Lucknow: What began as a voluntary effort to help aspirants navigate the daunting interview of UPSC’s Central Armed Police Forces (Assistant Commandants) examination has evolved into a cycle of mentorship, where yesterday’s beneficiaries are becoming today’s guides.The ‘Invisible Helping Hand’, a mentoring initiative founded by CISF deputy commandant Rakesh Nikhaj, has emerged as a significant support system for CAPF aspirants.This year, 61 candidates mentored through the initiative secured selection in the UPSC CAPF examination, including six candidates in the top 20 ranks. The UPSC announced the final results on Aug 7, recommending 350 candidates for appointment.Beyond the numbers, the most compelling aspect of the initiative is how former aspirants who once sought guidance are now returning to help others.Among them is Shashank Gaurav, who cleared CAPF in 2024 with AIR 57 and recently secured AIR 2 in the Bihar Public Service Commission examination.Gaurav said that Nikhaj had served as a “guiding light” during his own interview preparation. After his selection, he joined the initiative as a mentor, conducting mock interviews and helping candidates refine their detailed application forms (DAFs), hobbies, leadership experiences and communication skills.“The same experience that helped me succeed became the basis of what I shared with candidates this year,” he said.A similar journey was undertaken by Shreyash Basarge from Maharashtra, who secured AIR 275 in CAPF 2024. A beneficiary of the initiative last year, Basarge became a panel member in 2025. He focused on helping candidates understand their own stories and present them before the UPSC Board.“The interview syllabus is essentially your life journey. My role was to help candidates recognise their strengths and present them authentically,” Basarge said.For Arpita Gupta, now a geophysicist with the Geological Survey of India and AIR 16 in UPSC CGSE 2022, mentoring is a way of giving back. “Interview stress can cause even the best-prepared candidates go blank. Since panels probe extensively, candidates often forget details they have themselves written. That is where focused mentoring makes a difference,” she said.Akanksha Vishwakarma from Madhya Pradesh, who secured AIR 3 in CAPF 2025, said her mock interview was conducted by Basarge and Gaurav.Similarly, Lucknow’s Abhishek Vishwakarma, who secured AIR 9, credited the initiative’s feedback-driven mock interview process for helping him improve key aspects of his personality test performance.For Nikhaj, supported by fellow mentors including civil services educators Abhishek Gautam and Amit Akshay, and Gurugram University assistant professor Dr Anamika, the initiative’s growing success reflects the strength of peer learning.“As more successful candidates return to mentor aspirants, ‘Invisible Helping Hand’ is creating a self-sustaining ecosystem where those once helped become helping hands themselves,” said Nikhaj, a 2012-batch grade A officer posted in New Delhi.Earlier in 2024, 53 aspirants, guided by Invisible Helping Hand, had cleared UPSC CAPF, and in 2025, 86 candidates made it through the interview.
