Everything You Should Know about the UPSC Interview Panel

UPSC Interview Panel
Table of Contents

The UPSC has come up with the tentative dates for the IAS personality test which is scheduled to be conducted from 30th January 2023 to 10th March 2023. The selected aspirants must have started their preparations for the interview round. 

In this blog, you will get to know the details of the UPSC interview panel as it can give you an edge in the interview process.  Keep reading to know what you should learn apart from enrolling in a good UPSC coaching center in Chennai

About UPSC Interview and Personality Test

Taking up a UPSC interview can be quite challenging for the IAS aspirants. The main objective of conducting the interview round is to:

  • Understand the aspirant’s personality traits.
  • Determine how knowledgeable the candidate is.

There is no definite length of a UPSC interview. The interview scores are not revealed by the UPSC interview panel immediately. It can be only known when the final results are out. In the UPSC interview, a candidate’s scoring should not be less than 55 marks.

If you want to get into the merit list, scoring at least 60% or above is encouraged. If you want a better service allotment or enter into Group A services and IAS allotment with a good ranking, strive hard to gain 200 marks and more.

The personality test will assess the personality of an aspirant and analyses whether they will be a competent administrator. This shows that candidates have to follow the interview tips and attend mock interviews conducted by the UPSC coaching center in Chennai because during the personality test, candidates are rated by the members of the UPSC interview panel for qualities like:

  • Reasoning ability
  • Clarity of expression
  • Grasping ability in narration or an argument 
  • Interests
  • Personal attributes while communicating with people
  • Appreciating quality with various points of view

Importance of UPSC Interview & Details About the Interview Panel

  • Prepare strenuously to ace the UPSC exam as the interview is the gateway to civil services. Out of the total 2025 marks, 275 marks is only for the interview. 
  • The UPSC interview panel comprises professional experts in their respective fields. The interview board comprises five unbiased members, including a chairperson in the main position. 
  • The interviewees will get to know the list of the board they will be facing after the interview dates are declared. Candidates should research and collect information about the board members before appearing for the interview. 

Details about the Panellists

An UPSC aspirant should get to know about the interviewers so that he/she can concentrate on and prepare for the interview. Doing so will create a better chance when compared to the other aspirants. The list of interviewers of the UPSC interview panel are given below. 

Chairman 

  • Dr. Manoj Soni – He is a scholar in Political Science and specialises in International Relations. He is an ex-vice-chancellor of MSU and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University of Baroda. 

Members 

  • Air Marshal Ajit S Bhonsle – He has 39 years of experience in Air Force and has finished his MSc in Defence Studies, MPhil from the NIDS, Japan. He specialises in cyber security, training, education, and infrastructure development.
  • Ms. Sujata Mehta has acquired MPhil in Political Science. She worked in Indian Foreign Service earlier and has served in Indian Missions in Dhaka, Moscow, & UN in New York. Also, she is the Ambassador for the Conference on Disarmament, Geneva.
  • Ms. Smita Nagaraj from TN cadre was an IAS 1984 batch. She finished her Masters in Political Science at JNU, PG diploma in Mass Communication. She is an Executive Director of the Central Social Welfare Board and has served Ministry of Defence and DOPT. 
  • Sri Rajiv Nayan Choubey, an IAS 1981 batch, TN cadre. He holds a PG in Physics from St. Stephens College, Delhi and is specialised in Social Policy & Planning from the London School of Economics. Also, he has served in various departments like the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Textiles, Ministry of P&NG. Ministry of Power, Civil Aviation.
  • Dr. T C A Anant is the former Chief Statistician of India and the secretary of MOSPI. He has completed his Masters from Delhi School of Economics, and Ph.D. from Cornell. He has served as a professor at DSE, Secretary in the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation. He was the member secretary of the ICSSR and has made publications in Industry, Labour, and Economic Theory. 
  • Sri Bharat Bhushan Vyas, an IAS 1986, J&K. He has done BSc Botany and has served as Chief Secretary and Advisor to the Governor in J&K, the District Magistrate of three districts and Divisional Commissioner of the Kashmir Valley.
  • Ms. M Sathiyavathy is a Gold medallist in Mathematics from IIT, Madras. Belonging to IAS 1982 batch, AGMUT cadre and IRS 1981, she worked at Arunachal Pradesh, Puducherry, Mizoram. She served at Ministries of Textiles, Commerce, Labour, Civil Aviation, and Dept. of Space. 

Conclusion


Since the interview conducted is crucial, personal, and variable prepare well to tackle the test. With the above-shared information about the UPSC interview panel, you must be able to gauge the kind of questions that you will be getting from the panel. Enrol in Kingmakers IAS Academy if you want to express yourself very tactful and ace the interview effortlessly.

Read Also: How to Prepare Notes for UPSC.

Frequently Asked Questions

The UPSC Interview is conducted by various boards. The UPSC interview panel comprises four members including a chairperson.

As you know UPSC interviews are of different types depending on the post, UPSC invites the other four members. These other four members are expert in some of the respective fields like scientists, professors, forces officers, etc. 

 

The UPSC interview panel may ask questions starting from self-introduction where you have to brief yourself.

Not only that, you will have to give your opinion on contemporary topics, and will have to answer the behavioural, situational questions along with some tricky and challenging questions for which you have to give your honest and brilliant answers. 

 

A good score considered by the UPSC interview panel is a score anywhere between 65% and 75%. The candidates score above 75% in the interview rarely. Dr. Apala Mishra has set a record by scoring 215 marks in the UPSC IAS interview round 2020. This is the highest marks in the UPSC interview till date.