CSE 2023 vs 2024 vs 2025: What the Final Results Actually Tell Us
A structured, data-first comparison of UPSC Civil Services Main Examination recommended candidate lists across three consecutive years — total selections, category-wise trends, topper scores, and what aspirants should read into these numbers.
Every year, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) releases the final list of recommended candidates for the Civil Services Examination — the most closely tracked document in the Indian competitive examination space. For aspirants, analysts, and coaching institutions, this list is more than a roll of successful names. It is a data source: a record of selection trends, reservation patterns, score distributions, and structural shifts in one of the world’s most competitive examinations.
With the CSE 2025 final results now available (March 2026), it becomes possible for the first time to compare three consecutive years of data: 2023, 2024, and 2025. This article presents that comparison in a structured, verifiable manner — drawing directly from the official UPSC recommended candidate lists for all three years, without speculation or extrapolation beyond what the data supports.
This article covers: total recommended candidates, category-wise (UR / OBC / EWS / SC / ST) breakdowns, PwBD representation, top scores, and score band comparisons across CSE 2023, CSE 2024, and CSE 2025. Cut-off marks analysis is excluded from this piece.
Year-Wise Snapshot: At a Glance
Before going into category or score detail, the most basic question every aspirant asks is: how many candidates were finally recommended? The answer reflects notified vacancies, selection ratios, and the competitiveness of the funnel.
| Parameter | CSE 2023 | CSE 2024 | CSE 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Recommended | 1,016 | 1,009 | 958 |
| Highest Final Score | 1,099 | 1,043 | 1,071 |
| Score at ~Rank 100 | ~995 | ~984 | ~1,000 |
| Score at ~Rank 200 | ~980 | ~968 | ~983 |
| PwBD Candidates | 30 | 45 | 42 |
| Rank 1 Topper | Aditya Srivastava | Shakti Dubey* | Anuj Agnihotri |
| Topper Score | 1,099 | 1,043 | 1,071 |
*The CSE 2024 official list does not carry pre-assigned serial ranks. Shakti Dubey is identified by the highest computed score (Written + Interview). Verify against UPSC’s official CSE 2024 rank list before citing.
Total Recommended Candidates: Three-Year Trend
The total number of recommended candidates shows a clear directional pattern — broadly stable between 2023 and 2024, then a meaningful contraction in 2025.
2023 and 2024 remain broadly comparable, with a difference of just 7 candidates. The more notable shift occurs in 2025, where total recommended candidates fall to 958 — a reduction of approximately 51 from 2024, and 58 fewer than 2023. This is a meaningful contraction, not a statistical rounding variation.
The total recommended candidates broadly corresponds to the advertised vacancy count for that examination cycle. UPSC does not always fill all vacancies if sufficient merit is not demonstrated. The final figure may also reflect post-interview adjustments. Aspirants should refer to the official UPSC notification for each year to cross-check vacancy figures, as the recommended list itself does not state vacancy numbers explicitly.
Category-Wise Selections: A Detailed Breakdown
The reservation framework — Unreserved (UR), Other Backward Classes (OBC), Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), Scheduled Castes (SC), and Scheduled Tribes (ST) — remains structurally consistent year to year. However, absolute numbers within each category fluctuate based on total vacancies and merit within each pool.
| Category | CSE 2023 | CSE 2024 | CSE 2025 | 3-Year Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UR | 347 | 335 | 317 | ↓ Declining |
| OBC | 303 | 318 | 306 | → Stable |
| EWS | 115 | 109 | 104 | ↓ Gradual decline |
| SC | 165 | 160 | 158 | ↓ Marginal decline |
| ST | 86 | 87 | 73 | ↓ Notable drop in 2025 |
| Total | 1,016 | 1,009 | 958 | ↓ Declining |
Reading the Category Trends
Unreserved (UR): UR selections have declined steadily — from 347 in 2023 to 317 in 2025. This is consistent with the overall reduction in total recommended candidates. The proportional share of UR within the total remains broadly 33–34% across all three years.
OBC: OBC is the most stable category — 303 in 2023, rising to 318 in 2024, then returning to 306 in 2025. These numbers track closely with overall vacancy levels without an independent directional trend.
EWS: EWS selections show a steady decline from 115 (2023) to 104 (2025). The reduction is gradual and likely reflects proportional effects of lower total vacancies rather than any systemic change in EWS criteria.
SC: SC selections — 165, 160, and 158 — have been consistent. The marginal decline tracks overall selection totals and does not indicate any structural shift in SC representation.
ST: The ST category records the sharpest shift: from 87 (2024) to 73 (2025), a 16% reduction in a single cycle. Given that ST vacancies are determined by the reservation matrix applied to total notified posts, this likely reflects lower total vacancies in 2025 — though this should be verified against the official UPSC CSE 2025 notification.
PwBD Representation: A Notable Rise Since 2023
Candidates with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) are accommodated through a horizontal reservation mechanism. The PwBD numbers across three years show a pronounced directional shift that stands apart from all other category trends.
The jump between 2023 and 2024 — from 30 to 45 PwBD candidates — is the single most pronounced category-level shift across all three years. The 2025 figure of 42 confirms this elevated level is being sustained rather than reverting to the earlier baseline. Year-wise variation in PwBD numbers is primarily a function of total notified PwBD vacancies and the horizontal reservation mandate as applied to actual selections.
