The UPSC Prelims 2024 was held on June 16, 2024 in two sessions – morning session for the General Studies Paper I and the afternoon session for the CSAT or General Studies Paper II. Candidates who clear the prelims exam by getting the required cut-off marks will be eligible to take the UPSC Mains exam which is scheduled to be held in September 2024.
Candidates can expect a cut-off of around 95 to 100 in UPSC Prelims 2024, which is less than last year’s cut-off, which was 75.41.
Important Updates on UPSC Prelims Question Paper Analysis
The general consensus is that the UPSC prelims 2024 was more conceptual than based on current affairs. Hence, it is not considered a difficult paper. It is considered easier than the UPSC Prelims 2023. Check out the UPSC Prelims 2023 question paper in the linked article.
Aspirants can download the UPSC Prelims 2024 question paper in the link.
- The maximum number of questions were asked from the polity section, followed by economy.
- There were new types of questions in the prelims paper this time. Match the following had three columns, and there was an increase in the number of ‘assertion-reason’ type of questions.
- There were less number of ‘pair-type’ questions in UPSC 2024 prelims.
UPSC Prelims Question Paper Analysis Subject-wise
The next table gives the number of questions asked from each subject.
| Subject | Number of Questions |
| Polity | 17 |
| Economy | 16 |
| Geography | 14 |
| Science and Technology | 14 |
| Environment | 14 |
| International Relations | 13 |
| Modern History | 5 |
| Art & Culture | 4 |
| Ancient History | 3 |
| Total | 100 |
Polity
According to experts, polity questions were very easy, especially compared to last year. If students had studied their concepts properly, they would have been able to solve all the polity-based questions. The polity questions were straightforward and simple.
Indian Economy
Questions from the static portions of the syllabus were linked to the current affairs, as was expected. Most of the economy questions were from banking and finance. A basic understanding of concepts like CSR, capital, TFR, digital rupee, government securities, etc. would have helped candidates ace this section.
Geography
Candidates who focused on the basic concepts and the atlas while preparing for the geography section of the UPSC syllabus would have found it easier to tackle the geography-based questions in the UPSC prelims 2024.
Science & Technology
As expected, the questions from the science and technology section of the UPSC prelims 2024 paper centred around current affairs and applications. Questions were based on ‘general’ understanding and not in-depth knowledge of science and technology concepts. There were 14 questions from this subject in the 2024 prelims GS paper 1.
Environment & Ecology
In the environment section of the UPSC prelims 2024, there were 14 questions asked. This was not the easiest of sections in this year’s prelims paper with some of them being difficult. This is an area that is invariably quite linked to current affairs. There were questions based on species, reports, etc. and were mostly fact-based.
International Relations
Questions were generally easy from this section. There were a total of 13 questions from the international relations segment of the syllabus. Students who had prepared current affairs topics well would have found this segment easy as questions were mainly from current events.
History and Art & Culture
There were 12 questions from the history and art and culture segments of the syllabus. While there were five from modern history, 3 were from ancient history and 4 from the art and culture section. The questions were rated moderately difficult by the experts and the usual suspects Buddhism and the Vijayanagara Empire (indirectly) were present.
Related Links:
| UPSC Question Paper | UPSC Cut off |
| UPSC 2023 Answer Key | UPSC 2024 Prelims Answer Key |
| UPSC Mains | UPSC Mains Question Papers |
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