The Final Lap.... to my Dream Destination... LBSNAA... :)

************************************************************
Name: Naga Sathish Gidijala

Board : Chattar Singh sir

Optional : Geography

Hobbies  : Watching movies and Cricket, Internet browsing,  Watching news in TV.

Attempt :  3rd

Qualification: MTech CSE  IIT Roorkee, BTech ECE, Andhra University.

Present Job : Jobless..hehe... left my job an year back in Feb 2013

Past Jobs: Software Engineer, Cisco Systems, Bangalore - 2.5yrs exp

                   Software Engineer, Informatica Business Solutions, Bangalore - 1 year exp

Achievements : Best Student in college, ISTE 

                            Best boy in School

                            Rashtrabhasha Visharad Degree from Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha

From : Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh

***************************************************************

Straight into Transcript..........

Cm : mmm.... Sathish... vijayawada.. iit roorkee... working in ciscoo...Oh.. u left cisco job 1year back...Are u Bored? (without even looking at me)... Tell tell... r u bored of software job?

No sir, Last time i missed civils by a very close margin. So i thot, job is the only one which could be acting as a hurdle.

so i left it sir.

Cm : Ok, So what does this cisco do?

Cisco is a big networking company which does lot of various things. Almost 70-80% of equipment on which today's internet works is on Cisco Equipment sir.

Cm : Does cisco manufacture some equipment?

Yes sir, they manufacture routers and various networking equipments.

Cm : Do u mean cisco is a hardware company?

No sir, its not purely hardware. It's both software and hardware.

Cisco has its own set of operating systems also which work on it routers.

But in India, its only software development that takes place.

Cm : Yes, In india...Only Software... Y not Hardware? (I was taken aback by this question.. a sense of blankness)

Sir, Somehow India emerged as a software development centre. There is no ecosystem of hardware development here and most of the countries have only their software development only. Infact even software development also is sort of maintanence. Real development happens somewhere else.

Cm : Y ? Y real development is not happening here? U must have heard that India's is 3rd biggest soft power in the World. Still India is playing a 2nd fiddle role. Do u think we should play such role? What is wrong with us?

Sir, This is because of the fact that our Industry-Academia interaction is not good. We do not have a single University in the top 200 universities in the world.

Cm : Yes, i think 212 is the top rank for an Indian University.

Yes sir, Exactly. Industry needs something else and in Colleges, something else is taught. This is the gap because of which quality works never come to India. We need to better our University level education, for that matter starting from primary level, whole education system should be reformed.

Cm : But there are many top Indians staying abroad and heading big big software firms. How can u say Indian education system is lagging behind?

Sir, yes there are many Indians who went abroad and became CEOs. But if we observe, most of them do their bachelors or masters in India and move to US to pursue their Research and Jobs. This implies that the US environment for research is lot more conducive than the Indian University standards.

Cm : Sathish, So u are saying, First develop Education Standards, Then get the good work from abroad.

Yes sir, You are right.

Cm : Sathish, I may agree with you on this. But Our Prime Minister might not agree with you? (All laughing n i was like What the heck!!!)

Cm : PM is going and telling to all.. Come Make in India... But u are saying we shud first reform our University Education !

Sir, Both should go parallely sir. We can't say "Come, Make in India " and still keep maintaing our poor standards of Indian Universities. We should better on both fronts and both can go hand-in-hand sir.

Cm : Ok fine, U watch movies also..What kind of movies?

Sir, i watch them as timepass.. Any movie..telugu, hindi or english..depending on my mood.

passed to Next member...

M1 : Sathish, you are from Vijayawada, Vijaywada produces lots of Mangoes. We export best quality mangoes to whole world.We export best quality bauxite, bronze to Korea. We export all best things to abroad. What is ur opinion on it? Should we export the best?

Madam, I am not sure whether we do like that or not. May be because to project Image of India, we export best quality things.

M1 : No Sathish. Not for Brand Image. This is the export policy we follow. Should we follow it? Dont u think, Indians should get the Best first?

Madam, I am not aware of this policy. But if this is the policy, i feel its not very right. I feel Indians should first get the best quality products, then only we should go for exporting them.

M1 : but by Exporting we get foreign exchange. Dont we need foreign exchange?

