Questions Asked in IAS Interview: What Type of Questions are Asked in IAS Interview?

The interview is the 3rd and final phase of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Exam (CSE). IAS interview is a little more complex than other phases of the CSE exam as sometimes panellists love to ask questions which you can’t pre-prepare in any way possible. Aspiring Candidates should keep in mind that the interview’s only purpose is to test and not knowledge. The panellist is an eminent personality in their field. In this article, we will discuss what type of questions are asked in an IAS interview. Read the article till the end to know the questions asked in the IAS interview.

How many Questions are Asked in an IAS Interview?

There is no fixed number of questions that are asked to each candidate. It depends upon the panellists. They will keep on asking you questions until they have an idea of what kind of person you are. And if you try to fake it. They will figure it out in just a matter of seconds. So don’t try to oversell yourself. Just be you.

Reading the interview of toppers writes down some pointers on how to answer some frequently asked questions in the UPSC interview.

How can we Answer the Questions Asked in UPSC Interview?

The Panelist will be judging you on the basis of every aspect of your personality. They will watch how you will react to the question and you come up with a logical solution in stressful situations. Practicing IAS mock interviews will definitely bring you an advantage.

Some of the most asked UPSC interview questions:

Tell Us Something about Yourself? Or Give a Brief Introduction about Yourself

This question is asked in almost every interview you go to. Answer this question by giving your personal information like your education, profession of father and mother, about siblings profession if any, and your hobbies. This is the reason why you should be careful while filling the application form. You shouldn’t have any confusion. Be confident while replying to the panellists’ questions. Don’t mention anything which you don’t have any clue about. Because if by chance a panellist asks questions related to that and you are not able to answer them, then you will leave a bad impression on them.

Why do You Want to become an IAS Officer?

This a standard UPSC interview question. This is one of the most important questions of the interview. Depending on your answers the panellist will judge your clarity of thoughts and what motivated you to crack UPSC. As per your answers, they will get an overview on how what drives you to do things, are you just after the fame and name that a person gets after being an IAS officer or you really want to contribute to civil service.

This is a very important question. Prepare thoroughly and honestly for this question. Give IAS mock interviews and also practice in front of the mirror.

Tell Us Your Strengths and Weakness

This question is asked not only to understand your strengths and weaknesses but also to check your honesty with the panellist. The people who will be taking your IAS interview are expired and experts in their jobs. Don’t lie to them, they will catch it instantly. Therefore be completely honest with every interview question not specifically this.

What Kind of Questions are Asked? Some More Examples of IAS Interview Questions

How is your education relevant to civil services?

Do some proper research on this. Although this question is similar to ‘Why do you want to become an IAS officer?’ Make some relation between your educational background and the civil service

Why did you choose XYZ optional?

This question is especially important for those who are taking optional different from their specialization in graduation.

Current affairs

Be updated with current affairs. The panellist can ask your opinion on any current affairs and how you can improve it. They can also ask what was today’s headlines?

Your hobbies

They can ask you questions on hobbies that you fill in the application form. The questions vary depending upon the hobby. If you have written one of your hobbies like sports. Then they can ask questions about the famous personality in that sport or the latest results. Many candidates were even asked to sing.

Also Read: UPSC One Year Study Plan: Start Preparing for UPSC 2021 Right Now

IQ Questions Asked in IAS Interview

Remember for every question you have been asked the panellist will judge your reaction and how to approach the question.

Question 1

What if one morning you woke up and found that you were pregnant? (for a female candidate)

Answer: I would be very happy, take an off and celebrate the good news with my husband.

Explanation: The aim of the question is to test the reaction of the candidate to shocking news. Because every shocking news need not be bad news. Basically, you will have to find the positive side of the situation.

Question 2

Can you name three consecutive days without using the words Wednesday, Friday, or Sunday?

Answer: Yesterday, today, and tomorrow

Explanation: This question is a test of your wittiness.

Question 3

How can you drop a raw egg onto a concrete floor without cracking?

Answer: Concrete floors are very hard to crack!

Explanation: This question tests the mental alertness of the candidate.

Question 4

What will you do if I run away with your sister?

Answer: I would be very happy, as I won’t be able to find a better match for my sister than you.

Explanation: This question’s objective is to test the positive mindset of the candidate.

Question 5

James Bond was pushed out of an aeroplane without any parachute. He survived. How?

Answer: The aeroplane was on the runway.

Explanation: Here the objective is to check the presence of the mind of the candidate.

Question 6

Twins(Adarsh and Anupam) were born in May but their birthday is in June. How’s this possible?

Answer: May is the name of the place where the babies were born.

Explanation: This a hilarious question of smart wordplay. A good presence of mind is needed to answer the questions.

Question 7

The peacock is a bird that does not lay eggs. How do they get baby peacocks?

Answer: The peahen lays eggs.

Explanation: This question is a little test of the application of a fact.

Question 8

Also Read: What is a Mock Interview in UPSC? Why is it Important to Undergo a UPSC Mock Interview?

If there’s a company, and there’s a crowd, then what is four and five?

Answer: Nine.

Explanation: Here the IAS interview panellists want to know how you can extract useful information from non sensible data.

Question 9

A cat had three kittens: January, March, and May. What was the mother’s name?

Answer: What. It stated ‘WHAT’ was the mother’s name.

Explanation: The intent here is to check how much attention the candidate is paying.

Question 10

This is an unusual paragraph. I’m curious as to just how quickly you can find out what is so unusual about it. It looks so ordinary and plain that you would think nothing was wrong with it. In fact, nothing is wrong with it! It is highly unusual though. Study it and think about it, but you still may not find anything odd. But if you work at it a bit, you might find out. Try to do so without any coaching!

Answer: The letter ‘e’, which is the most common letter used in the English language, does not appear even once in the paragraph.

Explanation: To answer this, either you must have knowledge of that “e” is the most common letter used in the English language or you have keen observation skills to notice it.

Question 11

Where Lord Rama would have celebrated his “First Diwali”?

Answer: Most of the people would answer the Ayodya or Lanka because we were told this in our childhood. But this is a wrong answer.

Explanation: This a trick question. Literary History says that Diwali was celebrated after Lord Krishna defeated Narakasura. In Dasavatharams of Lord Vishnu, Krishnavathaar comes after Raamavathaar. The Diwali was celebrated after Raamavathaar. Which means Lord Rama would never have celebrated Diwali.

Also Read: Questions Asked in IAS Interview: How to Prepare for Your UPSC Personality Test

Conclusion

IAS interviews can be tough to crack. Giving at least three to five mock IAS interviews is a must if you want to secure a good rank in the exam. The sole purpose of the interview is to test your personality and not your knowledge. One cannot know everything. Your preparation for the UPSC interview should be very clever. If you have reached till here, then well done! Looks like you are dedicated to your goals. Now you have been familiarised with top IAS questions asked to interview. So now prepare accordingly. All the best!