Korkai is a serene village, nestled in a small island, separated from the mainland by a strait — the world forgot to name. Its inhabitants are mostly fishermen; a few are cattle-grazers too. A boat ride across the strait is the only mode of transport to the mainland.
Budugu, the boatman, ferries people, cattle, and bicycles across the strait in his boat for a living. The remoteness and the lack of connection to the mainland has served him well. He has a family of five. His two daughters are away studying in a city college and dream of corporate jobs in the cities. His ailing mother and wife complete his family.
Budugu sent his daughters to study in the city as there is only one school in Korkai, run by an NGO. The NGO prepares the village kids for higher studies. For those who cannot go to cities, the NGO teaches them about the virtues of the local way of life.
Budugu is a member of the village Panchayat that runs the village administration. At Korkai, hardly anyone remembers the local MLA or MP. Interestingly, the local MLA visited last week, and informed the islanders of major changes planned for the region: urgent construction of a bridge connecting the island to the mainland, and real estate development. She announced that the island will become a well-known eco-tourism destination in the state. She stressed that the local livelihood, dependent on fortunes at the sea, might enjoy the certainty in minimum wages, meted out by the eco-resort owners. Nevertheless, some villagers fear that the bridge will irreversibly change their lives and livelihoods.
Budugu fears that the proposed bridge will leave him jobless, and is determined to do something about it. He wants to gather effective support in order to get the construction of the proposed bridge delayed.
Which of the following will be the MOST feasible option for Budugu to gather effective support?
Which of the following will be the MOST feasible option for Budugu to gather effective support?
- Form a boat rowers' association and sit on a hunger strike to protest the proposed bridge
- Suspend his boat services till the villagers start supporting his cause
- Partner with the local NGO and campaign that the developments will ruin the local way of life
- Inform the environmental experts in the nearby cities that the strait is home to rare fish, frogs and turtles
- Get a resolution passed by the Panchayat that the bridge will ruin the local way of life
The Correct Option is
Approach Solution - 1
To determine the most feasible option for Budugu to gather effective support to delay the construction of the proposed bridge, we need to analyze each option considering their potential impact and practicality.
Form a boat rowers' association and sit on a hunger strike to protest the proposed bridge - This option involves forming a group of boat rowers and staging a protest. However, a hunger strike might not be sustainable or gather significant attention beyond the local community itself.
Suspend his boat services till the villagers start supporting his cause - Suspending boat services might inconvenience the villagers and could potentially lead to backlash rather than support, as it directly affects their daily commute.
Partner with the local NGO and campaign that the developments will ruin the local way of life - While collaborating with an NGO can be effective in raising awareness, it might not be enough to formally challenge the construction project without official backing.
Inform the environmental experts in the nearby cities that the strait is home to rare fish, frogs, and turtles - This approach might attract environmental support and potentially delay the project for environmental assessments. However, it requires substantial evidence and time to make an impact.
Get a resolution passed by the Panchayat that the bridge will ruin the local way of life - This is the most feasible option. Budugu, being a member of the village Panchayat, can leverage his position to propose and pass a resolution. This formal action by the local governing body can have significant influence in delaying or modifying the project plans to consider local interests.
The correct answer is to get a resolution passed by the Panchayat that highlights the impact on the local way of life. This leverages Budugu's existing role and connection within the village administration to take a formal and potentially influential stance against the proposed bridge.
Approach Solution -2
Step 1: Budugu’s main concern is job security. The villagers also have a stake in whether the bridge affects their way of life. Hence, to delay the project, Budugu needs formal and collective support, not just individual protests.
Step 2: Let’s evaluate the options:
- Option 1: Hunger strike by boat rowers is drastic, risky, and may not attract wider support.
- Option 2: Suspending services punishes villagers, alienating them rather than gaining support.
- Option 3: NGO support may help, but outsiders alone cannot strongly influence local decision-making.
- Option 4: Environmental experts can raise concerns, but this is external and slower to have impact.
- Option 5: A Panchayat resolution represents the community’s collective voice, which carries legitimacy and is most likely to be recognized by authorities. It directly communicates that the village itself opposes the bridge.
Step 3: Therefore, the most feasible and impactful way for Budugu is to get the Panchayat resolution passed.
