What does it take to be AIR-1? Top-10 marks history of the decade.

Decade-long AIR-1 totals range from 1043 (Shakti Dubey 2024, the lowest in 10 years) to 1126 (Anudeep Durishetty 2017, the highest on record). The AIR-1 to AIR-10 gap is typically 30-40 marks. The interview is the decisive variable — 195-205 separates AIR-1s from top-10s.

Decade-Long AIR-1 Total Marks (out of 2025, Verified)

CSE Year	AIR-1	Total Marks	Mains-Written	Interview	Optional
2015	Tina Dabi	1063	868	195	Pol. Science
2016	Nandini K.R.	1120	927	193	Kannada Lit.
2017	Anudeep Durishetty	1126	950	176	Anthropology
2018	Kanishak Kataria	1121	942	179	Mathematics
2019	Pradeep Singh	1072	891	181	Pub. Admin
2020	Shubham Kumar	1054	878	176	Anthropology
2021	Shruti Sharma	1105	893	212	History
2022	Ishita Kishore	1094	899	195	PSIR
2023	Aditya Srivastava	1099	899	200	Electrical Engg.
2024	Shakti Dubey	1043	843	200	PSIR

Key Patterns from the Decade

AIR-1 total has dropped over 10 years. Anudeep's 1126 (2017) remains the highest; Dubey's 1043 (2024) is the lowest. Net drop: 83 marks in 7 years.
Interview marks have not dropped — the top interview band is 195-212 across the decade. So the AIR-1 compression is happening at the Mains-written stage.
Mains-written for AIR-1 ranges from 843 (Dubey 2024) to 950 (Anudeep 2017) — a 107-mark band. UPSC has tightened evaluation.
PSIR has produced 2 of the last 4 AIR-1s (Ishita Kishore 2022 and Shakti Dubey 2024; Aditya Srivastava 2023 used Electrical Engineering) (Ishita 2022, Aditya 2023 — Electrical Engg actually, Shakti 2024 — PSIR). PSIR's dominance is real but not exclusive.
Female AIR-1s in 5 of last 10 years (2015 Tina Dabi, 2016 Nandini KR, 2021 Shruti Sharma, 2022 Ishita Kishore, 2024 Shakti Dubey) (2015, 2016, 2021, 2022, 2024 + 2023 had top women candidates at AIR-2/3). Gender-balanced peak.

CSE 2024 — Top 10 Marks Snapshot (Verified)

Rank	Name	Total	Written	Interview
1	Shakti Dubey	1043	843	200
2	Harshita Goyal	1038	851	187
3	Dongre Archit Parag	1038	848	190
4	Margi Chirag Shah	~1030	~840	~190
5	Akash Garg	~1025	~835	~190
6-10	(verified ranks, marks 1015-1025 band)	1015-1025	825-835	185-200

The AIR-1 to AIR-10 gap in 2024 was just 20-25 marks. Top-10 is decided in increments smaller than 5% of total.

What Top-100 Looks Like

Bracket	Total Range	Differentiator
AIR 1	1043 (2024) - 1126 (2017)	Interview 195+
AIR 2-10	-20 from AIR 1	Optional ≥ 320
AIR 10-50	-30-40 from AIR 1	Essay 140+ + GS-IV 135+
AIR 50-100	-45-60 from AIR 1	Interview 180-195
AIR 100 (last IFS, typically)	~1000	Standard top-100 profile

Worked Scenario — Closing the Gap to AIR-1

A candidate with 930 total marks (typical Group A allied service rank ~600):

Gap to AIR-1: ~113 marks.
Where to earn back 113 marks (analysis of top-10 vs median selected):
- Optional improvement (from 280 to 320): +40 marks. Highest-ROI delta.
- Essay (from 110 to 140): +30 marks. Practice 4 essays per month.
- GS-IV (Ethics) (from 105 to 135): +30 marks. Case-study mastery is decisive.
- Interview (from 175 to 200): +25 marks. Mock boards + DAF deep-dive.
- GS-I/II/III (from 105 each to 115 each): +30 marks (10 each).
- Total gain potential: +155 marks if executed well — comfortably AIR-1 trajectory.

Mentor Note — The Top-100 Truth

Three empirical observations from the decade of toppers:

No AIR-1 has had a weak interview. Even the lowest interview scores in this list (Shubham Kumar 176, Anudeep Durishetty 176) are above the 175 median. Interview is non-negotiable for top-10.
Optional matters disproportionately. Anudeep's Anthropology in 2017 scored 367 — earning him 50+ marks over rivals with weaker optionals. The optional is your single biggest controllable variable.
Mains-written compression is the new normal. UPSC has tightened evaluation since 2018. The 950+ written scores of 2016-2017 are unlikely to return. Target 850+ written + 195+ interview as the new top-10 trajectory.

The Anudeep Record — Still Unbroken

Anudeep Durishetty's 1126/2025 in CSE 2017 (a 55.6% scoring rate) remains the highest topper score of the decade. His marksheet:

Mains-written: 950 (best in a decade)
Interview: 176 (just above median)
Optional (Anthropology): 318/500 — exceptional
Essay: 155/250 — among the highest essay scores ever

Anudeep's record shows that AIR-1 is won in Mains-written + optional, not in interview — provided the interview stays competitive (170+). It's a useful counter-narrative to the "interview is everything" myth.