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I have cleared the Whitehat interview with high scores 96+ and 100 in final round.These are my neutral views about the entire interview process and thereafter. Yeah, a bit lengthy to include all the details!Interview processOnline application: Those with IT background or degree get a preference for telephonic call. Me and my non IT friends applied at the same time.Telephonic Interview: Basic info asked like qualification, availability of computer/laptop and broadband at home (mobile hotspot and jiofi doesn't work well with their website). Your communication skills and english fluency is also checked here. Flexible timings are explained and you can ask queries at this point of time.Email: You will get an email with access to Whitehat Jr website. You will be able to access a pdf document with the exact content to present. It's not necessary to learn everything by heart, but the gist and order have to the same.Technical Requirement check call: You need to set up your computer, which includes latest browser and configuration of microphone and speaker. The same will be checked online via a technical meeting. The same person will also explain their software user interface and you can ask queries about the demo at this point.Demo One: The interviewers are warm and friendly at all the stages. They will ask you to tell something about yourself and your educational / professional experience. Also, your intent of joining whitehat. Be prepared with a nice answer. This que will be asked in all demo rounds. If you are really good at communication, english fluency, interactive, you will get through this round easily. Min passing percentage is 46%, as told by interviewer to me. For this round you have to prepare the content from the pdf, which is a demo for intermediate level. Consider yourself teaching to an 8 year old kid. You have create your login as well as a login for student as well. You get points for easy student login names like [email protected] and passwords like 12345678. You need to learn a bit about the coding platform and practice it a bit, if you want to score high. They ask questions like change the color to sky blue instead, which can be simply done by writing ‘skyblue'. The app simulator doesn't work well. Instead download the apk file and install the demo applications in your mobile phone (provided by them in the pdf, as a google drive link). The other points to take care here are to specify really little things like explaining the child how to switch to full screen..eg: “below the video panel, you will see an orange panel with a button with orange fonts called FullScreen with 4 arrows. Could you please click on that?” Their app doesn't work well when full screen and share screen is done at the same time (issue similar to hangouts meet video inside video), so that's something to remember. Time management is another challenge. First 10 mins can be counted for warm up, next 10 mins for explanation of code and concepts, another 15 mins for the student to code himself/herself and 10 mins for parent pitch (to convince parents to register), all in total 45 mins. Practice with a timer and you can do well here. The results are immediately conveyed during the call itself and you will also get an email, plus whitehat dashboard will be updated with the demo prep material for next round. I was asked if I was comfortable with hands on coding and since I was, I was moved to interview for PRO level. Being a straightforward person, I asked the interviewer about all the negative reviews on social media platform by few candidates. Confirmed about flexible timings (since that was my priority), about trial class for Rs 50 and paid for 325, as mentioned here in this post itself. I was told about Minimum pay guarantee. So, I moved ahead with the demo round 2.Demo 2: All the points mentioned above have to be repeated here as well. For me, I wasn't aware of all those points, so that helped me with this round. Min passing score is 86% here. The interviewer was warm and friendly here again, but a senior one. I got another pdf for PRO and had to prepare that , keeping the same points in mind. Main point to consider is time management (which needs practice with a timer). In all rounds, you are not supposed to look at the pdf or even keep it open in their website during the session. It's difficult to remember all the points, so I had created a point wise list and kept it at the base of my laptop, just to refer the right order. Another point to take care is their software panel and guidance for the smallest activity like sharing game secret code on chat and guiding student to open chat, double click and click on Ctrl+C. Yes, it has to be this basic. You have to keep smiling. Keep your energy levels same or move energy level towards higher end, never the opposite. You have to be very interactive, but also watch at the time. 3 grammatical mistakes and you will be rejected (as communicated by the interviewer). You have to be really fluent and good at english. I scored 96% here. Here, again I confirmed about the pay, timings and anything else if I should know. I was conveyed the same.Demo 3: This round happens with their Director Teacher. The min score to clear this round is 96%. I had practiced P5 a lot during this round prep, read all about it's background, learnt much more concepts from coding train videos from youtube. However, that was just for my curious brain and personal interest. For beginner, intermediate and other levels, you might just want to get acclamatized with the editor you are provided to work on. For intermediate and PRO, the editors were different. You will be asked to code a small program here, in this round. Demo 2 interviewer had shared some sample program outputs for me to try, which I had completed and shared back to her. Eg: 2 balls moving from screen corners to merge at the bottom of screen and a paddle that moves along with mouse, four balls moving from centre to the corners. I tried out a couple other things from the youtube videos and just for fun. I was able to complete the coding within 1 to 1.5 mins, due to sufficient practice already. Again, the interviewer was warm and friendly. I cleared this round with 100% score. The interviewer informed me that I have to take at least 20 slots in day time and rest can be in night slot. However, I was just interested in daytime, so all 30 hrs can be during the day, as confirmed by him.Getting prepared: You will receive a couple of mails.Link to fill up a google form with your personal detailsDownload the contract with pay details and some info. Print the hard copy, sign it , scan and upload it.Download anydesk and install it for technical checks. You will be asked to keep speedtest tab open to check with min bandwidth requirements.You will have to complete a video tutorial, which encompasses all the company policies and benefits (approx 6 to 7 hrs). Every section would contain a test along with it. You would require 80 percent in this test to move ahead, which is pretty easy, if you watch the video tutorial. The pay, timings, cancelation, their dashboard usages, promotions, any ifs and buts are all mentioned in the video.You will be contacted by Technical team again to check the speedtest output for bandwidth. They will ask for the session request to anydesk for access to your laptop/PC. All they do here is to check the