Journey of Punjab Civil Services from rags to riches: VARINDER SINGH KHOSA

INTRODUCTION

 

Hello everyone!!! I am Varinder Singh Khosa and I have secured rank-25 in Punjab Civil Service-2018. I have been selected as DSP in Punjab Police Services(PPS). I have cracked this exam at the age of 25 in my first attempt. I am a native of Village Jhandeana West, Dist Moga and my hobbies are Reading books, Fitness and travelling. I am going to share my experience of this journey which might help all the aspirants.

EXAM PATTERN

 It comprises of four successive stages.

Stage 1: Preliminary Examination

It consists of 2 objective papers.

(a) General Studies- 100 Questions of 2 marks each (200 marks)

(b) CSAT- 80 Questions of 2.5 marks each (200 marks)

Language- Punjabi and English
PS There is no negative marking in prelims.

Stage 2: Main Examination

It consists of 7 subjective papers.

(a) Punjabi language (100 marks)

(b) English language (100 marks)

(c) Essay (150 marks)

(d) GS 1(250 marks) includes History, Geography, Society

(e) GS 2(250 marks) includes Indian polity, Governance, International Relation.

(f) GS 3(250 marks) includes Economics, Statistics and Security

(g) GS 4(250 marks) includes Science & Tech, Environment, Ethics

Language- Punjabi or English except language papers.

Stage 3: Physical Test

It consists of 4 events.

(a) Race- 1600 Meters in 7.5 minutes

(b)Long Jump- 3.60 meter

(c)High Jump- 1.15 meter

(d) Vertical rope climbing- 2 meter
PS-  This stage is only for the post of DSP and Physical criteria is different for girls

Physical Standards
Height- 5'7(Men) 5'3(Women)

Stage 4: Interview

Interview is of 150 Marks. I will share my interview experience in the next blog post.

THE D-DAY

                             

                    Pic- Punjab Public Service Commission, Patiala (06-june-2019)

 

QUALIFICATION

(a) Education: Graduation and must have passed Punjabi at matriculation level.

(b) Age limit: 21-28 years for DSP  and 21-37 years for other posts.(There is age relaxation for reserved categories)
(c) Number of Chances- 6 (Relaxation for reserved categories)  

BOOKS

(Note- I have referred these sources but if you are already using any other source, Please continue with the same)

1. History:

Ancient History- Tamil Nadu (TN) State Board Book

Medieval History- Tamil Nadu (TN) State Board Book

Modern History- Bipin Chandra old NCERT

World History- Old Ncert by Arjun Dev.

Art & Culture- Nitin Singhania Sir notes and Punjab’s Culture from Sada Punjab.

Punjab History- Sada Punjab, and for mains you need detailed history, so go for Raghunath Rai’s BA books.

2. Science

General Science: NCERT Books 6th to 10th with special focus on 9th and 10th… Also science portion of Lucent GK book

Science & Tech: Vajiram notes for static portion and Vision notes for current.

3. Economy

Mrunal videos for conceptual clarity And NCERT +1 and +2 (Macro-economy Only ), as per syllabus, the topics which are not covered by these NCERTs need to be covered from INDIAN ECONOMY by Ramesh Singh. Have a look at Budget and Economic Survey (Summary) by any institute

Punjab Economy: Sada Punjab and latest Budget and Economic Survey of Punjab

4. Polity

NCERTs 6^th to 12^th and Laxmikanth Only

Political Theory (Prelims Syllabus): Didn’t find any concise material, revise questions asked in PCS previous year papers and UPSC papers till 2010. Watch random You tube videos, any institute booklet and prepare your own notes with a keen focus on western political thoughts. I have uploaded some coaching institute notes here. Click

5. Geography

+1, +2 NCERTs more than enough (Punjab portion from Sada Punjab)

6. Environment

I have done from Shankar (because Geography is my optional) So, Please read very selective for this exam… Focus  Current issues related to environment like New Pacts, Schemes, initiatives at world and national level.

7. Society

You can read +1,+2 Ncerts for conceptual understanding and better terminology. But most of the questions are from contemporary social issues impacting society.

