UPSC CSE 2023: How Are Cut-off Marks Decided? Know the Tie-breaking Rules

One of the toughest exams in the world, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has many types of rules for candidates appearing in the civil services exam. Parameters including age and educational qualification are considered for appearing in the exam. At the same time, the commission also uses its tie-breaking method before sharing the rank list of the exam.

Several times the marks of two or more candidates in an examination are equal. In such a situation, it is not easy to decide the rank of the candidates. Various organisations prepare rank or result on the basis of tie-breaking rules and UPSC is one of them. Know the guidelines of cut-off marks and tie-breaking rules of UPSC CSE 2023:

UPSC CSE tie-breaking principle

Every candidate giving UPSC civil services exam must know some basic rules. The rank is not decided according to the name in the UPSC cut-off list. If the marks of two or more candidates are equal, then the rank is decided on the basis of tie-breaking rules.

1- The candidate who has scored more marks in compulsory papers and personality tests, his rank will be higher.

2- If the marks are also the same, then a higher rank will be allotted to the older candidate.

3- In some rare cases, if both marks and age are equal, then that candidate will be given priority, who has secured more marks in compulsory paper only.

Also read| UPSC CSE 2023 Admit Card Released at upsc.gov.in, Check Steps to Download

How are UPSC CSE cut-off marks decided?

The commission decides the cut-off marks on the basis of various factors:

1- Number of vacancies

2- Total number of candidates who appeared in the exam at each stage

3- Marking scheme

4- General, OBC, SC, ST, and PwBD category reservation policy

5- Difficulty level of questions

6- Previous years cut off the pattern

Meanwhile, UPSC has released the annual exam calendar for the recruitment exams for 2024. The CSE prelims and mains exam dates, as well as the dates of notification and registration for the prelims exam, have been published in the exam calendar. According to the timetable, the notification for the same will be released on February 14.