UPSC optional subjects
The table below lists the names of the UPSC optional subjects for the UPSC CSE(Main) exam.
| Agriculture | Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science | Anthropology | Botany | Chemistry |
| Civil Engineering | Commerce and Accountancy | Economics | Electrical Engineering | Geography |
| Geology | History | Law | Management | Mathematics |
| Mechanical Engineering | Medical Science | Philosophy | Physics | Political Science and International Relations |
| Psychology | Public Administration | Sociology | Statistics | Zoology |
UPSC Mains Cut-off Marks – Over the Years
| Year | Cut-off Marks | Percentage |
| 2005 | 986/2000 | 49.3 |
| 2006 | 975/2000 | 48.75 |
| 2007 | 1005/2000 | 50.25 |
| 2008 | 954/2000 | 47.7 |
| 2009 | 899/2000 | 44.95 |
| 2010 | 904/2000 | 45.2 |
| 2011 | 842/2000 | 42.1 |
| 2012 | 700/2000 | 35 |
| 2013 | 562/1750 | 32.1 |
| 2014 | 678/1750 | 38.74 |
| 2015 | 676/1750 | 38.62 |
| 2016 | 787/1750 | 44.97 |
| 2017 | 809/1750 | 46.22 |
| 2018 | 774/1750 | 44.22 |
| 2019 | 751/1750 | 42.91 |
| 2020 | 736/1750 | 42.05 |
| 2021 | 745/1750 | 42.57 |
ANALYSIS OF GS I PREVIOUS YEAR PAPERS:
| YEAR | HISTORY | ART AND CULTURE | GEOGRAPHY | INDIAN SOCIETY |
| 2013 | Freedom Struggle – 3Post Independence – 5World History – 4 | 3 | 12 | 6 |
| 2014 | Freedom Struggle – 3World History – 3 | 4 | 10 | 5 |
| 2015 | Freedom Struggle – 2World History – 2 | 2 | 7 | 6 |
| 2016 | Freedom Struggle – 3World History – 1 | 2 | 9 | 6 |
| 2017 | Freedom Struggle – 1Post Independence – 3World History – 1 | 2 | 6 | 7 |
| 2018 | Freedom Struggle – 1Post Independence – 2 | 3 | 4 | 11 |
| 2019 | Freedom Struggle – 2Post Independence – 1World History – 1 | 1 | 8 | 10 |
| 2020 | Freedom Struggle – 2 | 4 | 8 | 6 |
| 2021 | Freedom Struggle – 2 | 5 | 8 | 5 |
| 2022 | Freedom Struggle – 3 | 3 | 8 | 6 |
ANALYSIS OF GS II PREVIOUS YEAR PAPERS:
| YEAR | POLITY | GOVERNANCE | SOCIAL JUSTICE | INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS |
| 2013 | Polity – 4Constitution– 4 | 5 | 5 | 7 |
| 2014 | Polity – 2Constitution– 4 | 6 | 3 | 5 |
| 2015 | Polity – 4Constitution– 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 2016 | Polity – 4Constitution– 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| 2017 | Polity – 6Constitution– 2 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| 2018 | Polity – 10Constitution– 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| 2019 | Polity – 6Constitution– 2 | 6 | 2 | 4 |
| 2020 | Polity – 4Constitution– 6 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| 2021 | Polity – 3Constitution– 6 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| 2022 | Polity – 6Constitution– 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
ANALYSIS OF GS III PREVIOUS YEAR PAPERS:
| YEAR | ECONOMICS | AGRICULTURE | SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY | SECURITY | DISASTER MANAGEMENT |
| 2013 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
| 2014 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| 2015 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| 2016 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| 2017 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| 2018 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| 2019 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| 2020 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| 2021 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| 2022 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
ANALYSIS OF GS IV PREVIOUS YEAR PAPERS:
| YEAR | ETHICS | ATTITUDE | APTITUDE | MORAL THINKERS | EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE | PUBLIC ORGANISATIONS AND PROBITY IN GOVERNANCE |
| 2013 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 2014 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 2015 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 2016 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| 2017 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| 2018 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 2019 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 11 |
| 2020 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 9 |
| 2021 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 10 |
| 2022 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11 |