📖 Introduction
Preparing for Banking and competitive exams requires mastering percentage concepts through regular practice. This practice set contains 10 carefully designed Banking Mains-level Percentage Questions covering topics such as successive percentage changes, business growth, production, employee analysis, exports, budgeting, admissions, and modern real-life scenarios.
Each question is accompanied by a shortcut solution that helps you improve both speed and accuracy. Whether you are preparing for IBPS PO, SBI PO, RBI Assistant, LIC AAO, SSC CGL, RRB, or other competitive exams, this practice set will strengthen your conceptual understanding and calculation skills.
Practice every question without looking at the solution first, then compare your approach with the shortcut method to develop faster problem-solving techniques.
Table of Contents
Question 31
📝 Question
A fintech company increased the number of premium subscribers by 25% in the first quarter. During the second quarter, 20% of the new total subscribers cancelled their premium membership. If the company finally had 9,000 premium subscribers, how many premium subscribers did it have at the beginning of the first quarter?
📌 Information
- First increase = 25%
- Second decrease = 20%
- Final subscribers = 9,000
- Find the initial number of subscribers.
⚡ Shortcut Solution
Overall factor:
125%×80%=100%
Hence, the final number equals the original number.
Initial subscribers = 9,000
✅ Final Answer
9,000
Question 32
📝 Question
An online electronics store marked up the cost price of a smartwatch by 40%. During a festive sale, it offered a 15% discount on the marked price. If the customer paid ₹11,900, what was the original cost price of the smartwatch?
📌 Information
- Markup = 40%
- Discount = 15%
- Selling Price = ₹11,900
- Find Cost Price.
⚡ Shortcut Solution
Net factor
= 140% × 85%
= 119%
Therefore,
Cost Price
= 11,900 ÷ 1.19
= ₹10,000
✅ Final Answer
₹10,000
Question 33
📝 Question
A manufacturing unit produced 25% more machines in 2025 than in 2024. In 2026, production further increased by 28% over 2025. If the production in 2026 was 16,000 machines, how many machines were produced in 2024?
📌 Information
- First increase = 25%
- Second increase = 28%
- Final production = 16,000
- Find production in 2024.
⚡ Shortcut Solution
Combined growth factor
= 125% × 128%
= 160%
Thus,
Original production
= 16,000 ÷ 1.60
= 10,000
✅ Final Answer
10,000 machines
Question 34
📝 Question
In an insurance company, 35% of employees are women. Among the women employees, 40% work in the claims department. If there are 504 women working in the claims department, what is the total number of employees in the company?
📌 Information
- Women = 35%
- Claims department = 40% of women
- Women in claims = 504
- Find total employees.
⚡ Shortcut Solution
Women employees
= 504 ÷ 40%
= 1,260
Since women are 35% of total,
Total employees
= 1,260 ÷ 35%
= 3,600
✅ Final Answer
3,600 employees
Question 35
📝 Question
A company exported 45% of its manufactured products. Of the remaining products, 20% were found defective and discarded. If 8,800 non-defective products remained after exports and discarding defective units, how many products were originally manufactured?
📌 Information
- Exported = 45%
- Remaining = 55%
- Defective from remaining = 20%
- Final usable products = 8,800
- Find original production.
⚡ Shortcut Solution
Usable products
= 55% × 80%
= 44% of original production
Therefore,
Original production
= 8,800 ÷ 44%
= 20,000
✅ Final Answer
20,000 products
Question 36
📝 Question
A startup allocated 30% of its annual budget to Research & Development (R&D). Of the remaining budget, 25% was spent on marketing. If the company was left with ₹1,05,000 after these allocations, what was its total annual budget?
📌 Information
- R&D allocation = 30% of total budget
- Marketing allocation = 25% of the remaining budget
- Remaining amount = ₹1,05,000
- Find the total annual budget.
⚡ Shortcut Solution
After allocating 30%, remaining budget = 70%
After spending 25% of the remaining:
Remaining = 70% × 75% = 52.5%
Therefore,
Total Budget
= ₹1,05,000 ÷ 52.5%
= ₹2,00,000
✅ Final Answer
₹2,00,000
Question 37
📝 Question
A warehouse received a shipment of laptops. During inspection, 12% were found defective. Of the remaining laptops, 25% were reserved for corporate clients. If 1,320 laptops were left for regular retail customers, how many laptops were received originally?
📌 Information
- Defective laptops = 12%
- Corporate reservation = 25% of the remaining laptops
- Retail laptops = 1,320
- Find the original shipment.
