PPSC - Facts As I See Them

This is regarding the civil services exam conducted by the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) for the recruitment of higher bureaucracy for the states. The process of the exam started in November 2009 and ended in June 2012 (more than 2 years). It must be noted that exactly similar type of exam is conducted by UPSC for All India Services and Allied services which gets completed in one year. It must also be noted that the PPSC chose to conduct the exam after long 9 years. The last one was full of discrepancies and it had to be re-conducted because the chairman was alleged to have been involved in corruption.

For those who don’t know about the exam pattern. It has 3 stages – preliminary, main and interview. Preliminary exam is an objective type exam where the candidate has to select one option from among 4 or 5. Those who qualify Preliminary appear for Main, which is a subjective exam, the candidate has to write essay type answers reflecting his opinion about the topic asked in the question. In the interview, the candidate is assessed for his personality traits (as it is stated in the brochure) and if he is suitable, he is given marks accordingly. The marks of Main and Interview are then added together to prepare the merit list.

Immediately after the main exam results were declared, many of the aspirants were shocked to find that in order to be eligible for DSP (Deputy Superintendent of Police), one has to pass through the following test:

And the candidates were given around a week to prepare for the same. The surprising part is that there was no mention (in detail) of such test in the brochure and the commission could not even upload on the website the same in the more than two years it took to conduct the exam. The motive was clearly to give advantage to a select few because some of the people (as told to me by my friends – no evidence here) knew about the test and had started preparing for the same much earlier. The outcome was as expected – only a handful of candidates were successful.

It must be noted that policing today is more of a mental exercise where officers need to have a mindset where they are sensitive, honest and efficient. But PPSC thought physical ability is more important than mental ability. In this context, it must be noted that an IPS officer selected via UPSC also joins the same/similar post – DSP or ASP but there is no such test there. Officers are given training after they join the training. Therefore, physical ability is secondary to mental make up. When right thinking people are craving for police reforms, I hope this issue also holds importance.

In the main exam, there were problems in some question papers (especially Commerce paper as told to me by Commerce students). Students could not solve some questions with the data given in the question itself. That meant that questions were set by substandard teachers and if not then surely they were not proof-read. This shows how seriously the whole process was taken by the commission.

When the results of the main exam came, some of the subjects – Botany, Zoology - had got 90% marks whereas others could not even touch 70%. These 20 marks made a lot of difference in the merit. No doubt the topper had such subjects. Again this reflects the pathetic and substandard evaluation done by the teachers who may not be well- verse with their subjects. This is quite a common part of our education system where teachers don’t know their subjects but have high degress – Phds or so.

Then a lot of discretion was put to use in the interview stage. Interview comprised 100 marks and it is here that many of the candidates were asked tough questions so that they could not say later that their interview went good but still got less marks. Again, no doubt some people got extremely less marks (around 40%) and some selected few went up till 70 – 80%. One can imagine the difference all this can make in the final merit and that too when the competition is cut-throat.

And one thing more to be added. All this is quite common in other State Public Service Commissions. The members of the commission are selected majorly by way of political contacts (no merit here even though they are supposed to uphold merit in selecting the bureaucracy).

You must have wondered as to why courts did not step in. Infact, there were litigations but it is not surprising to see that courts have often floundered in providing justice (though I still believe that Army and Judiciary are the only two institutions which have some respect left in them. Others have collapsed and degraded).

If these things continue, I am sure the so called ‘Demographic Dividend’ is bound to degenerate into ‘Demographic Nightmare’. 

Refer - http://ppsc.gov.in/

Pumping Iron - For Beginners

I have spent a considerable time in working out in the gym (close to 3 years) and even though I don’t possess a physique that is worth emulating, I have benefited a lot from the process in terms of improving my health. It is only after going through the process that I have learnt a thing or two which I thought must share through this blog.

The content may not help those who have passed the first stage – who join the gym for the first time – but I hope the beginners will immensely benefit from this.

Exercise and nutrition

Good exercise and nutrition are two sides of the same coin. People joining gym often neglect the second part and continue to eat food which are unhealthy. Depending on this diet, they neutralize whatever gains they may have made in the gym. It is known to everyone that a diet rich in protein (I am not going into fast digesting or slow digesting proteins) is helpful in gaining muscles. Some people resort to dieting (drastic reduction in one’s diet) which may further create problems. It is better that you first cut down on unhealthy food (ghee, butter, white bread (maida), sugar, potato etc) followed by a slight reduction in diet. It is always better to have small meals at regular intervals than a big meal once. Make sure you get the proteins you need in your diet. Look over the internet to check natural sources of protein (egg whites, chicken (not butter chicken please) etc). It is difficult to resist from things like chocolate cake, gulab jamun, ice cream etc but if you are able to control yourself initially, you would not have any problem later and eating healthy food eventually becomes a part of your habit.

