The CAT 2023 DILR Slot 1 Question Paper with Solutions covers all 20 questions from the Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning section of the morning slot held on November 26, 2023 by IIM Lucknow. The section ran for a 40-minute sectional limit, carried 60 marks (3 marks per question), and was built as 4 sets of 5 questions each. 

CAT 2023 DILR Slot 1 Question Paper with Solutions Download PDF Check Solutions

CAT 2023 Slot 1 DILR Questions with Solutions


Comprehension:

The schematic diagram below shows 12 rectangular houses in a housing complex. House numbers are mentioned in the rectangles representing the houses. The houses are located in six columns - Column-A through Column-F, and two rows - Row-1 and Row- 2 . The houses are divided into two blocks - Block XX and Block YY. The diagram also shows two roads, one passing in front of the houses in Row-2 and another between the two blocks. 
12 rectangular houses in a housing complex. House numbers are mentioned in the rectangles representing the houses
Some of the houses are occupied. The remaining ones are vacant and are the only ones available for sale.

Read More The road adjacency value of a house is the number of its sides adjacent to a road. For example, the road adjacency values of C2, F2, and B1 are 2, 1, and 0, respectively. The neighbour count of a house is the number of sides of that house adjacent to occupied houses in the same block. For example, E1 and C1 can have the maximum possible neighbour counts of 3 and 2, respectively. 
The base price of a vacant house is Rs. 10 lakhs if the house does not have a parking space, and Rs. 12 lakhs if it does. The quoted price (in lakhs of Rs.) of a vacant house is calculated as (base price) + 5 × (road adjacency value) + 3 × (neighbour count). 
The following information is also known. 
1. The maximum quoted price of a house in Block XX is Rs. 24 lakhs. The minimum quoted price of a house in block YY is Rs. 15 lakhs, and one such house is in Column-E. 
2. Row-1 has two occupied houses, one in each block. 
3. Both houses in Column-E are vacant. Each of Column-D and Column-F has at least one occupied house. 
4. There is only one house with parking space in Block YY.

Question 1:

How many houses are vacant in Block XX?


Question 2:

Which of the following houses is definitely occupied?

  • (A) D2
  • (B) A1
  • (C) B1
  • (D) F2

Question 3:

Which of the following options best describes the number of vacant houses in Row-2?

  • (A) Either 2 or 3
  • (B) Exactly 3
  • (C) Exactly 2
  • (D) Either 3 or 4

Question 4:

What is the maximum possible quoted price (in lakhs of Rs.) for a vacant house in Column-E?


Question 5:

Which house in Block YY has parking space?

  • (A) E2
  • (B) F2
  • (C) E1
  • (D) F1

Comprehension:

Faculty members in a management school can belong to one of four departments – Finance and Accounting (F&A), Marketing and Strategy (M&S), Operations and Quants (O&Q) and Behaviour and Human Resources (B&H). The numbers of faculty members in F&A, M&S, O&Q and B&H departments are 9, 7, 5 and 3 respectively. Prof. Pakrasi, Prof. Qureshi, Prof. Ramaswamy and Prof. Samuel are four members of the school's faculty who were candidates for the post of the Dean of the school. Only one of the candidates was from O&Q. Every faculty member, including the four candidates, voted for the post. In each department, all the faculty members who were not candidates voted for the same candidate. The rules for the election are listed below.

Read More 1. There cannot be more than two candidates from a single department.
2. A candidate cannot vote for himself/herself.
3. Faculty members cannot vote for a candidate from their own department.
After the election, it was observed that Prof. Pakrasi received 3 votes, Prof. Qureshi received 14 votes, Prof. Ramaswamy received 6 votes and Prof. Samuel received 1 vote. Prof. Pakrasi voted for Prof. Ramaswamy, Prof. Qureshi for Prof. Samuel, Prof. Ramaswamy for Prof. Qureshi and Prof. Samuel for Prof. Pakrasi

Question 6:

Which two candidates can belong to the same department?

  • (A) Prof. Pakrasi and Prof. Qureshi
  • (B) Prof. Qureshi and Prof. Ramaswamy
  • (C) Prof. Pakrasi and Prof. Samuel
  • (D) Prof. Ramaswamy and Prof. Samuel

Question 7:

Which of the following can be the number of votes that Prof. Qureshi received from a single department?

  • (A) 7
  • (B) 8
  • (C) 6
  • (D) 9

Question 8:

If Prof. Samuel belongs to B&H, which of the following statements is/are true?
Statement A: Prof. Pakrasi belongs to M&S.
Statement B: Prof. Ramaswamy belongs to O&Q.

  • (A) Only statement A
  • (B) Both statements A and B
  • (C) Neither statement A nor statement B
  • (D) Only statement B

Question 9:

What best can be concluded about the candidate from O&Q?

