Decision Making
About 8 min · General Intelligence and Reasoning · English
Time worked out from the lesson's 670 words at 150 words a minute, plus a minute for each question.
Decision Making in RRB NTPC tests your ability to apply multiple conditions simultaneously and determine whether a candidate meets eligibility criteria. Unlike pure logical reasoning, these questions simulate real administrative decisions where you must check several parameters — age, education, experience, physical standards — against given rules.
Key ideas
- Eligibility criteria structure: Typically 4–6 conditions covering age limits, educational qualifications, work experience, marks/percentages, physical standards, and sometimes domicile or language requirements.
- Main decision categories: (a) Candidate satisfies all conditions → Eligible/Selected; (b) Candidate satisfies all except one specific condition for which an exception/referral clause exists → Refer to Authority X; (c) Candidate fails one or more conditions with no exception → Not Eligible/Reject.
- Exception clauses: Watch for phrases like "However, if the candidate...", "In case a candidate...", "Provided that...". These create referral paths when a candidate narrowly misses one criterion but compensates with another strength.
- Date calculations: Age and experience are often stated as "as on 01-01-2023" or "as on the closing date". Calculate precisely — being 27 years 364 days old is NOT the same as being 28 years old.
- AND logic dominance: Unless explicitly stated otherwise, ALL conditions must be satisfied. A candidate who meets 5 out of 6 conditions is NOT eligible unless the failed condition has an exception clause.
Quick reference
- Check conditions in order: age → education → experience → other criteria → exceptions.
- Exception clauses override one failed condition; they do NOT override multiple failures.
- Age calculation: Year difference, then adjust for month and day if birth date hasn't occurred yet in the reference year.
- "Minimum X years experience" means ≥ X; "at least X%" means ≥ X%.
- If candidate profile omits required information, they cannot be deemed eligible without it.
Check yourself: 3 questions
1. A company has the following criteria for selecting candidates for the post of Manager: Conditions: 1. Age between 25 and 35 years as on 1st January 2023 2. Graduate with at least 60% marks 3. At least 3 years of work experience 4. Must have cleared the written test with minimum 70% marks However, if a candidate fulfils all conditions except: a) Condition (2) but has a postgraduate degree, the case may be referred to the Director. b) Condition (3) but has 2 years experience with exceptional performance, the case may be referred to the HR Head. Rahul was born on 15th March 1990. He is a graduate with 58% marks but holds an MBA degree. He has 4 years of work experience and scored 75% in the written test. What should be the decision for Rahul?
2. A bank has the following eligibility criteria for sanctioning a home loan: Conditions: 1. Applicant must be at least 25 years old 2. Monthly income must be at least Rs. 40,000 3. Must have been employed for at least 2 years 4. Credit score must be 700 or above Priya is 28 years old with a monthly income of Rs. 45,000. She has been working for 3 years and her credit score is 720. Should the bank sanction her home loan application?
3. A university follows these criteria for admission to its MBA program: Conditions: 1. Bachelor's degree with minimum 50% marks 2. At least 1 year of work experience 3. Must have appeared in entrance exam and scored at least 60% 4. Age should not exceed 30 years as on 1st July 2023 Exceptions: I. If a candidate has 3 or more years of work experience, condition (1) may be relaxed to 45% marks, and the case will be decided by the Admission Committee. II. If a candidate has scored 80% or more in the entrance exam, condition (2) may be waived. Ankit has a bachelor's degree with 48% marks and 4 years of work experience. He is 27 years old and scored 65% in the entrance exam. What should be the decision?
This lesson is cut from the topic's note, not rewritten. Fact-checked on 18 Oct 2026: an AI-assisted check of this note against cited sources; the errors it found were corrected that day. Some errors may remain. The questions are from Shishya's validated question bank.
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