Madam, Even if we earn foreign exchange, we will again use the forex to give better goods to Indians only. So, Y to export best quality goods outside, earn forex, and then try to provide better goods? So in that sense, if this is the policy, i feel first best quality should be for Indians only. After that only , we should export.

(I am not sure who was shooting in the Darkness, Me or She :'( )

M1 : Ok Sathish, Now Capital is being built in Vijayawada, Lots of land is being taken away. Its the Rice bowl of ur state. Do u think in the national interest,should the land be taken away?

Madam, i feel that choosing vijayawada to be a capital itself is not a very right decision. It is very fertile land as u said. But Vijayawada has its pros like very good connectivity for which it is choosen. Once the capital is decided, land should be

acquisited madam.

M1: But all people are not willing to give fertile lands.

Land Acquition per se is not a wrong thing madam. Government can always acquisit land especially in the National Interest. However, it should give adequate Compensation to the people. It should take consent of the maximum no. of people. That is exactly the point where this Land Acquisition Bill n Ordinance come into picture. So we should adhere to these principles and acquisite land madam. Else capital building can not happen.

Passed to M2:

M2: Sathish... You studied in Railway Mixed High School. What is this mixed?

Sir, Usually railway schools are either boys or Girls schools. But Our school was a Co-education school. Hence MIXED sir.

M2: Oho.. then what do u think is better? Co-education or a Separate Boys' school? (Kuch bhi... :-o )

Sir, Co-education is better as we can talk to anyone without issues. (mai bhi kuch bhi.. hehehe....)

M2: But dont you think boys and girls should study separately? What is the disadvantage of studying seperately? :'(

Sir, I think only if there is a need to make them study separately, its ok. For example, Sainik schools which have their boy-specific schooling can have Only Boys schools. Else, for ordinary education, i dont think there needs to be any distinction between boys and girls.

M2: Ok Ok... So u watch news in TV... These days news channels are showing 24x7 news. Do u think in India we have so much of news to show non-stop 24x7?

Sir, most of the time they re-telecast the news sir. The news channels actually pick up news which are either controversial or very hot, so that they can improve their TRPs by increasing viewership. They do not reflect accurate news. Thats why i always read newspapers which give holistic view. I watch news channels only for timepass and debates.

M2: Ok, so u see debates too.

Yes sir, Debates are good. Debates give me exact idea of where each party stands on the issue of discussion.

M2: Dont u think sometimes Anchor himself talks more and doesn't let anyone else speak in those debates(Still Nation wants to know sir.. n i love Arnub, the most honest journalist ever born :P)

Sir, Sometimes tempers of all the participants rise so much during discussions. So Anchor who moderates them also rises his tempers. :D

M2 : Dont u think some of the media houses are biased?

Sir, there may be biases in the media. But i only follow discussions which give idea about each persons stand on the issue. Eventhough there can be biases, but these are the exact stands of each party on the issue.

M2: Sathish, dont u think TV News media should be regulated by the government?

Sir, i dont think government should regulate the media houses. In our democracy, media plays a very crucial role. Sometimes they criticize government policies, they take anti-government stands,issues etc.. hence i feel government shouldn't control the media.

M2: But, Sathish, How can media be totally unregulated? Can they say anything they want..without any rules?

Sir, there should be regulation on media, but it should be from internal. We can not have external regulation by government. Media should remain self-regualated. For example, various media houses can devise their own set of guidelines and rules and follow them without government intervention.

Ok...passed to M3 (Lady with big Red bindi..yellow saree....little fat...very posh.. seemed like some activist) She already wrote some exact questions on paper infront of her..and asked from that paper only....

M3: You know that there are so many cases pending in the courts today. Do u suggest any alternative methods so that this cases burden of courts can be reduced? Some other ways to resolve disputes or some ways to better our court system?

Yes madam. There are many ways in which we can reduce courts burden.

Most important are the Alternate Dispute REsolution mechanisms. Most of the cases in the courts are related to either personal family issues or the real estate land disputes. These can be settled out of the courts with mechanisms like arbitration, mediation etc., 

One more thing i dont understand is why courts get Summer holidays with so many pending cases. Courts should work throughout the year madam.. In addition, most of the delay happen in the procedural things also. All the courts must be e-enabled. Paper work should be done away with, Technology should be leveraged and then lots of delays will reduce madam.

