UPSC Prelims Cut-off 2024: Analysis & Estimates

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UPSC Prelims Cut-off 2024 Analysis Estimates
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Quick Facts About UPSC Prelims 2024

• Date of exam 16th June, 2024
• Time first shift - 930 am to 11 30 am, second
  shift - 230 pm to 430 pm
• Number of candidates attended 5 to 6 lakhs
  approximately (unofficial estimation)
• Exam papers General Studies (Paper-I) General
  Studies or CSAT (Paper-II)
• Declared vacancies 1056
• Number of questions 100 questions in each paper
• Scoring 2 marks for each correct answer, -0.67
  marks for each incorrect answer
• CSAT qualifying marks 33
• Cutoff marks for Paper-I Yet to be declared by
  UPSC
• Result to be announced by The first or second
  week of July 2024

Analysis of the UPSC Prelims 2024 Paper

• The number of questions having only one correct
  answer to two pairs of right choices was 17.
• Questions with only one correct option were 27
• Questions with multiple statements (1 2) were
  13
• Questions with multiple correct options were 43

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Estimates
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Difficulty-level

• Easy factual questions - 52
• Moderate - 34
• Difficult - 14

Subject-wise Question Distribution

• History - 12
• Geography - 18
• Polity Governance Social Justice - 21
• Economy - 15
• Science and Technology - 12
• IR/IO - 6
• Environment - 12
• Defence - 4

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Estimates
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Nature of the Questions

• This year, questions were more from traditional
  subjects compared to the dynamic current affairs.
• Geography questions had more focus on world and
  India mapping, highlighting the importance of
  knowing various geographical locations.
• Environmental issues and sustainability related
  topics received significant importance.
• The number of complex questions has gone down.
  Candidates could have answered correctly based on
  deductions.
• Cont

Nature of the Questions

• The number of difficult and random questions has
  gone down
• Questions from the sports and awards section were
  absent
• Modern History, Science Technology maintained a
  stable presence
• The dominance of Polity questions continued
• The Economy-related questions covered various
  aspects comprehensively
• Cont

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Estimates
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Nature of the Questions

• Defence was introduced as a new section in the
  wake of the evolving geopolitical landscape and
  national security concerns.
• Current affairs questions remained more or less
  easy.
• A new question type was introduced -
  matrix-matching question. It is intended to test
  the candidates ability to correlate multiple
  pieces of information.
• Questions on basic understanding of various
  subjects received significant emphasis.
• Standard CSE reference books proved more valuable

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Estimates
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Trends in UPSC Prelims Cut-off Marks in Paper-I
Category 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018
General category (GC) 75.41 88.22 87.54 92.51 98 98
Economically Weaker Section (EWS) 68.02 82.83 80.14 77.55 90 NA
Other Backward Castes (OBC) 74.75 87.54 89.12 89.12 95.34 96.66
ST 47.82 69.35 70.71 68.71 77.34 83.34
SC 59.25 74.08 75.41 74.84 82 84
PWD 1 40.4 49.84 68.02 70.06 53.34 73.34
PWD 2 47.13 58.59 67.33 63.94 44.66 53.34
PWD 3 40.4 40.4 43.09 40.82 61.34 40
PWD 5 33.68 41.76 45.8 42.86 61.34 45.34
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What are the Factors Influencing UPSC Cut-off
Marks?

• Fewer vacancies mean higher competition among
  candidates taking the exam, provided the number
  of candidates remains roughly similar.
• Higher competition means each candidate needs to
  secure high marks and thus higher cut-off marks
  for the year.
• If the percentage increase in vacancies is at par
  with the percentage increase in the number of
  candidates, cut-off marks may remain the same.

Difficulty Level of the Questions

• If the difficulty level of questions increases,
  cut-off marks decrease as candidates' chances of
  scoring average marks go down.
• So, a tougher exam pushes down cut-off marks.

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Estimates
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Performance of the Cohort
Despite tough questions, if the overall
performance of the cohort remains unaffected, the
cut-off marks may not go down.
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Estimates
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UPSC Prelims Cut-off 2024 IASGyans Estimate

• Based on the level of difficulty and our
  post-exam interaction with candidates, we believe
  cut-offs for UPSC Prelims 2024 will remain high
  across categories compared to previous years. The
  cut-off for the general category may remain in
  the range of 102 5.  
• How Does Knowing the Cut-off Mark Help You
  Measure Your Performance in UPSC Prelims?
• Understand where you stand in the competition
  Anyone appearing in a competitive exam possesses
  an idea of their individual performance. But
  cut-off marks help them preempt their chances of
  success. If they suspect scoring less than the
  estimated cut-off, candidates can start
  preparation for the next year without waiting for
  the UPSC to declare results. It saves time for
  preparation.
• Gauge the minimum preparation required in any
  competitive exam Despite yearly variance, the
  cut-off mark gives an idea of the average level
  of preparation you must have to clear the exam in
  a specific category.
• Set a realistic goal throughout your UPSC
  preparation. No preparation can be sufficient
  without a realistic aim. Knowledge of cut-off
  marks helps set achievable objectives while
  preparing for the CSE.

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Estimates
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THANK YOU!
IAS GYAN
iasgyan_at_aptiplus.in
91 8820341777
iasgyan.in
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Estimates