Passage

Directions for the following 3 (three) items : Consider the given information and answer the three items that follow. A, B, C, D, E, F and G are Lecturers from different cities—Hyderabad, Delhi, Shillong, Kanpur, Chennai, Mumbai and Srinagar (not necessarily in the same order) who participated in a conference. Each one of them is specialized in a different subject, viz., Economics, Commerce, History, Sociology, Geography, Mathematics and Statistics (not necessarily in the same order). Further 1. Lecturer from Kanpur is specialized in Geography 2. Lecturer D is from Shillong 3. Lecturer C from Delhi is specialized in Sociology 4. Lecturer B is specialized in neither History nor Mathematics 5. Lecturer A who is specialized in Economics does not belong to Hyderabad 6. Lecturer F who is specialized in Commerce belongs to Srinagar 7. Lecturer G who is specialized in Statistics belongs to Chennai

Who of the following belongs to Hyderabad?

(a) B
(b) E ✓ UPSC's answer
(c) Neither B nor E
(d) Cannot be determined as data are inadequate

Why the answer is (b)

• From clues 6 and 7, F is from Srinagar (Commerce) and G is from Chennai (Statistics). From clue 2, D is from Shillong. From clue 3, C is from Delhi (Sociology). This leaves Hyderabad, Kanpur, and Mumbai for A, B, and E.

• Clue 1 states the lecturer from Kanpur specializes in Geography. Clue 5 states A specializes in Economics, so A cannot be from Kanpur.

• Clue 4 states B specializes in neither History nor Mathematics. The remaining subjects for the unassigned lecturers (A, B, D, E) are History, Mathematics, and Geography (since A=Economics, C=Sociology, F=Commerce, G=Statistics). Since A is Economics, the subjects left for B, D, and E are History, Mathematics, and Geography.

• Since the Kanpur lecturer is in Geography, and B is not in History or Mathematics, B must be the one in Geography. Therefore, B is from Kanpur.

• This leaves A and E for Hyderabad and Mumbai. Clue 5 states A does not belong to Hyderabad. Therefore, A must be from Mumbai, and E must be from Hyderabad.

Why the other options are wrong

(a) B: B is from Kanpur because B is the only one who can be specialized in Geography, which is the subject of the Kanpur lecturer.
(c) Neither B nor E: The data is sufficient to determine that E belongs to Hyderabad, as A is excluded from Hyderabad and B is assigned to Kanpur.
(d) Cannot be determined as data are inadequate: The constraints provided are sufficient to uniquely assign E to Hyderabad through elimination of A and B.

Asked in the CSAT Paper II of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2017, held on 18 June 2017. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.