computer configurations (model, OS, hardware and other settings). It's at this point I was told that the timing would be 2pm to 9pm for Monday to Friday and 9am to 9pm for sat sunday. If you agree, you will move ahead to next induction round.Induction round: You will be inducted and you can ask any queries here at this point. Post this point, you get started with the trial classes. Once your trial class gets converted into paid class, you can start earning.Here's, my two cents on the entire process and policies:PRO:Entire interview process is extremely smooth. All interviewers are warm, friendly, supportive and co-operative. They help you well with anything you need for the demo.Results for any round are declared right then and there. You don't have to wait for the results.The preparation material is more than enough for anyone to prepare. However, the expectations aren't mentioned, which are explained in Demo one anyways. So, all good.You get an opportunity to learn the programming concepts (if you are from a non IT background). I don't have experience with computer graphics and gaming apps. I loved preparing and learning new concepts. This seemed an opportunity for me to learn coding for gaming apps and AI at the same time. I am fluent with other programming skills, so it's easy to pick up.The support channel (email for teacher recruits) is good. They get back to you with any queries and respond back generally within one day.For my final demo, i had thunderstorm at my place, due to which I had power cut and broadband issues, which were considered eventually, owing to genuine reasons. They did reschedule it later.The internet expenses can be reimbursed upto ₹1500 per month.You get paid for teacher and student referrals. They follow MLM marketing model for teachers. If you are interested and good at that, you might enjoy working and earning there.Even if you don't get trial classes converted to paid classes, you get a min pay guarantee (₹10k for first month, ₹20k for second month and ₹25k for third month for a min of 120 slots per month, differs for other slots 160/240) - of course with some catchThey have online groups like workplace for teacher collaboration. Webinars are conducted for upscaling your knowledge base. They have a LMS (Learning management System) to help with your course curriculum and it's prep.Every activity is automated via their website. You can schedule your slots using their calendar, view compliments from students, give project/student feedback online via their websiteCONNon Transparent. The interviewer panel and the requirements team aren't in sync. The flexible timings being mentioned till the final round selection is changed later based on the current requirement. This step puts a cap on flexibility or earning using night shifts (if you are focused on added earnings). You can proceed further only if you agree with the mentioned timings.UPS or inverter isn't mentioned as a basic requirement. However, if you have major and multiple power cuts at your place, you might want to get one, at least for your laptop and wifi router/modem, to avoid class cancellations. To avail any kind of leave, you have to plan 21 days in advance. Anything apart from medical emergency isn't counted. You are allowed 6 cancellations in a month. Post that you are levied penalty that is almost the double of your per class income. Cancellations affect your income, only if there's a booked class for that slot. After total 9 cancellations, they can take an action on your profile and block, if they feel so. For broadband issues, nothing has been clearly specified with these regards, just asked to get in touch with their tech team.I would have appreciated if their website could use video calls at lower data usage, similar to whatsapp or google duo. This enforces broadband connection with minimum 15Mbps connection at both the ends (tutor and student). In cases of broadband issues, you cannot have a backup connection.You have to start with trial classes (₹50 per class for day shift and ₹100 for night shift). Once you are able to convince someone to convert to paid class, you get ₹325 per class for day shift and ₹425 for night shift. Until you convert, you have to keep working with the trial classes. You need to be patient and better with your sales/parent pitch. Till then, you can rely on min pay guarantee, if you follow all the rules.You are eligible for min pay guarantee for that month only if you join before 20th of that month.The video tutorial induction focusses more on how to earn more, instead of how to improve your teaching skills or how to spread knowledge. It focusses mainly on improving the business and earnings by teacher. I do believe that's an imp step for any business to survive, but an equal importance has to be given to knowledge base as well. I had headache after first few videos, learning about their policies, earning model and answering math like que on how much will you earn if…The earning model and policies are too complex. It feels like reading a legal business clause!The claim to earn 1L or 2L per month is based on multiple factors. You should expect yourself working for 8 to 9 hours per day, instead of a flexi/part time in order to earn that amount. That includes promotion to mentor, multiple assigned mentees, promotion to director, referrals, and booking maximum high surge slots. If you are comfy with that, this job is for you.Being a learning enthusiast and a passionate knowledge spreader, I feel the content to be very spoon fed. While many extraordinary kids will also learn on their own, however, this content won't help them build apps on their own. I learnt the language for the first time during demo prep & I felt the basic concepts were missing there.Personally, I didn't like the MLM business model for teaching. It never works for a long time. Consider amway and modicare as examples. Unless you are interested in such business model, this job isn't for you.I guess that's it! Read well and decide for yourself, if the job suits you well and vice versa. 🙂P.S: I didn't join the teaching platform, due to their non transparent approach during the interviews. It appeared misleading and just a luring tactic to hire, while it could have been a sync issue as well. Flexible timings was the USP as per the advertisement, which didn't work out later. Regardless, any experience teaches you well. You can go ahead and decide once you clear the demo rounds. You will at least learn a few more tips for online interactive teaching.