  • (A) It was either Prof. Ramaswamy or Prof. Samuel.
  • (B) It was Prof. Samuel.
  • (C) It was either Prof. Pakrasi or Prof. Qureshi.
  • (D) It was Prof. Ramaswamy.

Question 10:

Which of the following statements is/are true?
Statement A: Non-candidates from M&S voted for Prof. Qureshi.
Statement B: Non-candidates from F&A voted for Prof. Qureshi.

  • (A) Neither statement A nor statement B
  • (B) Both statements A and B
  • (C) Only statement A
  • (D) Only statement B

Comprehension:

Five restaurants, coded R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5 gave integer ratings to five gig workers - Ullas, Vasu, Waman, Xavier and Yusuf, on a scale of 1 to 5. The means of the ratings given by R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5 were 3.4, 2.2, 3.8, 2.8 and 3.4 respectively. 
The summary statistics of these ratings for the five workers is given below.

Read More
Ullas Vasu Waman Xavier Yusuf
Mean rating 2.2 3.8 3.4 3.6 2.6
Median rating 2 4 4 4 3
Model rating 2 4 5 5 1 and 4
Range of rating 3 3 4 4 3
* Range of ratings is defined as the difference between the maximum and minimum ratings awarded to a worker.
The following is partial information about ratings of 1 and 5 awarded by the restaurants to the workers.
(a) R1 awarded a rating of 5 to Waman, as did R2 to Xavier, R3 to Waman and Xavier, and R5 to Vasu. 
(b) R1 awarded a rating of 1 to Ullas, as did R2 to Waman and Yusuf, and R3 to Yusuf.

Question 11:

How many individual ratings cannot be determined from the above information?


Question 12:

To how many workers did R2 give a rating of 4?


Question 13:

What rating did R1 give to Xavier?


Question 14:

What is the median of the ratings given by R3 to the five workers?


Question 15:

Which among the following restaurants gave its median rating to exactly one of the workers?

  • (A) R3
  • (B) R5
  • (C) R4
  • (D) R2

Comprehension:

A visa processing office (VPO) accepts visa applications in four categories - US, UK, Schengen, and Others. The applications are scheduled for processing in twenty 15-minute slots starting at 9:00 am and ending at 2:00 pm. Ten applications are scheduled in each slot.
There are ten counters in the office, four dedicated to US applications, and two each for UK applications, Schengen applications and Others applications. Applicants are called in for processing sequentially on a first-come-first-served basis whenever a counter gets freed for their category. The processing time for an application is the same within each category. But it may vary across the categories. Each US and UK application requires 10 minutes of processing time. Depending on the number of applications in a category and time required to process an application for that category, it is possible that an applicant for a slot may be processed later.

Read More On a particular day, Ira, Vijay and Nandini were scheduled for Schengen visa processing in that order. They had a 9:15 am slot but entered the VPO at 9:20 am. When they entered the office, exactly six out of the ten counters were either processing applications, or had finished processing one and ready to start processing the next.
Mahira and Osman were scheduled in the 9:30 am slot on that day for visa processing in the Others category.
The following additional information is known about that day.
1. All slots were full.
2. The number of US applications was the same in all the slots. The same was true for the other three categories.
3. 50% of the applications were US applications.
4. All applicants except Ira, Vijay and Nandini arrived on time.
5. Vijay was called to a counter at 9:25 am.

Question 16:

How many UK applications were scheduled on that day?


Question 17:

What is the maximum possible value of the total time (in minutes, nearest to its integer value) required to process all applications in the Others category on that day?


Question 18:

Which of the following is the closest to the time when Nandini's application process got over?

  • (A) 9: 45am
  • (B) 9: 50am
  • (C) 9: 35am
  • (D) 9: 37am

Question 19:

Which of the following statements is false?

  • (A) The application process of Osman was completed before 9:45 am
  • (B) The application process of Mahira started after Nandini's.
  • (C) The application process of Mahira was completed before Nandini's.
  • (D) The application process of Osman was completed before Vijay's.

Question 20:

When did the application processing for all US applicants get over on that day?

  • (A) 3 : 40 pm
  • (B) 2 : 00 pm
  • (C) 2: 25 pm
  • (D) 2 : 05 pm

CAT 2023 Slot 1 DILR Exam Pattern and Marking Scheme

The Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning section in CAT 2023 Slot 1 had a fixed structure that you should know before you attempt the paper. It carried 20 questions for 60 marks, with a strict 40-minute sectional time limit and no option to move back to other sections.

