CSAT (Paper II): previous-year questions
1280 real UPSC Prelims questions (2011–2026) with the official answer and a clear explanation. 400 of them came in the last five papers.
How often UPSC asks this
Questions per year, counted from the official papers.
Subtopics
Arrangements, ranking, ordering and puzzles
142 questions
Clocks and calendars
5 questions
Coding-decoding, series, patterns, cubes, dice and visual reasoning
110 questions
Communication, interpersonal skills and decision-making
10 questions
Counting, permutations, combinations and probability
1 questions
Directions, blood relations and Venn diagrams
60 questions
General English: grammar, vocabulary and comprehension
20 questions
General Hindi: grammar, vocabulary, dialects and comprehension
25 questions
Geometry and mensuration
26 questions
Number system and basic algebra (divisibility, HCF/LCM, remainders, digits, equations)
196 questions
Percentages, profit and loss, discount, simple and compound interest
47 questions
Ratio, proportion, averages, mixtures and alligation
47 questions
Syllogisms, statements and conclusions, assumptions and arguments
89 questions
Time and work; pipes and cisterns
2 questions
Time, speed and distance; trains, boats and streams; races
48 questions
Attempt the questions
Newest papers first. Tap an option; the answer and the reason appear instantly.
In a city, 12% of households earn less than ₹ 30,000 per year, 6% households earn more than ₹ 2,00,000 per year, 22% households earn more than ₹ 1,00,000 per year and 990 households earn between ₹ 30,000 and ₹ 1,00,000 per year. How many households earn between ₹ 1,00,000 and ₹ 2,00,000 per year?
Answer (b) & explanation
240 households earn between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 2 lakh (b). Step 1: 12% earn below Rs 30,000 and 22% earn above Rs 1 lakh. So the middle group, Rs 30,000 to Rs 1 lakh, is 100 − 12 − 22 = 66%. Step 2: 66% = 990 households, so 1% = 15 households. Step 3: those above Rs 1 lakh are 22%, and those above Rs 2 lakh are 6%. So Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh = 22 − 6 = 16% = 16 × 15 = 240. Options (a), (c) and (d) do not fit.
Tip: "more than Rs 1 lakh" includes "more than Rs 2 lakh". Subtract the inner group to get the band in between.
the 6% earning over ₹ 2 lakh is inside the 22%.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
The medium term challenge for Indian manufacturing is to move from lower to higher tech sectors, from lower to higher value-added sectors, and from lower to higher productivity sectors. Medium tech industries are primarily capital intensive and resource processing; and high tech industries are mainly capital and technology intensive. In order to push the share of manufacturing in overall GDP to the projected 25 per cent, Indian manufacturing needs to capture the global market in sectors showing a rising trend in demand. These sectors are largely high technology and capital intensive.
Which among the following is the most logical and rational inference that can be made from the above passage?
Answer (c) & explanation
India should raise public investment and encourage private investment in R&D, technology and skills (c). Step 1: the passage says sectors with rising global demand are "high technology and capital intensive". To move into them, India needs investment in research, technology and skills. That is option (c). Step 2: option (d) says India already has a big share in these sectors. That contradicts the passage's line that India "needs to capture" it. Step 3: option (b) says such industries are not possible in India, which is defeatist. Option (a) gets the facts wrong.
Tip: a good inference points to the step that fills the gap the passage names. Here the gap is technology and capital.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
If second and fourth Saturdays and all the Sundays are taken as only holidays for an office, what would be the minimum number of possible working days of any month of any year?
Answer (b) & explanation
The minimum is 22 working days (b). Step 1: every month has exactly two "second and fourth" Saturdays. Sundays number 4 or 5. Step 2: February in a normal year has 28 days and 4 Sundays: 28 − 4 − 2 = 22. A leap-year February with 5 Sundays: 29 − 5 − 2 = 22. Step 3: a 30-day month with 5 Sundays gives 30 − 5 − 2 = 23. A 31-day month gives at least 24. So the minimum is 22. Option (a), 23, is from a 30-day month. Options (c) and (d) would need more holidays than possible.