Namaskāram Everyone.I am writing this answer after I got many responses on what was my CA Final strategies after posting this answer:Rohith Krishnan Harikrishnan (रोहित कृष्णन हरिकृष्णन)'s answer to How were your CA final results in 2020?Please read the above answer before you read this.Well, to be frank, this question is too personal. Things which worked in my favour may not work in others' favour and vice-versa. I used to ask such questions to those who passed on what was their strategies. Different people gave me different opinions (some of them were contradictory too). Anyway, certain things will surely work for everyone.MY BACKDROPI appeared for IPCC Group I alone only due to some reason. I actually went to the exam hall expecting to fail in the exam as my preparations were poor (I can't say I didn't prepare but it was not up to the mark). But I somehow cleared it. But I prepared well for the Second group so as to make for my bad prep in Group I. I would say it was my best prep till that time.Once I appeared for Group II exams, I joined for articleship in my father's firm. The firm is somewhat small but there were enough compliance-related work. Anyway, I cleared group II with an exemption for Advanced Account and Auditing due to the effort I put in.Our firm didn't have any serious audit to say except for statutory bank audit as our firm was located in an area that was upgraded to a Municipality from Panchayat recently. But there were enough GST (initially VAT) filing work, Income Tax filing work, company filing and concurrent audit of bank branches.I was really exposed to GST registration, ITC, Value of supply, exemptions, refund (only one small case), return filing, e-way bill. Similarly, we did income tax filing of individuals, proprietorship firms, partnership firms, and small companies. Our firm also has RoC filing relating to company registration, annual return, charge creation, director appointment/retirement/resignment/removal, board report preparation. RoC filings other than registration were not seriously done (in fact non-existent) in our firm. In order to regularise other filings, I had to refer to the Companies Act. We also undertook the preparation of project reports for getting loans from financial institutions.So, I had practical exposure in GST, Income Tax (not those complex areas), Corporate laws (mostly in Accounts, Audit, Director chapters). Project reports helped to a little extent in SFM and AMA. My experience in concurrent audit helped me to visualise in learning ISCA. But I didn’t have that much exposure in Accounting standards, Auditing standards, International Taxation, Corporate Taxation.Being in my father’s firm and being an only male article in the firm, I had to spend more time in the office than others. In our firm, girls are not allowed to work beyond 6 pm. Besides, I used to do work at home to professionalise our work as it was my father’s firm. I would sleep immediately after coming from the office.My parents pushed me on the weekends for an AMA class in the initial period of articleship. It didn’t help me as it was attended three years before my exam. Similarly, I attended crash classes for SFM and Audit two years before my exams as there was less work during that time. It was again a wrong decision as it didn’t help me with the exam. In nutshell, I wasted my time without studying but ended up having some practical exposure.I took 5 months leave for the examination. I did have leave as the only major leave I took was for my SFM and Audit class and I overworked a lot. I attended a class for ISCA. The objective of the faculty was to remove the fear with respect to the subject. He simply advised us to mug up important points.Another big mistake I did was I studied Company law using the bare Act. Time has elapsed by the time I understood the mistake. I switched to Munish Bhandari but didn’t have the time to go for allied law. I also wasted a lot of time on studying auditing standards by referring to the bare standards.I screwed up my first group prep. In the end, I decided to appear for Group I alone as I didn’t study any paper in group I. I also wasted time in Quora (I started getting active in Quora at that time) and YouTube (especially towards the end of my prep). One good thing about me is that I try to study a topic very thoroughly even by referring to google. I will go any extent to clarify a thing. This has a negative side to it: I take a hell lot of time to study. I may cover only 1–3 pages in an hour while others may cover 10 pages within that time.I have registered for a test series. I could only give away 1–2 tests for each subject as I have screwed up my prep and also those guys want the students to send the papers physically and had an early due date.Anyway, I appeared for the exam. I literally cursed myself in the exam hall as I felt that had I prepared well I could have performed better. Exams were not that bad. I had a belief somewhere in my mind that I may pass the examination as I have written all I know very well. I never aimed to complete the paper but aimed to write what I know in a perfect manner.I rejoined at my firm after the exam. By the time results came, my articleship was finished. I passed Group I with very good marks. As mentioned in the earlier answer, a sense of arrogance that “CA exams are easy” grew in me. I was too idiot to forget that I put some effort into my Group I prep but might not be up to the mark.This arrogance doesn’t let me prepare for Group II. Like I mentioned in the previous answer, I wasted my time in Quora and YouTube. I attended a class for IDT. He helped me understand the initial concepts of GST, but he didn’t make us solve any problem in the classroom and skipped other areas of GST and didn’t take the Customs part properly. So literally, I didn’t do any sums in IDT.I studied the text of Bhanwar Borana but didn’t solve a single problem. I was stuck with two chapters in ISCA. For AMA, solved the problems in QT (it covers only 30% syllabus) part but largely ignored costing portion. I didn’t practice any test paper at that time.Like I mentioned in the previous answer, exams were postponed due to the Lok Sabha elections but still, I screwed it.But I appeared exams with sheer arrogance. Anyway, I lost all of my arrogance once I appeared in the examination. But I hoped some miracles will happen. I rejoined the firm and stayed there till my results came. I passed in all the subjects except DT and was way below the aggregate required to clear the group. It ended my winning streak in public examinations.All I had was 2.5 months. This time I applied for Test Series (different guys). I decided to solve as many problems as possible. I solved all the problems once and the difficult/ unique one which I marked initially at least twice. I did research on previous question papers and found that chapters 3 & 6 are important in ISCA.Though I prepared a time table, I couldn’t stay true to it as I take time to learn plus I cannot study for more than 10 hours a day. I solved all the test papers except the last series of all subjects. Test series was a game-changer as it helped me to analyse my strengths and weaknesses.I deactivated my Quora Account and surrendered my phone to my Amma (mother). She had slightly sacrificed her profession as she was a bit guilty that she didn’t properly look after my previous prep.I appeared for the exam. In none of the exam, I could not complete the paper. For ISCA, I couldn’t complete as some of the questions came from areas that I didn’t prepare well. For DT and IDT, I didn’t have the time even though I was familiar with most of the questions. I expected exemption for ISCA and 50+ for IDT and 40+ for DT (as I completed half of the paper only in the last hour)The last exam was AMA which was postponed due to Ayodhya verdict was a real headache. I could answer only for 32 marks in the first 2 hours and was rushing like anything in the last hour. I ended up answering for 84 marks. I have gone for the theory section (16 marks) as I felt that I didn’t have time to solve the problem section. When I discussed the answer with my friends after exams I was literally going down as they got different answers than mine. I felt that I may fail in the exam. I never felt anything in my last failure as I invited it. But I may not