UPSC ESE Exam Analysis 2025 for Prelims, Difficulty Level, Topic-wise Weightage

UPSC ESE Exam Analysis 2025: The Union Public Service Commission conducted the UPSC ESE Preliminary Examination on 8 th June 2025 across various centres.

The UPSC ESE 2025 prelims exam is administered in two sessions: Paper 1 (09:30 A.M. to 11:30 A.M.) and Paper 2 (2:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M.). 

Candidates who attended the examination must review the UPSC ESE Exam Analysis 2025 by PW to gain insights into the subject-wise difficulty level, weightage of topics, and more.

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UPSC ESE Prelims Exam Analysis 2025

The UPSC ESE Prelims exam was successfully hosted on June 8 , 2025. The exam comprises Paper 1 and Paper 2, worth 200 and 300 marks each. The Paper 1 tests the candidate’s knowledge across General Studies and Engineering Aptitude, while Paper 2 focuses on assessing the in-depth knowledge in Civil, Mechanical, Electrical and Electronics, and Telecommunication.

The exam comprises Prelims, Mains, and Personality Test to evaluate the overall suitability of aspirants for the Engineering Services. Those who clear the prelims test will proceed to further stages. Candidates must review the comprehensive paper analysis outlined here.

UPSC ESE Exam Analysis 2025 - Key Highlights

The UPSC Engineering Services Examination, 2025 for the Prelims phase has been organized on June 8 , 2025. Exam takers can find the key highlights of the examination tabulated below:

UPSC ESE Exam Analysis 2025 Student's Reaction

Based on the students’ reviews who took the examination, the paper was overall moderate with a mix of conceptual and numerical questions. Paper 1 covered a significant weightage with Current Affairs, Engineering Aptitude, and Ethics and values in the Engineering profession being the major topics.

Paper 2 was moderate to difficult, having in-depth conceptual questions from core subjects. Some students say the technical section was lengthy and time-consuming, requiring good time management and conceptual knowledge.

• GS Paper: Many students found it easy to moderate and well-balanced questions from current affairs, engineering aptitude, environment, and others.
• Technical Paper: Students shared mixed reviews about the technical paper. Overall, the Mechanical and Electrical branches were found difficult as compared to Civil and ET.
• Overall Analysis: Most candidates rated the overall difficulty as moderate, focusing on in-depth conceptual understanding.

UPSC ESE Exam Analysis 2025 - Paper 1 and Paper 2

The overall difficulty level for the UPSC ESE Prelims, held on June 8 , 2025, was moderate. Here is the paper-wise analysis for your reference:

UPSC ESE Prelims 2025 - Topic-wise Weightage

A tentative topic-wise weightage for Paper 1, as per the exam takers' inputs, is as follows. While Paper 2 covered a significant weightage of core subjects as included in the prescribed syllabus:

UPSC ESE Question Paper 2025 PDF

The UPSC ESE Question Paper 2025 is a vital resource for aspirants to gain in-depth insights into the trends of questions asked from different sections to determine the actual exam difficulty level.

Candidates must download the question papers in PDF format through the direct links here and meticulously practice them to effectively prepare for the forthcoming exam.

UPSC ESE Prelims 2025 Expected Cut Off

To qualify for the UPSC ESE Prelims 2025, candidates from the General, OBC, SC, and ST categories must secure at least 15% (75 marks out of 500), while  PH (PwBD) candidates need to obtain a minimum of 10% (50 marks).

Based on the UPSC ESE Prelims Exam Analysis by PW and previous years' trends, the expected cut-off marks are as follows:

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