This is based on the US market and culture and may be off base in India, but for me starting with a form with open-ended questions is a huge red flag of being a massive waste of my time. When I left school I swore off of essay questions, and any company that is going to force me to answer essay questions to even get a chance to talk to a human is not one that appeals to me.

If the culture is at all similar there, then that first step in your process is instantly filtering for people who are extremely compliant with arbitrary processes and bureaucracy. Which in turn will be very likely to instantly filter out the self-directed learners you claim to want.