In a group of six women, there are four tennis players, four postgraduates in Sociology, one postgraduate in Commerce and three bank employees. Vimala and Kamla are the bank employees while Amala and Komala are unemployed. Komala and Nirmala are among the tennis players. Amala, Kamla, Komala and Nirmala are postgraduates in Sociology of whom two are bank employees. If Shyamala is a postgraduate in Commerce, who among the following is both a tennis player and a bank employee?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) Nirmala
Two of the four Sociology postgraduates are bank employees. Amala and Komala are unemployed, so the two are Kamla and Nirmala. Nirmala is also a tennis player, so she is both.
- Sociology postgraduates: Amala, Kamla, Komala, Nirmala — two of them are bank employees.
- Amala and Komala are unemployed, so those two are Kamla and Nirmala.
- Bank employees (three): Vimala, Kamla and Nirmala.
- Tennis players include Komala and Nirmala; of these only Nirmala is a bank employee.
- Check the other options: Amala and Komala are unemployed, and Shyamala is not one of the three bank employees.
Remember · In grouping puzzles, start with the clue naming a small closed set ('of whom two are…') and eliminate using the negative facts.
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2017, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·