PU MET Previous Year Paper Analysis 2019-2024: Section-wise Trends
PU MET (Panjab University Management Entrance Test) is the entrance exam for MBA admission at the University Institute of Applied Management Sciences (UIAMS), Panjab University, Chandigarh. It is a 2-hour, offline OMR test with 120 multiple-choice questions, 120 marks and a penalty of 0.25 marks for every wrong answer. It covers General Knowledge, Economics and Business Environment, Data Interpretation, Numerical Ability, Reasoning and English, and shortlisted candidates then go through a group discussion and personal interview. This guide analyses the PU MET question papers of 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 section by section and topic by topic, so you can see what the exam actually tests and how to plan your two hours.
Amit Kumar JaiswalAuthor
15 min read
- Last updated
- 24 Oct 2026
- Length
- 5,146 words
PU MET is an easy to moderate paper. In all five papers analysed here it had 120 MCQs, 120 marks, 2 hours and a penalty of 0.25 marks per wrong answer. In 2022 and 2023 the paper had six sections of 20 questions each. In 2024 the layout changed to five blocks with more reasoning and numerical questions and fewer Data Interpretation questions. About half of the paper (General Knowledge, Economics and Business Environment, English) tests knowledge instead of calculation. Numerical Ability and Data Interpretation are the moderate sections.
Key Takeaways
- The format did not change across the five papers: 120 questions, 2 hours, 0.25 negative marking.
- The 2019 and 2021 booklets mixed topics together. The 2022 and 2023 booklets follow six fixed blocks of 20 questions. The 2024 booklet changed the order: English (20), Data Interpretation and Reasoning (35), General Knowledge (20), Economics and Business (20), Numerical Ability (25).
- Roughly 30% of the General Knowledge-type questions in 2019 and 2021 were tied to recent events. That share fell to about 10% or less in 2022 and 2023, then rose to about 20% in 2024.
- Reading comprehension had 3 questions in 2019, 5 in 2021 and none in 2022, 2023 or 2024. English now means grammar, vocabulary and idioms.
- Data Interpretation dropped from 15 questions to 10 in 2022 and 2023 and to 9 in 2024, but the sets need multi-step percentage and ratio work.
- The 2024 Economics and Business block changed character, with 7 of 20 questions on startup and entrepreneurship terms.
- Questions and concepts repeat across years. One full five-question DI set appeared in both 2019 and 2021, and train-and-platform problems appeared in every paper from 2021 to 2024.
What Is PU MET and Who Conducts It?
PU MET is the entrance test for the MBA programmes at UIAMS, Panjab University, Chandigarh. Panjab University conducts it once a year as an offline, OMR-based exam. Admission is based on the PU MET score together with a group discussion and a personal interview. You can read the full exam details on our PU MET exam page and on the official site, met.puchd.ac.in.
What Is the PU MET Exam Pattern?
Every booklet analysed here carried the same instructions.
| Feature | Details (2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 booklets) |
|---|---|
| Total questions | 120 multiple-choice questions, four options each |
| Total marks | 120 (1 mark per question) |
| Duration | 2 hours (about 1 minute per question) |
| Negative marking | One-fourth of a mark (0.25) deducted per wrong answer; no deduction for unattempted questions |
| Mode | Offline, OMR answer sheet |
| Medium | English (stated in the 2022, 2023 and 2024 booklets) |
| Calculator | Not allowed |
| Sections (2022 and 2023) | General Knowledge, Economics and Business Environment Awareness, Data Interpretation and Problem Solving, Numerical Ability, Verbal Ability/Reasoning, English Comprehension, 20 questions each |
| Sections (2024) | Same subject areas in a new order and with different block sizes: English (20), Data Interpretation and Reasoning (35), General Knowledge (20), Economics and Business (20), Numerical Ability (25) |
Some websites list 200 questions for recent years. All five papers analysed here had 120, so check the latest brochure at met.puchd.ac.in before you plan your timing.
How Has the Paper Structure Changed?
The 2019 and 2021 booklets did not group questions by section. General Knowledge questions sat between Data Interpretation sets and number series, and the weight of each area varied a lot. The 2022 and 2023 booklets are laid out in six blocks of 20 questions, in the same order: General Knowledge, Economics and Business Environment, Data Interpretation and Problem Solving, Numerical Ability, Verbal Ability/Reasoning, English.
The 2024 booklet reordered everything. It starts with English, moves to Data Interpretation and Reasoning, then General Knowledge, Economics and Business, and ends with Numerical Ability. So do not rely on a fixed section order in the exam hall.
The 2019, 2021 and 2024 booklets have no section labels, so we grouped their questions by type. Counts for those three years are our classification.
PU MET 2019 Paper Analysis
The 2019 paper was the most knowledge-heavy of the five. General Knowledge and business awareness took 45 of 120 questions (37.5%), and the English section was the smallest at 12 questions. Four questions were later withdrawn (Q10, Q17, Q81 and Q102).