Final Answer: \(\boxed{\text{Option 5}}\)
The local MLA is worried about the resistance to the project. This project, like her other successful projects in nearby villages, was supposed to garner a significant amount of funding. Moreover, it would make her the face of development in the state; perhaps, even would land her a ministerial berth. However, Budugu’s activism has cast the project in a bad light among the popular minds. The MLA wants to protect her pro- development image.
Which of the following is the BEST course of action for the MLA?
Which of the following is the BEST course of action for the MLA?
- Create a fishermen and boat rowers’ cooperative in the island and donate generously to it
- Invite the village Panchayat for a discussion on a possible compromise solution
- Appoint a task force to find alternative land nearby for the project
- Discredit Budugu in a public meeting by announcing that he is putting his interests over and above the village development
- Publicise widely that the project will improve the socio-economic condition of the island
The Correct Option is
Approach Solution - 1
The given scenario describes a project proposed by the local MLA that involves constructing a bridge and real estate development to promote eco-tourism. The proposed development intends to create job opportunities and improve the island's socio-economic conditions. However, some villagers are resistant as they fear the project may disrupt their traditional ways of life.
The question asks for the best course of action for the MLA to handle the resistance while maintaining her image as a pro-development leader.
- Create a fishermen and boat rowers’ cooperative in the island and donate generously to it: This option might support fishermen but does not resolve the core issue of changing livelihoods due to the project.
- Invite the village Panchayat for a discussion on a possible compromise solution: While this could address concerns, it doesn't directly counteract the resistance with positive messaging or assurance about the project's benefits.
- Appoint a task force to find alternative land nearby for the project: Redirecting the project may be a lengthy process and may not guarantee better acceptance.
- Discredit Budugu in a public meeting: This is not a constructive approach and can lead to greater disharmony among the villagers.
- Publicise widely that the project will improve the socio-economic condition of the island: This option directly addresses the purpose of the project by focusing on the positive long-term outcomes, emphasizing the benefits such as job certainty. It helps to reassure the villagers and build support for the project.
Conclusion: The best course of action for the MLA is to "Publicise widely that the project will improve the socio-economic condition of the island." This approach directly tackles the resistance by highlighting the benefits, building a narrative of progress and development that aligns with her political image.
Approach Solution -2
The MLA’s primary concern is to protect her pro-development image. Among the given options, the most effective way is to highlight the project’s benefits and create a positive public perception.
- Option 1 (donating to a cooperative) may help a few people but does not address the larger resistance or protect her development image strongly.
- Option 2 (discussion with Panchayat) is a good democratic step, but it may not directly improve her public image immediately.
- Option 3 (finding alternative land) shows flexibility but could delay the project and weaken her image of decisiveness.
- Option 4 (discrediting Budugu) can backfire and may make her appear vindictive rather than development-oriented.
- Option 5 directly links her with development by communicating widely how the project will improve socio-economic conditions, thus aligning with her goal of being seen as a champion of progress.
Therefore, Option (5) is the BEST choice.
As the project gets delayed, Budugu becomes a well-known social activist with a lot of followers. When Pragati, his elder daughter, finishes her education and starts looking for employment, a few known corporates refuse her a job because of her father’s “anti-development” stand.
Which of the following options BEST communicates to the corporates that Pragati has an identity of her own?
Which of the following options BEST communicates to the corporates that Pragati has an identity of her own?
- Go all out on social media to explain how her father’s activism is misconstrued by certain corporates
- Stop using her last name in her job applications
- Showcase on social media the accolades and awards she received in her college
- Discuss in a social media post why she supports the proposed development in her island village
- Start a blog and update it regularly with views on current affairs
The Correct Option is C
Approach Solution - 1
To address the question of how Pragati can best communicate her own identity to corporates who have misapprehensions about her due to her father's activism, let's evaluate each option in the given context:
- Go all out on social media to explain how her father’s activism is misconstrued by certain corporates: This option focuses on defending her father rather than establishing her identity, which might not convince the corporates of Pragati's individuality.
- Stop using her last name in her job applications: Removing her last name might distance her from her father's identity but does not actively project her accomplishments or capabilities.
