UPSC Prelims Cut Off Analysis (2013-2024), Check Last 10 Year Trends
UPSC Prelims Cut Off analysis over the years hints at a decreasing trend in the cut off marks. Find UPSC Prelims Cut Off analysis from 2013 to 2024 here.
Deeksha Dixit2 May, 2025
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UPSC Prelims Cut Off Analysis: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) releases cut off marks at the end of the exam cycle for all three stages, including prelims. The UPSC Prelims Cut off marks for the 2024 exam have been published, which are slightly higher than the previous year (the lowest in the history of the UPSC CSE exam).
In light of this event, the UPSC Prelims Cut Off analysis for the past 10 years has been done to observe evolving patterns of this stage. Read on for the analysis of UPSC Prelims Cut Off marks from 2013 to 2024, revealing a significant trend of fluctuation over the years.UPSC Prelims Cut Off Overview
The meaning of the UPSC Prelims Cut-Off in terms of rules stated by the commission in the official notification is ‘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'. This means that the UPSC Prelims Cutoff is a requirement that must be met in order to qualify for the next stage.| UPSC Prelims Cut Off - Overview | |
| Exam | Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination |
| Authority | Union Public Service Commission |
| Release Mode | Online |
| Time of Release | After the UPSC CSE Final Result |
| Papers |
|
| Release For | Only for GS Paper |
| Type | Category Wise for Gen, EWS, OBC, SC, ST, and 4 PwBD Categories |
| GS 1 Average Cut off | Varies (Generally 80-90 Marks recently) |
| CSAT Cut off | 66.67 (Fixed) |
| Official Website | upsc.gov.in |
UPSC Prelims Cut Off Analysis
As stated, the minimum qualifying mark is the score of the last candidate selected from the result list. The UPSC Prelims Cut Off is currently released only for Paper 1, which is General Studies I, also known as the GS paper. For paper 2, which is General Studies II, also known as CSAT, the minimum qualifying mark criteria is 33% out of 200 (around 66 marks). This development came from 2015 onwards when CSAT was made qualifying. UPSC Prelims Cut Off analysis from 2013 to 2023 displays high fluctuations. This can be attributed to two factors affecting the UPSC Prelims cut off:- UPSC Vacancies: The relationship between the total number of vacancies and the UPSC Prelims cut-off is inversely related to each other. Normally, 12 to 13 times candidates are shortlisted in each stage, including prelims, and the fewer vacancies result in a higher cut off as seen in 2021.
- Level of Difficulty: The higher the difficulty level of the exam, the lower the cut-off, since these two are inversely proportional to each other. This can be observed in the cut off trend from 2018 onwards to 2023, where the difficulty level of the CSAT paper impacted cut-offs.
UPSC Prelims Cut Off Analysis 2024
UPSC Prelims Cut Off 2024 was recently released on the official website. The cutoff marks for the Prelims exam stand at 87.98 for the general category. It is higher than 2023's cut off, still remains under 90 marks. Here is category wise UPSC Prelims Cut Off Analysis 2024:| UPSC Prelims Cut Off 2024 | |
| Category | Cut off Marks |
| General | 87.98 |
| EWS | 85.92 |
| OBC | 87.28 |
| SC | 79.03 |
| ST | 74.23 |
| PwBD 1 | 69.42 |
| PwBD 2 | 65.3 |
| PwBD 3 | 40.56 |
| PwBD 5 | 40.56 |
UPSC Prelims Cut Off Analysis 2023
The UPSC Prelims Cut-Off 2023 was significantly dipped across all categories compared to the previous years. The UPSC Prelims Cut off 2023 for General Categories is widely accepted as the cutoff criteria for the particular year. The UPSC Prelims Cut-Off Analysis 2023 is presented in the below table:| UPSC Prelims Cut Off Analysis 2023 | |
| Category | Cut Off Marks |
| General | 75.41 |
| EWS | 68.02 |
| OBC | 74.75 |
| SC | 59.25 |
| ST | 47.82 |
| PwBD 1 | 40.40 |
| PwBD 2 | 47.13 |
| PwBD 3 | 40.40 |
| PwBD 5 | 33.68 |
UPSC Prelims Cut Off Analysis 2022
The 2022 question paper was difficult however the factor of randomness in questions was less and vacancies were comparatively more than in 2021 which is why the UPSC Prelims Cut Off 2022 was 88.22. The category wise UPSC Prelims Cut Off 2022 is provided in the below table for comparison purposes:| UPSC Prelims Cut Off Analysis 2022 | |
| Category | Cut off Marks |
| General | 88.22 |
| EWS | 82.83 |
| OBC | 87.54 |
| SC | 74.08 |
| ST | 69.35 |
| PwBD 1 | 49.84 |
| PwBD 2 | 58.59 |
| PwBD 3 | 40.40 |
| PwBD 5 | 41.76 |
UPSC Prelims Cut Off Analysis 2021