Overall Performance Breakdown (2019)
| Section | Questions | Level | Estimated good attempts |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Knowledge + Economics and Business Awareness | 45 | Easy to Moderate | 32-36 |
| Data Interpretation | 15 | Moderate | 11-13 |
| Numerical Ability | 20 | Easy to Moderate | 13-15 |
| Reasoning (verbal and logical) | 28 | Easy | 20-23 |
| English | 12 | Easy | 10-11 |
| Overall | 120 | Easy to Moderate | 86-98 |
Estimated good attempts are Aptitude360 estimates for a well-prepared candidate working at high accuracy. Panjab University does not publish attempt data.
General Knowledge and Business Awareness (2019)
| Topic group | Questions | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Banking, finance and economy (bank rate, EMI, RBI, bank nationalisation, negotiable instruments, WTO, currencies, devaluation) | 13 | Easy to Moderate |
| People, places, history and days | 12 | Moderate |
| Science, environment and technology | 7 | Easy |
| Business and media awareness (ESOP, burnout, FM radio, news channels) | 5 | Easy |
| Sports and awards | 5 | Easy |
| Government schemes (Pariwartan, eNAM, Make in India) | 3 | Moderate |
| Total | 45 | Easy to Moderate |
About 13 of these 45 questions had a link to recent events, such as a cyclone that hit Odisha, the appointment of a UNICEF youth ambassador and the unveiling of a statue of Sir Chhotu Ram. A student who read newspapers in the months before the exam had a clear edge.
Numerical Ability (2019)
| Topic | Questions | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Profit, loss and discount | 4 | Easy to Moderate |
| Numbers, LCM/HCF and simplification | 7 | Easy to Moderate |
| Simple interest | 2 | Easy |
| Probability | 2 | Moderate |
| Ratio, percentage, speed, mensuration, permutation (1 each) | 5 | Easy to Moderate |
| Total | 20 | Easy to Moderate |
Two questions on exponents (Q12 and Q13) and two on probability (a card draw and a pair of dice) were the only items that needed more than a standard formula. The paper had no averages and no time and work questions.
Data Interpretation (2019)
The paper had three sets of five questions, all based on tables: wheat production by state (Q21-25), marks of seven students in six subjects (Q26-30) and yearly expenditure of a company (Q31-35). There were no charts. The questions asked for averages, percentages and ratios taken from the table, so calculation speed mattered more than concepts. This was the most time-consuming block of the paper.
Reasoning (2019)
| Topic | Questions | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Analogies | 8 | Easy |
| Number series | 5 | Easy to Moderate |
| Coding-decoding and code logic | 5 | Easy to Moderate |
| Calendar and clock | 4 | Moderate |
| Blood relations | 2 | Easy |
| Direction sense | 2 | Easy |
| Seating arrangement and odd one out (1 each) | 2 | Easy |
| Total | 28 | Easy |
English (2019)
| Topic | Questions | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Antonyms | 4 | Easy to Moderate |
| Synonyms | 3 | Easy |
| Reading comprehension (one short passage) | 3 | Easy |
| One-word substitution | 2 | Easy |
| Total | 12 | Easy |
The 2019 paper had no grammar questions at all. Vocabulary and one short passage were the whole English section.
PU MET 2021 Paper Analysis
In 2021 Reasoning became the largest block with 33 questions, tied with General Knowledge-type questions at 33. Six questions were withdrawn (Q3, Q10, Q78, Q90, Q91 and Q92), the highest number in any paper analysed. Three of them came from a single DI set, which suggests the data in that set was ambiguous.
Overall Performance Breakdown (2021)
| Section | Questions | Level | Estimated good attempts |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Knowledge + Economics and Business Awareness | 33 | Easy to Moderate | 22-26 |
| Data Interpretation | 15 | Moderate | 10-12 |
| Numerical Ability | 24 | Moderate | 17-20 |
| Reasoning (verbal and logical) | 33 | Easy to Moderate | 24-27 |
| English | 15 | Moderate | 12-14 |
| Overall | 120 | Moderate | 85-99 |
General Knowledge and Business Awareness (2021)
| Topic group | Questions | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Science, technology, health and environment (HTML, tsunami, soil pollution, Ozone Day, Ganga Action Plan) | 10 | Easy |
| International organisations, treaties and reports (ASEAN, OPEC, ILO, Kyoto, Asian Development Outlook, Global Economic Prospects) | 6 | Moderate |
| Government schemes, projects and regional news (Renukaji Dam, Har Modh Par Ped, Kalapani, Kurki, literacy rank) | 6 | Moderate |
| Business laws and regulators (SEZ Act, Consumer Protection Act, FSSAI, AICTE, smart card committee) | 5 | Moderate |
| Awards, sports and culture | 4 | Easy |
| Business concepts (types of combination, grapevine communication) | 2 | Easy |
| Total | 33 | Easy to Moderate |
About 10 of the 33 questions were tied to recent events. Several asked for the year a law or body was established (SEZ Act, Consumer Protection Act, FSSAI, ILO, OPEC), so exact dates mattered.
