UPSC Cut Off 2023 – UPSC Prelims, Mains, and Final Cut Off Marks
The UPSC Cut Off is an important part of the Civil Services Examination held by the Union Public Service Commission in India. It has a significant impact on the fate of thousands of hopefuls competing for important posts in the Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service, Indian Foreign Service, and other elite services. UPSC Cut Off 2022 and final results were declared on May 23, 2023. The UPSC Prelims Cut Off 2022 was 88.22 in the General Category. Read this post to the end to learn more about the previous year’s UPSC Cut Off, variables influencing cut-off marks, last 5 years’ marks, and so on.
UPSC Cut Off 2023
- The UPSC Cut Off refers to the minimum marks that candidates must secure to qualify for the subsequent stages of the Civil Services Examination. The exam consists of three successive stages: the Preliminary Examination, the Mains Examination, and the Personality Test (Interview). Each stage has its own cutoff, and only candidates who meet these criteria proceed to the next level.
- The UPSC Cut Off 2023 for Prelims and Mains will be released with the final result in April/May 2024. Based on the last few years trends, the expected cut-off for Prelims could fall between 85 to 92.
UPSC Prelims Cut Off
The UPSC Prelims cut off marks wield a significant impact on an aspirant’s journey towards their dream of becoming a civil servant in India. The Preliminary Examination comprises two papers, General Studies I and General Studies II. However, it is important to note that while General Studies I is considered for merit ranking, General Studies II is merely qualifying in nature, necessitating candidates to secure a minimum of 33% to pass.
UPSC Prelims Cut Off Last 5 Years
| Category | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
| General | 88.22 | 87.54 | 92.51 | 98 | 98 |
| OBC | 87.54 | 89.12 | 89.12 | 95.34 | 96.66 |
| ST | 69.35 | 70.71 | 68.71 | 77.34 | 83.34 |
| SC | 74.08 | 75.41 | 74.84 | 82 | 84 |
| PWD 1 | 49.84 | 68.02 | 70.06 | 53.34 | 73.34 |
| PWD 2 | 58.59 | 67.33 | 63.94 | 44.66 | 53.34 |
| PWD 3 | 40.40 | 43.09 | 40.82 | 61.34 | 40.00 |
| PWD 4 | 41.76 | 45.80 | 42.86 | 61.34 | 45.34 |
| EWS | 82.83 | 80.14 | 77.55 | 90 | —— |
UPSC Mains Cut Off
Candidates who score higher than the UPSC Mains Cut Off marks are regarded qualified for the final step of the selection process, namely the Interview.
UPSC Mains consists of nine papers, seven of which are used for merit ranking. The two remaining papers, the English Language Paper and the Indian Language Paper, are qualifying in nature. Candidates must obtain the minimum qualifying marks in these language papers as specified by the UPSC.
UPSC Final Cut Off for Last 5 Years
| Category | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
| GENERAL | 748 | 745 | 736 | 751 | 774 |
| OBC | 714 | 707 | 698 | 718 | 732 |
| ST | 706 | 700 | 682 | 699 | 719 |
| SC | 699 | 700 | 680 | 706 | 719 |
| PWD 1 | 677 | 688 | 648 | 663 | 711 |
| PWD 2 | 706 | 712 | 699 | 698 | 696 |
| PWD 3 | 351 | 388 | 425 | 374 | 520 |
| PWD 4 | 419 | 560 | 300 | 561 | 460 |
| EWS | 715 | 713 | 687 | 696 | —- |
UPSC Final Cut Off
The UPSC Final Cut Off marks are determined by amalgamating the scores obtained by candidates in the Mains Examination and the Personality Test (Interview) stage. The Mains Examination carries the weightage of seven papers, while the Interview stage contributes the remaining. Each candidate’s performance is evaluated, and the final cut-off is calculated based on their combined scores.
Aspirants who manage to surpass the UPSC Final Cut Off marks are eligible for appointment to the various civil services based on their merit ranking. The allocation of services is done according to the candidate’s rank, preference, and availability of vacancies.
UPSC Final Cut Off for Last 5 Years
| Category | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
| General | 960 | 953 | 944 | 961 | 982 |
| OBC | 923 | 910 | 907 | 925 | 938 |
| SC | 893 | 886 | 875 | 898 | 912 |
| ST | 900 | 883 | 876 | 893 | 912 |
| PWD 1 | 879 | 892 | 867 | 861 | 899 |
| PWD 2 | 913 | 932 | 910 | 890 | 908 |
| PWD 3 | 632 | 689 | 675 | 653 | 754 |
| PWD 4 | 590 | 701 | 465 | 708 | 718 |
| EWS | 926 | 916 | 894 | 909 | —— |
Factors Influencing UPSC Cut Off
The UPSC Cut Off is influenced by various factors that play a crucial role in determining the minimum marks required for candidates to qualify for the next stage of the Civil Services Examination. These factors are taken into consideration by officials while calculating the cut off for each stage of the examination, including Prelims, Mains, and the Final UPSC Cut Off. Here are the key factors influencing the Cut Off for UPSC CSE:
- Exam Difficulty Level: A more difficult question paper could result in a lower cutoff since applicants could find it more difficult to achieve high scores. On the other hand, if the exam is very simple, more applicants may pass and the cutoff point may rise.
- Number of openings: Since more candidates can be accepted based on their performance, a bigger number of openings may result in a lower UPSC cut off.
- Reservation Policy: The UPSC has policies on reservations for several groups, including General, OBC, SC, ST, and so forth. Depending on the number of applicants and the number of seats allotted for each category, the cutoff marks for certain categories may change.
- Candidate Performance: The cutoff may get up if most candidates have very strong performances. Conversely, the cut off may drop if the performance is ordinary overall.
- Normalization Process: UPSC uses a normalization process for Prelims in order to guarantee fairness in the cut-off computation. Through this process, applicants’ scores on various sets of question papers with differing degrees of difficulty are adjusted.
- Overall Competition: The UPSC cut off may also be impacted by the quantity and caliber of candidates that apply in a given year. A higher cut off could result from increased competition.