UPSC Civil Services 2019 Prelims Exam Toughest in Last Five Years

NEW DELHI, JUNE 3: Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Examination (prelims) was reportedly the toughest in the past five years. According to media reports, the changed paper pattern and a slight shift in the trend of the questions were the major contribution in the increased difficulty level of the exam. This made the exam quite tough for those candidates who were prepared for the conventional paper pattern.

As per the experts analysis it is predicted that the with an increased level of difficulty, the expected cut off of UPSC Civil Services exam will be low. On the basis of various reports published on news sites, it is expected that the cut off for the general category can be around 95-105, for OBC it can be around 85-95 while for SC and ST, it is expected that the cut off can be 75-85 and 65-75 respectively. For PWD candidates, The cut off may be around 60-70. Therefore, the minimum cut off percentage can be around 57%.

Most of the questions asked in the exam were from Current Affairs and Technology which were more or less moderate to difficult level questions. There were few questions from Geography, which was reported to be difficult though. Apart from these subjects, there were about 8 questions asked from Ancient and Medieval Indian History, while questions from Modern Indian History were also included. There were a total of 6 questions asked from Agriculture, 14 questions were asked from Indian Polity while 12 questions were there from Economy.

The prelims exam was held for two papers – General Studies paper I and General Studies paper II. Both papers contained 100 questions of 2 marks each. Candidates who qualify in the prelims exam will only be able to appear in the mains exam. To qualify the prelims exam, candidates will have to score the minimum cut off marks. However, it is mandatory for them to score 33% marks in order to pass the exam and compete for the cut off scores.