Data Interpretation (DI) is an essential part of the BPSC Mains examination under the General Studies Paper I. It tests a candidate’s ability to analyze, interpret, and draw conclusions from various types of data, including tables, graphs, charts, and statistical information.
This section often focuses on topics like:
- Tabular Data: Reading and interpreting tabulated numerical data.
- Bar Graphs: Analyzing and comparing data trends.
- Pie Charts: Understanding proportions and distributions.
- Line Graphs: Identifying patterns and changes over time.
- Mixed Graphs: Combining multiple data representation forms.
BPSC Syllabus: Prelims + Mains
69th BPSC Mains
Candidates had to attempt two questions (Each Question of 36 Marks)
1. Study the following table carefully and answer the questions given below this table:
There are three companies X,Y and Z making identical soaps in the form of bars.
Soaps are sold by the number of units.
Total Sales= Selling price x Units Sold
(a) What was the average price of soap in the year 2013 (₹/unit)?
(b) What was the percentage decrease in units sold for X in 2012 over 2011?
(c) What was the percentage share of Z in the total units sold in 2013?
(d) In which year Y sold the maximum number of units?
(e) The maximum price per unit given in the table exceeds the minimum price per unit by what percentage?
or
The following pie-chart shows the expenditure incurred on the manufacturing of a calculator under various heads. Study the pie-chart carefully and answer the questions given below:
(a) What is the central angle of sector showing the expenditure incurred on paying for the software?
(b) What is the cost price of the calculator on which the cost of R & D and machinery charges amount to ₹ 127.50?
(c) The marked price of a calculator is 24% more than its cost price. If the marked price of
a calculator be ₹ 186, then what is the cost price of R & D used in a single unit of calculator?
(d) If the machinery charges of a single unit be ₹ 58.50 and the marked price is 30% more than the cost price , then what is the marked price of the calculator?
(e) If the profit of the manufacturer is 20% and the marked price of a calculator be ₹ 192, then how much money has been spent on it as miscellaneous charges?
2. Study the pie diagrams given below carefully which represent the expenditure of two families I and II on different items in percentages and answer the questions asked below. The annual income of families I and II are ₹ 4 lakhs and ₹ 5 lakhs respectively:
(a) How much less or more amount of money is spent on education by family II as compared to family I?
(b) Which one of the two families I and II spends more amount of money on food and how much?
(c) What is the proportion of money spent by families I and II on education?
(d) What would be the angle at the centre of pie diagram of money spent on housing by family I?
(e) How much money has been spent by families I and II together on mixed items?
or
The bar graph given below represents the additional tax collected by a State in different years. Study it carefully and answer the questions given below related to it:
(a) How much percentage decrease in additional tax was registered in 2020-21 as compared to 2018-19?
(b) How much percentage increase in additional tax was registered in 2017-18 as compared to 2016-17?
(c) During which year the maximum percentage increase in additional tax was registered as compared to its preceding year?
(d) From 2014–15 to 2020-21, what is the average of additional tax?
(e) During which two consecutive years percentage of decrease in additional tax was minimum?
68th BPSC Mains
Candidates had to attempt two questions (Each Question of 36 Marks)
1. Study the following table carefully and answer the questions given below this table:
Highest and Average marks obtained by students in five subjects during 2012-2017. The maximum marks in each subject are 100.
(a) What is the combined average marks of all the five subjects in 2015?
(b) What is the percentage increase in average n1arks of English from 2015 to 2017?
(c) During which year the difference behveen the highest marks and highest average marks in Maths was maximum?
(d) What is the percentage of (highest) marks in Hindi in 2013 with respect to average marks of Maths in 2016?
(e) lf 50 students took the examination in 2013 in Maths, what were their total marks?
(f) In between which two years, the difference of highest marks in Science was maximum?
or
Study the following graph carefully and answer the questions given below: Profit percent of companies ABC and DEF during the year 2001-2006
(a) Let the income in 2005 of companies ABC and DEF was in the ratio 3 : 4. What was the ratio of expenditures of companies ABC and DEF in 2005?
(b) If expenditure of company DEF in 2002 was Rs 190 cr., what was its income in the year 2002?
(c) If expenditures of company ABC and DEF were equal in 2001 and total income of both the companies in 2001 was Rs 825 cr then what was the total profit of both the companies in 2001?
(d) Income of company ABC in 2004 was Rs 750 cr. What was the expenditure in 2004?
(e) If income of both the companies was equal in 2003, find the ratio of expenditures of company ABC and DEF in 2003.
8. The Bar Graph given below shows the sales of books (in thousand numbers) from six branches of a publishing con1pany during two consecutive years 2000 and 2001.
Sales of Books (in thousand numbers) from Six Branches -B1, B2, B3, B4, B5 and B6 of a publishing company in 2000 and 2001 are following:
(a) What is the ratio of the total sales of Branch B2 for both years to the total sales of Branch B4 for both years?
(b) Total sales of Branch B6 for both the years are what percent of the total sales of Branch B3 for both the years?
(c) What percent of the average sales of branches B1, B2 and B3 in 2001 is the average sales of branches B1, B3 and B6 in 2000?
(d) What are the average sales of all the branches (in thousand numbers) for the year 2000?
(e) A total sale of branches B1, B3 and B5 together for both the years (in thousand numbers) is what?
or
The following pie-chart shows the percentage distribution of the total expenditure incurred by a company in different expense sections during 2015. Study the pie-chart and answer the questions given below:
Percentage distribution of total expenditure of a company
lnfr = Infrastructure
Tra = Transport
Adv = Advertisement
Tax =Taxes
R&D = Research and Development
Sal= Salary
Int= Interest on Loans
(a) How much times the total expenditure of the company is of expenditure of research and development?