- Showcase on social media the accolades and awards she received in her college: This option highlights Pragati’s own achievements and qualifications. By doing so, she can demonstrate her potential and individuality, separate from her father's background. This direct showcase of her abilities is the most effective way to communicate her own identity to potential employers.
- Discuss in a social media post why she supports the proposed development in her island village: While this might differentiate her views from her father’s, it does not focus on her individual merits as much as showcasing her awards would.
- Start a blog and update it regularly with views on current affairs: Although starting a blog can articulate her opinions and enhance her presence, it is a slower process than effectively showcasing pre-existing accolades to highlight her credentials.
Conclusion: Among the options, showcasing the accolades and awards she received in her college is the best approach for Pragati to establish her own identity. It directly emphasizes her personal achievements and capabilities, effectively distinguishing her from her father's activism.
Approach Solution -2
Step 1: Understand the problem
Pragati is being judged by corporates not for her own merits, but because of her father’s image as an "anti-development" activist. The key here is to establish her independent identity.
Step 2: Evaluate options
- Option 1: Going all out to defend her father’s activism shifts focus back to him, not her. This does not highlight her individuality.
- Option 2: Hiding her last name may avoid bias but does not positively establish her own achievements. It is more of concealment than identity-building.
- Option 3: Showcasing her accolades and awards presents clear evidence of her own talent and merits. This shifts focus from her father to her personal identity and accomplishments.
- Option 4: Publicly supporting development just to appear opposite to her father is opportunistic and may look artificial. It does not necessarily highlight her individuality through her skills.
- Option 5: Starting a blog with views on current affairs is useful, but it may again mix her with political opinions, rather than focusing on her personal achievements.
Step 3: Conclusion
The most effective and sustainable way for Pragati to communicate her independent identity is by highlighting her college accolades and awards. This shows corporates her own worth, separate from her father’s activism.
Final Answer: Option (3)
Top Questions on Reading Comprehension
- Shown below are letters ‘e’ taken from four popular logos, arranged in a sequence. Which of the options is the correct sequence?
- UCEED - 2026
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- Shown below are four options, each showing consecutive frames representing the movement of a pendulum of an old-style wall clock for an animation movie. Which is the correct option?
- UCEED - 2026
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- Acrucial moderating factor in how people experience comparisons is self-esteem. Individuals with high self-esteem are more likely to interpret upward comparison as informative rather than threatening. They are more resilient in the face of others’ success and more likely to believe they can reach their own goals. In contrast, people with low self-esteem are more prone to interpret comparison as judgment, reinforcing negative self-views and triggering feelings of inadequacy.
This dynamic creates a self-reinforcing loop. People with high self-esteem are less vulnerable to upward comparison, which intensifies those doubts. Those with a secure sense of self are more likely to use comparison as a learning tool. The same external stimulus—a colleague’s achievements, a friend’s popularity—can have radically different effects depending on internal stability.
Self-esteem also influences how people choose their comparison targets. Research has found that individuals often engage in “selective comparison,” seeking out those who confirm their existing beliefs about themselves. This can become a subtle form of self-sabotage. Someone who feels unworthy may subconsciously seek out targets that reinforce that sense, perpetuating a narrative of inferiority. One of the most promising antidotes to social comparison is temporal comparison—evaluating oneself not against others, but against one’s own past. This method has been shown to increase motivation and satisfaction, especially when individuals can see concrete progress. Temporal comparison activates the same reward circuits as social comparison but avoids the threat systems associated with social ranking. It also reinforces agency: individuals focus on what they can control and improve rather than what others control. In therapeutic and coaching settings, temporal comparison is used to help clients build self-efficacy and track growth over time.
Moreover, people who focus on self-improvement rather than social dominance are less likely to fall into cycles of envy or self-pity. They can still use others as inspiration, but they do so without attaching their self-worth to the outcome. This is not to say they never compare—but that they focus on learning, rather than judgment. The most skilful approach to comparison may lie in eliminating it, but in reframing it as feedback. When we interpret comparison as information rather than a verdict, we can ask, “What can I learn from this?” This shift turns comparison into a growth tool. Teachers mentor their students, not as rivals. Psychologists emphasize that the key variable here is mindset.
