UPSC Paper Analysis: What experts said about the Civil Services Prelims exam 2024

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducted the Civil Services Preliminary examination in two shifts on Sunday, June 16. There were two papers in the preliminary round for 400 marks in various subjects. UPSC CSE Prelims 2024 live updates UPSC Paper Analysis: What experts said about the Civil Services Prelims exam

According to Basava Uppin, Faculty- Economy, Rau’s IAS Study Circle, there were 18 questions from the Indian Economy in the Prelims test. Out of the 18 questions, 7 were from Banking and Finance, 3 were related to Government schemes and the rest of the questions were from other themes such as Taxation, and Infrastructure.

Now catch your favourite game on Crickit. Anytime Anywhere. Find out how

In pictures: Candidates appear for UPSC Civil Services Prelims examination 2024

Out of the 18 questions, around 12 were “easy to moderate,” he said.

“Overall, the Economy section was along the expected lines in terms of overall weightage to Economy (18 Questions) and in terms of weightage to Themes ( Majority of the questions are from Banking and Finance). Most of the questions have been asked from the Static/Core part and only few questions have been asked from Current Affairs,” he said.

“Under the Theme of Banking and Finance, Focus has shifted from chapter of Monetary Policy to Capital Market/Money Market. UPSC has also continued with its previous pattern of asking questions related to Schemes (Digital India, PM-SYM, Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan), Core Concepts ( sectors of Economy, Types of Physical Capital), Important Economic Developments in other countries (Venezuela Crisis, US Debt Crisis),” he added.

According to Uppin, most of the questions from the Economy section required the students to identify "which statements are correct?" rather than " how many statements are correct?"

He said an average well-read student could easily answer 10-12 questions out of 18 questions through the elimination method.

Arun Bharadwaj, Faculty of Science and Technology at the same institute stated questions from Science and Technology were mostly easy to moderate.

There were around 11 questions from the topic, consistent with the trends of recent years. Students with a basic understanding of key areas should be able to answer these accurately, he said.

Indrajeet Bariar, Faculty- Geography at the institute said that the Prelims paper this year was easier compared to last year.

"The questions have largely remained concept-based…the majority of the questions could be answered through a basic understanding of the subject,” he said.

Gajanan Dwivedi, Faculty- History at Rau’s IAS Study Circle said, "The history questions are moderate compared to last year, with some repetition of themes. The weightage of art and culture is higher than modern history, similar to the previous year. Elements of current affairs are evident in the culture section, such as the question on UNESCO intangible cultural heritage.”

Anubhav Sharma, Faculty of Polity, Rau’s IAS Study Circle said, "Upon reviewing the question paper, I observed that the Polity section comprised 15 questions. Of these, 10 were easy, 2 were of medium difficulty, and 3 were tough. Notably, 10-12 questions were drawn from the last two years. Impressively, 13 out of the 15 questions were directly covered in my classes. Although the tough questions were more challenging than last year’s, the remaining 12 followed a predictable pattern.”

Ankit Kaul, who teaches International Relations at the institute said nine questions were asked from the topic of his interest.

Akshay Vrat, Faculty- Environment said there were 14 questions on environment and ecology.

According to him, the Majority of questions were moderate in terms of difficulty.

“Barring two questions, the rest of the questions are either inspired from current affairs or are from class notes and compass. Overall the question paper seems easier than last year, mostly because of appreciable changes brought in our study material and pedagogy,” he said.

The general overview of the paper, according to Jaikrit Vatsal, Head of Academic operationsof the institute, was that it was simpler as compared to the last few years.

“Overall, our assessment is that the cut-off for the prelims this year will increase. The paper is on the lines of 2021–22, and the expected cut-off should be between 95 and 100,” he said.