Do you wish to become an IAS officer? Well, then you have to take the CSE exam. This is a popular exam organized by UPSC every year. The candidates have to clear three different stages- Prelims, Mains and Interview. These all stages are compulsory and candidates need to secure at least cutoff marks to become one.
In this article, you will find all information about UPSC prelims cutoff 2021. Here is complete information about the previous year cutoff. Therefore read the article till the very end.
Highlights
| Name | UPSC Civil Service Examination |
| Level | National |
| Authority | Union Public Service Commission |
| Duration | Once in a Year |
| Application form | Online |
| Mode | Offline |
| Total Vacancies | Decided every year |
| Number of Phases | 3 (Prelims, Mains, and Interview) |
| Official Website | www.upsconline.in |
UPSC CSE Prelims Examination
The UPSC CSE has three different phases including Prelims, Mains and Interview. The prelims are the first and foremost important step of your UPSC journey. This section contains two papers: GS paper I and CSAT.
The GS Paper I examines the basic knowledge of candidates in relevant subjects such as history, Indian polity, geography, economics, current affairs, science and technology, etc. Candidates are required to understand the basic concepts of these subjects and stay updated with the recent changes in them.
The next paper is CSAT. This paper is qualifying nature only. Hence the candidates have to secure a minimum of 66.67 marks to clear this one. This paper tries to assess the basic mental ability of the candidates. It has questions of quantitative aptitude, reasoning, English, etc.
Also Read: Strategy for UPSC CSE Preliminary Exam: Steps to Clear Prelims in the First Attempt
Eligibility Criteria
UPSC determines different eligibility criteria for a candidate to complete in order to be eligible to give their UPSC CSE exam. They are nationality, age limit, age relaxation, number of attempts and education qualification.
Nationality
| # To become an IAS officer one must be a citizen of India.
For other civil services are as follows: # A candidate must be a citizen of India, or # A subject of Nepal, or # A subject of Bhutan, or # A Tibetan refugee who came over on 1st January 1962. # A person of Indian origin migrated from East African countries of Kenya, Pakistan, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Malawi, Zaire, Burma, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, Zambia and Vietnam. |
Age Limit and Upper Age Relaxation
| Categories | UPSC Exam Age Limit | Age Relaxation |
| General | 21-32 years | – |
| OBC | 21-35 years | 3 years |
| SC/ST | 21-37 years | 5 years |
| Defense Service Personnel | 21-35 years | 3 years |
| Ex-servicemen | 21-37 years | 5 years |
| General PWD | 21-35 years | 3 years |
| OBC PWD | 21-38 years | 3+3 years |
| SC/ST PWD | 21-40 years | 5 years+3 years |
No. of Attempts
| Category | Number of Attempts |
| General/ EWS | 6 |
| OBC | 9 |
| SC/ST | No limit |
| General PWD | 9 |
| OBC PWD | 9 |
| SC/ST PWD | No limit |
Education Qualification
The minimum education qualification required to become an IAS officer is a bachelor’s degree from an affiliated university.
Also Read: UPSC Prelims Exam Time: Have a Look at the Exam Pattern, Time, and Date for UPSC CSE 2021
How does UPSC Decide Cutoff Marks?
UPSC decides the minimum qualifying marks every year on the basis of the marks obtained by the last candidate who has cleared the exam. For instance, suppose there are 100 seats reserved for the SC category, then the marks of the last of the first hundred SC students is determined as the minimum qualifying marks of the candidates of the SC category.
How Much Score is Enough to Clear UPSC Prelims?
Generally, the UPSC decides the minimum qualifying marks for the candidates according to the last candidate’s score. But still, we can speculate the minimum marks that a candidate has to obtain to ensure his success. A candidate must obtain 110-120 marks on average to ensure his success in prelims.
UPSC Prelims 2021 Analysis
Before we speculate the expected cutoff marks of the UPSC prelims 2021, let us examine the exam questions. First of all, according to the candidates, the paper was difficult from last year’s paper. Hence we can conclude that the exam cutoff will be lower than the previous years. Why? We have already illustrated above that the minimum cutoff marks is decided by the scores obtained by the last candidate.
Indian History
The questions of this section were around moderate to difficult. There were around 20 questions from this section.