A fixed mindset sees comparison as a threat. If someone else is better, it means we are worse. A growth mindset sees comparison as a map. If someone else has reached a certain level, it means the path exists. This reframing is not just a cognitive trick. It changes the emotional tone of comparison, making it more likely to inspire than to wound. Reframing also requires emotional regulation—the ability to notice an initial pang of envy or shame without reacting impulsively. With practice, individuals can learn to pause, reflect, and reinterpret their emotional responses. Over time, this builds resilience and self-trust, allowing comparison to become a learning tool rather than a cage.- XAT - 2026
- Verbal and Logical Ability
- Reading Comprehension
When people who are talking don’t share the same culture, knowledge, values, and assumptions, mutual understanding can be especially difficult. Such understanding is possible through the negotiation of meaning. To negotiate meaning with someone, you have to become aware of and respect both the differences in your backgrounds and when these differences are important. You need enough diversity of cultural and personal experience to be aware that divergent world views exist and what they might be like. You also need the flexibility in world view, and a generous tolerance for mistakes, as well as a talent for finding the right metaphor to communicate the relevant parts of unshared experiences or to highlight the shared experiences while demphasizing the others. Metaphorical imagination is a crucial skill in creating rapport and in communicating the nature of unshared experience. This skill consists, in large measure, of the ability to bend your world view and adjust the way you categorize your experiences. Problems of mutual understanding are not exotic; they arise in all extended conversations where understanding is important.
When it really counts, meaning is almost never communicated according to the CONDUIT metaphor, that is, where one person transmits a fixed, clear proposition to another by means of expressions in a common language, where both parties have all the relevant common knowledge, assumptions, values, etc. When the chips are down, meaning is negotiated: you slowly figure out what you have in common, what it is safe to talk about, how you can communicate unshared experience or create a shared vision. With enough flexibility in bending your world view and with luck and charity, you may achieve some mutual understanding.
Communication theories based on the CONDUIT metaphor turn from the pathetic to the evil when they are applied indiscriminately on a large scale, say, in government surveillance or computerized files. There, what is most crucial for real understanding is almost never included, and it is assumed that the words in the file have meaning in themselves—disembodied, objective, understandable meaning. When a society lives by the CONDUITmetaphor on a large scale, misunderstanding, persecution, and much worse are the likely products.- XAT - 2026
- Verbal and Logical Ability
- Reading Comprehension
Later, I realized that reviewing the history of nuclear physics served another purpose as well: It gave the lie to the naive belief that the physicists could have come together when nuclear fission was discovered (in Nazi Germany!) and agreed to keep the discovery a secret, thereby sparing humanity such a burden. No. Given the development of nuclear physics up to 1938, development that physicists throughout the world pursued in all innocence of any intention of finding the engine of a new weapon of mass destruction—only one of them, the remarkable Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard, took that possibility seriously—the discovery of nuclear fission was inevitable. To stop it, you would have had to stop physics. If German scientists hadn’t made the discovery when they did, French, American, Russian, Italian, or Danish scientists would have done so, almost certainly within days or weeks. They were all working at the same cutting edge, trying to understand the strange results of a simple experiment bombarding uranium with neutrons. Here was no Faustian bargain, as movie directors and other naifs still find it intellectually challenging to imagine. Here was no evil machinery that the noble scientists might hide from the problems and the generals. To the contrary, there was a high insight into how the world works, an energetic reaction, older than the earth, that science had finally devised the instruments and arrangements to coart forth. “Make it seem inevitable,” Louis Pasteur used to advise his students when they prepared to write up their discoveries. But it was. To wish that it might have been ignored or suppressed is barbarous. “Knowledge,” Niels Bohr once noted, “is itself the basis for civilization.” You cannot have the one without the other; the one depends upon the other. Nor can you have only benevolent knowledge; the scientific method doesn’t filter for benevolence. Knowledge has consequences, not always intended, not always comfortable, but always welcome. The earth revolves around the sun, not the sun around the earth. “It is a profound and necessary truth,” Robert Oppenheimer would say, “that the deep things in science are not found because they are useful; they are found because it was possible to find them.”