be able to cope with failure in the current attempt as I put up the best prep in my entire student life at that time.I lost all the confidence I acquired from the first three exams after that exam. But my mother consoled me. Even though she knew nothing about my curriculum (She is an engineer), she insisted me to solve the question paper by referring to the textbook. It was a bit of relief as I was felt that I may get marks to just clear the paper. But I feared that I may not get the group aggregate.I again rejoined the firm and attended my MCS course. I really enjoyed my MCS and made new friends there. Then the result date was announced. I went to the office in the morning and tried not to discuss the topic of the result with my officemates as I feared that if results were negative, I will be embarrassed in front of them.I didn’t go to the office afternoon. I kept on refreshing the website. All of a sudden the website showed that results were announced. Till that time, I was feeling at ease. But suddenly my heart started beating so much. I entered the roll number but the site showed error twice. When it worked, I was literally:WHAT? I WAS SPEECHLESSI cleared the group. That’s okay?But got exemption in all the papers. The biggest shock was that I got 72 for AMA (paper I expected not to cross 40). I got 281 for the entire group: 81 marks more than I require to clear the group.LEAVING ASIDE THE STORY, WHAT ARE GOOD STRATEGY FOR CA FINAL.I belong to the old stream but I think it applies even to the new stream also.FINANCIAL REPORTINGI would say there is nothing better than ICAI study material. It is superb and ICAI did a superb job in making it student-friendly. But they made the terrible mistake of withdrawing the Practice Manual (Oldies can download PM from ICAI’s site). Solving more and more questions are important. Even if you know everything, without practice you may find it difficult during exams. Alternatively, I recommend MP Vijayakumar Sir’s Book as some find it great (I didn’t use it). I skipped both consolidation and amalgamation topics and attempted only for 84 marks. I solved the entire problems in SM and PM and solved the questions I marked as important (unique/difficult) twice.I have attended a class but the faculty had dedicated a hell lot of time for consolidation (which I anyway skipped). But his method of solving valuation was fine. Alternatively, you can watch video classes of Sarthak Jain on YouTube. Classes are in Hindi, but I managed to understand as FR is a problematic paper.You can be selective in the old syllabus by skipping either consolidation or amalgamation or both (like me).I got 58 for FR (out of 84)STRATEGIC FINANCIAL MANAGEMENTI got a PDF of Aditya Jain Sir which consists of important formulas. I did a terrible mistake of copying it into a notebook which destroyed my time. But CA Mayank Kothari came to my help. Please join his Telegram Group. He hosted in the group a PDF that consists of unique questions from SM and PM. I solved the entire questions twice. So Aditya Jain’s Formula + Mayank Kothari’s Questions helped. In the exam, I solved a 12 mark question using the wrong formula.Still, I got 68 for SFMADVANCED AUDITING AND PROFESSIONAL ETHICSThe paper I scored highest in IPCC and lowest in the Final. Frankly speaking, I don’t know how I prepared for it. I don’t know whether I can suggest a good strategy for it.One thing is sure: You have to use technical words like “assertions”, “corroborative audit evidence”, “sufficient appropriate audit evidence”.I used the bare standard for learning auditing standards. I have gone through only the initial part and skipped the explanatory part (which form a major chunk of bare text). Even then it really cost me time but it helped me to have a good understanding of standards instead of mugging up it. If you have time, go for it.I won’t recommend Surbhi Bansal’s text as it is not up to mark. The text simply specifies things without giving any idea to the chapter.I didn’t study the Company audit chapter because I had a good grip over it thanks to my good prep in IPCC and also because of our RoC filing in office. I have gone through only PM for that chapter. I used SM and PM for Ethics which is actually a scoring chapter. I again relied on SM+PM for Insurance, Co-op Societies, NBFC, PSU, etc. I just skimmed through the Bank Audit chapter and relied on my practical experience. I skipped topics like LODR.Additionally, I watched some of the videos of Sarthak Jain (he takes classes for Auditing also).I got 51 marks for Audit.CORPORATE AND ALLIED LAWSInitially, I have gone for the bare Act. It is good but the problem is that you won’t get the “linking thing”. In Law, you can’t read a section in isolation. You have to interlink a section with another. They won’t ask for direct questions. They will give you a situation and you have to give a legal opinion. In order to answer it, we need to know all sections and also the implication of one section on another.Without a second thought, I would suggest Munish Bhandari. I used this book for IPCC. But I was using bare Act (actually the Act I was reading had amendments which were not applicable for my exams). Then one of my senior friends suggested using Munish Sir’s book.I had to relearn again as I used the amended Act. I learned all the chapters in the Companies Act. I tried to remember important section numbers (sometimes sub-section numbers). I never try to learn them but somehow they get registered in my mind (maybe because I like numbers).I have learned IBC, SCRA, FEMA (I skipped FEMA regulations), Interpretation of statutes, Banking Regulation Act. I skipped the SEBI Act, SARFAESI Act. I skimmed through the PML and Competition Act on the last day (though it didn’t register in my mind).Munish Sir’s book is actually great. He gives solved problems after each topic. He uses technical yet understandable language. He gives us that “linking thing”.I got 55 for Law.ADVANCED MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTINGWell, I attended a class for it but it was three years prior to the exam and I didn’t take exams seriously back then. So effectively, I did a self-study.I relied only on the practice manual. I purchased Paduka’s book. The benefit is that it will have important formulas in front of the book (I purchased book only for that purpose and have not solved a single problem from the book).I solved all the questions from PM at least once. I solved all marked questions from topic other than marginal and standard costing at least once (I didn’t have the time to solve Standard and marginal costing questions twice). I never solved any question from SM.Withdrawal of PM is a bad thing from Institutes’ part. In the absence of PM, I would recommend Paduka’s book for solving questions. I used it for my IPCC. The problem is that it is very vast. It is a Himalayan task even to complete our PM. Paduka is bigger than PM but it will be worthy.I got 72 for AMAINFORMATION SYSTEMS CONTROL AND AUDITTo be frank, this is the least risky paper among all the 8 papers. The entire text is 400 pages and they can’t ask outside these 400 pages. The problem is our fear and lack of understanding. You can answer all the questions in the exam if you study everything.After my initial failure, I did an analysis of previous question papers. The favourite Chapter of ICAI is the smallest one: Chapter 6 (37 pages) because it is the audit