(b) If expenditure on transport is Rs 2 crores, then what will be the difference between the expenditures on salary and advertisement?
(c) What is the ratio of the total expenditure of taxes and interest on loans and total expenditure on infrastructure and transport?
(d) If expenditure on interest on loan is Rs 2.60 crores, then what will be the total expenditure on advertisement, taxes and salary?
(e) How much times the difference of expenditure on interest on loans and the expenditure on advertisement is of the expenditure on advertisement?
67th BPSC Mains
1. Study the following table carefully and answer the questions given below:
Percentage marks obtained by seven students in six different subjects
(a) Find the total percentage marks secured by R in all the six subjects together.
(b) Find the difference between the marks obtained by P in the subjects B, D and E together and the marks obtained by T in the same subjects.
(c) Find the average Marks obtained by all the students in the subject B.
( d) Find the average percent of marks obtained by all the students in the subjects C and D together.
(e) What is the total marks obtained by all the students in subject F?
2. Study the following pie-charts carefully and answer the questions given below:
(a) Assuming that Videocon has maintained its market share at the same level front 2010-2011, what is the total number of toasters sold by Videocon in these four years?
(b) If in 2012-2013 the market share of BPL was 7%, then what is the change in the number of toasters sold by BPL from 2012-2013 to 2013-2014?
(c) If Maharaja is one of the companies included in ‘others’ and its sale constitutes 40% of ‘others’, then how many toasters of Maharaja ,vere sold in 2013-2014?
(d) Assuming that the number of toasters sold increases at the same rate in 2014-2015 as it did from 2012-2013 to 2013-2014, and assuming further that TVS maintains its market share, what will be the number of units sold by TVS in 2014-2015?
(e) If in 2013-2014 IFB sold 7000 n1ore units and effected the market share of other companies, then what would be its market share (in %)?
3. Study the following graph carefully and answer the questions given below:
(a) What is the percentage change in the targeted production from 2004-2005 to 2005-2006′?
(b) In which period was the percentage of actual production with respect to target production the highest?
(c) What is the ratio of the number of years in which the actual production was above the average actual production to the number of years in which the actual production was below the average actual production?
( d) Find the ratio of the sum of targeted production for the years 2002-2003, 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 to the sum of the actual production for these years.
(e) Find the difference between targeted production and actual production for the years 2002-2003 and 2005-2006.
15. The following bar graphs show the Per Capita Income and National Income of a country for the given years. Refer to the bar graphs to answer the questions that follow:
(a) What is the growth percentage in Per Capita lncome from 1951 to 1991?
(b) What is the annual growth rate of’ Per Capita Income from 1961 to 1971 (assuming that the growth was uniform throughout)?
(c) Find the country’s population during 1981.
(d) What was the growth rate in population during the decade 1981-1991?
(e) By how much per cent the National Income grew from 1951 to 1991?
66th BPSC Mains
1. The pie chart provided below gives the distribution of land in a village under various food crops. Study the pie chart carefully and answer the questions given below:
(a) Which combination of three crops contributes to 50% of the total area under the food crops?
(b) If the total area under jwar was 1.5 million acres, then what was the area (in million acres) under rice?
(c) If the production of wheat is six times that of barley, then what is the ratio between yield per acre of wheat and barley?
(d) If the yield per acre of rice was 50% more than that of barley, then the production of barley is what percent of that of rice?
(e) If the total area goes up by 5% and the area under wheat production goes up by 12%, then what will be the angle for wheat in the new pie chart?
2. The following line graph gives the percent profit earned by two companies X and Y during the period 1996-2001. Study the line graph and answer the questions that are based on it:
(a) If the expenditure of company Y in 1997 was Rs 220 crores, what was its income in 1997?
(b) If the income of two con1panies were equal in 1997, then what was the ratio of expenditure of company X to that of company Y in 1997?
(c) The income of the companies X and Y in 2000 were in the ratio of 3 : 4 respectively. What was the respective ratio of their expenditures in 2000?
(d) The expenditures of companies X and Yin 1996 ,vere equal and the total income of the two companies in 1996 was Rs 342 crores. What was the total profit of the two companies together in 1996?
(e) The expenditure of company X in the year 1998 was 200 crores and the income of company X in 1998 was the same as its expenditure in 2001. Find the income of company X in 2001.
3. Answer the following questions based on the information given below:
The first table gives the percentage of students in MBA class, who sought employment in the areas of finance, marketing and software. The second table gives the average starting salaries of the students per month (in Rs) in these areas. The third table gives the number of students who passed out in each year.
(a) Calculate the numbers of students who get jobs in finance less than the students getting marketing job in five years.
(b) What was the percentage increase in the average salary of finance from 1992 to 1996?
(c) Find the average annual rate at which the initial salary offered in software increases.
(d) What was the average monthly salary offered to a management graduate in 1993?
(e) Calculate the difference in earning by students seeking jobs in finance from those opting for software (per annum) in 1994
4. A soft-drink company prepares drinks of three different flavours-X, Y and Z. The production of the three flavours over a period of six years has been expressed in the bar graph provided below. Study the graph and answer the questions based on it:
(a) For which year, the percentage of rise/fall in production from the previous year is the maximum for the flavour Y?
(b) For which flavour the average annual production is maximum in the given period?
(c) The total production of flavour Z in 1997 and 1998 is what percentage of the total production of flavour X in 1995 and 1996?
(d) What is the difference between the average production of flavour X in 1995, 1996 and 1997 and the average production of flavour Y in 1998, 1999 and 2000?
(e) What was the percentage decline in the production of flavour Z in 2000 as compared to the production in 1998?
Also Read: BPSC Mains PYQs Subject Wise
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