P’s salary is 20% lower than Q’s salary which is 20% lower than R’s salary. By how much percent is R’s salary more than P’s salary?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) 56.25%
Take R’s salary as 100: Q gets 80 and P gets 64. R’s salary is 36 more than P’s, and 36 out of 64 is 56.25%.
- Let R’s salary be 100. Q’s is 20% lower: 80. P’s is 20% lower than Q’s: 64.
- R − P = 100 − 64 = 36.
- R is more than P by 36/64 × 100 = 56.25%.
- Check: 64 × 1.5625 = 100.
Remember · Take 100 as the base. ‘More than P’ means divide the difference by P’s value, not by 100.
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2024, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·