UPSC Prelims Answer Key 2025 (Unofficial) – GS Paper 1 & CSAT PDF for All Sets

Updated On: May 27, 2025 4:27 pm

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) successfully conducted the Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2025 on 25th May 2025 across various examination centres in India. As thousands of aspirants await their results, several reputed coaching institutes have released their unofficial answer keys to help candidates evaluate their performance. This comprehensive guide provides detailed insights into the answer key, exam pattern, marking scheme, and important next steps for UPSC aspirants.

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UPSC Prelims Answer Key 2025

The UPSC Civil Services Exam (CSE) is one of India’s most prestigious competitive examinations, recruiting candidates for elite services like the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), and other central government positions. The preliminary examination serves as the first screening test before the Mains and Interview stages.

Key Highlights of UPSC Prelims 2025

Total Vacancies: 1,129 (across various services)
Exam Mode: Offline (Pen-and-Paper Based)
Papers Conducted:
- General Studies (GS) Paper 1 – 100 questions (200 marks)
- Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) Paper 2 – 80 questions (200 marks)
Negative Marking:
- 1/3rd deduction for wrong answers
- No penalty for unanswered questions

UPSC Prelims 2025 Answer Key – Unofficial vs. Official

Unofficial Answer Key (Released by Coaching Institutes)

Several leading IAS coaching institutes, including StudyIQ, Vision IAS, and Drishti IAS, have released their unofficial answer keys based on student feedback and expert analysis. These keys help candidates:
✔ Estimate their probable scores before the official declaration
✔ Identify incorrect attempts to understand mistakes
✔ Gauge competition level based on expected cut-offs

Note: Since these keys are prepared by third-party experts, there might be minor discrepancies. Candidates should cross-verify with multiple sources.

Official UPSC Answer Key (To Be Released Later)

The UPSC official answer key will be published on their website upsc.gov.in only after the final results are declared. However, candidates can raise objections (if any) during the limited window provided by UPSC.

UPSC Prelims 2025 Marking Scheme & Cut-off Prediction

Detailed Marking Scheme

Component	GS Paper 1	CSAT Paper 2
Total Questions	100	80
Marks per Question	+2	+2.5
Negative Marking	-0.66	-0.83
Maximum Marks	200	200
Qualifying Marks	33% (66 marks)	33% (66 marks)

Expected Cut-off Trends (Previous Years vs. 2025 Prediction)

Category	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025 (Expected)
General	87.54	88.22	75.41	75.82	76-82
OBC	84.85	87.54	73.69	74.75	74-78
SC	75.41	74.08	68.71	69.35	70-73
ST	70.71	69.35	65.34	66.27	67-70
EWS	80.14	82.83	71.59	72.71	73-76

(Cut-off marks vary based on difficulty level and normalization)

How to Calculate Your UPSC Prelims 2025 Score?

Follow these steps to estimate your marks:

Download the unofficial answer key from a reliable source.
Compare your responses with the provided solutions.
Apply the marking scheme:
- +2 marks for each correct answer in GS Paper 1.
- +2.5 marks for each correct answer in CSAT Paper 2.
- -0.66 marks for each wrong answer in GS Paper 1.
- -0.83 marks for each wrong answer in CSAT Paper 2.
Total your score and compare it with previous years’ cut-offs.