Tip: for "minimum in any month", test the shortest month first, February, with the most Sundays it can have.
a 30-day month with 5 Sundays gives 23. February is the shortest month.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
We live in digital times. The digital is not just something we use strategically and specifically to do a few tasks. Our very perception of who we are, how we connect to the world around us, and the ways in which we define our domains of life, labour and language are hugely structured by the digital technologies. The digital is everywhere and, like air, invisible. We live within digital systems, we live with intimate gadgets, we interact through digital media, and the very presence and imagination of the digital has dramatically restructured our lives. The digital, far from being a tool, is a condition and context that defines the shapes and boundaries of our understanding of the self, the society, and the structure of governance.
Which among the following is the most logical and essential message conveyed by the above passage?
Answer (b) & explanation
The message is that speaking of digital technologies is speaking of our life and living (b). Step 1: the passage calls the digital "a condition and context" that shapes self, society and governance. It is not just a tool; it is part of how we live. That is option (b). Step 2: option (a) says digital tools can solve all problems of governance. "All" goes too far. Step 3: option (c) says creativity cannot be expressed without digital media, and option (d) says digital is needed for mankind's existence. Both go well beyond the passage.
Tip: extreme words like "all", "cannot" and "existence of mankind" are signs of an overstated option.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Two walls and a ceiling of a room meet at right angles at a point P. A fly is in the air 1 m from one wall, 8 m from the other wall and 9 m from the point P. How many meters is the fly from the ceiling?
Answer (a) & explanation
The fly is 4 m from the ceiling (a). Step 1: put point P at the corner where the two walls and the ceiling meet. The fly's distances from the two walls and the ceiling act like three coordinates: 1, 8 and h. Step 2: the straight distance from P is found by a 3-D Pythagoras rule: 1² + 8² + h² = 9². Step 3: 1 + 64 + h² = 81, so h² = 16 and h = 4 m. Option (b), 6, and options (c) and (d) do not fit the equation.
Tip: in a box-shaped corner, distance from the corner = √(x² + y² + z²). It is just Pythagoras used twice. This idea also gives the diagonal of a room.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
“The individual, according to Rousseau, puts his person and all his power in common under the supreme direction of the General Will and in our corporate capacity we receive each member as an indivisible part of the whole.”
In the light of the above passage, the nature of General Will is best described as
Answer (c) & explanation
The General Will is the collective good, distinct from private wills (c). Step 1: the passage says each person is "an indivisible part of the whole". So the General Will belongs to the community as one body. That is option (c). Step 2: option (a) calls it the sum of private wills. But Rousseau separates the General Will from the "will of all", which is just a sum of private interests. Step 3: option (b), what elected representatives say, is not mentioned. Option (d), material interests, is too narrow.
Tip: Rousseau's idea is that the General Will aims at the common good. A total of selfish wishes is not the same thing.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
P works thrice as fast as Q, whereas P and Q together can work four times as fast as R. If P, Q and R together work on a job, in what ratio should they share the earnings?
Answer (a) & explanation
They should share in the ratio 3 : 1 : 1 (a). Step 1: P works three times as fast as Q. Take Q's rate as 1, so P's rate is 3. Step 2: P and Q together work four times as fast as R. P + Q = 3 + 1 = 4, so 4 = 4 × R, which gives R = 1. Step 3: earnings are shared by the amount of work done, which follows the rates. So P : Q : R = 3 : 1 : 1. Option (d), 3 : 1 : 4, treats R as 4. Options (b) and (c) do not fit.
Tip: when people work for the same time, share pay in the ratio of their speeds. Set the slowest person's speed as 1 to keep numbers simple.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
What climate change will undeniably do is cause or amplify events that hasten the reduction of resources. Competition over these diminishing resources would ensue in the form of political or even violent conflict. Resource-based conflicts have rarely been overt and are thus difficult to isolate. Instead they take on veneers that appear more politically palatable. Conflicts over resources like water are often cloaked in the guise of identity or ideology.
