Latest news with #UPSCCivilServicesPreliminaryExamination2025
Time of India
26-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
UPSC Prelims Answer Key 2025 Out: Step-by-Step guide to download official PDF from upsc.gov.in
The UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2025, held on May 25th, included a CSAT paper deemed moderately difficult. While the official UPSC answer key is pending, coaching institutes have released unofficial versions for candidates to assess their performance. The exam mirrored previous years, featuring a notable increase in comprehension questions. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Download UPSC Prelims Answer Key 2025 Steps to Download the Official UPSC Prelims 2025 Answer Key Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads The UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2025 was conducted on May 25, 2025, with the CSAT (General Studies Paper 2) held in the afternoon session. While the official answer key from the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) will be released after the completion of the entire examination cycle, including the Mains and Interview stages, several reputed coaching institutes have published their unofficial answer keys to aid candidates in assessing their CSAT paper in the UPSC Prelims 2025 was considered moderately difficult. The exam followed familiar patterns with no unexpected elements, though many candidates noted a rise in comprehension-based questions. Overall, those who took the test felt it was comparable in difficulty to the previous year's exam. Candidates can also find a detailed section-wise analysis, including the number of questions from each section, the overall difficulty level, and video reactions from those who appeared for the official UPSC Prelims 2025 answer key will be released by the Commission next year, following the announcement of the final results. Along with the answer key, UPSC will also specify any questions that were excluded from evaluation. In the previous year's exam, three questions were dropped. Meanwhile, candidates can refer to questions and answer keys provided by various coaching should be aware that the official UPSC Prelims 2025 Answer Key PDF will be published only after the final results are announced next year. In the meantime, they can refer to the unofficial answer keys available here to compare and verify their released, the official UPSC answer key for the Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2025 will allow candidates to officially verify their responses from the prelims exam. To download it, follow these steps:Step 1: Visit the official UPSC website at 2: Go to the 'Examinations' sectionStep 3: Click on 'Answer Keys'Step 4: Locate and download the UPSC Prelims 2025 answer key.
Time of India
25-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
UPSC Prelims 2025 exam analysis: 2nd shift paper review, difficulty level, answer key & students' reactions
UPSC Prelims 2025 exam analysis: The UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2025 was conducted on May 25, 2025, in two shifts. The second shift, starting at 2:30 PM, saw candidates tackling the General Studies Paper 2 (CSAT). UPSC Prelims 2025 2nd Shift Exam The UPSC Prelims 2025 exam is an important step for those aiming for top civil services posts. The second shift focused on Paper 2, also known as CSAT (Civil Services Aptitude Test). This paper tests aptitude, reasoning, and comprehension skills. Candidates had to carry their admit cards. They were required to report 30 minutes before the exam started. UPSC Prelims 2025 2nd Shift Paper Analysis & Difficulty Level The CSAT Paper 2 is expected to be of moderate difficulty, just like previous years. Candidates can expect questions mainly from comprehension, logical reasoning, and basic quantitative aptitude. The reading comprehension passages are likely to be straightforward but will need careful reading. Some questions may take more time, so managing time will be important. Overall, the paper is expected to test understanding, accuracy, and speed in a balanced way. Subject-Wise Analysis of UPSC Prelims 2025 2nd Shift Below is the Subject-Wise Analysis of UPSC Prelims 2025 2nd Shift listed: Types of Questions in CSAT Paper 2 The question types included: Reading comprehension Logical reasoning puzzles Basic numeracy and data interpretation Decision-making and problem-solving scenarios UPSC Prelims 2025 Paper 1 vs Paper 2 Difficulty Level Paper 1 was known for its conceptual depth. Questions from Geography and Science were more detailed. Paper 2 had moderate difficulty level. It was similar to the pattern seen in previous years. Below is the required UPSC Prelims 2025 Paper 1 vs Paper 2 Difficulty Level listed: Official UPSC Prelims 2025 Answer Key (out soon) The official UPSC Prelims 2025 answer key will be released after the full exam cycle is over. This includes the Mains and Interview stages. UPSC will upload the answer keys on its official website. Candidates can download the keys for both General Studies Paper 1 and CSAT (Paper 2) from there. Download UPSC Prelims Answer Key 2025 (Unofficial) Here we will share the unofficial answer key 2025 soon after today's exam conclusion. Students' Reactions on UPSC Prelims 2025 Paper 2 Students are expected to respond tensed yet relaxed after the UPSC Prelims 2025 first shift. Many may find the paper challenging but still manageable. Reactions are likely to reflect balanced difficulty. We will soon share student responses for the 1st shift once the exam ends at 2:00 PM. UPSC 2025 Expected Cutoff The UPSC Prelims 2025 cutoff will depend on a few key factors. These include the difficulty level of the paper and the number of vacancies. As the vacancies are expected to be around 1000, like previous years, the cutoff will mostly depend on how tough the paper is.
