https://upsc.gov.in/examinations/previous-question-papers

2025 official papers uploaded.

MAINS MARKS CALCULATION

MY OBSERVATION: It is a relative exam. We don't know how bad how good we wrote. Because we can never gauge the preparation level of competitors


MY EXPERIENCE: Based on my understanding of demand of questions.
1. 2021 GS3, I was expecting around 70. Got 94.
2. 2021 Essay, had tears in eyes when I was writing it. Was expecting 80. Got 121.
3. 2022 GS 3, was expecting 105, got 74.
4. 2022 GS1, left 25 marks blank, was expecting 85, got 105.
5. 2023 GS3, left 70 marks blank, was expecting 65, got 89
6. 2023 GS4, Left 2 case studies blank, was expecting 95, got 119.
Etc etc


MORAL OF THE STORY: We tend to get better/best marks in our perceived worse papers. And bad marks in best papers.
Why?
Because it is UPSC 😄

I hope, you got my point.
STOP OVERTHINKING on your anticipated marks, start some action after some ghaple-baazi 😇

Good Luck

FOR TECHNICAL OPTIONALS

There is NO UNIFORM SCALING FACTOR for both paper 1 and paper 2. It varies as per NORMAL DISTRIBUTION CURVE.
1. For >210 correct attempt, I observed 0.75 scaling factor for maths paper 1 and 0.8 for paper 2.
2. For <170 correct attempt, they were 0.65 and 0.74 types for maths.

Hence, stop overthinking on this also. Most of the time, we don't know where we will land on the curve(because most don't know how to calculate correct attempt).

Also, there is ZERO RELATION between Mocks marks and Actual marks.

UPSC rewards on the basis of
1. How well you addressed the Demand of questions rather than value enrichment/diagrams etc.
2. They are flexible wrt unique and novel content(Which is completely absent in mocks checking).

So, don't take load if you didn't get good in mocks and don't be confident also if you scored good in mocks.


My personal experience has been
It is an INVERSE RELATIONSHIP😝
(They once gave me 69 in GS1 but upsc gave me 96 in same year, didn't cross 100 in GS2/4 but upsc rewarded with 115-119)

I hope you got my point ✅
Good Luck.

WHY GS3 IS LESS SCORING?

1. More objective and less Subjective nature of questions. They are more fact driven in nature rather than analysis or opinionated(gdp method change, chandrayan payloads, etc). Either your point is correct or wrong. It can't be in between.

2. Economists love Data. They don't even talk without data and facts. They expect data for arguments. But we can't learn too much data.

3. More subjects with different subject expertise, may require more teachers to check. Hence more subjectivity

Hence, Try to control the controllables.

Suna hai calculator app open rehta hai har time ajkal sabka 😝

Just had a look at 2025 GS papers.

If you follow the COMPARTMENTALISATION approach to GS papers, i.e don't establish LINKAGES between GS 1,2,3,4 papers, it is very very tough to answer questions.

My approach of reading Cross Papers Subjects Together was again proved SINE QUA NONE like reading and recalling
1. Geography, Env, DM, Agriculture
2. Society, social justice
3. Ethics, governance
4. IR, security etc
these together, cross sectional approach.

They are merging questions of GS3 in GS1, GS4 in GS1, GS4 in GS2 etc.

Hence, ALL PAPERS SHOULD BE TREATED AS 1 SINGLE PAPER AND NOT AS 7 DIFFERENT PAPERS.

Those who go for GS 1-2 and don't revise GS 3-4 subjects and vice versa, won't perform well. Similarly you have to prepare notes(what I actually dealt with in the SIP course)

If you are going to write society(GS1 paper) without recalling social justice(GS2), you won't be able to impress the examiner.
PERIOD.

POST MAINS PLAN

There are always 3 categories of students after mains.
1. Absolutely confident of iv call
2. Mid way, not sure of call but mains went well.
3. Almost certain of flunking.

Category 1 and 2 should IN ANY CASE start DAF-2 after a short ghaple-baazi break(5-7 days)

Category 3, need to decide if they will appear again? If yes, then INTROSPECT(WHAT and WHY went wrong--revisit the scene of crime i.e 2025 paper) and IMPROVISE (HOW to improve)

DAF-2/INTERVIEW PLANNING

3 Categories of Questions in Interview.
1. Profile based, homestate, college, education, hobbies, optional or Section 7 of Daf-2 etc
2. Current or news inspired
3. HR based, i.e personal preferences like why civil services, gap year justify, services, cadre, etc

NATURE of questions can be 4 types
1. Opinion based(taking stand)
2. Analysis based(why and how)
3. Factual
4. Situational(Case study) in all the 3 categories mentioned above.


ADVICE for Now:
Category 1 and 2 students should start with Profile based questions
(category 1). As they are
1. Factual And Static in nature.
2. It is a FUN activity to Search for yourself 😜

As of now, keep it easy and fun based, Start Searching For Yourself!!! Slowly slowly we will enter the den using FOOT IN THE DOOR EFFECT and will start with category 2 and 3 questions.

Good Luck
NFU

https://youtu.be/_U1OWmUf_cQ

From 147 to 236 in Agriculture Engineering – a 90+ mark jump!
In this video, I've shared the exact strategy, study plan, and mindset that made it possible.
If you’re aiming for a big score boost in your next Forest Mains, this is a must-watch.
@ifosreflections

It's Self introspection phase.
Chatgpt or Google can't help much 😝

Dimag chalao dimag!!!

IIT Delhi, if mentioned in daf-2

Find basic reasons for the same.
Bombay got 3rd place in engg and 4th in research. Why?

4 SOURCES TO GATHER QUESTIONS for Daf-2/Interview

1. PYQs, i.e past transcripts
2. Seniors with similar entries of daf-2.
3. Own anticipation
4. Mocks of some good panel.

DAF-2 questionnaire prepared by coaching is as useful as SSC GK questions for UPSC prelims!!!

Keep NEWS of your Daf-2 entries under your radar all the time.

News which relates with more than 2-3 entries is very important.

India's neighbourhood is under turbulence and instability.

But, india has not seen this till date!!
What is the reason?

(I was asked this in one of the Iv mocks in 2022) Context: Nepal crisis 2025.