M3: Exactly, Do you know that recently Delhi High Court has introduced something called e-Courts. 
Yes madam, I know.

M3: Yes, total paperless courts. Things got really quick now.  Good. Recently Delhi High Court has told that rights of LGBTs should be recognized..HOmosexuality...some Sec 370 something...But supreme court has struck down the same saying its not right...What do u think? What's ur opinion on this?

Madam, I stand with Delhi high courts verdict madam. Being a LGBT is an individual's choice. My sexual orientation is always my choice. and i feel that Individuals cannot be descriminated on the basis of their sexual preferences. For example, very recently Ireland also approved Gay Marriages through referendum. So, i absolutely support Delhi high courts view that Sexuality is one's own personal choice.

M3 : Thats good. Is there any legal step or policy that the government is taking to ensure LGBT's are not descriminated? Any policy-wise reform?

Madam, I am not exactly sure of it. But i remember supreme courts suggesting government to include LGBT's in OBC catogery and give them reservations, so that they have equal oppurtunities like all others.

M3: Sathish. Do you think... Marriage as an Institution has failed in recent times?

Madam. I dont think Marriage as an Institution has failed. Yes, many marriages have come apart. In a marriage, a boy and a girl should have basic understanding about each other. People marry for a partner who understands them. When that understanding is lacking, marriages fail. But Marriage as an Institution hasnt failed. I myself know many married couples doing great wonders. i know many ias officers wife and husbands..There are many who succeeded too. So i think Marriage is still a sacred institution.

M3: But there are many divorces..they are raising... Many guys want to either marry late...or some want to totally avoid marriage. What about all those cases?

Madam. As i said, its all about understanding between a boy and a girl. If the boy and girl have no understanding, marriage is bound to fail and people can even move upto divorces. It is not wrong madam to take divorce when there is lack of understanding. But on a positive front if we see, the increasing divorces actually indicate the raising awareness of individual's rights.

Rising literacy levels, oppurtunities compel both boy n girl in a marriage to have absolutely understanding partner which sometimes doesn't happen and people go to divorce. So, if some positive is happening at one side, divorce is the negative on the other side madam.

M3 : What about live-in relationships sathish? Do u support them?

Yes madam. I do support them. Its upto the individual to decide what he wants. He has that freedom to choose what is best for him/her. If live-in is where the individuals find it better, i have no issues madam.

M3 : What are the problems that arise out of these live-in's ?

Madam, these relations mostly go well till the baby is born. Once the child is born, the big point of conflict is..who's resposibility it is to take care of child? Is it father's or is it mother's? And also, sometimes these relationships are broken one-sidedly..i.e., One person might want to break it, other might want to continue relations and in such issues, even sometimes courts are also helpless. That's because, Courts may say.. marriage never happened legally. So these are all the issues in live-in relationships madam.

Ok.... Passed to M4

M4: Have u heard of "some thinker name" ?

No Sir.

M4: Have u heard of Competition law?

No Sir, Sorry

M4: Do u know what is existentiolism?

Sorry sir, I have no idea !

M4 : Existentionalism is what exactly u were saying now a moments ago. You were saying, Everything is individual's choice, Individual's preference and Individual's have rights to choose based on their own interests. How can u deal when the interests of two individual's clash? How can u bring harmony between Clashing of Interests? For example, i want to roam in the whole UPSC building shouting loudly... but they dont allow me.. But according to me, its my right to shout and roam freely...What should i do? Tell me how to deal with this?(Either he might have got totally pissed off by my previous answers or Really wanna know what i mean..thats why so big questions..hehe..)

Sir, this is exactly where, on a larger scale, Society should play a role. As a society, we put certain rules upon ourselves. No one is allowed to break those rules. Else there will be chaos. We can call these rules either Ethics or Morals or any name. But these are fundamental rules which Society expects us to follow. In the case LGBT which i told also, i was telling that LGBT's can't be descriminated and they should have freedom in their choice and sexual orientation. They should have freedom to express themselves. That doesn't mean breaking rules of the society sir. It simply means LGBT's are requesting for the change of the rules of the Society. And at a larger perscpective, Society should understand that they are part of the society itself and change its rules such that no1 is descriminated. Hence, the conflict of interests can be solved by the rules that the society puts on itself sir. (he was satisfied to listen to this and most board members keenly nodded to my answer)

M4: Ok ok..that's good.. I heard that Microsoft is doing something with cisco..actually one of my relative works in Microsoft. He sometime took this Cisco name. Is this a small company which provides some hardware to microsoft or anything like that?