8. Statistics

Statistics for Economics (NCERT 11^TH) for conceptual clarity and Spectrum’s Statistics book for practice.

9. Security

Internal security by Ashok Kumar, plus current from Vision IAS.

10. Aptitude

Quant: Topics which are asked in previous year paper (like Speed, Age, Percentage etc.) from any maths book (I referred RS Aggarwal)

Data Interpretation: Practice from any book

Reasoning: Practice from any source, Easiest section to fetch good marks.

11. Ethics

Unlike UPSC, it is distributed over GS1, GS2 and GS4 in PCS. I have followed Lexicon's Ethics for this part. For GS4, we need to practice situation based questions from any source.

12. Punjabi

Punjabi Vyakaran Ate Likhat Rachna by Narinder Singh Duggal

13. English

Any standard book

14. Current Affairs

If you are daily newspaper reader, then it will be very easy for you. And if not, choose any magazine like PD/Drishti/Vision/Insights etc. (More conceptual for mains and bit factual for prelims)

For current affairs of Punjab State: Read The Tribune and make your notes. Or you can get notes made available by many institutes in Chandigarh just before exam.

This portion is very important considering the recent shift in orientation of PPSC towards current. Try to link current affairs with the static portion to generate a broader picture in exam.

 

 STRATEGY FOR EXAM 

 

Preliminary test

According to me, the prelims is the most competitive and arbitrary stage of this exam because the success rate at this stage is very low. I cleared prelims by just 1 mark. The most imp for prelims is to go to previous year papers and know about demand of this exam. This is the key to understand the mindset of the examiner. Now you can read your sources accordingly, taking out the gist. Also, stick to your sources and revise them as many times as possible. Counting of CSAT marks in prelims merit makes paper 2 a deciding factor at this stage. Attempt multiple paper sets to rectify your mistakes. Also based on your performance in test series, you can devote more/less time to a particular subject.

 

 

Main Exam 

This stage is going to decide your final selection in this exam because it contains 90% of the aggregate marks. So leave no stone unturned when it comes to the mains. Start your mains preparation just after prelims, don't wait for the prelims result. At first, read the syllabus carefully. Now you must strive for covering each and every topic mentioned in the syllabus. Before starting your mains prep, pin down your sources for each paper, subject and topic. You can take help of previous year papers to know what to read in those sources. Then, make your short notes, at least for contemporary issues. The topics not found in any book can be covered from internet. Assimilate current with static portion of syllabus. Now you have knowledge, you need to know how to express that knowledge. For that you need to practice papers in advance on yourself or join test series. It will help in time management as well. Like, this time many of my friends couldn’t complete 20 questions in 3 hrs. Revise your sources multiple times. Also, do prepare facts, committees, reports and other references in advance on major topics in syllabus to substantiate your answers. Take language papers seriously(i did this mistake by not giving optimum time to language) as they create a huge difference.

                                                                                   Though I have mentioned separate strategy for prelims and mains. But there must be integrated preparation for both stages.

 

 

Interview

There were 8 members in my interview panel and it went for 45 minutes. The questions were primarily based on bio-data sheet, hobby, family occupation, issues in news in last few months etc. Though i was prepared to give interview in English but more than 80% of the questions were asked in Punjabi, so i answered them in same language. I mean to say language in not a barrier but you must be proficient enough in your language to express your viewpoint. For that we attended many mock interviews. You can speak in front of mirror or analyze your recorded videos. The purpose of interview is, to access whether someone can be competent administrator or not. So work on your personality from day one. You must possess qualities like honesty, positive attitude, no caste/religion bias, liberal viewpoint, which makes a good civil servant. You must have solution and vision to solve problems concerning common folks. This stage can completely turn the tables. Especially in our case, as it was low scoring main this year and difference in marks was very narrow. Thereby interview marks could make a great impact. I got 110/150 in interview which played a major role in my final selection.

 

REACH OUT

If still any query, feel free to contact me.

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RESOURCES

Syllabus
Prelims Question Papers

Mains Question Papers

 

END NOTE

This journey not only helped me in clearing this exam but it fundamentally changed me as a human being. It helped me develop a balanced mind, with broad outlook towards issues concerning common man. In nutshell, I can say that this preparation helped me explore the world. The preparation period was very interesting because each day we used to learn new things and meet new people. During this preparation, I found that if you love what you do, it will definitely pay you back.

