Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducted the preliminary Civil Service Exam (CSE) on May 28. The UPSC Prelims 2023 exam was held at 79 designated centres across the country. The exam was conducted successfully in pen-and-paper mode. Above 12 lakh candidates appeared in the exam for the recruitment of 1105 CSE and 150 IFS Group A and Group B Officers posts.
UPSC Answer Key 2023 (Prelims) – Important Points
- UPSC prelims answer key is prepared by Notesnbooks with the help of Top IAS coaching institutes in Delhi.
- For each question, answers are given with source and reference links to attain accuracy.
- UPSC Answer key is helpful for students to determine the expected marks on each section of the paper and based on which, they can start their preparation for the next level of the IAS exam.
UPSC does not use the terminology cut-off marks in their press releases; instead, they mention minimum qualifying marks. The minimum qualifying limit is determined based on the score of the preceding year IAS exam for each category. Say for example: if there are 400 vacancies in the general category, then the mark of the 400th general candidate’s marks will become the cut-off marks of the general category. So, there is no workable methodology or statistics to calculate the cut-off marks.
The minimum UPSC Cut off for each level of examination i.e., Prelims, Mains, and Final selection are released by UPSC after the final recommendation list. But students, who appeared for the prelims exam, will be eagerly waiting whether they are eligible or not for the mains examination. To offer help, many institutes predict the expected cut off marks based on their experience and careful analysis.
Video Analysis
Instructions to download UPSC Answer Key 2023
- Each set of question booklet is provided
- Candidates can click the link to the set of UPSC answer key
- The correct answer pdf file will open
- Applicants can download the UPSC answer key
UPSC Answer Key 2023 Paper 1
How to Evaluate the UPSC IAS Prelims Score?
It is important to know the exam-scoring pattern before you download the UPSC answer key.
- A preliminary exam has two papers- General Studies (GS) paper I and paper II or CSAT. Each paper is of 200 marks.
- General Studies Paper I include 100 questions. Each question has 2 marks and 0.66 marks are deducted for every wrong answer.
- GS or CSAT paper II has 80 questions. Each question has 2.5 marks and 0.85 marks are deducted for every wrong answer.
- GS Paper 2 (CSAT) is of qualifying nature. Students need to get 67 marks out of 200 to qualify for this paper. (Note: Cut off is calculated based on students marks on GS Paper 1 alone)
- Total Mark of Prelims = 400
Importance of UPSC Answer Key 2023
- Candidates have early and easy access to the online UPSC answer key.
- The UPSC answer key is available for the complete set of question papers.
- It is a credible source including the correct options of 180 objective questions of UPSC IAS prelims and providing the links and references to properly evaluate every answer.
UPSC Cutoff Marks of Previous Years
Category | 2020 Expected Cut off | 2019 Cut off | 2018 Cut off | 2017 Cut off | 2016 Cut off | 2015 Cut off | 2014 Cut off |
General | – | 98.00 | 98.00 | 105.34 | 116 | 107.34 | 205 |
OBC | – | 95.34 | 96.66 | 102.66 | 110.66 | 106 | 204 |
SC | – | 82.00 | 84.00 | 88.66 | 99.34 | 94 | 182 |
ST | – | 77.34 | 83.34 | 88.66 | 96 | 91.34 | 174 |
PH 1 | – | – | 73.34 | 85.34 | 75.34 | 90.66 | 167 |
PH 2 | – | – | 53.34 | 61.34 | 72.66 | 76.66 | 113 |
PH 3 | – | – | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 115 |
UPSC Result 2023
The candidates screened after the Prelims undergo the Mains exam which is subjective. UPSC Mains exam is considered as the mother of all exams in India since it is highly competitive in nature. In the Mains exam, candidates need to write 9 papers, in those two papers (English and Language) are qualifying papers. Merit for shortlisting candidates for interview is done based on marks secured in 7 papers for 1750 marks.
UPSC declares IAS Prelims Result within 2 months of the exam. The candidates shortlisted after the Mains exam will be eligible for the UPSC Civil Services personality test, which is the last and final phase of the Civil Services Exam.
UPSC declares the final recommended list of candidates for the various posts listed in Civil Services notification based on marks secured by candidates in Mains written exam and Interview score.
FAQs related to UPSC Answer Key 2023
Q. Does UPSC release answer key?
A. Yes! UPSC releases the official answer key on its website. The IAS prelims answer key will be released by UPSC after the declaration of the Final result. Candidates can check the official answer key on the UPSC website.