UPSC Prelims 2021 Question Paper – Analysis, Discussion, and Expected Cut Off

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has successfully conducted the preliminary stage of the Civil Services Examination. Earlier, the exam was supposed to take place on June 29, 2021 but had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 situation in the country. The UPSC prelims 2021 exam was conducted across 77 cities in the country. Now, with the completion of the examination, let’s take a look at the question paper analysis, discussion and expected cut-off for UPSC 2021.

As per the candidates, the questions were quite basic. There weren’t many twists and turns in the questions. As a result, candidates having sound knowledge about the concepts and themes are likely to get through the examination. Polity, for most candidates, was the easiest part as maximum questions were directly asked from the book.

However, according to experts, the nature of the UPSC prelims 2021 question paper was different. The difficulty level of the question paper was somewhere between moderate to difficult. As a result, the cut-off can be expected to reach a higher mark this time. Questions from sports like the inclusion of new items in the 32nd Olympics, political nature like parole and judicial custody were asked this time. However, like previous times, UPSC has maintained the difficulty level not on the nature of questions but rather on the choices.

Soon after the completion of the UPSC prelims 2021 examination, various coaching institutes and subject experts have come up with elaborate discussions on the question paper. These discussions are now easily available on YouTube. So, head straight to the YouTube search box and type ‘UPSC prelims 2021 discussion’ and go through the videos that come up. In this regard, discussions by BYJU’s IAS, Path Finder, Khan Study Group, Unacademy UPSC Articulate, etc. can be helpful. These videos can help aspirants get an idea about the answers they have marked and the tentative score in the examination.

The candidates were of the opinion that the UPSC prelims 2021 question paper was not as tough as compared to the previous years. As a result, the expected cut-off is likely to remain somewhere between 98 and 102. Other candidates were of the opinion that the expected cut-off can be around 85-90. On the other hand, experts are of the opinion that the cut-off for the UPSC prelims 2021 examination is likely to be similar to that of last year, i.e. around 92.

Now, candidates who have appeared for the examination should continue with their preparation for the UPSC Main examination. For reference, here are the direct links to the UPSC prelims 2021 question papers that have been released by various coaching institutes.