UPSC 2023: Students React To Preliminary Examination; Here’s The Anticipated Cut-off

On Sunday, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) held the Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2023. Many students, who took the initial test, found Paper-I General Studies (GS) to be the toughest, while a few others described Paper II CSAT to contain a moderate level of difficulty.

The UPSC Exam 2023 saw the participation of several aspirants, but only a few will qualify for the UPSC Mains Exam 2023. As per the experts and aspirants, the UPSC Prelims Exam 2023 featured questions spanning from moderate to difficult. The initial paper, General Studies, comprised 100 questions carrying a total of 200 marks. These questions posed a substantial challenge to aspiring UPSC candidates, demanding careful analysis and thoughtful responses.

The General Studies paper in the UPSC Prelims Exam 2023 contained approximately 32 questions on Geography, with 16 of them focusing on the environment. The exam included questions aligned with the NCERT pattern. Experts suggest that candidates who answer around 45 to 50 questions accurately have a good chance of qualifying for the UPSC Mains Exam 2023. A significant portion of the questions was based on current affairs from the year 2023.

The CSAT paper, which was the second paper in the UPSC Prelims 2023 exam, consisted of 80 questions worth 200 marks. Candidates who attempted the exam for the second or third time reported that the difficulty level was higher compared to previous years. Some aspirants have drawn comparisons between CSAT and the CAT exam. The UPSC Prelims 2023 has become a trending topic on Twitter in India.

As per the experts, the cutoff for UPSC Prelims 2023 could reach up to 85. Several UPSC candidates expressed their belief on Twitter that this particular exam might have been relatively easier for candidates with a background in IIT or IIM. However, they acknowledge that it could prove to be significantly challenging for other aspirants aiming to crack the exam.

Following the conclusion of the examination, several aspirants voiced their concerns on Twitter, sparking a debate on the internet.

Sarmad Mehraj, a teacher and Vice President of Products (UPSC) at BYJU’S, agreed that the difficulty level of this year’s paper was higher than the previous year’s. Consequently, it is anticipated that the cutoff for this year’s exam will be around 82-85 marks, which is lower than the cutoff of 88.22 marks in the previous year.

Sriram Srirangam Founder and Director of Sriram’s IAS stated that there is a slight modification in the question pattern of the exam. The conventional presentation of Assertion and Reason type questions have been altered.