 At last, I am eternally thankful to everyone who stood by me during this journey.

ਨਹੀਂ ਤੇਰਾ ਨਸ਼ੇਮਨ ਕਸਰੇ ਸੁਲਤਾਨੀ ਕੇ ਗੁੰਬਦ ਪਰ,

ਤੂ ਸ਼ਾਹੀਂ ਹੈ ਬਸੇਰਾ ਕਰ ਪਹਾੜੋਂ ਕੀ ਚੱਟਾਨੋਂ ਮੇਂ।

UPSC Interview Transcript : CAPF Assistant Commandant : Varinder Singh Khosa

INTRODUCTION

Name: Varinder Singh Khosa

Roll No. : 0069344
All India Rank- 38

Age: 24

Attempt: 1st

Home Town: Moga

Hobbies: Stage Anchoring, Reading Books & Meditation

Extra Curricular Activities: Speech & Debate Competitions, NSS, Science Model Making, Listening Music, Surfing Web

EDUCATION

% in class 10th: 9.6 CGPA

% in class 12th: 91.2%

Graduation Course & Percentage: B.Sc.(Non-Med) & 75%

Pass Out: 2015

UPSC Interview Transcript

Date of Interview: 09-may-2018, Forenoon Session

Board: Ms Smita Nagaraj

Duration: 30-35 minutes

Me: May I step in mam ?

Chairperson: Yes, please

Me: Wished everyone good morning(Stood near the chair)

CP: Please take your seat

Me: Thankyou Mam

Chairperson(CP) mam started

CP: (looked at my DAF for few minutes) you are good at studies and seems to be interested in academical affairs like edu, speeches . Then why CAPF ?

Me: Mam, these were just part of my education field but I have always dreamt of becoming part of CAPF due to its adventurous nature, diverse nature of work where u get chance to work in different areas like deserts, mountain areas , coastal areas etc ,Opportunity to serve the nation, good allowances,

CP: But u can get good allowances in civil jobs as well..also u will be at ease

Me: Mam, its my childhood dream to be part of uniform services. For that first i tried for NDA after +2, then CDS in 2016 and attended SSB...so this childhood passion has motivated me to go for CAPF and realize my dream

CP: Sikh community is known for its valour and bravery in military history of Indian army(as i m sikh) and form a major part of armed forces till 1980s and 1990s. But recently their number is decreasing in army as well as CAPF. why ?

Me: Mam, now a days more youth is attracted towards foreign countries, for study as well as citizenship of those nations, more attraction towards civil jobs now a days, involvement in drugs due to pop culture promoted by punjabi music industry

CP: Then, why did not u opted for IELTS and get urself settle in any other country ?

Me: Mam i feel that this trend of brain drain has led to major loss of human capital for India and when i have opportunity to play a role for the development of our nation, why should we go to other country and benefit them at the cost of our nation.Also i feel that i am competent enough to get a decent job in India.

CP: In which country does the largest punjabi diaspora resides ?

Me: uh..uh..Canada(i was not sure)

CP: Recently, Canadian PM Mr Trudeau visited and India has put allegations that he is sympathiser of some pro-khalistani separatist groups in canada. Considering that How was the visit ?

Me: Mam, Visit was a complete failure, at the very offset of the visit , indian govt sent a low-key minister to welcome him, there was no major pact/deal..PM of India has only ceremonial meet on very last day of visit. so there is no major outcome from this visit

CP: And what about from our perspective

Me:(i understood that mam wanna know, how snubbing trudeau gave canada a clear lesson ) Yes, mam,,from our point of view. we are quiet successful in giving him a clear message that if canada will support any such cause of separatist groups, India will not tolerate that at any cost bcecause Unity and integrity of India is paramount and Trade & other ties are secondary. Also during meet of Mr. Trudeau with Punjab CM, he promised that he will not support pro-khalistani groups and promised to extradite criminal in canada, wanted by Indian government

Now Chairperson mam passed the baton to First Member(M1) 

M1: (looked at my DAF) You have your schooling from Mudki till 10th but why did you shifted to Haryana for your higher studies?

