Final result of PMRDF 2013-14 declared

List of 160 candidates was declared earlier today, January 29th. The list did not have any separate mention of North-East or Kashmir region candidates.
Link to results PDF - pmrdf_result
Later they also sent each appearing candidate breakup of their scores on e-mail.

The selected candidates were sent instructions for document submission.
Link to Guidelines

Second list is being denied by the TISS staff as of now, but it can be expected by February end if some people back out.

The cut-off is 69.3 (with a margin of +/- .2) according to all the collected information from various sources. Officially cut-off has not been declared yet.

Marking in interview was extreme -  ranging from 11 to 51 (out of 60) as per currently available information. It might be even more skewed.

Marking in essay paper was also somewhat extreme with 10 to 32 (out of 40) as per currently available information. It might be even more skewed.

These factors pretty much neutralized the AICAT score effect for most people. they would be crucial only for a select few on the borderline case. Many with AICAT scores of 82+ (out of 98) coud not make it while one guy with 61 did.



Best of luck to all selected people. Make your nation proud.

Interview transcript of one of our readers - PMRDF interview experience

the below interview transcript is contributed by one of our readers. He wishes to remain anonymous it seems but we should thank him nevertheless. It is very valuable for future candidates.


 Place of interview: Bangalore
Number of panel members: 3

1. Tell me something about yourself?
Answered that question but my stupid brain missed telling them what I studied. So next question was:
2. You missed telling us your qualification...
Answered
3. OK, you are already working part time for an NGO, why dont you continue working there?
Answered.
4. What motivates you to move away from that NGO and come to PMRDFS
Answered
5. Is the money the main motivation behind your move?
Answered
6. What kind of job do you exactly do apart from working part time at the NGO.
Answered
7. Arent you a very confused person? You work as an engineer, working part time at an NGO, and now you want to work for rural development. Is it that you are very confused without knowing what you want to do?
Answered
8. Are you appearing for UPSC ?
Answered
Next member started asking
1. What are your plans during this fellowship? What kind of ideas do you intend to follow.
Answered
2. Will you take a leave for two years from your company or will you quit your job to join this?
Answered
3. Do you have any problems or any preference for working at any particular region of the country?
Answered
4. Would you have any language problems?
Answered
5. Have you had any experience working in villages before?
Answered (said during school and college days we worked as NSS volunteers in villages).
6. Where was this village?
Answered
7. What kind of work did you do there.
Answered.
8. What are the kind of problems facing these districts?
Answered.
Passed on to the next member
1. Having lived in cities your whole life, what do you think you will find in these villages?
Answered
2. Is that what you like experiencing? (I had answered about lack of infrastructure and difficulty in terrain, etc for the previous question)
Answered
3. Are you sure you will be able to take it in your stride?
Answered
4. In of your previous answers you had said middlemen play a major role in deciding things for villagers, arent you, as an engineer, work as a middle men too?
Answered, but I was a little taken aback at what he was trying to say/ask, but tried to get back my composure and answered, but very messed up answer
5. No no no, you are not right. If middle men are bad, you are bad too!
I answered by saying that middle men are bad when the opposite party does not have a bargaining capacity to argue against the rates quoted by the middle men, which is not the case in engineering companies as our clients have options and choices and they can move on or bargain for better deals, but these villagers dont have the option and bargaining capacity to do the same.
5. The first person who asked the question said, no no thats not the case, those people dont have any other option, ok now you can leave..

Over all, I think it was a very average performance by me. I dont expect a great score as the interview members did not seem too pleased with most of my answers and the first member even left out to the washroom half-way through and came back almost at the end of the interview. I will post the scores when (or if) I get to know it..

My comment -
Seems like interview went really well. I am 100 percent sure of his selection.

Interview experience and Written test questions - PMRDF 2013

All interview panels comprised of 3 people. As per current information, each panel had TISS professors and mix of male and female interviewers. Development sector professionals were also reported present  in almost all cases.