India Today
24-05-2025
- General
- India Today
UPSC Prelims 2025 on May 26: Exam day rules, dress code and what to carry
The UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2025 is happening on May 26, and the admit cards are already live on With thousands of aspirants set to appear, it's important to know exactly what to carry and what not to bring to the exam will be conducted in two shifts -- first from 9:30 am and the second from 2:30 pm. But remember, you must reach the centre at least 30 minutes before the shift starts, as entry will close by TO CARRY TO UPSC PRELIMS 2025Bring only the essentials:Printout of your admit card (no digital copies)Black ballpoint pen – no other pen will be acceptedPhoto ID that matches the one mentioned on your admit cardTwo passport-size photos (with your name and date on them) if your admit card photo is unclear or missing detailsSimple wristwatch (smartwatches or digital watches are banned)If your photo on the admit card is not clear or missing details, you must also submit a written undertaking along with your NOT TO BRING TO THE UPSC EXAMThe list of banned items is long, and carrying any of them could lead to strict action, including cancellation of your candidature. Here's what to leave at home:Mobile phones, even switched offSmartwatches or digital watchesBags, books, or notesExpensive items or gadgetsAny accessory-fitted watches or devicesadvertisementThe exam centre will not provide any storage, so if you bring a banned item, you're responsible for storing it violation could even result in an FIR or a ban from future UPSC exams, so best to play it safe and follow all rules closely.
Hans India
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Collector orders measures for smooth civil services prelims
Tirupati: District Collector Dr S Venkateswar has instructed officials to ensure all necessary arrangements are made for the smooth and fair conduct of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2025, scheduled to be held on May 25. Chairing a review meeting on Tuesday, the Collector discussed exam-related preparations with DRO G Narasimhulu and other concerned officials. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Venkateswar stated that 13 examination centres have been arranged across Tirupati district, where 5,261 candidates are expected to appear for the examination. He emphasised that the exam should be conducted in an orderly manner, without any irregularities or lapses. The preliminary examination will be held in two sessions: the first session from 9.30 am to 11.30 am, and the second session from 2.30 pm to 4.30 pm. The Collector directed that all arrangements, including logistics, security, and basic amenities, be in place ahead of the exam day. Mobile phones, electronic devices, smart watches, wireless headsets, and other electronic gadgets will not be permitted inside the exam centres. Section 144 will be enforced around the exam centers to maintain law and order. The Collector also instructed the officials to ensure uninterrupted power supply, provision of drinking water, and availability of clean toilet facilities at all centres. He further asked the RTC authorities to arrange adequate bus services to help candidates reach the centres on time. Tirupati RDO Ramamohan and other officials were present.