Me:Sir that was decision of my parents due to menace of drugs in punjab so they thought of admitting me in a school outside punjab,

M1: What is the reason behind drug menace of Punjab ?

Me: Sir, Punjab being a border state, it becomes easy for drug traffickers to smuggle drugs in punjab through the porous borders, second Politician- drug smugglers nexus which make it easy for them to distribute drugs without fear of being caught, Pop-culture appealed by punjabi music industry. unemplyment

M1: But unemploment problem is in other states too..then why drug problem is major in punjab ?

Me: Sir, drug problem exist not only in punjab but other states too..as per recent survey by NCRB, Punjab is at number 10 in drug abuse so this drum-beating has more to do with defeaming the governmnet during elections. But problem is pan-India

(maine yeh report dekhi hui thi)

M1: What is the solution to this problem of drugs in Punjab ?

Me: Sir, first and foremost infiltration of drugs from pakistan border must stop in Punjab. Rehabilitation and drug de-addiction centres for drug abusers,stop over-the-counter availabity of drugs, strict action against politicians involved in drug-dealing.

M1: Who is your war hero from Indian forces ?

Me; Sir, General Jagjit Singh Aurora who led eastern command of army during Indo-Pak war of 1971(as one day before interview i visited National Museum and his installation was there :)

M1: Do u know about Subedar Joginder Singh(he was craving to know about him as recently movie was released on Subedar Joginder Singh where Gippy Grewal is playing his role)

Me: Told about his role in Indo-China war in 1962 and how fought until his last breath, though his plotton was heavily outnumbered by chinese forces.

M1: With which award he has been rewarded ?

Me: Sorry sir, i m unable to recall(he told that Param Vir Chakra)

M1: On wagah border with Pakistan, everyday passionate ceremonies are being held. What are its impact on friendly and long-term relationship between India and Pakistan ?

Me: Sir, for long term relation, I think high aggression during ceremony must be toned down by both sides. We must show our friendly relation to the visitors, also it will help ease the tensions between two nations

Chairperson invited second member(M2) of panel for questionnaire

M2: Varinder, as you have environment as one of your subject during graduation, can u tell me what is environment ?

Me: I roar out SHASHI THAROOR type heavy word definition of environmnet (as i have geography as optional :-p)

M2: Aap sadaran basha mein parayavaran kya hota, yeh batayein ?

Me: (told in hindi) sir, hamare aas paas ke jevit jaise aadmi, variksh aur aajevit jaise hawa, aakas, pani aadi ke aapsi similit jagat ko parayavaran kaithe hain.(he understood that i m poor in hindi so reverted back to english..lol)

M2: what are the reasons behind degradation of environment ?

Me: Sir, Utilization of resources more than the carrying capacity of environment lead to degradation of environment.

M2: Then, How do we carry our developmental activities and livelihood needs ?

Me: Through sustainable development and judicious use. For eg- Waste water from factory should be reused instead passing it into a river, it will prevent pollution of fresh water in river and help in reusing waste water of factory at same time. Gave 1 more example of agriculture

M2:(He entered agriculture now) What are the effects of over-irrigation of agriculture in punjab ?

Me: Sir over-irrigation led to salinization and alkalinization of soil.

M2: Salinization is a major problem in places adjoining haryana like Bhatinda, what is the way forward to this problem of alkalinization of soil?

Me: Sir, we can use acid to neutralize this excess of salts in soil. 

M2: What punjab government is doing at large scale to solve this problem ? Is there any scheme by government of punjab ?

Me: Sorry sir , i dont know

M2: Punjab government is planting eucalyptus tree at large scale to solve this.

NEXT QUESTION

M2: As u have attended NSS camp during your college. What are the works that you did during your camp ?

Me: Sir, we went to nearby village named Nejia Khera and there, we taught students at school about moral values and told them importance of sports, youth festivals, & other curricular activities. Also, as it was a backward village so dropout rate among students after 8th was very high, so we paid home visits and informed parents about importance of education in today's India

ALL MEMBERS PUT SMILE ON THEIR FACE AND SAID THATS A WONDERFUL CAUSE

M2: So if u get into CAPF, how will you continue with such tasks ?

