UPSC Interview Questions- How to Prepare & Answer

UPSC Interview Questions- How to Prepare & Answer..

Important UPSC interview questions cover personal background, current affairs, and hypothetical situations, focusing on your motivation for civil services, strengths and weaknesses, and ethical reasoning.

The Interview process lasts about 30 minutes and is worth 275 marks out of the total 2025 marks. This short meeting can have a big impact on your life, helping you achieve your dream of becoming a civil servant. The final merit list considers marks from both the mains exam and the Personality Test. Doing well in the Interview can greatly benefit candidates, improving their rank and chances of getting a better government service position.

Personal and background questions

• "Tell me about yourself." 

Introduce your background, education, and experiences that have prepared you for civil services. Frame it to highlight qualities like leadership and problem-solving. 

• "What motivated you to appear for the UPSC exam?" 

Connect your motivation to a desire to serve the country and contribute to society through administration. 

• "What are your strengths and weaknesses?" 

Provide genuine strengths and weaknesses, explaining how you are working to improve on the latter. 

• "What is your optional subject?" 

Explain your genuine interest in it and how it is relevant to civil services. 

• "Tell me about your hobbies." 

Use hobbies to show a well-rounded personality and skills relevant to leadership, such as teamwork or discipline. 

Current affairs and knowledge-based questions

• "What is your opinion on [a current national or international issue]?": Show you are well-informed by presenting a balanced and thoughtful opinion, citing pros and cons. 

• "Discuss a recent government policy.": Demonstrate your understanding of the policy's objectives, implementation, and impact. 

• "What is India's position on [a global issue]?": Discuss the country's stance and the reasons behind it. 

• "Explain the significance of the Indian Constitution.": Be prepared to discuss the core principles and its role in governance. 

Hypothetical and situational questions

• "You are a district collector in a village with a rigid caste hierarchy..." 

Assess your ability to handle local conflicts and ensure fair implementation of projects.

• "If you discover corruption among senior officers..." 

Evaluate your ethical decision-making skills and understanding of internal protocols for reporting and handling corruption.

• "You have a limited budget but multiple pressing issues..." 

Test your prioritization and resource allocation skills to address various needs effectively.

• "How would you handle a large protest that turns violent?" 

Gauge your crisis management and law and order skills, as explained in this explanation from Sleepy Classes. 

List of Top 50 UPSC Interview Questions

Here is a list of 50 common questions that can be asked in a UPSC IAS Interview:

1. Tell me about yourself.
2. What motivated you to appear for the UPSC exam?
3. Discuss a current national or international issue that interests you.
4. Explain the significance of the Indian Constitution.
5. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
6. Describe a challenging situation you faced and how you handled it.
7. How do you manage your time effectively?
8. What is your opinion on the role of the media in society?
9. Discuss a recent government policy that caught your attention.
10. Explain the concept of inclusive growth in economics.
11. What was the Panipat War and between whom was it fought?
12. Why was the war fought in Panipat?
13. You are posted as district collector and tasked to oversee a project in a village. The village has a rigid caste hierarchy and this is interfering with your project. The lower caste workers are not being allowed to work in the same areas as the higher caste workers. What action would you take?
14. This is a paper weight. Give me 5 ways I can use this.
15. Does India have a population problem? Should it follow China’s lead in controlling population growth?
16. You have listed playing the violin as an interest. What wood is used to make a violin? The violin bow has fine threadlike hairs. Where do these come from? What is the process of making a violin bow?
17. Philosophy as an optional. What are the major differences between Indian and Western philosophy?
18. Why is Buddhism almost not present in India at present although India is its birthplace but having a significant presence in east and Southeast Asian countries?
19. Which country is known as the land of midnight sun?
20. Norway and other Scandinavian countries though small in area, population and present in hostile climate (low temperature) but still highly developed Why?
21. What is an ombudsman in India?
22. Assuming you become a prophet and establish a new religion, give me its important characteristics. Can you also give a name for it?
23. Do you think there is still a bright future for the IT industry considering the current crisis it is facing?
24. Compare Ancient silk road and present OBOR project?
25. Do you think the RBI role is as important today as it was 20 years ago?
26. Why is the 21st century called the Asian Century?
27. Give some reasons why Bollywood will supersede Hollywood in the 21st century.
28. How many Nobel prizes have been awarded in the field of game theory.
29. I will give you a hypothetical situation.solve it. Sudden overnight influx of madhesis from Nepal in up/Bihar. Being dm of a border district how will you handle it?
30. Do you know about the different stages through which the budget reaches the final stage?
31. Do you know about NPS? If yes, how is it different from OPS?
32. What are the alternative forms of energy?
33. Tell me how a plant of biogas functions.
34. what is the cost at which govt. supply biogas to consumers?
35. Tell me which would be more cost-efficient and suitable in the longer run, biogas or solar in rural areas?
36. What do you think about technology taking jobs? I think we must stop adopting new technology and create jobs. What's your opinion?
37. What is the source used by the chatgpt for answering the query?
38. Are traditional knowledge and modern sciences in contradiction?
39. please tell me the amount of energy NTPC produced and what are its functions other than energy production.
40. Tell me about MNCs working in India and Indian MNCs working abroad.
41. Which is the first Indian MNC?
42. Tell me what blockchain technology is and what its applications are.
43. How would you explain blockchain technology to a layman?
44. What qualities do you have that you think will make you a good civil servant?
45. What is the place of medical ethics in todays world of commercial medicine, medical insurance, etc etc etc(a lot of big words)?
46. In the future of education, what do you think will succeed more? B2B or B2C
47. What is the report that RBI releases on a regular basis?
48. Tell me some positives and negatives of snooping
49. Suppose you are posted as a DM in a village school and asked to address students of Class VIII-XII, what would you speak about for promoting Maths which students don't like?
50. What is the need of high end R&D when our basic skill needs are unmet?