May 25, 2025
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The UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2025 was held on 25 May 2025. Padhai now presents the official answer key for Prelims 2025 – General Studies Paper 1 and CSAT – for all sets (A, B, C, D). Candidates can use these PDFs to estimate their scores.
Table of content
The answer key PDFs for GS Paper 1 – for set C – is available for download. Click the link below to download the answer key for your set (placeholders shown):
GS Paper 1 – Set C
Download Answer Key (Answer key, full paper with answer key)
The CSAT (General Studies Paper 2) is qualifying in nature. This means candidates need only to meet the passing marks in CSAT to move on – it does not directly add to the Prelims cut-off. The minimum qualifying score is 33% of the total (i.e. at least 66 out of 200 marks) . Scoring below this threshold means a candidate will not qualify for the Mains, even if their GS Paper 1 score is high.
Key Point: Candidates must obtain at least 66 marks (33%) in CSAT to qualify. Unanswered CSAT questions simply yield 0 marks and carry no penalty.
The UPSC Prelims marking scheme for 2025 is as follows:
Paper | Correct Answer | Incorrect Answer | Un-attempted | No. of Q's | Total Marks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GS Paper 1 | +2 marks | -0.66 marks | 0 marks | 100 | 200 |
CSAT (Qualifying) | +2.5 marks | -0.83 marks | 0 marks | 80 | 200 |
Each correct answer in GS Paper 1 earns +2 marks, and each wrong answer loses 0.66 marks (one-third of 2).
Each correct answer in CSAT earns +2.5 marks, and each wrong answer loses 0.83 marks (one-third of 2.5).
No marks are deducted for unanswered questions in either paper.
These values are built into the official scoring system. For example, each incorrect answer in GS Paper 1 deducts one-third of the question’s value , and similarly for CSAT.
To estimate your Prelims score using the marking scheme:
GS Paper 1 Score = (Number of correct answers × 2) − (Number of wrong answers × 0.66).
CSAT Score = (Number of correct answers × 2.5) − (Number of wrong answers × 0.83).
Unanswered questions contribute 0 to the score. For example, if a candidate answers 50 questions correctly and 10 incorrectly in GS Paper 1, the score is (50×2) – (10×0.66) = 100 – 6.6 = 93.4. Similarly, in CSAT, answering 30 correctly and 5 incorrectly would be (30×2.5) – (5×0.83) = 75 – 4.15 = 70.85. Remember that for CSAT, only whether you reach 66 marks or not matters for qualification .
Visit the official source: Go to the official UPSC website.
Note: UPSC CSE Prelims 2025 official answer key will be released next year.
Locate the Prelims 2025 section: Look for a link titled “UPSC CSE Prelims 2025 Answer Key” (or similar) under the “Question Papers/Answer Keys” section.
Select Paper and Set: Choose “GS Paper 1” or “CSAT Paper”, then select the correct set (A, B, C, or D) matching your question paper.
Download the PDF: Click the link to download the PDF answer key. Save the file for review and calculation.
By following these steps, aspirants can easily access and use the official answer keys. Using the answer key with the marking scheme table above, candidates can compute their tentative Prelims score and assess their chances.
