LEARNING FOR TODAY

 The following are the excerpts from my interview for UPSC Civil Services Examination 2020. It was held on 26th August 2021 at 1400 hrs. The interview board was chaired by Mr. R N Choubey (IAS , former secretary ministry of power ). Chairman: hello Amit , please make yourself comfortable. Remember you don't need to feel any pressure , the best efficiency of an individual comes when he is the happiest. So I want you to be happy throughout. We are here to know you and not to question you like in  a police interrogation. In case you don't know any answer simply say so. We do not expect you to know all the answers. So if you are ready can we start? (I nodded) He pointed to member 1 to start asking the questions. Member 1 ( male,  seemed already annoyed by facial expressions ) M1: If you were to serve in any other state other than your home state which would you choose? Me: Sir since I come from an army background I am comfortable to serve in any state as I have already lived across

Rape is a fate worse than death. Consider carefully the term 'rape' and its implications. Would anyone ever say that rape is acceptable? From the most complacent patriarch to the angriest feminist , all  would declare rape to be a terrible crime. But the apparent consensus is mythical as the reasons behind arriving at this opinion are diametrically opposite. For patriarchal forces , rape is evil because it is a crime against the honor of the family , whereas feminists denounce rape because it is a crime against the autonomy and bodily integrity of a woman. This difference in understanding rape naturally leads differential proposals to fight rape. In the patriarchal perspective , rape is a fate worse than death ; there is no normal life possible for a raped woman. Thus the way to avoid rape is to lock woman up in homes , within the family , under patriarchal controls. In this understanding the raped woman is responsible for the crime against her as she 'dared to cross the la

 India has now been independent for about 73 years , yet the fears of a capitalistic colonial past haunts us. It is because of such past that for about 44 years since independence we followed a socialist model of governance. While a balance of payment crisis did allow us to switch to a more capitalistic economy , the ideas is socialism still run deep in our heads. It is because of such unconscious tilt towards socialism that even after 30 years of private sector catapulting India to global heights , we come on streets against the privatisation of Public Sector Undertakings (PSU). In this blog I try to defend the idea of privatisation our PSUs. I will also try to address all the major arguments against such privatisation which have taken the form of myths creating demons of private sector. Myths addressed - 1. Privatisation will reduce employment opportunities. 2. Selling of PSUs is like selling of family silver and will lead to losses for government in the long run. 3. Only loss making