UPSC CSE 2025 Cut off for Prelims and Mains PDF Download

What are the cut-off marks for UPSC?

Marks needed to qualify UPSC Civil Services Prelims and Mains have always been a topic of hot discussion and speculation.

There are always different rumours around and many candidates are unclear about how UPSC fix the bottom cut-off. That’s why in this post, we have decided to give insights about the Cut-Off Marks for UPSC Civil Services Exam.

In this post, we share some important statistics collected from the official UPSC website over the previous years.

UPSC CSE CutOff 2023 Dates

The UPSC Civil Services application form will be released on February 1, 2023. Check other important UPSC IAS exam dates 2023 in the table below.

IAS Exam Date 2023

How to check the UPSC CSE Cut Off 2023?

• Visit the official UPSC website - upsc.gov.in
• Search for the UPSC IAS 2023 cutoff link and click on it
• The UPSC Civil Services cutoff PDF file will be displayed on the screen
• Check the category wise IAS cut off in the cutoff PDF
• Download and save the UPSC IAS cutoff PDF for future reference

UPSC CSE Cut off 2023 - Factors affecting IAS cut off

Various factors are taken into consideration for determining the actual UPSC IAS cut off and expected IAS cutoff for different categories. The factors responsible for determining the UPSC Civil Services cut off 2023 are mentioned below.

• Number of candidates appearing for the UPSC IAS exam
• The difficulty level of the IAS question paper
• Number of IAS vacancies and more
• Past years cut off trends

UPSC Prelims Cut-off Marks – Over the Years

Mains and ‘Mains+Interview Marks’ (Total Marks) of Last Recommended Candidate in UPSC Civil Services Examination

Trend Analysis of UPSC Interview Marks

• Interview marks until 2012, usually ranged from 90 to 245 out of the maximum possible score of 300. That meant the interview marks varied from 30 per cent to 80 per cent, which is a very big range. The median of the interview marks was in the 55-60 percent range.
• However, from 2013, the total possible marks for interview is reduced to 275. Currently, marks are awarded in the range of 45% to 75%. Marks below 45% are not uncommon, however, it’s very rare that UPSC award marks above 75 per cent in the personality test.
• Still, there is a big variation between the top interview marks and the bottom interview marks awarded. If there is a 50 per cent difference between the top and bottom marks in the interview, that will account for about 140 marks, which is by now means a meagre thing to neglect! That difference is enough to shatter the hopes of many and enough to give wings to the hopes of others!

What is the cut-off score to make it to the final rank list in UPSC Civil Services Exam?

• It all depends on the vacancies in the category or community you are from. UPSC prepares a separate rank list for those under General Category, OBC, SC, ST etc. and you have to make sure that you rank well within the number of vacancies listed in each category to be in the final rank list.
• Also, be clear that the ‘General Vacancies’ are always filled on merit, and that means that all other categories can get into the Vacancies mentioned under General Vacancies, and not just general category candidates.
• There is no reservation for general category candidates. However, the vacancies reserved for separate categories are only open to those respective candidates, and since they are reserved, there is no competition based on open merit in these vacancies.
• Ok. Back to the topic. Do you have any idea what was the minimum percentage of marks (General Category) required to make it into any of the 24 services for which UPSC conducts Civil Services Examination, during the last few years?
• No, it’s not in the eighties or nineties.
• You might be surprised, that in 2015 the total percentage of marks of the last recommended candidate from the General Category was around 43 per cent! Five years after, in 2018, it is 49%.
• The ‘cut-off’ percentage of marks of other categories like OBC, SC and ST were 1-3 % lower than the general category.
• It should also be specially noted that the percentage of marks for All India Topper was 53% in 2019!

Minimum Qualifying Marks in Prelims and Mains

• UPSC uses the term ‘minimum qualifying mark’ instead of cut-off.
• This minimum qualifying mark is the mark of the last candidate (in the descending order of marks) who made it to the list, be it the Mains list, Interview list or Final Rank list.
• As per our understanding, the figure just depends on the number of vacancies each year and nothing else. So if there are 313 vacancies under the OBC category this year, the mark of the last rank candidate in the OBC category becomes the cut-off mark under the OBC category. Hope the point is now clear!

