Question

During their school Silver Jubilee Reunion, four alumni were discussing their starting annual salaries back in 1981. The salaries in question were Rupees 40, 50, 60 and 70 thousand per year. Of course, the present MD of a private company earned the most. Arvind earned more than Biswajeet, and the doctor earned more than Dhruv the engineer. Chinmay could not remember what he started on. Biswajeet the lawyer did not start on Rs. 50,000, nor did Dhruv.

What was the Lawyer's starting salary?

• A. Rs. 40,000
• B. Rs. 50,000
• C. Rs. 60,000
• D. Rs. 70,000

Hint:

Work out the Doctor's salary first from the not Rs 50,000 clues, then use Doctor earned more than Dhruv and Arvind earned more than Biswajeet to place the rest.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

This puzzle gives four people, four professions and four salaries, and asks specifically for the lawyer's starting pay. Since Biswajeet is named as the lawyer, the real target is Biswajeet's salary.

1. Rs 40,000: this is the lowest figure. It turns out to belong to Dhruv, the engineer, once the Doctor is shown to earn more than him and takes Rs 50,000, leaving Rs 40,000 and Rs 60,000 for Dhruv and Biswajeet. Dhruv, being lower than the Doctor's Rs 50,000, must take Rs 40,000, not Biswajeet.
2. Rs 50,000: Biswajeet is directly ruled out from this value, since the clue states he did not start on Rs 50,000. This amount instead belongs to the Doctor, Chinmay.
3. Rs 60,000: with Rs 40,000 going to Dhruv and Rs 50,000 going to the Doctor, and Rs 70,000 reserved for the MD, Arvind, since Arvind must out earn Biswajeet, the only value left for Biswajeet is Rs 60,000.
4. Rs 70,000: this is the MD's salary, the highest of the four, and belongs to Arvind, not Biswajeet.

Working through the four salary values by elimination leaves exactly one figure open for Biswajeet, Rs 60,000. This also satisfies Arvind earned more than Biswajeet, since Arvind's Rs 70,000 exceeds it.

Let's summarize:

• The Doctor, Chinmay, takes the Rs 50,000 that Biswajeet and Dhruv were both barred from.
• Dhruv, the engineer, must earn less than the Doctor, fixing him at Rs 40,000.
• Arvind, the MD, takes the top salary of Rs 70,000, satisfying Arvind earned more than Biswajeet.
• Biswajeet is left with the remaining figure, Rs 60,000.

So the lawyer, Biswajeet, started on Rs 60,000.