Passage

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

Which one of the following statements is correct?

(a) D is not studying in city S. ✓ UPSC's answer
(b) A is studying in Science college.
(c) A is studying in Kerala.
(d) Engineering college is located in Gujarat.

Why the answer is (a)

• From condition (ii), the Arts college is in city S, which is in Rajasthan.

• From condition (i), D is studying in Assam.

• Since D is in Assam and city S is in Rajasthan, D cannot be studying in city S.

• Therefore, the statement 'D is not studying in city S' is factually correct based on the given constraints.

• This directly validates option (a) as the correct answer.

Why the other options are wrong

(b) A is studying in Science college.: Condition (iii) explicitly states that A is studying in Commerce college, not Science college.
(c) A is studying in Kerala.: Condition (v) states Science college is in Kerala, but A is in Commerce college, and there is no information linking A to Kerala; in fact, if A were in Kerala, A would be in Science college, which contradicts condition (iii).
(d) Engineering college is located in Gujarat.: The location of the Engineering college cannot be definitively determined as Gujarat from the given information; it could be in Assam or another state depending on the arrangement of the remaining colleges.

Asked in the CSAT Paper II of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2018, held on 3 June 2018. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.