Master Profit Loss and Discount for RBI Grade B Phase 1 Exam

Questions on Profit Loss and Discount usually make up about 1 to 3 questions in the Quant section of RBI Grade B Phase 1 exams. This means around 1 to 3 marks, depending on how well you handle these topics. They are moderately tough but very scoring if you know the right formulas and tricks. Getting these questions right can give you an edge over others because many candidates get confused with the calculations. Here, you will get all the important formulas, easy shortcuts, and smart tips to solve these questions quickly and accurately.

ALSO READ: How to Score Maximum Marks in Cloze Test

Why Profit Loss and Discount Matter for RBI Grade B Exam

Profit, Loss and Discount questions test your understanding of basic business math that banks use daily. These questions can range from simple percentage calculations to tricky problems involving cost price, selling price, and discount rates. RBI Grade B exam papers show that about 5-10% of the Quant section is made up of this topic. That’s enough to say mastering it can help you secure those valuable marks easily.

Main Formulas You Must Know

Before solving problems, memorize these formulas well. They are the foundation for all Profit, Loss and Discount questions.

• Profit or Loss = Selling Price – Cost Price
• If Selling Price > Cost Price, you have Profit.
• If Cost Price > Selling Price, you have Loss.
• Profit% = (Profit ÷ Cost Price) × 100
• Loss% = (Loss ÷ Cost Price) × 100
• Selling Price = Cost Price + Profit
• Selling Price = Cost Price – Loss
• Discount = Marked Price – Selling Price
• Discount% = (Discount ÷ Marked Price) × 100
• Marked Price = Selling Price + Discount

ALSO READ: How to Score Maximum Marks in Cloze Test & Ratio & Proportion Concepts

Understanding Profit and Loss Problems

Profit and loss questions usually ask you to find either profit, loss, selling price, or cost price when given some values. The tricky part is to identify what is given and what needs to be found. Always remember, the base for profit or loss percentage is Cost Price, not selling price.

Example 1:

A shopkeeper buys an item for Rs. 500 and sells it for Rs. 600. What is his profit percentage?

Solution:

Profit = 600 – 500 = Rs. 100

Profit % = (100 ÷ 500) × 100 = 20%

How to Solve Discount Questions Fast

Discount questions are common and can look confusing if you don’t remember the difference between marked price and selling price.

• Marked Price is the price tagged on the product.
• Selling Price is the actual price after giving discount.

Example 2:

An item has a marked price of Rs. 800. The shopkeeper offers a 10% discount. What is the selling price?

Solution:

Discount = 10% of 800 = ₹80

Selling Price = 800 – 80 = Rs. 720

Tricks to Solve Profit Loss and Discount Questions Quickly

Here are some simple tricks that save time in the exam:

Use percentages directly on cost or marked price

Instead of converting percentages to decimals and then multiplying, multiply the cost price or marked price by the percentage directly. For example, 20% profit on Rs. 400 is 20 × 4 = Rs. 80 profit.

Remember the shortcut for discount

If discount is x%, then selling price = (100 – x)% of marked price.

Example: For 25% discount on Rs. 400, selling price = 75% of 400 = Rs. 300.

Combine profit and loss in one formula

If profit% = P and loss% = L,

• Selling Price = Cost Price × (1 + P/100) or
• Selling Price = Cost Price × (1 – L/100)

This helps avoid confusion about whether to add or subtract.

Use reverse calculations for cost price

If selling price and profit percentage are given, calculate cost price using:

Cost Price = Selling Price ÷ (1 + Profit%) or

Cost Price = Selling Price ÷ (1 – Loss%)

Practice Examples Like RBI Grade B

Try these practice questions that resemble actual RBI Grade B problems.

Example 3:

A trader sells an article at a loss of 10%. If the selling price is Rs. 450, find the cost price.

Solution:

Cost Price = Selling Price ÷ (1 – Loss%)
= 450 ÷ 0.9 = Rs. 500

Example 4:

An item is marked at Rs. 1,200 and sold at Rs. 960. Find the discount percentage.

Solution:

Discount = 1,200 – 960 = rs. 240

Discount % = (240 ÷ 1,200) × 100 = 20%

Example 5:

A shopkeeper offers a 15% discount on the marked price and still makes a profit of 10%. Find the cost price if the marked price is rs. 2,000.

Solution:

Selling Price = Marked Price – Discount = 2000 – (15% of 2000)
= 2000 – 300 = rs. 1,700

Let Cost Price = C.

Since profit is 10%,

Selling Price = Cost Price × 110%
1700 = 1.1 × C
C = 1700 ÷ 1.1 = Rs. 1,545.45

Exam-Like Questions for Practice

Question 1: A shopkeeper is giving a discount of 20% on the marked price, but a customer bargains and the shopkeeper sells him at Rs. 240 less than he was supposed to sell. If the profit of the shopkeeper is decreased from 80% to 50%, then find the marked price of the item.  

A) Rs. 1800

B) Rs. 1600

C) Rs. 1200

D) Rs. 1000

E) Rs. 800

Question 2: Monthly income of Vimal is 30% more than the monthly income of Monika. Monthly savings of Monika and Vimal are in the ratio 4:5, respectively. Monthly savings of Vimal is 25% less than the monthly expenses of Monika. Find the monthly income of Monika, if her expenses are Rs. 6,600 less than the monthly expenses of Vimal.

A) Rs. 24,000

B) Rs. 28,000

C) Rs. 32,000

D) Rs. 36,000

E) Cannot be determined

Question 3: Dinesh, Rohit and Shikhar started a business with initial investments of Rs. 1,200, Rs. 1,500 and Rs. 2,000 respectively. After one year, Dinesh, Rohit and Shikhar made additional investments of Rs. ‘x + 100’, Rs. 2x and Rs. ‘3x’ respectively. Find the value of ‘x’ if the profit share of Rohit out of the total profit of Rs. 12,750 is Rs. 4,080.