chapter. Around 15–20 marks (including MCQ) come from this chapter alone. You have to study Chapter 3 before this as Chapter 3 talks about Control (C in ISCA) and Chapter 6 talks about Audit (A in ISCA). I have studied everything in Chapter 6 even if you feel that certain portions are not worthy of asking in the examination. I not only learned important points but also tried to learn important sentences in Chapter 6. I revised chapter 6 like 7–8 times and Chapter 3 (another important one) for 3–4 times.Additionally, I have studied Chapters 5 and 8 and revised them at least 3 times. I started off with Chapters 1 and 2. But unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to revise them (I did a partial revision). I completely skipped Chapter 7.I used various tricks like mnemonics, visualisation, etc to learn main points. Except for Chapter 6, I didn’t make an effort to learn (though I read them) the contents.The Key to ISCA is revision. The more you revise, the better they will be registered in your mind. Mantra for ISCA is Revision, Revision, and Revision. If I study a topic morning, I will revise in the night. Then again after 5 days and again after two weeks.I got 69 for ISCANote: I don’t have any idea about the elective paper in the new Syllabus. I would recommend Bhanwar Borana for International Taxation and Munish Bhandari for Economic Law.DIRECT TAXATIONI have not gone for any classes for DT. The only book I can recommend is Bhanwar Borana. Purchase both his material and question bank.His material looks like handwritten notes and have a good presentation to make us understand the concepts. I can vouch it is the best because all those who used I know scored good marks for DT.A terrible mistake I did in my first attempt was learning his material only. I never shed my sweat to do problems from his question bank. Since I covered his material in the first attempt, I straight away started solving problems from his question bank. You can complete the book in 25 days. I solved important problems twice.The bare Act was useful. I never made the mistake of learning the bare Act only for DT. I would refer to the bare Act whenever I had doubts. Additionally, my experience in the office was helpful (not that much because our firm doesn’t have those complex tax cases).The mantra for DT is again Practice, Practice, and nothing else. Solve Bhanwar Sir’s Question Bank at least twice (all question once and difficult/unique one twice).I secured 64 for DTINDIRECT TAXATIONYeah, the subject for which I got the highest mark: 76.The clear winner is ICAI’s study material. Nothing can beat ICAI’s study material (same held true for IPCC). Their presentation is absolutely brilliant. Nobody can beat it. I don’t have words to describe it.I attended a class for IDT. The faculty took 7 days to teach chapter 2–8. He taught the subject in the linking style. Eg: When he taught us the definition of goods, the immovable property came up. He immediately taught exemption relating to immovable property and place of supply for immovable property.His downfall was that he had not made us solve problems in the classroom and had taught other topics in a hurry due to lack of time. But he laid a good foundation to solve problems. Another big challenge was the implementation of the GST Amendment Act, 2018. I had to forget many things I learned in the previous attempt and had to learn new things.I had good practical exposure in GST when compared to many others. I was involved in GST registration, filing monthly returns, annual returns, e-way bill. I had good exposure in ITC, value, time and place of supply. I didn’t any exposure in areas like Appeals, investigation, refund (though I had very basic experience in refund). I had virtually no exposure in Customs (but only forms 25%).Since IDT had no PM (SM was the same for both syllabi), I used the question bank of CA Vishal Bhattad. Some say CA Yogendra Bangar’s book is also. The questions in Vishal Sir’s are arranged section-wise and it also has 1000+ MCQ questions.In addition, I have a special love towards taxation papers as we have to use a lot of our analytical skills to interpret a case.Well, I scored 76 for IDT.TEST SERIESAn important thing that really helped me was doing Test series. It is really an important thing which contributes to your success.I have registered for a test series for Group I. Due to lack of time, I could only go for one paper each for each subject. Additionally, those guys required us to send the physical copies by post. It would take at least 10 days to get them corrected and they won’t accept papers sent after certain cut off date.I have registered for Test series for group II in my failed attempt and have not written a single paper in that attempt.But I changed test series guys last time. I have gone for GM test Series this time: CA Final Test Series | CA Test Series | CA Inter IPCC Test SeriesThey divide the entire subject into five and conduct five tests from each portion and one test for the entire portion. You can download questions once you register on their site. Once you answer questions, scan the paper and upload it to their site. They will correct the paper within 5 days.They have two schemes: Scheduled and unscheduled. In Scheduled, they will give you a date for each state like SFM Test 1 on February 21. Unscheduled, there won't be any date, you can write the test whenever you want. I opted for unscheduled :I had only 2 months for exam preparation and some of their tests have already started when I registered.I didn't have the choice to select the chapters which feel I want to study first. Eg: I may like to study PGBP of DT first, they may be having a test for PGBP only at the end.Everything else is the same. Plus we have an option to clarify our doubts. They even provide notes like practice questions and practice MCQs (I didn't have the time to solve them). Price is ₹ 375 per subject and they give full value to your money. They give you time till the day before the actual exams start to upload the scanned PDF.I think CA Test Series also is good (I don't know). Don't go for the Conferenza test series. They give you an offer that they will refund the money if we score 40+ marks for all the tests. The problem is:They will check the entire paper only after receiving all the papers. The objective of any test series is to understand our strengths and weaknesses and work accordingly. What is the use if you come to know about this just a week before the exam.The refund thing may tempt us to cheat. We may try to solve the questions by referring the book to get the money back.Some more tipsI never compromised on my sleep. I slept for at least 6 hours a day. Whenever a slept for fewer hours it really affected my studies.I exercised daily. I didn’t do heavy exercises. It was mostly yogasanas. Surya namaskaras.I practiced Yoga. I do pranayamas and most importantly Dhyana (meditation). I did meditation thrice a day to bring me into study mood. Dhyana is like recharge your mind.I reduced the consumption of rice and gave up all junkies (it has become a habit). I used to love biscuits but I gave up them now. I will have only a handful of rice while having more curries with them. You won’t feel sleepy in the afternoon.I would go for a problematic paper in the afternoon session.I could not study a subject for more than 1.5 hours. I study for 30 minutes, then take a 5-minute break (I