In 2021, for the first time, the UPSC Prelims Cutoff fell below 90 marks compared to the previous years. UPSC Prelims Cut Off 2021 was 87.54 marks for the general category and below 70 marks for the SC and ST categories. Refer to the table below to know the category wise UPSC 2021 Prelims Cut Off:| UPSC Prelims Cut Off Analysis 2021 | |
| Category | Cut off Marks |
| General | 87.54 |
| EWS | 80.14 |
| OBC | 84.85 |
| SC | 75.41 |
| ST | 70.71 |
| PwBD 1 | 68.02 |
| PwBD 2 | 67.33 |
| PwBD 3 | 43.09 |
| PwBD 5 | 45.80 |
UPSC Prelims Cut Off Analysis 2020
UPSC is known for its difficult paper, and the level only increases every year. This stands true for the 2020 year as well, when cut-off marks stood at 92.51 for general categories. That year, this was known to be the lowest in history until 2023, when the cutoff dropped below 90 marks. The official UPSC Prelims Cut Off 2020 is presented in the below table:| UPSC Prelims Cut Off Analysis 2020 | |
| Category | Cut off Marks |
| General | 92.51 |
| EWS | 77.55 |
| OBC | 89.12 |
| SC | 68.71 |
| ST | 74.84 |
| PwBD 1 | 70.06 |
| PwBD 2 | 63.94 |
| PwBD 3 | 40.82 |
| PwBD 5 | 42.86 |
UPSC Prelims Cut Off Analysis 2019
While the question paper was lengthy in 2019, the cutoff stayed the same as in 2018 this year. For general categories, the UPSC preliminary exam cutoff for 2019 was 98 marks. Also this year, a new category, EWS , was introduced, for which the cutoff marks were 90. This was less than the OBC cutoff, which was 95.34 that year. The table below shows an analysis of the UPSC Prelims Cut Off 2019 category wise:| UPSC Prelims Cut Off Analysis 2019 | |
| Category | Cut off Marks |
| General | 98 |
| EWS | 90 |
| OBC | 95.34 |
| SC | 82 |
| ST | 77.34 |
| PwBD 1 | 53.34 |
| PwBD 2 | 44.66 |
| PwBD 3 | 40.66 |
| PwBD 5 | 61.34 |
UPSC Prelims Cut Off Analysis 2018
The trend of UPSC Prelims Cut off below 100 marks started in 2018 , when the paper was more challenging with less scope of traditional elimination techniques than in the past few years. The UPSC Prelims Cut Off 2018 was 98 for the general category. There is no cut off information for EWS, as until then this category was not introduced. The UPSC Prelims Cut Off Analysis 2018 is provided in the below table:| UPSC Prelims Cut Off Analysis 2018 | |
| Category | Cut off Marks |
| General | 98 |
| EWS | NA |
| OBC | 96.66 |
| SC | 84 |
| ST | 83.34 |
| PwBD 1 | 73.34 |
| PwBD 2 | 53.34 |
| PwBD 3 | 40 |
| PwBD 5 | 45.34 |
UPSC Prelims Cut Off Analysis (2014 - 2024)
The UPSC Prelims Cut Off last 10 years reflects that the level of the exam has been increasing over the years. The difficulty level is increasing in CSAT, making it again the deciding factor as it used to be till 2014 when both GS and CSAT papers were considered in determining the UPSC Prelims Cut off: The last 10 years UPSC Prelims Cut Off analysis is presented in the below table:| UPSC Prelims Cut Off Analysis (2014 - 2024) | |
| Year | Cut Off |
| 2014 | 205 (Out of 400) |
| 2015 | 107.34 |
| 2016 | 116 |
| 2017 | 105.34 |
| 2018 | 98 |
| 2019 | 98 |
| 2020 | 92.5 |
| 2021 | 87.5 |
| 2022 | 88.2 |
| 2023 | 75.41 |
| 2024 | 87.98 |
Last 10 Years UPSC Prelims Cut Off Trends (2014-2024)
The overall UPSC Prelims Cut Off trend analysis reveals a dynamic pattern in UPSC Prelims Cut Off marks from 2013 onwards, indicating varying levels of difficulty. Till 2014, the UPSC Prelims cutoff was prepared out of 400 marks. Currently, only 200 marks on the GS I paper are considered for cutoff, but in recent years, the CSAT has evolved as a significant reason behind the low cut off, as seen in 2023. The UPSC Prelims Cut-Off trend from 2014 is presented in the graph below for candidates:
UPSC Prelims Cut Off Analysis FAQs
How does UPSC decide the prelims cut off marks?
The UPSC calculates the prelims cut off marks by taking the average of GS 1 marks of all appeared candidates and normalizing it to 12 to 13 times of total vacancies.
Which year saw the highest prelims cut off marks?
Considering new changes of taking into account only GS 1 marks for cut off, the 2016 cut off was highest with 116 marks out of 200 marks.
Which year saw the lowest UPSC Prelims Cut Off marks?
The UPSC Prelims Cut Off was lowest in 2023 with 75.41 marks.
How many marks should be targeted to qualify UPSC prelims?
Target scoring above 100 in GS 1 paper and above 33% marks in CSAT paper.
Which category has the highest marks in the UPSC Prelims Cut Off?
The general category has the highest marks in the UPSC Prelims Cut Off.
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