HCS DySP Medical & Physical Standards: A Topper's Journey

This post follows Neil Sir's journey to Panchkula for the HCS (Haryana Civil Services) DySP medical and physical measurement, the stage that decides eligibility for the Deputy Superintendent of Police post. Filmed as a behind-the-scenes vlog, it walks through the overnight train to Chandigarh, what the physical measurement day actually involves, candid takes from fellow aspirants on the HCS exam, and practical tips on personality development and beating the fear of public speaking before the interview.

Key takeaways

• The HCS DySP medical stage measures height (against a standard of about 5'7", roughly 170 cm), weight, and chest with a chest expansion of around 1.5 inches.
• Candidates are processed professionally in batches of ten by roll number, with most of the recording digitised; about 280 candidates were called for this stage.
• Neil Sir's own HCS 2021 cycle was full of delays, near-misses and reschedulings, a reminder that state PSC timelines can be unpredictable.
• The nature of HCS Mains questions is close to UPSC, but the booklets allow far more pages, so page and time management become the real test.
• Fellow aspirants found the commission's process genuinely fair and professional, despite the rumours, and urged candidates not to fear them.
• Overcoming the fear of public speaking comes down to overthinking less, staying natural, and using feedback constructively.

What the HCS DySP medical day actually looks like

The trip begins with an overnight train leaving Delhi around 11:20 PM and reaching Chandigarh by about 5 AM, with the medical measurement scheduled to start at 9 AM. To make the logistics cheaper, Neil Sir suggests staying on the Panchkula side, since transportation is far more affordable from there.

The measurement process itself is straightforward and, importantly, professional:

• What is measured: height (against a standard of roughly 5 feet 7 inches, about 170 cm), weight, and chest along with chest expansion.
• The chest expansion target: candidates needed to expand the chest by about 1.5 inches. Neil Sir openly admits this was a "different ball game" for him and that he asked others and watched videos for technique before pulling it off.
• How it runs: candidates are called in batches of ten, by roll number, and most of the recording is digitised.
• Scale: around 280 candidates were called for this stage.

By early afternoon the measurement was done, and Neil Sir cleared it, confirming his eligibility for the Dy SP post.

Neil Sir's HCS 2021 journey: delays and second chances

A large part of the video is an honest account of how long and winding the HCS 2021 cycle was. The HCS prelims happened roughly a month before the CSE prelims, in September, with Neil Sir's centre in Rewari. He recalls the prelims going well but missing the cutoff by a very thin margin of about one to one-and-a-half marks.

The Mains was originally meant to take place in December, but the schedule was disrupted and the commission had to redo the process, after which the examination was eventually rescheduled to the middle of 2022. Through all of this, Neil Sir was simultaneously running his UPSC CSE attempt, clearing CSE prelims and appearing in the Mains. The takeaway for aspirants juggling both UPSC and a state PSC is that timelines slip, and persistence across cycles matters.

HCS Mains vs UPSC Mains: the page-management challenge

Waiting his turn, Neil Sir interviewed fellow aspirants, and one insight stands out for anyone preparing for HCS Mains. According to a first-attempt candidate (with Political Science and International Relations as the optional), the nature of HCS Mains questions had moved much closer to UPSC.

The real difference was the answer booklet:

• For a 14-marker, candidates were given around six pages.
• For a 6-marker, about four pages.

That is roughly twice the space you get in UPSC, which sounds generous but actually makes time and page management the hardest part of the paper. Fill too little and the examiner does not get a good impression; fill it all and you risk not finishing. The lesson echoes core Mains advice: practise writing to length and to time, not just to content.

Is the process fair? Cutting through the rumours

A recurring theme in the peer conversations is the gap between the rumours and the reality. Aspirants often hear that there is corruption in the commission and that the system is not fair, fears amplified by the disruptions in the 2021 cycle. Yet the candidates Neil Sir spoke to were emphatic that the medical stage was very professional and well organised, far smoother than they had feared for a process involving so many people. Their advice: do not let the rumours discourage you, prepare with an open mindset, and give your best.

Personality development and beating the fear of public speaking

With time to spare, the friends ran a peer-to-peer mock interview, which leads into the most useful self-improvement segment of the video. On the fear of public speaking, often called a bigger fear than the fear of dying, the practical advice is:

• Stop excess overthinking. The self-conscious tendency is natural, but you have to get over it.
• Be natural and let people judge. Realise that nobody has the time to think about you as much as you imagine.
• Observe without evaluating. Neil Sir shares the idea that observing without evaluating is one of the highest forms of intelligence, and adds that meditation has been genuinely transformative for him.
• Use criticism constructively. Read the feedback you get, identify your shortcomings, and work on them, because that is the only real way to improve.

Closing the video, Neil Sir briefly recalls his own interview experience: the panel appreciated his personality and asked about his background, including questions on mobile computing (his work area) and on G20 and Delhi-related topics, which made it an interesting experience overall.

Who should watch this

This vlog is ideal for HCS and Haryana Civil Services aspirants who want a realistic preview of the DySP medical and physical measurement stage, as well as UPSC candidates who are also attempting a state PSC and want an honest look at how the process feels on the ground. It is equally useful for anyone working on interview readiness and overcoming the fear of public speaking.

If the HCS Mains page-management point hit home, build the habit of writing full, time-bound answers through structured Daily Answer Writing practice and a graded Mains test series. For more mentor-led journeys and strategy breakdowns, explore the rest of the UnlockIAS blog.