Note: Candidates who obtain such minimum qualifying marks in the Preliminary Examination as may be fixed by the Commission at their discretion shall be admitted to the Main Examination; and candidates who obtain such minimum qualifying marks in the Main Examination (Written) as may be fixed by the Commission at their discretion shall be summoned by them for an interview for personality test : Provided that candidates belonging to the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes or Other Backward Classes may be summoned for an interview for a personality test by the Commission by applying relaxed standards in the Preliminary Examination as well as Main Examination (Written) if the Commission is of the opinion that sufficient number of candidates from these communities are not likely to be summoned for interview for a personality test on the basis of the general standard in order to fill up vacancies reserved for them.

How will UPSC determine the numbers, ie. Calls for Mains and Interview?

• It should be noted that UPSC normally calls for Civil Services Mains Exam, 12-13 times the number of actual vacancies reported for the corresponding year.
• For example, if the number of vacancies reported is 1200, UPSC will call 1000*12.5=approx.12,500 candidates for the mains exam from the lakhs of candidates who write the Prelims.
• Again, for the interview, UPSC will call about twice the number of candidates than the reported vacancies. In the above example, UPSC called about 2500 candidates for interviews, which was 2.5 times the number of vacancies. UPSC selects only about 1000 candidates among the top 2500 in the final list.

Toppers’ Percentage range between 40 per cent and 55 per cent

• Percentage of All India Topper in UPSC Civil Services Exam was around 60 per cent some five-six years back – when there were 2 optional subjects.
• But it began to fall down later, obviously due to tougher questions, tougher evaluations, reduction in optional subject marks, and obviously due to lack of right resources to study General studies!
• In 2013, the Topper’s percentage (AIR 1) was around 48% and the last recommended candidate in the general category scored 38%. In 2018, the toppers percentage is 55% while that of the last recommended general category candidate is 49%.
• If we observe the trend from 2013 to 2019, one can see an overall increase in mains marks and a tighter competition. Also, now, there is more cluttering per mark.

Will there be an increase in cut-off marks in the coming years?

If questions are easy, and evaluation is liberal, the cut-offs may increase.

However, if UPSC follows the same valuation standards, Civil Services Exam may still remain low scoring – with minor fluctuations.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) related to UPSC CSE 2023 Cut-off for Prelims and Mains

What is the expected cut-off for UPSC CSE 2023 Prelims?

It is difficult to predict the cut-off for UPSC CSE 2023 Prelims at this stage, as it depends on various factors such as the number of candidates appearing for the exam, the difficulty level of the paper, and the overall performance of the candidates. However, the cut-off is generally expected to be around 110-120 marks out of 200.

What is the expected cut-off for UPSC CSE 2023 Mains?

Similar to the Prelims cut-off, it is difficult to predict the cut-off for UPSC CSE 2023 Mains as it depends on various factors such as the number of candidates appearing for the exam, the difficulty level of the paper, and the overall performance of the candidates. However, the cut-off is generally expected to be around 700-720 marks out of 1750.

What is the minimum qualifying marks for UPSC CSE 2023?

The minimum qualifying marks for UPSC CSE 2023 will be announced by the commission along with the official notification. In the previous years, the minimum qualifying marks for the Prelims exam was 33% for the General category and 25% for SC/ST/OBC candidates. Similarly, for the Mains exam, the minimum qualifying marks in each paper is 25%.

Will the cut-off be the same for all categories?

No, the cut-off for UPSC CSE 2023 will vary for different categories such as General, OBC, SC, ST, and PwD. The cut-off for the General category is generally higher than the other categories.

What is the role of normalization in calculating the cut-off for UPSC CSE 2023?

Normalization is a process that is used to adjust the scores of candidates in different sessions of the same exam to account for any variations in the difficulty level of the paper. This is done to ensure fairness in the evaluation process. The normalization process will be used to calculate the cut-off for UPSC CSE 2023.

Is there any sectional cut-off in UPSC CSE 2023?

No, there is no sectional cut-off in UPSC CSE 2023. The cut-off is based on the overall performance of the candidates in the exam.

When will the cut-off for UPSC CSE 2023 be announced?

The cut-off for UPSC CSE 2023 will be announced along with the results of the respective exams. The Prelims results are expected to be announced in September/October 2023, while the Mains results are expected to be announced in March/April 2024.