My experience with the interview Board
While entering the interview board, I was bit confused with the table arrangements and couldn’t find a lady member (first member) and my seat. So, I couldn’t wish her separately as she was not visible from the entrance. The third member guided me by signaling the chair meant for me. The board allotted to me was that of Mr. Subir Dutta.
The questions were as follows:
Chairman: Don’t you feel hot? (As I wore a suit for the interview (in summer)}
Me: Yes Sir! It is bit hot. But, being a formal occasion in my life, I thought of presenting myself before the board in formal attire.
Chairman: Are you from Pondicherry?
Me: Yes sir, I am from Puducherry. (As Pondicherry was renamed as Puducherry)
Chairman: Why is pondicherry geographically scattered?
Me: To preserve the cultural identity of the state. The state exhibits the remnants of French culture. Moreover, it was the wish of Jawaharlal Nehru to preserve its identity.
Chairman: What were the different regions of Pondicherry?
Me: Puducherry and Karaikal surrounded by Tamilnadu; Yanam in Andhra Pradesh and Mahe in Kerala.
Chairman: Why did you choose Environmental Sciences for your master’s degree.
Me: I got my interest in Environmental Sciences during my under graduation days.
Chairman: (Seemingly not satisfied) I am not asking about that.
Me: Sir, the scope for Environmental Sciences in research was good.
Chairman: In Research! Have you registered for Ph.D?
Me: No sir.
Chairman: What are the problems facing Indian Agriculture today?
Me: Sir, Indian agriculture faces a lot of problem due to its agrarian set up as a whole. Apart from this, lack of credit facilities and extension services, market fluctuations further aggravate the problem. Moreover, the public investment in agriculture is decreasing steadily.
Chairman: What do you mean by public investment in agriculture?
Me: Sir, It is the money that the Government invests in agriculture infrastructure development.
Chairman: What is the ICOR (Incremental Capital Output Ratio) for agriculture at present?
Me: I don’t know sir. But, the public investment in agriculture is 1.8% of our GDP.
Chairman: When did you come to Delhi last time?
Me: I came to Delhi on March 29th. (I meant the IFoS-2006 personality test that I last attended).
Member1: You have a good interest in wildlife conservation. Isn’t it?
Me: Yes, ma’am!
Member1: How to conserve wildlife in India?
Me: I think we need a holistic approach to conserve Indian wildlife which has to start by involving the people so as to create a ‘Social Fence’ and to ensure livelihood security of the people in the protected areas. The recently enacted Tribal rights act, 2006 will address the problem to a great extent.
Member1: Which is the most endangered wild animal in Australia?
Me: Platypus.
Member1: No, it is Panda.
Me: Madam, but Panda is highly restricted to only China!
Member1: I am sorry! It is Koala bear.
Me: Yes madam. It is one of the most threatened animal in Australia.
Member1: How is it threatened?Me: Habitat destruction…
Member1: Be specific
Me: I don’t know exactly madam.
Member: Okay. It is due to Bush fire.
Me: Thank you madam.
Member1: Do growing trees increase or decrease Global warming?
Me: Growing trees decrease the phenomena of global warming as they harness the carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere and fixes it as carbohydrates.
Member1: But, recent studies show that growing trees increase global warming.
Me: I am not aware of the study.
Member2: Why do coimbatore region have lot of textile industries?
Me: Sir, The reason is historic as it is the British colonialists who started lot of textile looms as it is a cotton growing area and availability of labor is in plenty. And that obviously turned the region into a textile hub.
Member3: How to conserve Tiger in India?
Me: Increasing the Protected area network like Wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, etc; involving the people in conservation efforts; framing a environmental educational system that covers all the sets of people starting from children, common man, politicians, judiciary, etc. will increase the importance of tiger and other wildlife’s role in the environment.
Member3: What do you mean by Hotspot?
Me: Hotspot is an area rich in biodiversity and should face enough threats to announce it as a hotspot.
Member3: (Disagrees) I have been in Bhutan for 6 years and it was a hotspot with high biodiversity but no threats.
Me: Sir, Bhutan alone is not a Hotspot, but the entire North Eastern Himalayas constitute a Hotspot.
Member3: (Disagrees)
Me: Sir, there are two criteria to qualify a region as a Hotspot. They are It should have a plant diversity of at least 0.5% of the world and it should have lost at least 70% of its original habitat.
Member3: (Disagrees) Okay, I may be wrong!!
Chairman: (Intervenes) No, The member is correct.
Me: (Kept Smiling).
Member3: What is your Master’s degree research?
Me: Sir, I did research on the Biodiversity of Ants in the Western ghats.
Member3: Okay, How do studying Ants be helpful to human society?
Me: Sir, We have to learn a lot from ants. They have a altruistic behaviour which stands for ‘Selfless service’ and also personified by Mahatma Gandhiji. Also, study on movement of Ants is successfully used to avoid traffic congestion which would of great help to human beings in avoiding traffic jams.
Member3: (seemingly impressed) so, it could be a solution to traffic problems in Delhi?
Me: Certainly Sir!
Member4: How do birds migrate from one area to the other?
Me: Sir, birds use a lot of techniques to migrate to the exact location they want to like using magnetic poles, using stellar (stars) position during night.
Member4: What do you mean by Ant colony maximization? It is related to your master’s degree research.
Me: (I asked for a few moments to guess, But couldn’t give a answer for few moments)
Member4: Okay, You think about it later.Member4: how do study on ants applied in the field of robotics?
Me: By studying the movement of ants we can design robotic tools better based on the movement of parts of an ant.
Chairman: Your Interview is over.
Me: Thank you very much sir. Thank you, madam. Thank you, sirs.