Indian Express
14-05-2025
- General
- Indian Express
CSAT Exam Hall Strategy : Step-by-step guide to score atleast 66.67 marks in UPSC Prelims 2025
Dear UPSC aspirants, The UPSC CSAT examination is just a few days away, and with the admit cards now released, many aspirants are turning their attention to exam hall strategy and how best to attempt the paper. Over the past few years, CSAT — once considered a qualifying formality — has evolved into a silent eliminator, filtering out candidates regardless of their General Studies performance. With just days remaining before the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2025, aspirants across the country are intensifying their preparations. While General Studies continues to command the bulk of attention, the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) presents its own set of challenges — and risks. Recognising this shift, UPSC Essentials launched the 'UPSC CSAT Simplified' series earlier this year. The aim: to break down key concepts from the CSAT paper and offer practice questions to help candidates track their progress. Today, we pause from the usual syllabus-driven discussions to address an often overlooked yet vital aspect of preparation: exam hall strategy. In this article, Manas Srivastava speaks with CSAT expert Mudit Gupta, who shares practical strategies to help candidates secure the crucial one-third qualifying marks in CSAT. His insights focus not just on improving accuracy, but also on avoiding common time traps. Whether you're a first-time candidate or a returning aspirant, a methodical approach to the CSAT paper could make all the difference on May 25 — the day of prelims exams. About our Expert: Mudit Gupta has been a mentor and faculty for the UPSC Civil Services exam for 8 years with expertise in CSAT, Polity, International Relations, and Current Affairs. He is known to break complex concepts into simpler ones that allow UPSC aspirants to develop a grip over the subject matter. There is a widespread misconception that CSAT is all about tough mathematics questions, and students from a humanities background cannot solve them. Experience tells me that CSAT is an unpredictable turf ground. There have been instances when English reading comprehension was more difficult than quantitative aptitude. So, there is no generalised fixed trend regarding the difficulty level of the CSAT exam. It varies every year. Moreover, many aspirants from premier engineering colleges of the country have failed to score the minimum 1/3 marks in CSAT on multiple occasions. So, the stream of the candidate is immaterial while solving the CSAT paper. It's a misconception that students from a science background have an edge over others in the CSAT paper. Each one of us has certain strong and weak areas in a subject. However, to clear the exam, we cannot just attempt the questions only from our strong areas. The weightage of every chapter is limited, and to be able to clear the cut-off comfortably, we need to attempt the questions from across the spectrum. Sometimes, aspirants move ahead with the strategy of finding the questions from a specific chapter or a specific subject in the paper first and then attempting questions from other areas. This is a time-consuming and inefficient strategy. To find questions from a specific chapter or subject out of the mixed bag of 80 questions is time-consuming and will eat up the time from the limited 120 minutes that we have to solve the 80 questions. It is always advisable to solve the questions in the order in which they appear in the question paper. Before pouncing on the prey, a lion always takes a step back. That stepping back is not a weakness, but rather the strength of a lion. Following the similar analogy, whenever you encounter a question that you think is partially solvable or you're not very confident about its answer, it is always better to skip that question. Every negative mark will erode your positive marks and thus pull you downwards. Skipping a question will fetch you 0 marks, but wrongly attempting a question will take away your 0.83 marks Just before the exam, this is one question that I am asked the most. The number of questions to be attempted depends solely on your accuracy in the exam hall. It is a given that you don't need to attempt all 80 questions. Some aspirants have a preset number in mind regarding the number of questions to be attempted. In the quest to achieve that number, they tend to over-attempt, ultimately leading to negative marking. Never enter the exam hall with a preset number. Depending on the difficulty level of the overall paper and the difficulty level of individual subjects of quantitative aptitude, logical reasoning, and English reading comprehension, you should decide how much to attempt in the overall paper and how much to attempt from each subject. Ideally, to attempt 80 questions in 120 minutes, you need 1.5 minutes per question. However, the requirement of CSAT is such that we don't need to attempt all 80 questions to be on the other side of the cut-off. While attempting the CSAT paper, different questions will require different amounts of time depending on the length of the paragraph or the length of the calculation involved. Hence, we cannot assign a uniform amount of time to every question. However, a few basic parameters to be kept in mind while solving the questions would be: if you think that a question is a bit on the lengthier side, but you're confident of getting close to the right answer, you should attempt it. Moreover, avoid the ego battles at all costs. If there's a tough question from your strong area, and it is likely that you will not get the answer, in such cases, you should not be stubborn and, rather, move ahead to capture the low-hanging fruit. BTW: Haven't tried our UPSC CSAT Practice Sets yet? Check out CSAT Practice Set 1 (click here), Practice Set 2 (click here), Practice Set 3 (click here), Practice Set 4 (click here),Practice Set 5 (click here) , Practice Set 6 (click here) , Practice Set 7 (click here) , Practice Set 8 (click here) ,Practice Set 9(click here),Practice Set 10(click here)., Practice Set 11(click here), Practice Set 12 (click here). and Practice Set 13 (click here). The CSAT paper refers to the General Studies Paper-II of the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination which is a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33 per cent or 66.67 marks. This 200 marks paper comprises questions on comprehension, interpersonal skills including communication skills, logical reasoning, and analytical ability, decision making and problem solving, general mental ability, basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class 10 level), data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. — Class 10 level). The questions are of multiple choice, objective type. Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter and stay updated with the news cues from the past week relevant for your UPSC Exam. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X.