will not think anything related to study during the break) and will have 3 sessions like that. After having a 15-minute break, I will take a new subject. Some people like to study a single subject in a day. This thing is quite personal.Don’t think about the number of pages you covered or the number of days for the exam. Keep studying as if tomorrow is the exam.Study everything by understanding the concepts. Don’t mug up unless you have no other options.Stay away from social media. If your exams are nearing, this should be the last answer you should be reading before exams. Deactivate all social media accounts and hand over all gadgets to your parents. Switch to some base model and avoid those guys who waste your time.Have some cheat days. Go outside to places like Temple/ mosque/ gurudwara/ church/ another place which won’t bring unwanted distractions.Try to improve your language.I think I have covered everything here. I know everything which worked for me won’t work for another person.Best of luck with your exams.Feel free to message if you have any doubt. I really like helping people. It's like a hobby to me because I believe in:“Mānava sēva Mādhava sēva”“Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”I dedicate my Success to:MY Achan (father), Amma (mother), Anujan (brother)My GurusMookambika Amma, Subrahmanya swamy (our town deity not the economist), Guruvayurappan, Udupi Krishna, Swamy Ayyappan and all those who helped me in this journey.With love & Care✍️ CA HaRo ❤️❤️❤️❤️VASUDHAIVA KUTUMBAKAM❤️Sorry for any grammatical errors. Suggestions are welcomed in the comment section below.

Desegregation and Affirmative Action are theoretically entirely different policies but they are two different nameplates on the same idea that race is a “problem” that must be “fixed” in a racially anti-discriminating way based on the dubious idea of “proportional representation” that the correct number of any group in any school or career is exactly the same as the population, excluding fields like sports or entertainment that are dominated by minorities.Anything that De Blasio implements is going to have to be consistent with the settlement in San Francisco’s Lowell High School where judges ruled that school districts can NOT use race quotas as a final reason for school assignment. Race policy always says they fight discrimination which means treating people the same regardless of race, then imposes proportional quotas which actually treats people different because of race. That’s the scam they always get away with. The 1983 consent decree that claimed to stop assignment of students by race REQUIRED assignment by race if they did not meet a racial quota. I’ll bet old Henry Der is still defending anti-Chinese quotas.What’s the correct percentage of black nuclear physicists or Google programmers? About 10 percent. You don’t need to know anything else except US census figures. What’s the correct percentage of female attack helicopter pilots, firefighters, javascript programmers at Amazon or brain surgeons or FAA air controllers? Without knowing anything about the actual qualifications of any population, any ivy league educated judge knows it’s always 50 percent.Any “Diversity and Inclusion Officer TM” worth their $150,000 salary and $2M CEO who hires her and fires people like the hapless Google memo guy knows the MOST IMPORTANT JOB OF ANY CORPORATION IS TO PROMOTE DIVERSITY AND SMASH WHITE MALE CISGENDER PRIVILEGE. If you thought business school teaches that the mission of Ford, Amazon FAA or Waste Management was making cars, software, or making sure airplanes don’t crash into each other, or even collecting garbage you are mistaken. This is not how a totalitarian system that puts politics first is supposed to work.Historically few high schools have tried to implement affirmative action. The most prominent case in the 90s was San Franciso’s Lowell high school which was under a “desegregation” consent decree order. In theory desegregation is supposed to ELIMINATE racial segregation. In the beginning, segregation was simply closing off schools entirely to black students, which is obviously wrong. However it evolved to the idea that any schools with TOO MANY of one race was TOO FEW of another race. Black students would get a better education if they had FEWER Chinese classmates. Does anybody believe that for a moment?Henry Der got way too little recognition for being one of the only Asians WORKING AGAINST THE INTERESTS OF CHINESE STUDENTS AND PARENTS. His organization Chinese For Affirmative Action should have been called Chinese For Affirmative Action Against Chinese because they got paid off to justify the quota set up so that no group was more than 50 percent. Since the Chinese in many neighborhoods WERE AT 50 PERCENT OF THE POPULATION. Lowell was a competitive examination school, and knowing how well Chinese do at test scores, especially math, you can imagine that they got way more than 50% of the best scores.Guess how they fixed the “problem” of too many Chinese? The “desegregation” order fixed this by setting a quota. Now you might wonder didn’t the Bakke case make quotas illegal? Well the courts thought so … in colleges, and affirmative action, but this was “desegregation”, not a quota. Yeah right. I swear I don’t think a single Asian American besides myself ever complained that this policy was stupid, evil or both.Gary Orfield, Ph.D. — The Civil Rights Project at U CLA is the most famous proponent of desegregation consent decrees, any liberal on Quora will sing his praises. His books all prove that every school system that is “segregated” by any number of measures has poorer outcomes than affluent white suburban school districts. However it does not follow that desegregation therefore must be the obvious fix without any evidence that would or ever did work. Who benefits? People like Henry Der whose salary was paid by the court ordered consent decree. Affirmative action really benefits the people who have made a multi million dollar industry about fixing America’s race problems as opposed to the very small number of admission spots at Harvard and Stanford that is only the 0.000001% (I exaggerate but you get the idea it is way less than 1 digit) of the African American population that could possibly benefit from such preferences, the flip side being the 0.001% of Asians who are complaining about it.Orfield and his friends did not and have never proven that any consent decree or throwing any amount of government money at a forcibly “desegregated” school district results in poor minority children that score the same as suburban whites or Asians. The result is always 1) hundreds of millions or billions are poured into some place like Kansas City and 2) test scores for low income minorities are still worse than Whites or Asians and places like Fergeson Missouri still erupt in riots. Seattle blacks lobbied for keeping their children in their communities during desegregation instead of being scattered into places like Ballard where they still make jokes about bad Nordic drivers while in Silicon Valley the black children of East Palo Alto were scattered to the four corners of Santa Clara county with minimal effect on equalizing academic performance compared to white and Asian children of Hewlett Packard or Apple engineers or Stanford professors.What I found in 1990s Seattle area test scores is that blacks in the “terrible segregated” Seattle