They asked almost similar line of questions to everyone - started with 
1. introduce yourself and state why you want to do this fellowship/ PMRDF? How does it fit to your career plan
2. rest questions were derived from the answers given. 
3. in between they gave small case study type question to most people. like - what would you do as PMRDF if govt wants to acquire land and people are skeptical, what problems do tribal women and children face, etc.
3. What you will do if you get selected/how will you solve problems/ may ask you to state approach etc.
4. they asked about background (place of birth), education, work experience specifically only if you avoid in introduction. some people with unique professions like dentist, pharma major, architect,etc. were grilled little extra on their job and future plans etc.

average interview time varied sightly with panels, some panels had average of 25 min per candidate while some had as low as 10 min. one panel was over by 4, another dragged till 5.45



for essay/written (issue based) round - 

all instructions were same as the pattern/mock paper provided. no rough sheet was provided seperately, the paper was ruled and more than enough space for 500 words.

3 essay topics were  - 

1. 73rd amendment,

2.  constitutional and legal provisions for protection and wellbeing of tribal people and your recommendations/suggestions for the same,

3. what are the multiple views on recent food security bill. how much do you agree with them and your views on it.

NOTE: question paper was not allowed to be taken home, it was taken back. the topics were more elaborate, and are written by memory.

Official mock paper of written exam - issue based - PMRDF

Important Instructions to the Candidate
1. Duration of the exam is 45 minutes (10.00 a.m -10.45 a.m)
2. Candidates are expected to be in their seats by 9.45 a.m.
3. Paper attempted in any other language other than ENGLISH will not be
accepted.


Details of the Exam

Write an essay on ANY ONE of the topics given below. If a candidate attempts more than one essay, only the first essay written by the candidate will be considered for evaluation. The others will be ignored.

· Language: English
· Total Marks: 40
· Word Limit: NOT Exceeding 500 words
· Substantiate your arguments with facts and examples.


1. Section 377 of the I.P.C and LGBT rights
Or
2. Constitutional and legal provisions for protection of Scheduled Castes
Or
3. Strategies for reversing Child Sex Ratio

PMRDF interview and written exam guidelines

written exam guidelines

The written test to be conducted on 16th January 2014, aims to position the Aptitudes and
Abilities of the candidate with respect to the expectations of the fellowship. For this round of
selection, the candidates are expected to write an essay in English on any one of the topics
centered around the social, economic, environmental issues central to the welfare and
livelihoods of the people. It aims to evaluate the candidates’ values such as mutual respect,
respect for diversity, etc. It would explore the candidates’ ability to think independently and
deal with the social, economic and administrative forces that have implications for the
welfare and development of the people. It further intends to evaluate the candidates’ ability to
take initiatives, critically reflect on social issues and explore creatively the coexistence
between individual good and collective good. It thus attempts to evaluate the candidates’
ability to contextualise the utility of plurality of approaches. The evaluation would be based
on the candidates’ ability to:

 Understand and analyse a socio-economic issue
 Ways of addressing the issue
 Dealing with the system to address the issue

Date of Exam - 16th January 2014
Total Marks : 40
Time : 10 AM to 10.45 AM
Reporting time : 9.00 AM

The candidates are expected to take their seat by 9.45 AM

documents requirement -

Candidates are requested to get an original photo id proof (eg: Passport, Driving license, pan card, aadhar card) for verification.
Other documents like degree certificates, caste certificates are not to be brought on the day of the written test, personal interview.

For some candidates personal interview will be conducted on 16th January 2014 and for some it will be conducted on 17th January 2014

PMRDF AICAT results 2013 with cutoff

Total no. of candidates called - 1157

Cutoff marks For -

GEN/OBC - 60
SC - 50
ST - 42

as intimated before, no separate cut-off or relaxation for J&K or northeast people or language skills etc. at this stage.

according to the poll conducted on the Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/groups/pmrdf2013/
the marks obtained in AICAT by qualified ppl -

60-66	14
67-73	7
74+	7

after results, a list of all qualified candidates and their chosen centres was published.

random statistics from the centre list pdf - 

J&K has no interview centre, interviews in original 9 locations only. 

Total no. of candidates called - 1157. No. of people in each city -

Kolkata    71
Delhi        415
Bengaluru 293
Mumbai   178
Cochin     70
Guwahati  26
Bhopal     53
Raipur      34
Allahabad 17

not many from eastern india despite program focusing on that area
lot of upsc aspirants (delhi) and IT professionals (bangalore), it seems..

