IIM C Interview Transcript (2024)
Date/Time/Venue: 6th March, 2024, 8 AM Slot, Delhi (India Habitat Centre)
Panel: All male:
P1: 50s, a Prof;
P2–30s, an Assistant Prof;
P3: Late 20s, probably an alumnus
Profile: GEM, 97/97/88, 99.81;
Graduation: BE in Computer Science from BITS Pilani (Grad: 2021)
4 months as SDE and 2 UPSC attempts (wrote Mains both the times)
Interview: I was the 2nd candidate in my panel.
No TMAY or anything;
P1: Your work-ex is 4 months; Are you still working?
Me: No sir, I had quit the job for UPSC prep;
P1: *Seemed upset and mentioned that he is very biased against doing that*. So, apart from the conventional reasons like power, status and job security, why would you do that?
Me: *Answered on the lines of impact that one can have*
P1: Name any IAS who you think has had an impact
Me: Mentioned TN Seshan and discussed his role in revamping elections
P1: That’s ancient now, also do you think that there are no instances of electoral malpractices that he had stopped?
Me: Nothing is perfect, but something is better than nothing. These instances have definitely come down in number
P1: Asked for some recent impactful persons (not the ones read from newspapers and stuff)
Me: Answered that I won’t name any particular person, since even the seemingly insignificant work that bureaucrats do is very impactful for the downtrodden sections who immensely benefit from it. Then, I gave some recent examples of some bureaucrats doing such work. Also mentioned that the traditional reasons which he asked me to skip also act as strong pull factors.
P3: So how would post-MBA role help you in creating the desired effect?
Me: Sir honestly, I won’t try to forcefully equate the two roles, since they are different. However, some years down the line, I would want to start my own venture, and an MBA would help me in that. That would help me add value to the society and create an impact.
P3: In the movie “12th Fail”, he says towards the end that you don’t need to be an IAS/IPS to create an impact; So, are you doing anything towards that right now?
Me: No, sir.
P2: Asked questions about time complexity of algorithms.
Me: Spoke about Big O and Small O notations
P2: Do we use best-case or worst-case or avg-case time complexity?
Me: Worst-case.
P2: Why is it so? Does that not waste resources?
Me: Answered on the lines of covering edge-cases, and linked it to customer satisfaction by giving an analogy using latency, and the dictum of “under-promise and over-deliver”
P2: Asked me about best-case, worst-case and average-case complexity of Linear Search; and worst-case for Binary Search.
Me: Answered correctly
P2: Draw the graph of logN, and asked me whether it is base 2 or e.
Me: Drew the graph. Base — 2, and explained the reason.
P1: Asked me what my optional was (it was Anthro); he was seemingly upset (ref: Judge (Saurabh Shukla) meme from Jolly LLB2) and asked me why take up a subject which you probably read for the first time while starting prep.
Me: Multiple reasons — Computer Science wasn’t an option, other engineering subjects were just as new, the time at hand wasn’t enough to prepare for Maths optional, plus Anthro is considered shorter (not true, in hindsight) and scoring. Besides, I wanted to try out something new.
P1: So, you must have read about MN Srinivas. List some of his works.
Me: Sanskritization, Village Studies, Dominant Caste, Vote Bank Politics and OBC Reservations.
P1: Explain Sanskritization
Me: Explained it
P1: How can it be applied in business and management?
Me: Middle and Lower Classes tend to emulate the consumption patterns of Upper Classes. So, top-down percolation, and celebrity endorsements are used to sell products.
P1: If Consumption patterns are getting changed, the culture must be dynamic. However, our Indian culture is fundamentally same for so many years. Why is it the case?
Me: There are multiple forces at play. For example, assertion of caste identity by the “lower castes”, the force of “desanskritisation”. Also, gave the example of how English speaking is considered to be a sign of superior status, but at the same time, we’ve been seeing a pushback by the lower and lower-middle classes for regional languages/Hindi.
P1: Why is there a push for OBC status by castes like Jats and Patidars? Does that not contradict Sanskritization?
Me: That is Desanskritisation, and is mainly to reap economic and political benefits emanating from reservations; also, this has been made possible by caste-based electoral politics.
P1: How does Sanskritization work?
Me: Gave example of how certain practices associated with upper castes, like vegetarianism, no alcoholism, pooja-paath are being taken up by lower castes to improve their social status. Also linked the rise of Hindutva and role of lower castes to Sanskritization.
P1: Now we’re taking it too far. Since you mentioned that in Sanskritization, lower castes emulate upper castes’ practices. How does it work in case of Desanskritisation — which practices do lower castes emulate?
Me: They don’t emulate the practices of lower castes; rather, they claim that they, too, are a lower caste. Also, they take pride in their caste identity, as seen by caste stickers like “Jats” and “Gujjars” on cars and in songs.
P1: But that isn’t exactly “de”- Sanskritization (i.e. not the exact opposite), right?
Me: Yes sir, but that is how the scholars have coined it/
P1: Tell me one reason why caste-based reservation should be there, and one reason why they shouldn’t be? (Apart from the economic reasons)
Me: Firstly, why they should be there: National Surveys have shown that SCs as a group are deprived and have more landlessness, etc. (quoted the figures).
P1: But that is economic reason.
Me: Sir, they also face caste-based violence and are made to live a life without dignity (quoted some examples and practices. P1 nodded in agreement). So, they need affirmative action. For why it should not be there, I said that I won’t advocate for its complete removal, but the already affluent persons who have moved up the social hierarchy should be removed from that pool. For example, children of IAS couple should not get reservations.
P2: That’s it from our side. Do you have any questions for us?
Me: No, sir.
P2: You may leave. Take a toffee.
I took a toffee and left.
Time: ~ 20 mins
Overall tone: Mostly conversational; Though P1 tried to grill.