5 Types Of Questions Asked In A UPSC Interview

UPSC Interview: The Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) conducts the Civil Services Examinations (CSE) to recruit candidates for various civil service and government posts in India, including Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), and Indian Foreign Service (IFS).

The recruitment process consists of three stages. It begins with the Preliminary Examination, which serves as a screening test for the Mains. Those who qualify the Mains advance to the final stage-the Interview-which assesses the candidate's overall personality.

The UPSC interview is considered challenging by many students because of it's broad range of topics and the difficult questions asked in personality assessment, which focuses on the candidate's demeanor, communication skills, decision-making abilities, and ethical stance.

Nonetheless, thorough preparation, showing confidence and positively cultivating your thoughts can help you perform well.

Here are five types of questions asked in a UPSC CSE Interview:

1. Factual Questions

The first types of questions asked in a UPSC interview are Factual Questions, that seek answers based on verifiable information. Questions like "What is the GDP of India?", "What is the Unemployment Rate" are asked.

2. Opinion Based Questions

After the Factual questions, comes the Opinion Based questions. These questions ask about your opinion on a certain topic which is in trending controversy, such as "What is your Opinion About This Policy of Government".

3. Situational Questions

These questions are asked, putting you in a hypothetical situation and what would be your response if you were in that situation. An example would be " If you are a District Magistrate (DM) or a Police officer, what would you do if a fire breaks out ?".

4. Personal Questions

After the Situational Questions, comes the Personal questions which unearth about your personality. Questions like "What is your vision for life", "Where do you see yourself in the next 10-15 years ?" are asked.

5. Presence of Mind Questions

The final category of questions in an UPSC interview are "Presence of Mind" questions. These are designed to assess whether you can remain calm during the interview, think logically, and demonstrate common sense in unexpected or challenging situations. They reveal how well a candidate can adapt and make sound decisions under pressure. These questions can be both simple and tricky. For example, in an interview clip shared online last year, a candidate was asked to state his roll number and then sum it up, an exercise meant to check his presence of mind in the moment.