Expected cut off Marks of Prelims 2014

Expected cut off Marks of Prelims 2014:

The discussion among Civil service aspirants who have given the Exam on 24th August is what would be the cut off for this year.
(1)The cut off of 2012 Prelims for General candidates was 209 marks,OBC 190 marks, SC 185 marks and ST 181 marks
(2) The cut off of Prelims 2013 for General candidates was 241 marks,OBC 222 marks, SC 207 marks and ST 200 marks
(3)I have arrived at the tentative cutoff for Prelims 2014 based on the following facts
(a)Most of the students who have appeared for Prelims this year(including some candidates who went for 2013 interview or who got Group A services)have scored atleast 40 marks less than last year
(b) 2014 paper 1 and paper 2 are comparatively complex and tough when compared to 2012 paper
(c) 2014 paper 1 and paper 2 are comparatively much more tough when compared to 2013 paper
(d)Maximum marks this year is 385 marks unlike the earlier years where it was 400 marks
(e) History,Constitution,Economy which constitute approximately 55% of questions every year and on which students spend lot of time during preparation is approximately just 27% of total questions in this year (2014)
(f)The passages in Paper 2 were very lengthy
(g)Decision making questions which constitute 7 questions(17.5 marks) in 2012 and 2013 papers were missing in 2014 paper. There were NO negative marks for this 17.5 marks. This year students did not have the liberty of 7 questions or 17.5 marks without negative marks
(h) Vacancies of 2014 are much higher than 2012 and 2013
(4) Considering the above facts, we expect the cut off to come down and may be around 200 Marks(pessimistic) for General, 180 Marks for OBC and 170 marks for SC/ST candidates. Optimistically it may further go down.
Best wishes for your result. Please start your Mains preparation immediately. Those who do not wait for results and start their preparation immediately after Prelims Exam have greater chance of qualifying in Mains.
Best wishes.
R.A.Israel Jebasingh (IAS-2004 batch)