While entering the interview board, I was bit confused with the table arrangements and couldn’t find a lady member (first member) and my seat. So, I couldn’t wish her separately as she was not visible from the entrance. The third member guided me by signaling the chair meant for me. The board allotted to me was that of Mr. Subir Dutta.
The questions were as follows:
Chairman: Don’t you feel hot? (As I wore a suit for the interview (in summer)}
Me: Yes Sir! It is bit hot. But, being a formal occasion in my life, I thought of presenting myself before the board in formal attire.
Chairman: Are you from Pondicherry?
Me: Yes sir, I am from Puducherry. (As Pondicherry was renamed as Puducherry)
Chairman: Why is pondicherry geographically scattered?
Me: To preserve the cultural identity of the state. The state exhibits the remnants of French culture. Moreover, it was the wish of Jawaharlal Nehru to preserve its identity.
Chairman: What were the different regions of Pondicherry?
Me: Puducherry and Karaikal surrounded by Tamilnadu; Yanam in Andhra Pradesh and Mahe in Kerala.
Chairman: Why did you choose Environmental Sciences for your master’s degree.
Me: I got my interest in Environmental Sciences during my under graduation days.
Chairman: (Seemingly not satisfied) I am not asking about that.
Me: Sir, the scope for Environmental Sciences in research was good.
Chairman: In Research! Have you registered for Ph.D?
Me: No sir.
Chairman: What are the problems facing Indian Agriculture today?
Me: Sir, Indian agriculture faces a lot of problem due to its agrarian set up as a whole. Apart from this, lack of credit facilities and extension services, market fluctuations further aggravate the problem. Moreover, the public investment in agriculture is decreasing steadily.
Chairman: What do you mean by public investment in agriculture?
Me: Sir, It is the money that the Government invests in agriculture infrastructure development.
Chairman: What is the ICOR (Incremental Capital Output Ratio) for agriculture at present?
Me: I don’t know sir. But, the public investment in agriculture is 1.8% of our GDP.
Chairman: When did you come to Delhi last time?
Me: I came to Delhi on March 29th. (I meant the IFoS-2006 personality test that I last attended).
Member1: You have a good interest in wildlife conservation. Isn’t it?
Me: Yes, ma’am!
Member1: How to conserve wildlife in India?
Me: I think we need a holistic approach to conserve Indian wildlife which has to start by involving the people so as to create a ‘Social Fence’ and to ensure livelihood security of the people in the protected areas. The recently enacted Tribal rights act, 2006 will address the problem to a great extent.
Member1: Which is the most endangered wild animal in Australia?
Me: Platypus.
Member1: No, it is Panda.
Me: Madam, but Panda is highly restricted to only China!
Member1: I am sorry! It is Koala bear.
Me: Yes madam. It is one of the most threatened animal in Australia.
Member1: How is it threatened?Me: Habitat destruction…
Member1: Be specific
Me: I don’t know exactly madam.
Member: Okay. It is due to Bush fire.
Me: Thank you madam.
Member1: Do growing trees increase or decrease Global warming?
Me: Growing trees decrease the phenomena of global warming as they harness the carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere and fixes it as carbohydrates.
Member1: But, recent studies show that growing trees increase global warming.
Me: I am not aware of the study.
Member2: Why do coimbatore region have lot of textile industries?
Me: Sir, The reason is historic as it is the British colonialists who started lot of textile looms as it is a cotton growing area and availability of labor is in plenty. And that obviously turned the region into a textile hub.
Member3: How to conserve Tiger in India?
Me: Increasing the Protected area network like Wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, etc; involving the people in conservation efforts; framing a environmental educational system that covers all the sets of people starting from children, common man, politicians, judiciary, etc. will increase the importance of tiger and other wildlife’s role in the environment.
Member3: What do you mean by Hotspot?
Me: Hotspot is an area rich in biodiversity and should face enough threats to announce it as a hotspot.
Member3: (Disagrees) I have been in Bhutan for 6 years and it was a hotspot with high biodiversity but no threats.
Me: Sir, Bhutan alone is not a Hotspot, but the entire North Eastern Himalayas constitute a Hotspot.
Member3: (Disagrees)
Me: Sir, there are two criteria to qualify a region as a Hotspot. They are It should have a plant diversity of at least 0.5% of the world and it should have lost at least 70% of its original habitat.
Member3: (Disagrees) Okay, I may be wrong!!
Chairman: (Intervenes) No, The member is correct.
Me: (Kept Smiling).
Member3: What is your Master’s degree research?
Me: Sir, I did research on the Biodiversity of Ants in the Western ghats.
Member3: Okay, How do studying Ants be helpful to human society?
Me: Sir, We have to learn a lot from ants. They have a altruistic behaviour which stands for ‘Selfless service’ and also personified by Mahatma Gandhiji. Also, study on movement of Ants is successfully used to avoid traffic congestion which would of great help to human beings in avoiding traffic jams.
Member3: (seemingly impressed) so, it could be a solution to traffic problems in Delhi?
Me: Certainly Sir!
Member4: How do birds migrate from one area to the other?
Me: Sir, birds use a lot of techniques to migrate to the exact location they want to like using magnetic poles, using stellar (stars) position during night.
Member4: What do you mean by Ant colony maximization? It is related to your master’s degree research.
Me: (I asked for a few moments to guess, But couldn’t give a answer for few moments)
Member4: Okay, You think about it later.Member4: how do study on ants applied in the field of robotics?
Me: By studying the movement of ants we can design robotic tools better based on the movement of parts of an ant.
Chairman: Your Interview is over.
Me: Thank you very much sir. Thank you, madam. Thank you, sirs.
