UPSC CIVIL SERVICE EXAMINATION CUT-OFF ANALYSIS YEAR-WISE

UPSC Cut Off: Factors Determining the Minimum Marks

The UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) has a cut-off system that determines the minimum marks a candidate needs to qualify for the next stage. Several factors influence this cut-off, which varies across the Preliminary, Mains, and Final stages.

Key Influences on UPSC Cut-Offs

• Difficulty Level of the Exam: Harder exams tend to have lower cut-offs as fewer candidates score high marks. Conversely, easier exams may have higher cut-offs due to more candidates achieving good scores.
• Number of Vacancies: More vacancies generally lead to a lower cut-off because there are more positions to fill.
• Reservation Policy: The UPSC follows a reservation system for categories like General, OBC, SC, and ST. Cut-offs for each category can vary depending on the number of applicants and reserved seats.
• Candidate Performance: Exceptional overall performance by a large number of candidates can raise the cut-off. Conversely, an average performance may lead to a lower cut-off.
• Normalization Procedure (Prelims Only): The UPSC employs a normalization procedure to ensure fairness when calculating the Prelims cut-off. This adjusts scores across different question paper sets with varying difficulty levels.
• Overall Competition: The level of competition and candidate quality in a given year can also influence the cut-off. Higher competition may result in a higher cut-off.

UPSC Cut Off: Tie-Breaking Rules

In cases where candidates achieve the same aggregate marks, the UPSC uses a "Tie-breaking" principle to determine their relative merit:

1. Priority: Candidates with higher marks in the combined Compulsory Papers and Personality Test are ranked higher.
2. Age: If the aforementioned criteria yield equal scores, the older candidate is ranked higher.

This "Tie-breaking" principle ensures fairness and transparency in the ranking process, providing a systematic method to differentiate candidates with identical overall marks.