UPSC 2024 Expert Guide Times of India is an initiative where we share expert advice for IAS aspirants. Our expert today Shubham Aggarwal, Director and Chief Advisor, Vidyapith IAS AcademySharing his insights on the UPSC Detailed Application Form (DAF) submission, which follows the MAINS exam and is an important step in an aspirant’s UPSC journey. Read on for his expert tips on the best way to fill a DAF.
DAF Submission is the first step in the final phase of your UPSC journey: the interview/personality test. It is the gateway to the first formal 1-to-1 interaction between an aspirant and UPSC. Candidates will be allotted their respective slots within two to three months after the DAF submissions are over. The DAF tells UPSC everything about you in the paper, and the interviewers form their view of you through the information presented in the DAF. Last date to submit DAF for UPSC 2024 interview is December 19.
The information provided in DAF can be classified into three types:
1. The First The part that cannot be hidden contains details about you – your personal details, place of birth, mother tongue, permanent address, details of your mother and father, their income and place of residence, your educational details, marks in school and college, your formal work, your previous UPSC attempts, etc.
These details are hard facts that cannot be changed or manipulated. Changing them would lead to unethical behavior and even fraud in the system. We cannot guide candidates about this part, and only recommend that they fill it very carefully, to their best knowledge, so as to avoid any mismatch with the original documents.
2. The Second Part of DAF examines your creative propensity at university/state/national level – awards, medals, scholarships, sports/NCC, specific leadership position(s) held in school/college, other extracurricular activities and interests like. Hobbies etc. Here, you have an opportunity to show that you have a life beyond books and core academics and you have more to say in life than UPSC preparation. But remember, it’s okay not to have these. Sometimes, circumstances may now allow the luxury of enjoying these activities and the candidate may leave these fields blank, rather than lying about them. The Commission respects the fact that India is a nation where people have problems to survive including bread and butter, and not everyone gets the opportunity to do extracurricular activities. Also, one should not clutter their DAF with every activity done in the past, which you feel is different.
- Try to prioritize those AwardsMedals, Scholarships Obtained from recognized institutions, having state/national/global presence or impacting at national/society/international level. Suppose winning a commendation/fellowship from a state head office is more deserving than winning a debate competition organized by a local private club in your city.
- Similarly, sports activities are worth mentioning if you have played them professionally at any level – be it school, university, or state/national level. Avoid mentioning cricket if only tennis ball alley cricket is played, or chess if only played at home with siblings. The candidate should thoroughly research the sport, rules, India’s achievements in that sport, famous players, current developments, association with international events/Olympics, etc.
- Specific leadership position(s) in the school/college should only be mentioned if they have genuine responsibility and authority. Also, be prepared for what impact or change you have been able to bring about in your organization through your leadership.
- I advise aspirants to participate in hobbies and interests most seriously while filling their DAF. According to Collins Dictionary – Hobbies are activities done in free time. That means, you don’t do them out of compulsion, or for money, or out of desperation. You enjoy doing them, you know how to do them, and you’ve been doing them regularly, until now. For example, reading academic books to pass an exam is not a hobby, but reading fiction novels during a flight or reading a self-help book before bed is a hobby. Don’t go too far and bring up too many hobbies and interests to impress the panel. This can be counterproductive because you can grill on too many of them. Don’t show a fake hobby, if you don’t have one, because you’ll get caught if you fail to answer something about it. It is wise to keep the column black and gently tell the interview panel that you have not had free time to pursue any hobby or interest in the past years due to work, preparation or any personal obligations. Board members reward honesty!
3. The The third part DAF is about your future aspirations: your cadre, sectors, or service preferences. You may be asked a question if your IAS and IPS preferences are very different. This section should be filled out assuming that the bulk of your service will be spent in that particular area and field. However, all will not go your way until you finish in the top 50 and get your desired state and service. However, the list may be prioritized after informed consultation with family, future aspirations and advisors. For example, an aspirant for police services in Punjab and Haryana may not want to go to Indian Postal Services in Tamil Nadu.
Given all the efforts put in, a lot depends on your qualifications and rank and the availability of the desired vacancy. One should be ready to serve like a soldier at the call of duty in any part of the country.
(Expert can be contacted at 0306shubham@gmail.com. His specialization is General Studies and Political Science and International Relations (PSIR) Elective)