UPSC 2025 Mains Cut Off Analysis: How Many Marks to Get an Interview Call?

UPSC 2025 Mains Cut Off Analysis: The UPSC Mains Cut Off 2025 stands as a key benchmark in the Civil Services Examination process. Following the UPSC Mains 2025 exam (held from 22nd to 31st August 2025), aspirants await the official cut off release — expected only after the final results in April or May 2026.

In this detailed UPSC Mains Cut Off Analysis 2025, we examine expected score ranges, compare the last 5 years’ data, and discuss the category-wise patterns to help aspirants plan effectively.

UPSC 2025 Mains Cut Off Overview

UPSC publishes the official UPSC Mains Cut Off after the full CSE cycle ends, ensuring fairness in score moderation.

UPSC Mains Expected Cut Off 2025

Analysing past trends and difficulty levels, the UPSC 2025 Mains expected cut off has been projected within the following ranges:

Note: These projections are based on a comparative analysis of the last 5 years’ UPSC Mains data.

UPSC Mains Cut Off Last 5 Years (2020–2024)

Studying UPSC Previous Year Cut Off helps aspirants identify scoring patterns. The General and OBC categories have shown a gradual decline since 2022, indicating slightly easier paper levels but tighter competition margins.

Here’s the category-wise cut off trend:

UPSC 2025 Mains Cut Off Analysis

The UPSC 2025 Mains Cut Off Analysis reveals several influencing factors:

1. Difficulty Level of Papers: A challenging General Studies Paper II or Essay section tends to lower the final cut off.
   
   

2. Vacancy Numbers: Higher vacancies often result in lower category-wise cut offs.
   
   

3. Performance Distribution: If most candidates perform well in optional papers, the overall cut off rises.
   
   

4. Normalisation Method: UPSC applies scaling to maintain uniformity across optional subjects.
   
   

The General category is projected between 720–735 marks, while OBC and EWS are marginally lower. The SC/ST categories hover around 675–690 marks.

Aspirants scoring near these expected marks can be optimistic about interview shortlisting in early 2026.

UPSC Cut Off Trends (2018–2024)

Historical analysis from 2018 to 2024 shows how the UPSC Mains Cut Off evolved.

UPSC Cut Off 2025 Trend Insight: The General category cut off dropped from 774 in 2018 to 729 in 2024, hinting at increased paper difficulty and diversified candidate performance.

Scores for most categories like General, OBC, SC, and ST have remained fairly stable, mostly in the 600s to 700s range from 2018 to 2024.

PwBD-3 and PwBD-5 categories show more fluctuation and generally lower scores compared to other groups.

EWS scores have also stayed consistent around the high 600s and low 700s, with some missing data in earlier years.

What to Expect Next

• The official UPSC Mains Cut Off 2025 will be uploaded on the UPSC website (https://upsc.gov.in/) after the final results (April–May 2026).
  
  

• Candidates should continue preparing for the Personality Test (Interview) if they expect marks near the above ranges.
  
  

• Maintain focus on Current Affairs, Ethics, and Optional subject clarity to strengthen your chances.