Caselets for PMRDF interview - Case 3

You are the head of an NGO working with tribal community in a forest area. The tribal community has been surviving through collection of Minor Forest Produce and shifting cultivation. The Forest Officials
object to the practice of shifting cultivation and argue that it results in deforestation and ecological
imbalance. They insist that the tribal community should give up shifting cultivation. Whereas the tribal community feels they cannot give it up nor leave the forest as it is their habitat. You are chairing a meeting with your staff to discuss and to resolve the issue


post your answers in comment for review.




for more case studies you may visit - (these are for ethics paper in upsc, so only relevant to certain extent)

http://mrunal.org/2013/09/ethics-sample-questions-case-studies-based-on-donald-menzels-book-for-upsc-general-studies-paper-4.html

Caselets for PMRDF interview - Case 2

A well established multinational seed company is offering high yielding seeds of some crops to farmers in your village free of cost. The company is also willing to purchase the output at competitive market price. As a head of an NGO you have come to know that the company is offering genetically modified seeds which can adversely affect the soil quality and requires lot of water. The effect on human and animal health in the long run is unknown. Your NGO has started campaigns and meetings to sensitise farmers but still some would want to go for the seeds since the offer is a lucrative one. You have called for a meeting to discuss and solve the issue.

1. try to communicate with the company for details of the seeds and purchase offer. find out the legal and testing status of the seeds. understand all risks associated and get them in writing.
2. Design a comprehensive program to raise awareness about GM crops and their risks - utilize educated youth from the village, progressive farmers, etc. to spread message
3. propose a trial run on small patches for first year, during which effects can be found using various observational and scientific techniques
4. take help from nearby agricultural universities, government research and agricultural bodies for testing the seeds and gather proper information
5. Inform local administration about the issue and get them on board. Even a general government advisory would go a long way in convincing farmers

Caselets for PMRDF interview - Case 1

Case 1

It is being reported in the local newspapers that many hospitals and clinics are performing sex-selective abortion in the district. The census shows a serious imbalance in the sex ratio. The district administration has issued strict warnings in the newspapers and also written to the hospitals. Though the hospitals deny that they have ever done any such abortion, the problem continues. You are appointed as the head of a committee to look into this problem. You called for a meeting of your committee to discuss and suggest remedial measures.

steps to understand the issue in depth -
1. try to get the child sex ratio of different areas/neighborhoods in the district
2. set up field inquiry to ascertain whether many indulge in such practices or select few, locate such clinics
3. contact NGOs, SHGs and prominent social workers in the area for their opinions

Steps to address the issue -
1. spread awareness against female foeticide through local media, public meetings, street plays, etc. Take help of NGOs etc. as needed
2. co-ordinate with law and order machinery in district to ensure cases are reported and quick action is taken
3. work with the district administration to provide schemes like IGMSY, Dhanlaxmi, other state govt. schemes with special focus on identified vulnerable areas/neighborhoods
4. meet with hospital administration, doctors, doctor association, etc. to device methods to curb such practices by plugging loopholes in the system
5. design and start programs for long term attitudinal changes within the society

e-books for PMRDF interview

one thing i want to make clear is that i found links to these books etc. on the internet. i am not the owner of these.
the adf ly pages that open upon clicking serve as a buffer. please click on the "skip ad" button on top right of the adf ly page when it opens up.

relevant documents from Mrunal's writing contest
relevant documents from Mrunal's writing contest

last year's PMRDF official documents
last year's PMRDF official documents

idea of justice by amartya sen
idea of justice by amartya sen

We Are Poor but So Many by ela bhatt (founder of SEWA)
We Are Poor but So Many by ela bhatt (founder of SEWA)

political economics of hunger by amartya sen and jean dreze
political economics of hunger by amartya sen and jean dreze

fortune at the bottom by c k prahlad
fortune at the bottom by c k prahlad

field notes on democracy by Arundhati roy
field notes on democracy by Arundhati roy

list of books for interview preparation PMRDF

list of amartya sen books -

(these books are in order of decreasing relevance)

Development as Freedom

An Uncertain Glory : India and its contradictions

The Idea of Justice

Identity and Violence : The Illusion of Destiny



books on Left Wing Extremism

Hello Bastar: The Untold Story Of India

Red Sun : Travels in Naxalite Country

Jangalnama: Travels In A Maoist Guerilla Zone


books on development sector

Bridging The Gap: Essays On Inclusive Development And Education

Everybody Loves a Good Drought : Stories from India



Good books

Becoming Indian: The Unfinished Revolution of Culture And Identity

India's tryst with destiny