schools score THE SAME as blacks in mostly white suburbs, and nobody think that’s remarkable. If Seattle schools were so awful, why did Whites (kids of affluent education government and tech workers) in Seattle score HIGHER than in the (Boeing worker) suburbs”. And if Asians are so damn affluent and smart, why did Asians in Seattle [think Chinatown and refugees and Samoan pacific islanders] score WORSE than Seattle whites or suburban Asians? Asian in Renton score as well as whites in Bellevue, Asians in Bellevue scored as well as whites in the next rung up at Mercer Island, etc. I pointed this out in now defunct Asian Week but of course nobody cared. And SAT breakdowns show that Asians score as well as Whites with much higher incomes, who in turn score higher than Blacks with higher incomes, which might be explained that high income blacks are in fields where you can make money without having the same education patterns as whites.These are not things that you can erase with the wave of the Magic Affirmative Action Wand or Vice President Diversity Inclusion (Call 1–800-FIX-RACE Just $2m consent order decree! Order now and you’ll get money for new buildings too!)Some people might wonder how the highest scoring most over-represented group the Asians got that way, but Asian parents have zero interest in adding more Asians to the curriculum, setting race preference goals, hiring more Asians teachers, and making sure Calculus and Physics text books integrate social justice stories and heroes. Of course, Asians are an anomaly as other groups as their experience obviously cannot be expected to lift themselves up by the bootstraps and studying their brains out at the expense of other non-academic pursuits.There is a special place in heaven for people like Der, his website says this is what he is doing now:Senior Program Officer, Four Freedoms FundHenry Der is the son of immigrant parents, and has been associated with Four Freedoms FundTMsince 2006. For more than 22 years, he was the Executive Director of the San Francisco-based, membership-supported Chinese for Affirmative Action, working to promote the civil rights of Asian American and other racial minority groups in employment, education, voting and access to public services. A former Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya, Henry has also served as Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction at the California Department of Education, with oversight responsibilities for programs that address the needs of adult immigrant, at-risk and special needs students. He was appointed by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to be the State Administrator to bring Emery Unified School District out of fiscal bankruptcy. Active in community and education affairs, Henry has led coalition efforts to promote equal educational opportunities and access for immigrant students at the City College of San Francisco, including the recently-completed construction of the Chinatown/North Beach campus facility serving more than 6,500 adult immigrant students, as well as raising private donations to support education programs at this campus facility. He also currently serves on the University of California President’s Advisory Council on Campus Climate, Culture and Inclusion, as well as the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation Board of Directors.Articles on Lowell case:This left-wing article says Asians should have supported quotas and not right wing racists: On the Wrong Side: Chinese Americans Win Anti-Diversity Settlement and Lose in the End Color Lines May 20, 1999 - By all accounts, San Francisco's Lowell High School is one of the nation's ... The consent decree—the result of a lawsuit filed by the NAACP—allowed no ... for Affirmative Action, argues: “The end of the consent decree may ...February, a small group of Chinese Americans, supported by anti-affirmative action right-wingers, won a settlement in a lawsuit over Lowell’s admissions policies—overturning three decades of integration efforts in San Francisco’s schools. As a result, 50 percent fewer blacks and Latinos will enter Lowell next year—including only a handful of black males in an entering freshman class of over 600. Asian American and other critics call the group’s efforts narrow, selfish, and hypocritical—and bound to inflame racial tensions. “Chinese Americans are being used as a proxy of anti-affirmative action and anti-integration viewpoints, which ultimately increase discrimination against our community,” says Diane Chin of Chinese for Affirmative Action. “This case is a tremendous setback for coalition politics,” says Henry Der, the California State Deputy Superintendent of Education Equity, Access, and Support…. “None of the three plaintiffs ever proved that they were discriminated against. In fact, I don’t believe that they had a case,” says Henry Der.A 1983 federal consent decree, Lowell has also had to ensure integration of its student body. The consent decree—the result of a lawsuit filed by the NAACP—allowed no single ethnic group to constitute more than 45 percent of the student body at neighborhood schools, and 40 percent at magnet schools, and required each San Francisco school to enroll students from at least four of nine defined ethnic/racial groups.“The plan represented our best thinking at the time,” says Albert Cheng, who oversaw integration efforts for the San Francisco Unified School District through the early ‘80s. “We knew that if we did not desegregate Lowell High School, the school would have been dominantly Asian and white.”1992, some Chinese American parents began to argue that the consent decree discriminated against them because it capped Chinese enrollments, thereby forcing them to have higher grades and test scores than whites in order to be admitted to Lowell. Some began to discuss suing the school district. But Asian American civil rights organizations—who could see that Lowell was already over 50 percent ethnic Chinese and 70 percent Asian American—worried that it could be fodder for affirmative action opponents.February, lawyers for the parents and the NAACP unveiled an eleventh-hour settlement which overturned the sixteen-year-old consent decree and ended San Francisco’s use of racial considerations in student assignment. When the settlement was announced, Amy Chang of the Legal Foundation crowed, “The era of racial bean-counting is over.”By 1984, Asian American progressives noticed anti-Asian quotas at many elite universities, including those with strong pro-affirmative action leadership—such as Ira Michael Heyman’s Berkeley, Derek Bok’s Harvard, and Bill Bowen’s Princeton. After white alumni began to complain about increasingly diverse campuses, university leaders seemed to cap Asian admissions at no more than 20 percent of the student body.