What does the above passage imply?
Answer (c) & explanation
The passage implies that environmental issues add to resource stress and political conflict (c). Step 1: it says climate change speeds up "the reduction of resources", and competition for them can turn into "political or even violent conflict". That is option (c). Step 2: option (a) says such conflicts are always political. The word "always" goes too far. Step 3: options (b) and (d) say there are no solutions or that conflicts cannot be resolved. The passage never discusses solutions at all.
Tip: when a passage describes a chain, here climate to scarcity to conflict, the right answer usually restates that chain. Reject options with "always", "no" or "cannot" unless the passage says so.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
A clock strikes once at 1 o'clock, twice at 2 o'clock and thrice at 3 o'clock, and so on. If it takes 12 seconds to strike at 5 o'clock, what is the time taken by it to strike at 10 o'clock?
Answer (b) & explanation
The official answer is 24 seconds (b). Step 1: the official key treats the time as shared per strike. Five strikes take 12 seconds. Step 2: ten strikes are twice five strikes, so the time doubles: 12 × 2 = 24 seconds. Step 3: strictly, a clock's time runs between strikes. Five strikes have 4 gaps, so each gap is 3 seconds, and ten strikes have 9 gaps, which would give 27 seconds. Since 27 is not an option, UPSC's key follows the simple per-strike method. Options (a), (c) and (d) do not fit either method.
Tip: if the gap method gives no matching option, fall back on simple proportion, as UPSC did here.
Counting the gaps between strikes (4 gaps take 12 s, so 9 gaps take 27 s) gives 27 s, which is not an option; the official answer is (b).
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
Over the last decade, Indian agriculture has become more robust with record production of food grains and oilseeds. Increased procurement, consequently, has added huge stocks of food grains in the granaries. India is one of the world’s top producers of rice, wheat, milk, fruits and vegetables, India is still home to a quarter of all undernourished people in the world. On an average, almost half of the total expenditure of nearly half of the households is on food.
Which among the following is the most logical corollary to the above passage?
Answer (a) & explanation
Making the farm-to-fork value chain more efficient is needed to reduce poverty and malnutrition (a). Step 1: the passage notes record harvests and full granaries, yet India has about a quarter of the world's undernourished. So food is grown but not reaching people. Better supply chains are the fix. That is option (a). Step 2: option (b) says higher productivity will automatically end hunger. But output is already high, so that fails. Step 3: option (c) says no further productivity rise is needed, which is not the point. Option (d) relies on more welfare funds, which the passage does not discuss.
Tip: food security means availability, access and use. High production alone covers only the first.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
If there is a policy that 1/3rd of a population of a community has migrated every year from one place to some other place, what is the leftover population of that community after the sixth year, if there is no further growth in the population during this period?
Answer (d) & explanation
The leftover population is 64/729 of the original (d). Step 1: each year one-third leave, so two-thirds stay. The cut applies to the population left that year, not the original. Step 2: after one year, 2/3 remains. After two years, 2/3 × 2/3 = 4/9. Keep multiplying. Step 3: after six years: (2/3)⁶ = 64 ÷ 729 = 64/729. Option (b), 32/243, is (2/3)⁵, five years. Option (a), 16/243, and option (c), 32/729, are mixed-up powers.
Tip: a fixed fraction lost each year works like compound interest in reverse. Multiply by the "staying" fraction once for each year. 2⁶ = 64 and 3⁶ = 729.
(a) and (b) are (2/3)4 and (2/3)5 written over 243. Count six years.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
The IMF has pointed out that the fast growing economies of Asia face the risk of falling into ‘middle-income trap’. It means that average incomes in these countries, which till now have been growing rapidly, will stop growing beyond a point—a point that is well short of incomes in the developed West. The IMF identifies a number of causes of middle-income trap—none of which is surprising—from infrastructure to weak institutions, to less than favourable macroeconomic conditions. But the broad, overall cause, says IMF, is a collapse in the growth of productivity.
Which among the following is the most logical, rational and critical inference that can be made from the above passage?
