety and health, but it is not effective. Black market liquor and homemade liquor can sometimes be dangerous. Hence, regulation and not prohibition is the way forward.
Q. Why do you think that parliamentary reforms have been kept on the back burner?
I said that there was no interest of the government in parliament since the anti-defection laws had been put into place. Many simple things can be reformed in parliament, which have not been done to date.
Q. There is no admissibility of confessions made to police officers in courts. Does this mean we do not trust our own police?
I explained that since the police are investigating the case, it would amount to self-incrimination if confessions made to the police were admissible.
Chairperson
Q. Do you think IB, NCB and ED confessions should be admissible? Why are they made admissible while police complaints are not? Are there changes needed in this?
I said that since those were specialised agencies, they could be trusted.
Q. Is there any area from your DAF you think we missed?
I had prepared a lot on my hobbies, and one was particularly interesting — “Learning about speciality tea”. I went on a 2-minute anecdotal narration outlining the story of how tea was brought to India. This was a bit risky, since it was the fag end of the interview, but I think it worked out well for me. I could see that the board members were listening, and hence I went into all of the interesting details.
That’s it! After the interview, I truly felt relieved. Unlike in mock interviews, the board was much calmer, more reasonable and interesting to interact with. I genuinely had a good feeling about the interview, which reflected in my marks.
The most common question I got was regarding how I prepared for the interview. The short answer is — I don’t know how. A personality is not something you can create, no matter how much you study. How did I get my good interview score? Maybe it was the fact that I was a good student. Maybe it was because I worked at UNESCO & did the LAMP fellowship. Maybe it was because one Jyotish predicted it a few years ago. All I know is, I really wanted the job and I worked for it.
As for my family, we went out to dinner and then resumed wedding planning. After all, whether I cleared or not, I was getting married in a few months!
