UPSC Prelims Results: How cut-offs swung from a historic low for Aditya Srivastava to an upward surge for Anuj Agnihotri | Education News
3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jun 15, 2026 10:48 PM IST
UPSC Prelims Results 2026 Soon: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) announced the Civil Services Preliminary Examination (CSE) 2026 results on late June 15 evening. Going by the commission’s trend over the last few years, prelims results are generally declared within 15 to 20 days of the examination, placing this year’s result dates around mid-June.
Live Updates | UPSC Prelims results 2026
This year’s preliminary examination has been widely described by experts and candidates as unconventional and tougher than recent editions. Analyses by The Indian Express noted that the papers were lengthy and analytical, featuring ethics-style reasoning, statement-based questions and a strong emphasis on adaptability rather than rote learning.
Several experts have suggested that the nature of the paper could push the cut-off lower than in previous years.
As lakhs of aspirants await the result, here’s a look back at the candidates who topped the Civil Services Examination (CSE) in the last three years. While all of them eventually secured the highest ranks in the final merit list, they came through prelims conducted in years that witnessed markedly different cut-off trends.
UPSC CSE 2025: Anuj Agnihotri tops, cut-off rises
The top three rank holders in the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2025 were:
–Anuj Agnihotri
–Rajeshwari Suve M
–Akansh Dhull
| General | EWS | OBC | SC | ST |
| 87.98 | 85.96 | 87.28 | 79.27 | 74.23 |
The prelims examination conducted in 2025 was generally regarded as more straightforward than the highly unpredictable papers seen in some earlier years. As a result, the General category cut-off moved upward and stood at 87.98 marks, among the highest in recent years. The relatively high scores across categories reflected a paper that candidates found more approachable than some of the recent editions.
UPSC CSE 2024: Shakti Dubey topped the exam
The top three rank holders in the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2024 were:
–Shakti Dubey
–Harshita Goyal
–Dongre Archit Parag
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| General | EWS | OBC | SC | ST |
| 87.28 | 85.92 | 87.28 | 79.03 | 74.23 |
The 2024 cycle saw a moderation in the cut-off after the unusually high levels recorded a year earlier. The General category prelims cut-off was 87.28 marks. While still high by historical standards, it showed a paper that balanced factual knowledge with analytical reasoning and did not have the sharp fluctuations seen in some previous years.
UPSC CSE 2023: Aditya Srivastava secures AIR 1
The top three rank holders in UPSC Civil Services Examination 2023 were:
– Aditya Srivastava
– Animesh Pradhan
– Donuru Ananya Reddy
| General | EWS | OBC | SC | ST |
| 75.41 | 68.02 | 74.75 | 59.25 | 47.82 |
The 2023 prelims became one of the most talked-about papers in recent UPSC history due to its unpredictability and emphasis on elimination techniques. The General category cut-off dropped sharply to 75.41 marks, the lowest in several years.
What do the cut-off trends indicate for 2026?
A common thread linking the years in which these toppers emerged is that the prelims cut-off has closely mirrored the perceived difficulty of the examination. The General category cut-off moved from 75.41 in 2023 to 87.28 in 2024, and then 87.98 in 2025.
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The trend is visible across reserved categories as well. The OBC cut-off climbed from 74.75 in 2023 to 87.28 in both 2024 and 2025, while the SC cut-off increased from 59.25 to around 79 marks over the same period. ST candidates saw perhaps the most significant jump, from 47.82 in 2023 to over 74 marks in the next two cycles.
With experts describing UPSC Prelims 2026 as lengthy, analytical and highly unpredictable, several estimates have placed the likely cut-off near or even below the levels seen in 2023.