Answer (a) & explanation
Once a country reaches middle income, it risks falling productivity and stagnant incomes (a). Step 1: the passage says incomes stall short of Western levels because of "a collapse in the growth of productivity". That is the middle-income trap, and option (a) states it. Step 2: option (b) says the trap is a general feature of all fast-growing economies. But the passage speaks of a risk, not a rule. Step 3: option (c) says there is no hope at all for Asian economies, which is far too extreme. Option (d), Asian productivity is unsatisfactory, is too broad.
Tip: the "middle-income trap" means a country grows fast to middle income, then stalls. Higher productivity, through skills and innovation, is the way out.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Directions for the following 3 (three) items : Consider the given information and answer the three items that follow.
Eight railway stations A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H are connected either by two-way passages or one-way passages. One-way passages are from C to A, E to G, B to F, D to H, G to C, E to C and H to G. Two-way passages are between A and E, G and B, F and D, and E and D.
While travelling from C to H, which one of the following stations must be passed through?
Answer (b) & explanation
Every route from C to H must pass through E (b). Step 1: look at C's exits. The only passage out of C is the one-way passage C to A. Step 2: from A, the only passage out is the two-way passage A to E. Step 3: so every trip from C to H starts C → A → E, and then goes on to H, for example through D. Option (a), G, is not needed. Option (c), D, is used in the usual route, but the question asks what must be passed, and E comes first with no choice. Option (d), F, is not needed.
Tip: draw the stations as dots and the passages as arrows. A station with only one way out decides the route.
D must also be passed (H can be reached only from D), so (c) looks right too; the official answer is (b), as printed.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
In a democratic State, where a high degree of political maturity of the people obtains, the conflict between the will of the sovereign law-making body and the organized will of the people seldom occurs.
What does the above passage imply?
Answer (d) & explanation
In a mature democracy, force is reduced to a marginal role in using sovereignty (d). Step 1: the passage says conflict between lawmakers and people "seldom occurs" in a mature democracy. So force is rarely needed. That is option (d). Step 2: option (c) says force is irrelevant. But "seldom" does not mean "never". So "irrelevant" goes too far. Step 3: options (a) and (b) say force is the main feature. That is the opposite of the passage.
Tip: match the strength of the option to the strength of the passage's words. "Seldom" fits "marginal", not "irrelevant". Small word differences decide many CSAT answers.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following relationships among members of a family of six persons A, B, C, D, E and F :
- 1. The number of males equals that of females.
- 2. A and E are sons of F.
- 3. D is the mother of two, one boy and one girl.
- 4. B is the son of A.
- 5. There is only one married couple in the family at present.
Which one of the following inferences can be drawn from the above?
Answer (b) & explanation
A is the husband of D (b). Step 1: A and E are sons, and B is a son. So the males are A, E and B. Equal numbers means C, D and F are female. Step 2: A and E are F's sons, so F is their mother. D is the mother of one boy and one girl. D's son cannot be A or E, who are F's sons, so D's son is B. B is A's son, so D is A's wife. Step 3: C is their daughter. Since there is only one married couple, F is a widowed grandmother. Option (a) is wrong because A is male. Option (c) is wrong because E and F are not D's children. Option (d) has no support.
Tip: start with gender, then link parents and children.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
The man who is perpetually hesitating which of the two things he will do first, will do neither. The man who resolves, but suffers his resolution to be changed by the first counter-suggestion of a friend—who fluctuates from opinion to opinion and veers from plan to plan—can never accomplish anything. He will at best be stationary and probably retrograde in all. It is only the man who first consults wisely, then resolves firmly and then executes his purpose with inflexible perseverance, undismayed by those petty difficulties which daunt a weaker spirit—that can advance to eminence in any line.
The keynote that seems to be emerging from the passage is that
Answer (a) & explanation
The keynote is that we should first consult wisely and then decide firmly (a). Step 1: the closing line gives the order: a wise person "first consults wisely, then resolves firmly". That is option (a). Step 2: option (b), rejecting friends' advice, ignores the need to consult. Step 3: option (d), being resolute and achievement-minded, keeps the firmness but drops the consulting step. Option (c), always being broad-minded, misses the firm decision. Only (a) keeps both halves in the right order.
