In this guide
In the prelims, Quant is 35 one-mark questions and a race against a 20-minute clock. The mains section is a different animal. It is called Data Analysis & Interpretation, it carries 90 of the 300 marks that decide your final merit, and every question is worth three marks. One slow set or one wrong base in a percentage question costs as much as three questions in the awareness sections. This guide covers what the section asks, how to spend the 40 minutes, and how to choose the sets that pay.
What makes the mains section different
- Weight. Three marks a question, against one mark in prelims Quant. Accuracy is worth more than attempts.
- Longer sets. Expect most questions to come in DI sets of four to six questions: tables, bar and line graphs, pie charts, caselets and missing-data tables. Some papers add data sufficiency or stand-alone arithmetic. The mix varies from paper to paper, so study recent mocks rather than assuming a fixed split.
- Heavier calculation. Numbers are larger and less friendly than in prelims, and questions often chain two steps: find a total, then a percentage of it.
- A sectional minimum. You must clear the section on its own. A brilliant Reasoning score cannot carry a weak DI score past the minimum.
A 40-minute plan
| Minutes | Work |
|---|---|
| 0–2 | Scan every set. Mark each one easy, medium or slow |
| 2–25 | Easy sets first, usually tables and simple bar graphs |
| 25–35 | Medium sets: pie plus table, caselets with clean numbers |
| 35–38 | Stand-alone arithmetic or data sufficiency, if any |
| 38–40 | Mark an answer for every question left, since the 2025 mains had no negative marking |
If your cycle's notification introduces negative marking, drop the last row and leave genuine guesses blank.
How to choose sets
The two-minute scan decides your score more than your calculation speed does. Ask three questions of every set:
- Are the numbers round? A table of 480, 360 and 300 is quicker than one of 487, 363 and 298.
- Are the questions direct? "What is the percentage increase?" is direct. "If the 2026 figure grows at the same rate as 2025…" adds a step.
- Is everything given? Missing-data sets and caselets with many conditions take longer to set up. Leave them for the middle of the section.
A good rule for the exam hall: if the first question of a set takes more than two minutes, answer what you have, mark the set and move on. Come back only if time remains.
A worked table set
The table below is hypothetical. It shows policies sold by five branches of an insurer and the average annual premium per policy in 2025.
| Branch | Policies 2024 | Policies 2025 | Average premium 2025 (₹) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pune | 480 | 540 | 12,000 |
| Nagpur | 360 | 450 | 10,000 |
| Nashik | 300 | 270 | 15,000 |
| Thane | 240 | 310 | 8,000 |
| Kolhapur | 420 | 430 | 9,000 |
Before any question, find the column totals once: 2024 = 1,800 and 2025 = 2,000. Write them under the table.
Q1. What is the percentage increase in Nagpur's policies from 2024 to 2025?
(450 − 360) ÷ 360 × 100 = 90/360 × 100 = 25%. The base is the earlier year.
Q2. What is Pune's total premium in 2025?
540 × 12,000 = ₹64,80,000, or ₹64.8 lakh.
Q3. What is the ratio of total policies in 2024 to 2025?
1,800 : 2,000 = 9 : 10.
Q4. Which branch recorded the highest percentage growth in policies?
Do not calculate all five in full. Nashik fell, and Kolhapur grew by only 10 on 420. The contest is Nagpur (90/360 = 25%) against Thane (70/240). Cross-multiply: 70 × 360 = 25,200 and 90 × 240 = 21,600. Thane's fraction is bigger, so the answer is Thane (about 29.2%). Pune grew 60/480 = 12.5%.
Q5. Nashik's total premium in 2025 is what percentage of Pune's?
Nashik: 270 × 15,000 = ₹40,50,000. Pune: ₹64,80,000. The ratio 40.5/64.8 = 0.625 = 62.5%. If you know 5/8 = 62.5%, you can spot that 40.5 × 8 = 324 = 64.8 × 5 and skip the division.
Calculation habits that save minutes
| Habit | Why it helps |
|---|---|
| Write units at the top of the rough sheet | Thousands, lakh and crore mix-ups cost whole questions |
| Compute shared totals once | Three questions in a set often need the same sum |
| Compare by cross-multiplying | Faster and safer than two long divisions |
| Know fraction-percentage values | 1/8 = 12.5% and 5/8 = 62.5% turn division into recognition |
| Approximate when options are far apart | If options are 18%, 25% and 32%, 29.2% needs no decimals |
| Check the base before dividing | "Of the total", "over last year" and "per policy" all change the denominator |
Practice set
Questions 1–4 use the table above. Questions 5–8 use this caselet.
An agent sold 120 policies in a quarter. 40% were term plans. The rest were endowment and ULIP policies in the ratio 5 : 4. Average premiums were ₹9,000 for term, ₹15,000 for endowment and ₹20,000 for ULIP.
- What is the percentage decrease in Nashik's policies from 2024 to 2025?
- What was the average number of policies per branch in 2024?
- What was Kolhapur's total premium in 2025?
- Which branch had the second-highest number of policies in 2025?
- How many ULIP policies did the agent sell?
- Endowment policies are what percentage of the agent's total?
- What is the ratio of total term premium to total ULIP premium?
- What is the agent's total premium for the quarter?
Answers
- 10%. (300 − 270) ÷ 300 = 30/300.
- 360. 1,800 ÷ 5.
- ₹38,70,000. 430 × 9,000.
- Nagpur. Pune 540, Nagpur 450, Kolhapur 430.
- 32. Term = 40% of 120 = 48. The other 72 split 5 : 4 gives 40 endowment and 32 ULIP.
- 33.33%. 40/120 = 1/3.
- 27 : 40. Term 48 × 9,000 = ₹4,32,000; ULIP 32 × 20,000 = ₹6,40,000; divide both by 16,000.
- ₹16,72,000. ₹4,32,000 + ₹6,00,000 (40 × 15,000) + ₹6,40,000.
A practice schedule for the last two months
- Daily: two timed DI sets of different formats, then five minutes checking every wrong answer for its cause: base, unit, reading or arithmetic.
- Three times a week: fifteen minutes of calculation drill (multiplication of two-digit by three-digit numbers, fraction values, squares).
- Weekly: one full 40-minute DI section under exam conditions, including the two-minute scan.
- Keep a log of the set types that slow you down. If caselets keep costing you, practise building the table from the paragraph until it takes a minute.
What to do next
- Take one 40-minute sectional this week and note how long the scan took and which sets you chose.
- Work through table DI and caselet DI sets until reading a set takes under 30 seconds.
- Keep the quant revision sheet beside you for the fraction values and formulas.
- Before every mock, read your error log. Most lost marks repeat.
A note on dates and numbers. Exam patterns, vacancies and schedules change from year to year. Always confirm the current details in the latest notification on the Life Insurance Corporation of India website .
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