Geography
There were around 13 questions from this section. The candidates who have prepared for this section well found this section moderate.
Indian Polity
The questions were mixed and were around easy to difficult. All 14 questions were influenced by current affairs.
Economy
There were around 15 questions in this section. This section was easy to moderate. And candidates who are good with the basic concepts find it pretty easy.
Science and Technology
The questions were tough in this section. This section had 13 questions and was mostly influenced by current affairs.
Also Read: When is the UPSC Prelims 2022? UPSC The Most Prominent Exam of India
Trend Analysis of Question
| Year | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
| Economics | 10 | 13 | 18 | 16 | 18 | 14 | 15 | 14 |
| Polity | 14 | 13 | 7 | 22 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 20 |
| Environment | 18 | 11 | 18 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 17 |
| History | 20 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 22 | 17 | 20 | 20 |
| Geography | 14 | 16 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 13 |
| Science and Technology | 16 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 12 |
Also Read: CSAT Qualifying Marks in UPSC: Tips to Qualify General Studies-I (CSAT)
UPSC Prelims 2021 Expected Cut Off
The cutoff of CSAT has already been pre-decided. In the general studies, II (CSAT) candidates have to secure around 66.67 marks i.e. around 33%.
| Categories | UPSC Prelims Total Marks (General Studies I) |
| General | 95-105 |
| EWS | 85-95 |
| OBC | 93-103 |
| SC | 79-89 |
| ST | 78-88 |
| PwBD-1 | 66-76 |
| PwBD-2 | 48-58 |
| PwBD- 3 | 35-45 |
| PwBD- 4 | 48-58 |
Also Read: How Many Questions to Attempt in UPSC Prelims? UPSC CSE 2021 Tips For All Aspirants
UPSC CSE Prelims Cutoff: Past Five Year Analysis (2020-2016)
| Name of Category | 2020 Marks | 2019 Marks | 2018 Marks | 2017 Marks | 2016 Marks |
| General | 92.51 | 98.00 | 98.30 | 98.9 | 98.5 |
| EWS (Economically Weaker Section) | 68.71 | 89.00 | 91.30 | 90.00 | 89.40 |
| OBC (Other Backward Class) | 74.84 | 94.5 | 92.4 | 96.5 | 94.5 |
| SC (Scheduled Caste) | 89.12 | 82.5 | 81.20 | 84.5 | 81.5 |
| ST (Scheduled Tribes) | 77.55 | 76.5 | 76.5 | 79.5 | 75.5 |
| PwBD 1 (Person With Disability) | 70.06 | 51.00 | 53.25 | 54.00 | 53.0 |
| PwBD 2 (Person With Disability) | 63.94 | 49.5 | 48.5 | 49.9 | 50.2 |
| PwBD-3 (Person With Disability) | 40.82 | 40.35 | 40.00 | 40.00 | 43.2 |
| PwBD-4 (Person With Disability) | 42.86 marks | 61.5 marks | 60.00 marks | 63.2 marks | 59.8 marks |
UPSC CSE Prelims Cutoff: Past Five Year Analysis (2015-2011)
| Name of Category | 2015 Marks | 2014 Marks | 2013 Marks | 2012 Marks | 2011 Marks |
| General | 107.34 | 205 | 241 | 209 | 198 |
| OBC (Other Backward Class) | 106 | 204 | 222 | 190 | 175 |
| SC (Scheduled Caste) | 94 | 182 | 207 | 185 | 165 |
| ST (Scheduled Tribes) | 91.34 | 174 | 201 | 181 | 161 |
| PwBD 1 (Person With Disability) | 90.66 | 167 | 199 | 160 | 135 |
| PwBD 2 (Person With Disability) | 76.66 | 113 | 184 | 164 | 124 |
| PwBD-3 (Person With Disability) | 40 | 115 | 163 | 111 | 96 |
Conclusion
There was an in-depth analysis of the UPSC CSE prelims examination 2021 and the expected cutoff. If you are confident about your marks, start your preparation for mains right now. For this, you can take the help of our website UPSC Pathshala. This website is the best solution for your UPSC preparation queries. It has helped and is continuing to help several aspirants to achieve their dream and become successful in their life.
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