Me: (Nothing come to my mind, and instantly i said) Sir, i will try to continue such works after my retirement by opening a NGO.

ALL LAUGHED AND SAID, YET U HAVE NOT STARTED WORKING AND STARTED THINKING OF RETIREMNET (i felt embarrassed)

M2: What did happen in Dhabwali ? Do you know about the incident ?

Me: Sorry sir

M2: Where more than 400 students died of fire ?

Me: No sir i dont know(I was surprised that how it is remotely possible that i dont know about an incident where casualties are so high)

LATER I SURFED AT HOME THAT IT WAS AN INCIDENT OF 1995..wtf and i was born in 1993..lol

Now comes the last hurdle, third Member(M3)

M3:(started with hobbies) Varinder One of your hobby is meditation which is more about introvert aspect and other is anchoring which is about extrovert aspect of personality. How can someone continue with two habits which are contrary of each other, considering that you are honest in what you have written ?

Me: Sir Anchoring is more about my participation in various stage conducting activities since my schooling but meditaion i have started only two years back as a need for a healthy lifestyle

M3: Even if, you are doing from two years, how do u reconcile between two very different things ?

Me: Sir,meditaion helps me in my inner introspection and knowing more about good and bad aspects of my personality whereas Anchoring being extrovert action helps in implementing that introspection into my real life and personality

M3:As sir(pointing towards M2) has asked you about agriculture, So todays punjab is prosperous due to green revolution of 1960. Punjab would have been an another poor state like hinterland state madhya pradesh. What were the options with punjab other than agricultutre ?

Me: Sir, Punjab has litercay rate of more than 75% so there is major scope for service sector. We could focus more on industrial sector and due to large diaspora from punjab, Foreign remuneratives could be another source of income.

M3: As u told about over-irrigation in punjab and its negative effects(with M2). Do you consider that it was desirable to bring green revolution in punjab region ?

Me:Sir, Keeping in mind the ecological conditions of Punjab where most of the region comes under desert ecosystem, I don’t think it was desirable because HYV seeds need large scale irrigation but this region is rainfall deficit.

M3:If I give you the chance to re-write the history of Punjab. What would you decide in case of green revolution ?

Me:Sir, I will opt for region other the rain deficit regions of western India. Instead I will choose regions like Coastal Regions, and regions where monsoon brings enough rainfall

M3:So, do you think propagators of green revolution were wrong in bring green revolution to Punjab ?

Me:No, sir..Green revolution has achieved a great success and helped us in making us self-sufficient in food grains..But there were little lapses which could have been solved if ecology of region could be considered while deciding the region

M3: What is article 370 all about?

Me: Sir, It provides special status to the state of Jammu & Kashmir under Instrument of accession signed between Indian State and Raja Hari Singh

M3: (interupted) Don’t tell me history, Tell me its present status and do you think it should be abrogated ?

Me: Sir, it should not be outrightly abrogated because it is our promise with people of Kashmir. Considering the present state of instability, any tampering can led to further deteoriation in the condition of state. But for the integration of people mentally and physically, we need modest changes. For ex- as property is a fundamental right in state so land acquistition becomes nearly impossible which creates hurdle in path of industrialization in state

M3: But Land is a state subject, how can centre ask for more say in the land acquition ?

Me: Yes sir, it is a state subject but as Land Acquisition act 2013 was passed by centre. It was adopted by all states as Model Act with few changes but Due to special provisions, it was not applicable at all in J&K.

Chairperson mam is back again!

CP: As you have done your higher studies from Haryana where many babas have been booked under Rape and Murder cases.There has been major spurt in number of babas in India. What are the reasons behind their increase and How they have such a large following ?

