Ex-civil servants Sudhir Chandra, PJ Thomas, others start UPSC interview coaching centre, Anugrah

A NUMBER of former civil servants and experts, many of whom were on UPSC interview board earlier, have started a low cost coaching and customized guidance centre in New Delhi to train IAS aspirants for interviews. Named Anugrah, this Delhi-based organization says, it will give priority to those who hail from rural and disadvantaged backgrounds, though anyone including those who have not yet cleared the civil services mains examination, may enroll at the centre. Former civil servants who are guiding the young aspirants for the UPSC personality test include…

Sudhir Chandra, former chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), PJ Thomas, former union telecom secretary, SK Goel, former chairman, Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), PC Sharma, former CBI director, just to name a few. The other experts who train the aspirants are N Bhaskara Rao, founder of Centre for Media Studies, Dr OP Yadava, a cardiac surgeon, VS Das, former executive director in Reserve Bank of India, Ankur Aggarwal, advisor, Investment Banking Team, UBS, and Prof Vinay Kumar Nangia, formerly with IIT Roorkee.

The guidance is being carried out both in Hindi and English.

The applicants can register by March 31, 2016 by filling up a detailed application form. The email for communication as shown in the website is: info at ianugrah dot com. The organization says, it also welcomes students prior to the declaration of the civil services mains results. It writes in its website,“Prior to the declaration of results of the Mains Examination, it would be advisable for the candidates to seek an appointment in Jan-Feb 2016 for a day with experts of Anugrah for preliminary customized guidance - for understanding their strengths and weaknesses. This would help them to prepare in a focused manner for the personality test”. After the mains results, qualified candidates will then be asked for scheduling a personalized discussion session and mock interviews etc. with Anugrah experts. “Based on the Main Examination results and background of each registered aspirant, the number of Interview sessions required would be indicated so that up to two days are blocked by you to be with Anugrah in New Delhi”, its website adds.

Unlike the commercial coaching centres, Anugrah has kept a very nominal fee structure. For obtaining preliminary customized guidance, the fee is Rs 1,100, and for those who join the sessions after clearing the mains examination, the fee is Rs 2,100. The centre adds that it would consider weaving of fees for those may have difficulty in paying or are differently abled.

Yes, for civil servant aspirants, one more coaching avenue is born.