UPSC Cut Off 2020: Prelims, Mains & Final (Category-wise)
Every category's cut-off for CSE 2020, how many candidates made it through each stage, and what changed from 2019. Read it as a map of the road, not a wall.
UPSC 2020 at a glance
UPSC 2020 cut-off by category
| Category | Prelims / 200 | Mains (written) / 1,750 | Final / 2,025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| General | 92.51 | 736 | 944 |
| EWS | 77.55 | 687 | 894 |
| OBC | 89.12 | 698 | 907 |
| SC | 74.84 | 680 | 875 |
| ST | 68.71 | 682 | 876 |
| PwBD-1 | 70.06 | 648 | 867 |
| PwBD-2 | 63.94 | 699 | 910 |
| PwBD-3 | 40.82 | 425 | 675 |
| PwBD-5 | 42.86 | 300 | 465 |
Prelims cut-off is on GS Paper I only; CSAT needed 33%. Mains needed at least 10% in each of the seven ranked papers. Final marks are those of the last recommended candidate.
UPSC 2020: from application to selection
- Applied
- Appeared in Prelims
- Qualified for Mains
- Appeared in Mains
- Called for interview
- Recommended
Bar lengths use a log scale so the last stages stay visible.
In CSE 2020, 46% of applicants actually sat Prelims. About 1 in 46 of them reached Mains, 1 in 5 Mains writers got an interview call, and 41% of those interviewed were finally recommended.
Category-wise numbers, 2020
| Category | Applied | Appeared | Qualified for Mains | Appeared Mains | Interviewed | Recommended |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General | 3,73,564 | 1,75,405 | 4,287 | 4,296 | 734 | 315 |
| EWS | 49,514 | 24,507 | 1,074 | 985 | 232 | 88 |
| OBC | 2,93,655 | 1,47,134 | 2,931 | 2,859 | 677 | 245 |
| SC | 2,38,012 | 1,01,459 | 1,512 | 1,466 | 272 | 124 |
| ST | 85,315 | 34,265 | 760 | 737 | 134 | 61 |
What changed from 2019
- The General Prelims cut-off moved to 92.51 from 98.00 (down 5.49). A lower line usually means a tougher paper. If you found the paper hard, so did everyone else.
- Mains (written) for General: 736 against 751 (down 15). The final cut-off: 944 against 961 (down 17).
- EWS Prelims: 77.55 (was 90.00). OBC: 89.12 (was 95.34). SC: 74.84 (was 82.00). ST: 68.71 (was 77.34).
- Applications fell 8.4% to 10,40,060, and 4,82,770 actually sat the paper (from 5,68,282).
- Vacancies: 836, 91 fewer than 2019 (927). Fewer seats usually push the final cut-off up.
Cut-offs are a moving line, and that is good news: they reward the candidate who prepares for any paper, not the one who guesses the number. Practise with the real 2020 questions below and you will see exactly where those marks came from.
UPSC Prelims 2020 question paper with answers
Your year can look different
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What was the UPSC Prelims cut-off in 2020?
General 92.51, EWS 77.55, OBC 89.12, SC 74.84 and ST 68.71 out of 200 (GS Paper I; CSAT is qualifying).
What was the UPSC Mains and final cut-off in 2020?
For General, 736 in Mains (written) out of 1,750 and 944 in the final list out of 2,025. Category-wise numbers are in the tables on this page.
How many candidates appeared in UPSC 2020?
10,40,060 applied for CSE 2020 and 4,82,770 appeared in Prelims. 10,564 qualified for Mains, 10,343 wrote it, 2,053 were called for interview and 836 were recommended.