  • Total questions: 20 in the Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning section
  • Section duration: 40 minutes (sectional time limit)
  • Total marks: 60 (3 marks per question)
  • Marking (MCQ): +3 for a correct answer, -1 for a wrong one
  • Marking (TITA): +3 for a correct answer, no negative marking
  • Question types: A mix of MCQ (multiple-choice) and TITA (Type In The Answer, non-MCQ) questions spread across 4 sets of 5 questions each, blending Data Interpretation (tables, distributions) with Logical Reasoning (arrangements, games and tournaments).

CAT 2023 Slot 1 DILR Set-wise Weightage and Difficulty

All 20 marks-worth of questions came from 4 sets of 5 questions each, so every set you cracked was worth up to 15 marks. Two sets were comparatively friendlier (easy to medium) while two were calculation-heavy (medium to difficult), which is why most students completed at most 2 full sets in the 40 minutes.

  • Set 1 - Restaurants and Gigs: A Data Interpretation set on musicians and gigs that looked approachable but used statistical ideas like averages and medians, pushing it to moderate-to-difficult; 5 questions.
  • Set 2 - Visa Processing: A Logical Reasoning set with counters serving multiple countries at different processing times and a heavy load of information to track, making it one of the tougher, time-consuming sets; 5 questions.
  • Set 3 - Plots and Houses: An arrangement-based set of 5 questions, rated medium; one question in this set was widely flagged as having an inconsistency, so accuracy and verification mattered here.
  • Set 4 - Distribution / Games Set: The most doable easy-to-medium set of 5 questions, best attempted first to bank quick, safe marks.

CAT 2023 Slot 1 DILR Question Paper Solutions Video

Source: GradSquare Mentors

How to Use the CAT 2023 Slot 1 DILR Question Paper

Treat this paper as a timed selection drill, not just a solving exercise. The 40-minute limit means choosing the right 2 sets is half the battle, so practise scanning all 4 sets before committing.

  • Spend the first 3 to 4 minutes reading all 4 sets and ranking them, then start with the easy-to-medium set (Set 4 here) to secure quick marks.
  • Cap each chosen set at roughly 12 to 15 minutes; if you are stuck mid-set, abandon it rather than sinking your whole 40 minutes.
  • On MCQ questions remember the -1 penalty and avoid blind guesses, but attempt TITA questions freely since they carry no negative marking.
  • Cross-check the flagged Plots and Houses question against the solution so you learn to spot inconsistent data sets under pressure.

Good Attempts and Percentile Benchmark for DILR Slot 1

  • An attempt of 9 to 12 questions with about 75 to 80 percent accuracy was considered a strong DILR performance in this slot.
  • Clearing 9 to 12 questions accurately was enough to reach roughly the 99 percentile in DILR for Slot 1.
  • Completing 2 full sets cleanly (10 questions) was a realistic target for most test-takers within the 40-minute window.
  • A raw score in the low-to-mid 30s out of 60 in DILR was a healthy 99 percentile-range outcome given the moderate-to-tough level.

DILR Slot 1 Question Paper FAQs

Ques. How many questions were there in CAT 2023 Slot 1 DILR and what was the time limit?

Ans. The DILR section in CAT 2023 Slot 1 had 20 questions arranged as 4 sets of 5 questions each, with a strict 40-minute sectional time limit and a total of 60 marks at 3 marks per question.

Ques. How difficult was the CAT 2023 Slot 1 DILR section?

Ans. It was rated moderate to tough. Two of the four sets were easy to medium while the other two were medium to difficult, and the section was on par with the difficulty of CAT 2022 Slot 1 DILR. Most students managed to complete at most 2 sets within the 40 minutes.

Ques. What is a good number of attempts in CAT 2023 Slot 1 DILR?

Ans. An attempt of 9 to 12 questions with about 75 to 80 percent accuracy was a good performance. Clearing 9 to 12 questions accurately was generally enough to reach around the 99 percentile in this slot.

Ques. What was the marking scheme for CAT 2023 Slot 1 DILR?

Ans. Each question carried 3 marks. For MCQ questions you got +3 for a correct answer and -1 for a wrong one, while TITA (non-MCQ) questions gave +3 for a correct answer with no negative marking.

Ques. What were the four sets in CAT 2023 Slot 1 DILR?

Ans. The four sets were Restaurants and Gigs (a statistics-heavy DI set), Visa Processing (a calculation-heavy counters set), Plots and Houses (an arrangement set where one question was flagged as inconsistent), and a more doable distribution/games set. Each set had 5 questions.

Ques. Where can I find the official CAT 2023 question paper and details?

Ans. The official CAT exam is conducted by the IIMs, and you can check authentic exam information, slot timings and notifications on the official website iimcat.ac.in. CAT 2023 was conducted by IIM Lucknow on November 26, 2023, with Slot 1 running from 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM.