It’s easy to miss Samkalp Bhavan in Paharganj’s Aram Bagh, on a narrow street dotted with small buildings. The white plaque announcing its existence is inconspicuous.

But residents say the Bhavan, run by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), is always buzzing with activity, especially during that time of the year when young Civil Services aspirants, having cleared the two stages of the examinations conducted by the Union Public Service Commission, throng here for mock interviews and later for orientation camps.

“We serve free food to students while they train here for the interviews. Even the fees are nominal. It’s a social service initiative to help students from disadvantaged sections,” Anand Kumar, coordinator, Samkalp, says.

For the exams in 2007, as many as 825 out of 1,875 examinees called for the final interviews enrolled at Samkalp for mock viva voce classes. On Friday, when the final results came out, 295 of them students had made it to the Civil Services.

Besides mock interview sessions, Samkalp, set up in 1986, also offers coaching for the Civil Services Mains examination for a paltry sum of Rs 5,000 in its RK Puram branch and hostel facilities for the aspirants in its three hostels spread across Delhi. For the interviews, it charges a nominal fee of Rs 500.

“It is indeed the hub for IAS aspirants who are preparing for final interviews. The fees are minimal and the guidance is imparted through seasoned bureaucrats and academicians,” explains Ranjan Kumar Singh, an ABVP activist and Samkalp student who ranked 257 on this year’s UPSC list.

... contd.