UPSC CMS 2026 – Previous Year Cutoff Trends & Expected Cutoff

Rising cutoffs reflect increasing competition as more MBBS graduates appear each year, improved preparation quality, and the fixed/slowly increasing vacancy count. The trend of ~5–8 marks increase per year is consistent across 2019–2024.

Scoring 310+ out of 500 (62%+) in the written exam is generally considered a strong buffer for General category interview shortlisting. PSM and Medicine scores are particularly impactful given their higher question counts.

With 100 marks, the interview has a significant rank-determining impact especially when candidates have similar written scores. A difference of 15–20 marks in the interview can shift rank by 50–100 positions in a competitive merit list.

UPSC publishes a combined cutoff for all CMS services. Service-wise allocation is done post selection based on rank and preference. There is no separate cutoff for Railways vs CHS vs MCD.