...Bohr proposed once that the goal of science is not universal truth. Rather, he argued, the modest but relentless goal of science is “the gradual removal of prejudices.” The discovery that the earth revolves around the sun has gradually removed the prejudice that the earth is the center of the universe. The discovery of microbes is gradually removing the prejudice that disease is a punishment from God. The discovery of evolution is gradually removing the prejudice that Homo sapiens is a separate and special creation.- XAT - 2026
- Verbal and Logical Ability
- Reading Comprehension
Questions Asked in XAT exam
- An artificial swimming pool is circular and water is flowing clockwise at a speed of 3 km/hr. Two swimmers Ayub and Rana start from diametrically opposite points, Ayub in the anticlockwise direction and Rana in the clockwise direction. They first meet at a point such that Ayub has covered 60 m by that time. Their second meeting point is such that Rana has covered another 180 m after the first meeting point. If the speed of Rana in still water is 3 km/hr, find the time taken by Ayub to cover one full circle in the clockwise direction.
- XAT - 2026
- Time and Work
- Arrange the following generations from the oldest to the youngest:
1. Generation X
2. Silent Generation
3. Generation Alpha
4. Baby Boomers
5. Millennials
- XAT - 2026
- Current Affairs
- Read the following scenario and answer the THREE questions that follow.
Brijbhushan, a microfinancier, lends money at the rate of Rs.10 per square meter to small farmers at a village. He charges an annual interest rate of 10%. All the farming plots in that village are rectangular, with areas varying between a minimum of 1000 square meters and a maximum of 10,000 square meters.
This year, Brijbhushan has lent money only to five farmers: Aditya, Binod, Chhuttan, Dabloo and Govind. The perimeter of Chhuttan’s plot is 250 meters, with the length and width being at a ratio of 4:1. Aditya’s plot has an area three times the area of Govind’s plot. The area of Aditya’s plot is also the average of the areas of Govind’s plot and Dabloo’s plot. The plots belonging to Aditya, Binod and Dabloo are of the same width, but of different lengths. Moreover, the length of Binod’s plot is the sum of the lengths of Aditya’s plot and Dabloo’s plot.- XAT - 2026
- Mensuration
Light Chemicals is an industrial paint supplier with presence in three locations: Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. The sunburst chart below shows the distribution of the number of employees of different departments of Light Chemicals. There are four departments: Finance, IT, HR and Sales. The employees are deployed in four ranks: junior, mid, senior and executive. The chart shows four levels: location, department, rank and gender (M: male, F: female). At every level, the number of employees at a location/department/rank/gender are proportional to the corresponding area of the region represented in the chart.
Due to some issues with the software, the data on junior female employees have gone missing. Notice that there are junior female employees in Mumbai HR, Sales and IT departments, Hyderabad HR department, and Bengaluru IT and Finance departments. The corresponding missing numbers are marked u, v, w, x, y and z in the diagram, respectively.
It is also known that:
a) Light Chemicals has a total of 210 junior employees.
b) Light Chemicals has a total of 146 employees in the IT department.
c) Light Chemicals has a total of 777 employees in the Hyderabad office.
d) In the Mumbai office, the number of female employees is 55.
- XAT - 2026
- Pie Charts
An investment company, Win Lose, recruit's employees to trade in the share market. For newcomers, they have a one-year probation period. During this period, the employees are given Rs. 1 lakh per month to invest the way they see fit. They are evaluated at the end of every month, using the following criteria:
1. If the total loss in any span of three consecutive months exceeds Rs. 20,000, their services are terminated at the end of that 3-month period,
2. If the total loss in any span of six consecutive months exceeds Rs. 10,000, their services are terminated at the end of that 6-month period.
Further, at the end of the 12-month probation period, if there are losses on their overall investment, their services are terminated.
Ratan, Shri, Tamal and Upanshu started working for Win Lose in January. Ratan was terminated after 4 months, Shri was terminated after 7 months, Tamal was terminated after 10 months, while Upanshu was not terminated even after 12 months. The table below, partially, lists their monthly profits (in Rs. ‘000’) over the 12-month period, where x, y and z are masked information.
Note:
• A negative profit value indicates a loss.
• The value in any cell is an integer.
Illustration: As Upanshu is continuing after March, that means his total profit during January-March (2z +2z +0) ≥
Rs.20,000. Similarly, as he is continuing after June, his total profit during January − June ≥
Rs.10,000, as well as his total profit during April-June ≥ Rs.10,000.
- XAT - 2026
- Logical and Analytical Reasoning Skills