No Sir, Cisco is an internet-giant. Its a very big organisation. Cisco is into networking equipment. N Microsoft is a giant in Desktop operating systems whereas cisco's operating systems are for routers. Jus like that Amazon is leader in e-commerce domain. So, fundamentally their domains differ and Cisco is very big organisation sir. Being such a big organisation, we do interact with other companys at various levels sir. For example, our cisco ASIC chips are actually manufactured by Broadcom. So there are various levels and we might also be interacting with Microsoft. But i am not sure of exact details where we do that with microsoft sir.

Passed it back to Chairman....

Cm : Ok Sathish, Coming back to that Sainik School question u were telling...There are many areas in Armed forces, where women are not allowed today? Do u think its right?

Sir, couple of days ago, our Minister of Defence was telling that women are not allowed for combat roles coz if they are caught they can be subject to atrocities by enemies. But i donot buy such statements sir. I feel women are equally capable of any job in the armed forces. In armed forces, there are set of physical standards which is a requirement. If it is cleared, there should not be any distinction of gender even in combat roles sir.

Cm: I am not sure about what our Defense minister said... But there are many other countries where woman are working in combat roles. Why such decisions are not taken in India? What do u think is the exact problem that such woman things are often neglected in India?

Sir, On a larger scale if we take Women's issues in India, there is no proper representation of women at various levels  in India sir.. For example, there is no reservation for woman in parliament, no reservation in civil services, no reservations in armed forces etc... There is very less woman representation sir. and we designed such a patriarchial society where decisions about woman are actually taken by men. So my strong beleif is as long as woman dont get representation properly, these women issues are never taken seriously sir...be it woman in combat roles or Women reservation bill or any other woman issues.

Cm: Ok Sathish... Let me give a choice now.. U have to choose between having Literates in Parliament or having Women in the Parliament.. What will u choose? and why?

Sir, I would choose women in the parliament (instantly i told...obviously parliament will look more beautiful..isn't it? . hehehe)... becoz i believe that an Illiterate can also be a good leader.. An illiterate can be a great leader who can very clearly understand the peoples problems...so i am ok with illiterates in parliament... But to understand Woman's issues, Woman must have representation in the parliament sir. So, i go with Women in Parliament rather than Literates in Parliament.

Cm: Ok.. ThankYou Sathish...

My Opinion...

Now please dont discuss my questions and answers... plz dont b judgemental..hehehe...

This interview is quite distinct from my previous interviews. The skill sets that are being tested here are quite different. While alka mam's interview tested my skills of patience, stress handling, knowledge and the behavioural aspects, Chattar singh sir's board tested my Understanding levels of basic issues and purely interested in my way of thinking. They wanna test my temperament on these issues. Am i orthodox or forward looking is the crux of interview i felt. Board was quite cordial. There were 2 lady members and they were sitting on either side of me. Hence, i had adjust wishing styles. Most of my interview, i jus kept supporting women a lot, though i dunno how it happened. Must have given a good impression on the board on this particular aspect. Overall, its too tough to arrive at any conclusion on marks in such a board. In general, everyone who gave in my board is happy about their performance just like me. So, fingers crossed.. but i expect a decent 180+.. rest bhagwan hi maalik... :D

Whatever it is, with this Interview, i believe my 4 years of relentless marathon preparation has come to an end. I had to face lots of challenges, struggles, people etc., Very few understood me... n Ultimately after these many years of preparation, i see that most of the world has moved on. People got married, many got kids, some settled in US, some bought houses/cars etc etc., n 4 years of my life has got struck in one Single room in Bangalore. No outside connections...Me, My Computer n My Books..It's been a tough struggle...At the end of the day, allz well that endz well..Now my life gets a move on...Rank or No Rank in Civils.. it just doesn't matter as i am 101% satisfied with my IFS..the coolest all india service 4m what i heard....In any case, let's see where my life takes me from here... :)