Me: Mam, after 70 years of independence, 21% of population is below poverty line, large scale illiteracy, goverance deficit due to which even basic amenities are not met. When people are unable to fulfill their basic needs they go for shortcut and eternal solutions through such babas. AND these babas exploit their vulnerabities and use them for their own benefits. Also due to caste based discrimination, the so called lower castes feel alienated from their ancient religions so they go for such babas in hope of equality and self-respect

CP: But not all people going to these babas are not poor, there are people from middle class and higher classes..Because Only they are ones who can contribute such a large sum of money to them. Why they are going if poverty is the sole reason ?

Me: Mam, more the man becomes rich, desires increase even more.. so in their case also, insecurity is the reason. Secondly,with the increase in stress in our lives.. people run towards such babas as they taught about divine immaterial things and thereby reducing greed towards materialistic world and help reduce stress

CP: What is the solution then, Should we remove all babas with tough hand for once and all ?

Me: Mam, India being a secular country where everyone has right to belief in anyone. Even we have no problem in people believing in non-living forces. So we can't take action against anyone, the time till they are not involved in any mischievous conduct. Also Baba-Neta Nexus must go because vote bank is the major reason behing their patronisation by political class.

CP: Do you think we must have any special Investigation branch to keep vigil on these babas ?

Me: Absolutely mam, considering the spurt in number of babas and their nefarious activities, we must have a special cell so that such incident can be prevented in future. Also state police needs to be more vigilant towards their activities and there should be proper survelliance of their economic transactions as large scale money laundering is also involved.

THANK YOU

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How long must women wait for equality

For any queryWomen have been called queens a long time, 

but the kingdom given them isn't worth ruling.

 Women empowerment is the most talked issue in the present context of our society but question arises are we availing them the ground to empower ? Also it is not easy to just answer this question simply in YES or NO. We will come to this issue at last.

But what is importance of women equality for INDIA can be comprehended from the fact that availing equal opportunities to women at workplaces can increase the GDP of India by 27% (IMF Chief Christina Lagarde). So Women are the largest untapped reservoirs of the world

The patriarchal mindset of people has been so intruded into our guild that all the heaviness against women has become a norm. On the eve of New Year on 31st dec 2016 night, mass molestation of women on bangalore roads puts all of us to shame and the dilemma is the one of that local politician held these women to be responsible for harassment, Reason being they were out of home at night simply because they are WOMEN.  Can sexuality of a person decide at what time it is safe for them to be out of home ????? Are these public places only for men ?

During the recent Uttar Pradesh elections, when Priyanka Gandhi was on election election campaign, MP Vinay Katiyar commented that his party has prettier women than Priyanka Gandhi. Question arises are the women are only for their Physical beauty? Do they have no personality of their own? If our opinion of women is simply physical beauty- pity on us. Instead Women in India are beautiful emotionally ,mentally,spiritually.

The sexual harassment of women has became a common problem in our surroundings. The rape has became a best revenge at the hands of men against any kind of disapproval of women. The best reason sited for such a derogatory and inhuman act is, that short clothes of women provoked them to do so. What a Bullshit this is ? Do they have no autonomy to decide what they can wear or not ? Do The so called 'Morality of society' is above than their individual freedom ? When a girl of 5 years is raped, Is it due to her short clothes ? When a women in burkha is raped, Is it due to her short clothes ? So the need is not for the women to change their way of living but for the people to change their mentality. Women must have every right to express themselves, by whatever way they want

This is not about sexuality or nudity, Instead this is all about control. The fear of being rejected also make them to resort to such inhuman acts. Due to patriarchal mindset they want to control the sexuality of women

Fault is even of parents here. Since birth girls, are told;- Don't do this, don't do that..Don't go there, don't go here. But this is not in case of boys. So naturally they assume all this to be their birth rights unlike girls. When it comes to marriage, it is the parents who are the deciding authority to decide that to whom she should marry. The person has to spend her entire life with a anonymous person to whom she had never met in life.

Its so funny that we celebrate Women's day every year. But do we need only one day in a year to tell women that They are independent and they can do whatever they loves to be. Do we need to tell the women that they are free but not in case of men. This is where all the fault lies.

The need is for all the women of the world to come together for a revolution because you are not begging something but your are asking for your own rights. SO DO WHATEVER YOU DO and BE WHATEVER YOU WANNA BE!!

More power to all the women to stand up for what is right and know your power and strength.

For any query