A) Rs. 300

B) Rs. 400

C) Rs. 500

D) Rs. 600

E) None of these

Question 4: A shopkeeper marked his goods 80% above the cost price and sold it after giving a discount of 15%. If he had marked it at 86% above the cost price and sold it after giving a discount of 10%, then he would have earned Rs. 180 more. Find the original selling price of the goods.

A) Rs. 1687.5

B) Rs. 1800

C) Rs. 1912.5

D) Rs. 1575

E) None of these

प्रश्न 1: एक दुकानदार अंकित मूल्य पर 20% का छुट प्रदान करता है पर एक ग्राहक उससे ताल-मोल करता है और इस कारण दुकानदार वस्तु को वास्तविक विक्रय मूल्य से Rs 240 कम में बेचता है|यदि दुकानदार का लाभ प्रतिशत 80% से घट कर 50% हो जाता है तो वस्तु का अंकित मूल्य ज्ञात करें|

A) Rs. 1800

B) Rs. 1600

C) Rs. 1200

D) Rs. 1000

E) Rs. 800

प्रश्न 2: Vimal की मासिक आय Monika की मासिक आय से 30% अधिक है|Monika और Vimal की मासिक बचत का अनुपात क्रमशः 4:5 है|Vimal की मासिक बचत Monika की मासिक व्यय से 25% कम है|Monika की मासिक आय ज्ञात करें, यदि उसका व्यय Vimal के मासिक व्यय से Rs 6,600 कम है|

A) Rs. 24,000

B) Rs. 28,000

C) Rs. 32,000

D) Rs. 36,000

E) Cannot be determined

प्रश्न 3: None

A) Rs. 300

B) Rs. 400

C) Rs. 500

D) Rs. 600

E) None of these

प्रश्न 4: एक दुकानदार अपने वस्तु को क्रय मूल्य से 80% अधिक पर अंकित करता है और फिर 15% की छुट प्रदान कर बेचता है|यदि उसने वस्तु को क्रय मूल्य से 86% अधिक पर अंकित किया होता और 10% की छुट प्रदान कर बेचा होता तो उसने Rs. 180 और अधिक अर्जित किए होते|वस्तु का वास्तविक विक्रय मूल्य ज्ञात करें|

A) Rs. 1687.5

B) Rs. 1800

C) Rs. 1912.5

D) Rs. 1575

E) इनमें से कोई नहीं

ANSWER KEYS and SOLUTIONS:

1) – A)

2) – C)

3) – C)

4) – C)

Solution 1: A)

Let, marked price of the article = Rs. x

And, cost price of the item = Rs. y

According to question,

1.8y = 0.8x … (i)

And, 1.5y = 0.8x – 240 … (ii)

Using both equations, we get,

1.8y = 1.5y + 240

0.3y = 240

y = 240/0.3

y = Rs. 800

So, x = (1.8 × 800)/0.8 = 1800

Hence, option a.

Solution 2: C)

Let the monthly savings of Monika and Vimal be Rs. 4x and Rs. 5x, respectively.

Let the monthly income of Monika = Rs. y

So the monthly income of Vimal = Rs. 1.3y

Monthly expenses of Monika = 5x/0.75 = Rs. 20x/3

Monthly expenses of Vimal = Rs. (20x/3 + 6,600)

According to question: (4x + 20x/3)/ (5x + 20x/3 + 6600) = y/1.3y

32x/ (35x + 19800) = 10/13

416x = 350x + 198000

66x = 198000, x = 3000

So the monthly income of Monika = 4 × 3000 + 20 × 3000/3 = Rs. 32,000

Hence, option c.

Solution 3: C)

Ratio of their profits = (1200 + 1200 + x + 100): (1500 + 1500 + 2x): (2000 + 2000 + 3x)

= (2500 + x): (3000+ 2x): (4000 + 3x)

According to question: (3000 + 2x)/(9500 + 6x) = 4080/12750

(3000 + 2x)/(9500 + 6x) = 8/25

75000 + 50x = 76000 + 48x

2x = 1000

x = 500

So, the value of ‘x’ = Rs. 500

Hence, option c.

Solution 4: C)

Let the cost price of the goods be Rs. 100x

Selling price of the article when 15% of discount is given = 100x × 1.8 × 0.85 = Rs. 153x

Selling price of the article when 10% of discount is given = 100x × 1.86 × 0.9 = Rs. 167.4x

According to question;

167.4x – 153x = 180

14.4x = 180

x = 12.5

Original selling price of the article = 153 × 12.5 = Rs. 1912.5

Hence, option c.

Tips for Mastering Profit Loss and Discount

• Always write down what is given and what is asked before solving.
• Practice problems of all types: profit only, loss only, discount only, and combined.
• Solve questions involving multiple transactions to build speed.
• Learn to quickly identify if profit or loss is involved by comparing cost and selling price.
• Use approximation in your practice to save time but avoid it in the final exam.
• Take mock tests regularly and time yourself for 1 minute per question.

Daily Mini Task for Practice

To improve fast, solve these every day:

• At least 5 Profit Loss or Discount problems.
• Include one question on calculating cost price from selling price.
• Solve one discount problem involving marked price and selling price.
• Note down mistakes and revise them before sleeping.

Repeat this for 10 days to boost accuracy and speed.

Takeaway

Profit, Loss and Discount are topics that offer quick marks if you keep practicing regularly. The formulas and tricks shared here are your best tools. Use them wisely and solve as many questions as you can. With steady practice, you will crack these questions in seconds and boost your RBI Grade B Phase 1 score. Keep at it and watch your confidence grow!

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