⚡ Shortcut Solution
After removing defective laptops:
Remaining = 88%
Retail allocation
= 88% × 75%
= 66%
Original shipment
= 1,320 ÷ 66%
= 2,000
✅ Final Answer
2,000 laptops
Question 38
📝 Question
The revenue of an e-commerce company increased by 20% in 2024 compared to 2023. In 2025, the revenue further increased by 25% over 2024. If the total increase in revenue over 2023 was ₹90 lakh, what was the revenue in 2023?
📌 Information
- First increase = 20%
- Second increase = 25%
- Total increase = ₹90 lakh
- Find the revenue in 2023.
⚡ Shortcut Solution
Overall growth factor
= 120% × 125%
= 150%
Overall increase
= 50%
Therefore,
50% = ₹90 lakh
Original Revenue
= ₹90 ÷ 50%
= ₹180 lakh
✅ Final Answer
₹180 lakh
Question 39
📝 Question
A university admitted 20% more students than the previous year. Later, 10% of the admitted students cancelled their admission before classes began. If the university finally had 5,400 enrolled students, how many students had enrolled in the previous year?
📌 Information
- Admission increased = 20%
- Cancellation = 10%
- Final enrolled students = 5,400
- Find the previous year’s enrollment.
⚡ Shortcut Solution
Net factor
= 120% × 90%
= 108%
Previous year’s enrollment
= 5,400 ÷ 108%
= 5,000
✅ Final Answer
5,000 students
Question 40
📝 Question
A manufacturing company produced a batch of electronic chips.
- 35% of the chips were exported.
- Of the remaining chips, 20% were rejected during quality inspection.
- The company then sold 75% of the accepted chips in the domestic market.
- The remaining 7,800 accepted chips were kept in inventory.
How many chips were produced originally?
📌 Information
- Exported = 35%
- Remaining after export = 65%
- Rejected = 20% of remaining chips
- Domestic sales = 75% of accepted chips
- Inventory = 7,800 chips
- Find the original production.
⚡ Shortcut Solution
After exports
= 65%
Accepted after inspection
= 65% × 80% = 52%
Inventory kept
= 25% of 52%
= 13%
Therefore,
13% = 7,800
Original production
= 7,800 ÷ 13%
= 60,000
✅ Final Answer
60,000 chips
⭐ Shortcut Trick of the Day
Convert Successive Percentage Changes into a Single Multiplier
Instead of calculating each percentage change separately, convert them into multiplication factors.
Examples:
- Increase by 25% → × 1.25
- Decrease by 20% → × 0.80
- Increase by 40% → × 1.40
- Discount of 15% → × 0.85
Example:
Increase by 25% followed by a decrease of 20%
= 1.25 × 0.80 = 1.00
This means there is no overall change.
Using multipliers saves time and reduces calculation errors in Banking Mains examinations.
📚 Recommended Reading
- Percentage Questions with Answers – Part 1
- Percentage Questions with Answers – Part 2
- Percentage Questions with Answers – Part 3
- Percentage Questions with Answers – Part 5
- Profit and Loss Questions with Answers
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Adding successive percentage changes instead of multiplying their factors.
- Calculating percentages from the wrong base value.
- Forgetting that every percentage change creates a new base.
- Ignoring the words remaining, left, or after deduction in the question.
- Applying discounts or increases in the incorrect order.
- Performing unnecessary long calculations instead of using percentage multipliers.
💡 Banking Exam Speed Tips
- Memorize common fraction-to-percentage conversions.
- Convert every percentage into a multiplication factor before solving.
- Identify the changing base value at every step.
- Use reverse percentage whenever the final value is given.
- Simplify calculations before multiplying large numbers.
- Practice approximation only after identifying the exact percentage relationship.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Are percentage questions important for Banking Exams?
Yes. Percentage forms the foundation of Profit & Loss, Simple Interest, Compound Interest, Data Interpretation, Ratio, Partnership, and many other Quantitative Aptitude topics.
Q2. What is the fastest way to solve percentage questions?
The fastest approach is to use multiplication factors, fraction equivalents, and reverse percentage techniques instead of lengthy calculations.
Q3. Which exams frequently ask percentage questions?
Percentage questions are commonly asked in IBPS PO, SBI PO, RBI Assistant, LIC AAO, SSC CGL, RRB, Insurance Exams, and many State-level competitive examinations.
Q4. How can I improve my speed in percentage problems?
Practice Banking Mains-level questions regularly, memorize common percentage equivalents, and solve questions using shortcut methods rather than traditional approaches.