The PwBD categories represented in all three lists include PwBD-3 (locomotor disability / cerebral palsy) and PwBD-5 (multiple disabilities), among others. Aspirants seeking specific PwBD eligibility criteria should consult the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and the relevant UPSC notification directly.
Rank 1 Across Three Years: Topper Profiles
The candidate who secures the highest combined score each year sets the benchmark for that examination cycle. Comparing topper profiles illuminates both the written and interview dimensions of elite performance.
*The CSE 2024 official list does not carry pre-assigned serial ranks. Shakti Dubey is identified by the highest computed combined score (W_TOTAL + PT_MARKS = 1,043). Cross-verify against UPSC’s official CSE 2024 rank list before citing.
The 2023 topper score of 1,099 is the highest across all three years. Aditya Srivastava’s written mark of 899 is the highest among all three toppers — illustrating how dominant written performance can define Rank 1. The 2024 topper score (1,043) is the lowest of the three cycles. The 2025 score (1,071) represents a recovery, though it trails 2023 by 28 marks. Notably, the 1,100 mark has not been crossed in any of these three years.
Competitive Score Bands: Key Rank Positions
Score data from the recommended list shows how written performance and interview scoring interact across years. The figures below show the approximate final combined score at key rank benchmarks.
The score required to be in the top 100 has hovered in the 984–1,000 range across all three years. The 2025 figure of approximately 1,000 at rank 100 is the highest of the three years, suggesting the competitive band compressed slightly upward — candidates needed higher combined scores to reach the same rank position compared to 2024.
Written vs. Interview Balance: Among the top 10 candidates in each year, written scores generally range between the low-800s and mid-870s, with personality test contributions from approximately 160 to 220 marks. For aspirants targeting the top 100, written scores in the 780–870 range combined with PT marks above 175 generally position candidates in that bracket. The interview accounts for only 275 of the approximately 2,025 total marks, but it can be decisive in the marginal scoring band where ranks 95 and 110 are separated by very few marks.
Structural Observations Across Three Years
Moving from 1,016 → 1,009 → 958, the overall recommended count has trended downward. Greater competition for a marginally smaller number of posts is the direct implication for 2025.
OBC selections stayed within a narrow 303–318 range across all three years — the most consistent of any category in this dataset.
The 50% jump from 2023 (30) to 2024 (45) is the single most pronounced shift in this dataset. The 2025 figure of 42 confirms this elevated level is being sustained.
From 87 (2024) to 73 (2025) — a 16% reduction in one cycle. The likely driver is the overall vacancy contraction. Verify against official UPSC CSE 2025 notification.
The highest score across all three years is 1,099 (CSE 2023). The 1,100 barrier has not been crossed. Securing 1,000+ consistently places a candidate in a strong competitive position.
Despite topper score variation, the score needed around rank 100 has remained in the 984–1,000 band — remarkably consistent even as total vacancy numbers shifted.
What This Data Means for Aspirants
Comparative data across examination years is most useful when interpreted carefully rather than reactively. Three clear strategic points emerge from this analysis.
The reduction in 2025 is real, but the score required for a rank in the 100–300 range has not shifted dramatically. The competitive standard has stayed broadly constant even as total posts contracted.
A 60-mark spread in the personality test — not uncommon among candidates — can separate final ranks by 20 to 30 positions. Aspirants who treat the interview as secondary often leave significant marks unclaimed.
For OBC, EWS, SC, and ST candidates, category-wise counts remain proportionally consistent. The selection pool within each category is highly competitive in its own right.
At Legacy IAS, our approach to result analysis is to use data from official sources to ground aspirant strategy in reality — not to create anxiety around yearly fluctuations. The three-year window covered here shows a competitive environment that is demanding but structurally stable. Candidates who secure strong written marks combined with a confident, well-prepared interview performance remain the consistent profile of successful selections year after year.
- Total recommended candidates declined: 1,016 (2023) → 1,009 (2024) → 958 (2025).
- UR selections declined steadily; OBC remained the most stable category across all three years.
- EWS and SC numbers tracked gradually downward with overall vacancy reductions.
- ST saw the sharpest proportional drop in 2025 — a 16% reduction from 2024.
- PwBD representation rose sharply from 30 (2023) to 45 (2024) and held at 42 (2025).
- Highest topper score across three years: 1,099 (CSE 2023). The 1,100 mark has not been crossed.
- The score required around rank 100 has stayed in the 984–1,000 range across all three years.
- Written-interview balance is critical — both dimensions determine final rank in a narrow margin examination.
Conclusion
Three years of UPSC Civil Services final results, read together, reveal a competitive landscape that is gradually contracting in scale while remaining structurally consistent in its selection framework. The 2025 cycle records the lowest total recommendations of the three years and the sharpest reduction in ST selections, while sustaining the elevated PwBD inclusion that emerged in 2024.
For aspirants currently preparing for CSE 2026 or reviewing their approach post-CSE 2025, the lesson from this data is straightforward: the competitive standard required to secure a rank in the upper half of selections has not changed dramatically. What changes each year is the margin — and in an examination where a few marks determine whether a candidate secures the IAS, IPS, or IRS, that margin is everything.
Preparation calibrated to the actual competitive standard — neither overconfident nor anxious — remains the approach most consistent with what the data tells us about who finally gets recommended.