Tip: when the passage ends with a summary line, the keynote is usually there. Choose the option that keeps every part of it, not just one half.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the given statement and the two conclusions that follow :
Statement : Morning walk is good for health.
Conclusions :
- 1. All healthy people go for morning walk.
- 2. Morning walk is essential for maintaining good health.
What is/are the valid conclusion/conclusions?
Answer (d) & explanation
Neither conclusion is valid (d). Step 1: the statement says morning walk is good for health. Step 2: conclusion 2 says morning walk is essential for good health. "Good for" is not "essential for"; people can stay healthy through other exercise. So 2 does not follow. Step 3: conclusion 1 says all healthy people take morning walks. Healthy people may stay fit in other ways, like yoga or sport. So 1 does not follow either. Options (a), (b) and (c) fail.
Tip: "A is good for B" never means "B needs A" or "everyone with B does A". Do not reverse a statement or make it stronger than it is.
words like 'all' and 'essential' are stronger than the statement. Reject them.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
The States are like pearls and the Centre is the thread which turns them into a necklace; if the thread snaps, the pearls are scattered.
Which one of the following views corroborates the above statement?
Answer (b) & explanation
The view that a strong Centre binds the nation together corroborates the statement (b). Step 1: the statement compares the Centre to the thread that holds pearls in a necklace. If the thread snaps, the pearls scatter. So the Centre keeps the nation united. That is option (b). Step 2: option (a) adds strong States, which the image does not mention. Step 3: options (c) and (d) speak of State autonomy, which the image also does not discuss. Option (c) even suggests the Centre is a hindrance, the opposite view.
Tip: when a statement uses an image, decode the image first. Thread = Centre, pearls = States, scattering = breakup. Then pick the option that matches.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Four tests—Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology are to be conducted on four consecutive days, not necessarily in the same order. The Physics test is held before the test which is conducted after Biology. Chemistry is conducted exactly after two tests are held. Which is the last test held?
Answer (c) & explanation
Mathematics is the last test (c). Step 1: "Chemistry is conducted exactly after two tests" means Chemistry is on day 3. Step 2: "Physics is held before the test which is conducted after Biology." So Biology is followed by some test, and Physics comes before that test. The only way to fit this with Chemistry on day 3 is Physics on day 1 and Biology on day 2. Then Chemistry, on day 3, follows Biology, and Physics is before it. Step 3: so Mathematics is on day 4. Options (a) Physics, (b) Biology and (d) Chemistry hold days 1, 2 and 3.
Tip: fix the item with an exact position first, then fit the rest around it.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
An innovative India will be inclusive as well as technologically advanced, improving the lives of all Indians. Innovation and R&D can mitigate increases in social inequality and relieve the pressures created by rapid urbanization. The growing divergence in productivity between agriculture and knowledge-intensive manufacturing and services threatens to increase income inequality. By encouraging India’s R&D labs and universities to focus on the needs of poor people and by improving the ability of informal firms to absorb knowledge, an innovation and research agenda can counter this effect. Inclusive innovation can lower the costs of goods and services and create income-earning opportunities for the poor people.
Which among the following is the most logical and rational assumption that can be made from the above passage?
Answer (c) & explanation
The assumption is that inclusive innovation and R&D can help create a fairer society (c). Step 1: the passage says innovation "can mitigate increases in social inequality" and create income for the poor. So it can help build an egalitarian society. That is option (c). Step 2: option (a) says innovation is the only way to reduce rural-urban migration, and option (d) says urbanisation happens only with rapid growth. Both use "only". Step 3: option (b) widens India's case to every rapidly growing country, which the passage does not do.
Tip: "inclusive innovation" means low-cost ideas that reach the poor, like cheap medical devices. Reject options with "only" and "every" unless the passage says so.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.