Directions for the following 6 (six) items: Read the information given below and answer the six items that follow.
A, B, C and D are students. They are studying in four different cities, viz., P, Q, R and S (not necessarily in that order). They are studying in Science college, Arts college, Commerce college and Engineering college (not necessarily in that order), which are situated in four different States, viz., Gujarat, Rajasthan, Assam and Kerala (not necessarily in that order). Further, it is given that—
- i.D is studying in Assam
- ii.Arts college is located in city S which is in Rajasthan
- iii.A is studying in Commerce college
- iv.B is studying in city Q
- v.Science college is located in Kerala
A is studying in
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) Gujarat
Science and Arts take Kerala and Rajasthan, leaving Gujarat and Assam for Commerce and Engineering. D is in Assam and cannot be in A's Commerce college, so Engineering is in Assam and A's Commerce college is in Gujarat.
- Science is in Kerala and Arts in Rajasthan (city S), so Commerce and Engineering are in Gujarat and Assam.
- D is in Assam, so D studies Commerce or Engineering; Commerce is A's, so D is in Engineering — in Assam — and A's Commerce college is in Gujarat.
- B and C share Science and Arts. B is in city Q, but Arts is in city S, so B is in Science (Kerala, city Q) and C in Arts (Rajasthan, city S).
- A and D are in cities P and R, in an order the data do not fix.
- Result: A — Commerce, Gujarat; B — Science, Kerala, city Q; C — Arts, Rajasthan, city S; D — Engineering, Assam.
- So A studies in Gujarat; Rajasthan is C's State, Kerala is B's, and city Q is B's city.
Remember · In grid puzzles, place the fixed pairs first (college with State), then use the 'who is where' clues to settle the two-way choices.
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·