Candidates anticipating for the CSIR-UGC NET June 2026 result can expect cutoffs to fluctuate considerably from one examination cycle to another. The official cutoff data for June 2022, June 2024, and December 2024 show that the qualifying benchmark for Physical Sciences did not follow a steady upward or downward trend.
The most notable movement was seen in the General-category JRF cutoff. It stood at 50.25% in June 2022, fell to 43.813% in June 2024, and subsequently increased to 54.188% in December 2024.
This means the General JRF cutoff was 6.437 percentage points lower in June 2024 than in June 2022, but 10.375 percentage points higher in December 2024 than in June 2024.
What about the PhD-only category?
The December 2024 data also provides a separate cutoff for candidates eligible for PhD admission only (Category 3).
For Physical Sciences, the cutoff was:
UR: 37.563%
EWS: 33.063%
OBC: 33%
SC: 25%
ST: 25%
PwD: 25%
June 2024 was an unusually low-cutoff cycle
One of the clearest takeaways from the comparison is the sharp dip in Physical Sciences cutoffs in June 2024.
The UR JRF cutoff fell from 50.25% in June 2022 to 43.813% in June 2024. The EWS cutoff dropped from 42.94% to 36%, while the OBC cutoff declined from 41.56% to 37.188%. SC and ST cutoffs also declined during the same period.
The subsequent December 2024 cycle reversed much of this decline, with the UR JRF cutoff reaching 54.188%.
Therefore, candidates should be cautious about treating a previous examination's cutoff as a fixed target. The available data indicates that the Physical Sciences cutoff can move substantially between examination cycles.
For CSIR NET Physical Sciences, the recent data tells a story of volatility rather than a consistent rise or fall. The June 2024 cycle had notably lower cutoffs, while December 2024 saw a strong rebound, taking the General JRF cutoff to 54.188% — higher than the 50.25% recorded in June 2022.
Source: CSIR-HRDG official cutoff documents for June 2022, June 2024 and December 2024. The December 2024 examination was held on February 28, March 1 and 2, 2025, with results declared on April 30, 2025.
