The UPSC Main exam plays a critical role in qualifying the Civil Services examination as a whole. The marks scored by the candidates in the main exam and personality test are counted for determining the final order of merit. Therefore, candidates need to streamline their preparation and strategize accordingly for the IAS main examination.
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Minimum Qualifying Marks for the Main Examination Papers
The main examination comprises qualifying papers and other papers that are counted for merit. The qualifying papers are divided into Papers A and B. Paper A is on Indian languages that are part of the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. Candidates can choose any one of the Indian languages given in the Eighth Schedule. The Paper A on Indian Languages is not compulsory for candidates hailing from Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. Paper B is about the English language. Candidates have to score at least 25% marks in each qualifying paper in order to clear the main examination. If candidates are unable to clear the qualifying papers, they will not be eligible for the personality test, even if they qualify Papers I-VII.
Main exam papers that are counted for merit include:
- Paper-I Essay
- Paper-II General Studies-I
- Paper-III General Studies -II
- Paper-IV General Studies -III
- Paper-V General Studies -IV
- Paper-VI Optional Subject – Paper 1
- Paper-VII Optional Subject – Paper 2
Candidates have to mandatorily score minimum 10% marks in each of the 7 papers as well as clear the total or overall cut-off marks for the main exam as determined by the Commission. If a candidate does not score 10% marks in even one of the papers, he or she will not be able to qualify the main exam. The minimum qualifying marks for various main exam papers is given in the table below.
Minimum Qualifying Marks for the Main Examination Papers
| Paper(s) | Minimum Qualifying Marks | Maximum Marks | |
| Qualifying Papers | Paper-A
Indian Language |
25% marks | 300 |
| Paper-B English | 25% marks | 300 | |
|
Papers to be counted for merit |
Paper-I Essay | 10% * | 250 |
| Paper-II General Studies-I | 10% * | 250 | |
| Paper-III General Studies -II | 10% * | 250 | |
| Paper-IV General Studies -III | 10% * | 250 | |
| Paper-V General Studies -IV | 10% * | 250 | |
| Paper-VI Optional Subject – Paper 1 | 10% * | 250 | |
| Paper-VII Optional Subject – Paper 2 | 10% * | 250 | |
| *Note:Candidates have to clear the minimum qualifying marks of 10% in each paper i.e. Paper I – VII as well as the total cut-off marks for all the papers (I-VII) counted for merit determined by the Commission | |||
UPSC Civil Services Main Exam Cut-off 2020
The total cut-off marks for Civil Services Main Exam 2020 for various categories is given in the table below. This total cut-off is subject to the mandatory 10% marks that candidates have to score in each of the seven papers i.e. Essay, GS-I, GS-II, GS-III, GS-IV, Optional-I and Optional-II.
Category-wise Civil Services (Main) 2020 Examination Marks
| Category | UPSC Cut-off Marks |
| General | 736 |
| EWS | 687 |
| OBC | 698 |
| SC | 680 |
| ST | 682 |
| PwBD-1 | 648 |
| PwBD-2 | 699 |
| PwBD-3 | 425 |
| PwBD-4 | 300 |
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