Choosing the right trainer

In many of the gyms that I have been to, I have seen trainers who don’t know much about the exercises. In many of the cases, the trainer himself has never done any workout. Others have some experience and they try to impart the same to others. Bodybuilding (BB) is a science where every exercise has a logic behind it – which muscles to activate, when to do it etc. But if you try to ask these broscientists, they give you answers that are funny. Therefore, it is important to pick a knowledgeable trainer. If you think that he is not able to give you satisfying answers, go over the internet and learn a thing or two about the exercise that you do. Some websites that are worth seeing are:

http://www.youtube.com/user/vicsnatural

http://www.youtube.com/user/scooby1961?feature=watch

http://www.youtube.com/user/Instructionalfitness/videos?view=0

There are many others that can be referred to.

Learn your muscles

It is important that you learn your musles – biceps, triceps, deltoids, chest, abdominals, quadriceps etc so that when you do a certain exercise, it is important that you link that exercise to your muscles. Moreover, it always helps if you know what you are doing.

Protein supplements

There is a big market out there for protein supplements. Many people prefer Whey Protein which comes in various forms – isolate. Concentrate, blended etc. The good thing about these supplements is that they give you high protein which is fast digesting and with less fat (this is what people have told me. I have still not used any supplements). One thing is clear that you require proteins if you want to build muscles. So if you are able to get the required protein from your regular diet, it is well and good. But if we talk about a typical Indian diet, it is more of a balanced diet rather than a high protein and less fat diet. So a typical Indian plate would consist of a mixture of carbohydrates, fats, proteins etc. In that case, it becomes difficult to provide the proteins that we require for muscle building. People have estimated it to somewhere 0.8g per pound of your weight to 1g per pound. I don’t know about the methodology followed but if it is true, a regular diet can’t give you so much proteins. Moreover, a high protein diet is not a poor man’s diet. It is quite costly to spend on eggs, chicken, milk etc everyday. It is here protein supplements can help you in giving proteins. Arguments on whether whey protein supplements (WPS) are safe are equally strong on both sides. People who oppose WPS criticize these companies who have marketed their products well and talk about the side effects – some say kidney problems; others liver problem. That is the reason I have not been able to make up my mind. But I am sure, WPS if taken in right quantity and at right time may not pose any problem since whey is considered to be natural – byproduct of manufacture of cheese (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whey). In any case, anything taken in excess is bad. Even your pizzas or burgers.

Focus on the muscles and keep it slow

Many people who join gym for the first time observe seniors and imitate their way of exercises going fast but in the process affecting more muscles than what is required of them (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwJg6nOJ6fM). It is important to keep the motion slow and make sure your mind is focusing on the muscles that are affected – some sort of mind body connection. Keep the weights light at first and once you have mastered the motion and the focusing, gradually increase the weights. Breathing in and breathing out is as important during the process.

First toning/shaping and then mass

If you haven’t been to a gym before, it is important that you first keep the repetitions high and keep the weights heavy enough so that you are able to complete the required reps (12-15). This will allow the toning of the body and give shape to the muscles. It is after this heavy weights can be employed keeping the reps low (5-10) which will help to build mass.

Make a schedule

Again for first timers or even people re-joining gym after a long time, it is important that for the first week or so, you do a mix of all exercises (all muscles per day) so that you touch all the muscles in that period. It will also help you in toning your body. After that you can switch onto one muscle per day type of schedule.

Don’t forget the legs

People generally wish to build big biceps or chest muscles and forget the legs because it is easy to flaunt biceps and chest but legs generally stay covered. I must say that working on legs (quadriceps, hamstring, calves) is more important than everything else. Your whole body rests on legs and therefore stronger and healthy legs become important. Moreover having stronger muscles in legs help you to avoid problems in older age when people have problems in their knees – a common problem.

Even though this is not something that is something new that I have written, people generally overlook them. It is very important to mention here that doing wrong exercise may build you good muscles but the long term bad effects can cause a bigger harm that one can ever imagine.