… At the time of the 1983 consent decree, African American students were the largest ethnic group in the San Francisco school district, and the most racially isolated. Now Chinese Americans are the largest ethnic group, making up a quarter of the district—and over half of Lowell High.San Francisco NAACP v. SAN FRANCISCO UNIF. SCHOOL, 59 F ...San Francisco NAACP v. SAN FRANCISCO UNIF. SCHOOL, 59 F. Supp. 2d 1021 (N.D. Cal. 1999) In 1983, the Court approved a Consent Decree to resolve the NAACP action. ... of Chinese descent of school age who are current residents of San Francisco and ..... behalf of the Coalition to DefendAffirmative Action By Any Means Necessary.In 1978, the San Francisco National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ("NAACP") filed the NAACP action, seeking desegregation of the San Francisco Unified School District ("SFUSD") on behalf of a class of all children of school age who are or may in the future become eligible to attend the public schools of the SFUSD. The suit was brought against the SFUSD, its Board Members, and its Superintendent (collectively the "Local Defendants"), and the California State Board of Education, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the State Department of Education (collectively the "State Defendants").In 1983, the Court approved a Consent Decree to resolve the NAACP action. See San Francisco NAACP v. San Francisco Unified Sch. Dist., 576 F. Supp. 34 (N.D.Cal.1983). Paragraph 13 of the Consent Decree, as amended, sets forth racial and ethnic guidelines for the assignment of *1024 San Francisco schoolchildren to the schools of the SFUSD. Pursuant to paragraph 13, no school may have fewer than four racial/ethnic groups represented in its student body, and no racial/ethnic group may constitute more than forty-five percent of the student enrollment at any regular school, or more than forty percent at any alternative school. Paragraph 12 of the Consent Decree identifies nine racial/ethnic groups for the purpose of defining the racial/ethnic composition of each school: Spanish-surname, Other White, African-American, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, American Indian, and Other Non-White.In 1994, several schoolchildren of Chinese descent filed the Ho action against the State and Local Defendants, alleging that paragraph 13's student assignment plan constitutes race discrimination in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. In January 1995, the Ho plaintiffs filed a first amended complaint adding the NAACP as a defendant.Ninth Circuit affirmed this Court's finding that the assignment of students by race subjects the students to a race-based classification by a state actor. Id. at 862. Such racial classifications are subject to strict scrutiny, and may be used by the government only if necessary to correct the effects of government action of a racist character. Id. at 864 (quoting Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena, 515 U.S. 200, 224, 115 S. Ct. 2097, 132 L. Ed. 2d 158 (1995), and citing Freeman v. Pitts, 503 U.S. 467, 494, 112 S. Ct. 1430, 118 L. Ed. 2d 108 (1992)). The Ninth Circuit found that the burden of justifying the racial classification fell upon the defendants. Id. at 865. It described the issues remaining for trial as follows:As race may permissibly be used by government in the very limited way described, two issues remain for trial: Do vestiges remain of the racism that justified paragraph 13 of the consent decree in 1983? Is paragraph 13 necessary to remove the vestiges if they do remain?Id. at 865.The Ninth Circuit found defendants' evidence to be conclusory. Id. It specifically noted that defendants could not prevail at trial unless they produced more concrete evidence than they submitted in opposition to the Ho plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment. Id. The Ninth Circuit stressed that defendants' evidence must tie the current vestiges of segregation to the discriminating practices and policies that justified the adoption of the Consent Decree in 1983.terms of the settlement are as follows:A. The Consent Decree entered in [the NAACP action] shall be modified to provide (a) that it will terminate no later than December 31, 2002, subject to Court approval; and (b) that any party may move for unitary status prior to that date. The parties anticipate that no later than such time, the state and local governmental defendants will have taken all reasonably practical measures to remedy any vestiges of segregation.B. Pursuant to paragraph 50 of the Consent Decree, the SFUSD and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction shall develop a new student assignment plan consistent with the criteria contained in this agreement. The SFUSD and the State Superintendent shall submit the proposed modifications to the San Francisco NAACP and the Ho plaintiffs for review and comment.C. The parties acknowledge that SFUSD officials have the duty and authority to determine lawful criteria for admission to all schools in the SFUSD. The parties further acknowledge that in setting those criteria, state and federal law provide that district officials may consider many factors, including the desire to promote residential, geographic, economic, racial and ethnic diversity in all SFUSD schools. However, race or ethnicity may not be the primary or predominant consideration in determining such admission criteria. Further, the SFUSD will not assign or admit any student to a particular school, class or program on the basis of the race or ethnicity of that student, except as related to the language needs of the student or otherwise to assure compliance with controlling federal or state law.D. Paragraph 12 of the Consent Decree shall be modified to provide that the SFUSD may request, but not require, that parents and/or students identify themselves by race or ethnicity at the time of actual enrollment.The preliminary injunction shall provide that the SFUSD will not assign or admit any student to a particular school, class or program on the basis of the race or ethnicity of that student, except as related to the language needs of the student or otherwise to assure compliance with controlling federal or state law. The preliminary injunction shall take effect only upon Court approval.Ho by Ho v. San Francisco Unified School Dist., 965 F. Supp. 1316 ...Ho by Ho v. San Francisco Unified School Dist., 965 F. Supp. 1316 (N.D. Cal. 1997)The Consent Decree entered on April 30, 1983, in San Francisco NAACP v. ... because these *1319 schools were "capped out" for students of Chinese descent. ..... purposes in the same manner it would a voluntary affirmative action program.[PDF]Chinese Americans Challenge San Francisco's Desegregation Planhttps://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1050&context...by CM Liu - ‎1998 - ‎Cited by 14 - ‎Related articlesgiven more tailwind to the political maelstrom against affirmative action. The case has ... vancement of Colored People (N.A.A.C.P.), which claimed that the district had promoted .... treatment under the San Francisco consent decree. Brian Ho ...As Courts Flip-Flopped on School Integration, Diversity Has Remained ...https://sfpublicpress.org/.../as-courts-flip-flopped-on-school-integration-diversity-has-...Feb 5, 2015 - San Francisco schools no longer exhibit the level of racial isolation they ... 1978: TheNAACP files a lawsuit seeking resumption of school ... University of California that affirmative action is acceptable in some ... SFUSD, the district agrees to a consent decree barring the use of race in school assignments.Court challenge advances on S.F. school racial caps - SFGatehttps://www.sfgate.com/.../Court-challenge-advances-on-S-F-school-racial-3129604.p...Sep 29, 1995 - he noted that because the consent decree separates Chinese ... 1995-09-29 04:00:00 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- As the wave against affirmative action ... "I'm very disappointed," said Eva Paterson, an NAACP attorney on the ...