Numerical Ability (2021)
| Topic | Questions | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Speed, time and distance (trains, races, speed ratios) | 5 | Moderate |
| Averages | 4 | Easy |
| Percentage and growth | 3 | Easy to Moderate |
| Probability and permutation-combination | 3 | Moderate |
| Profit, loss and discount | 2 | Easy |
| Number system and progression | 2 | Easy to Moderate |
| Compound interest, time and work, mensuration, ratio, mixture (1 each) | 5 | Easy to Moderate |
| Total | 24 | Moderate |
Data Interpretation (2021)
Three sets of five questions again: a financial table for a firm (sales, profit, dividends and retained earnings, Q88-92), market share of four mosquito repellent brands across four cities (Q93-97) and the wheat production table (Q111-115). The wheat set is the same data and the same five questions that appeared in 2019, with the states renamed I to V. A student who had solved the 2019 paper had five easy marks. The firm set was the weak spot: Q90, Q91 and Q92 were all withdrawn.
Reasoning (2021)
| Topic | Questions | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Analogies | 13 | Easy to Moderate |
| Coding-decoding (letter and number codes) | 7 | Moderate |
| Odd one out | 3 | Easy |
| Ordering and ranking | 3 | Easy |
| Blood relations | 2 | Easy |
| Alphabet position | 2 | Moderate |
| Direction, clock, number series (1 each) | 3 | Easy to Moderate |
| Total | 33 | Easy to Moderate |
The same blood-relation question (Deepak, Ravi, Rekha and Atul) appears twice in this paper, as Q19 and Q79.
English (2021)
| Topic | Questions | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Synonyms | 5 | Moderate |
| Antonyms | 5 | Moderate |
| Reading comprehension (one passage on culture and education) | 5 | Moderate |
| Total | 15 | Moderate |
The vocabulary was harder than in 2019. Words such as ameliorate, candour, ambiguity and transitory needed real word knowledge. The paper again had no grammar questions.
PU MET 2022 Paper Analysis
The 2022 paper is the first one analysed that follows the six-section layout, with 20 questions in each block. Two questions were withdrawn (Q10 and Q39).
Overall Performance Breakdown (2022)
| Section | Questions | Level | Estimated good attempts |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Knowledge (Q1-20) | 20 | Easy to Moderate | 14-16 |
| Economics and Business Environment (Q21-40) | 20 | Easy to Moderate | 14-17 |
| Data Interpretation and Problem Solving (Q41-60) | 20 | Moderate | 11-14 |
| Numerical Ability (Q61-80) | 20 | Moderate | 13-16 |
| Verbal Ability/Reasoning (Q81-100) | 20 | Easy to Moderate | 15-17 |
| English Comprehension (Q101-120) | 20 | Easy | 16-18 |
| Overall | 120 | Moderate | 83-98 |
General Knowledge (2022)
| Topic | Questions | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Awards, books and culture (Dadasaheb Phalke, Grammy, Nobel, UNESCO prize, B.C. Roy Award, national flower) | 7 | Easy to Moderate |
| Polity and governance (oath of office, first Lok Sabha Speaker, RTI Act) | 6 | Moderate |
| Science and technology (coagulation, ASCII, computer terms, refrigeration) | 4 | Easy |
| Sports (Thomas Cup, World Chess Championship) | 2 | Easy to Moderate |
| International days | 1 | Easy |
| Total | 20 | Easy to Moderate |
Only 3 of the 20 questions came from recent events (the Thomas Cup final, the Dadasaheb Phalke award and a new book by Chetan Bhagat). The rest were static facts.
Economics and Business Environment (2022)
| Topic | Questions | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Basic economics (definition, human capital, GDP per capita, mixed economy, elasticity, cartel) | 10 | Easy to Moderate |
| Environment and ecology | 5 | Easy |
| Business studies (profit maximisation, corporation, minutes of a meeting) | 3 | Easy to Moderate |
| Banking (CRR, NPAs) | 2 | Easy |
| Total | 20 | Easy to Moderate |
Half of this section (Q21-30) was textbook definitions. A student with Class 11 economics clear in mind could score most of it in about ten minutes.
Data Interpretation and Problem Solving (2022)
| Block | Questions | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Problem solving (sum of even numbers, polygon diagonals, fraction word problem, Venn sets, climbing puzzle, cube views, slow clock, bullets puzzle) | 10 | Moderate |
| DI set 1: table of percentage marks of five students in six subjects | 5 | Moderate |
| DI set 2: pie chart of NHAI funding sources | 5 | Moderate to Difficult |
| Total | 20 | Moderate |
The pie chart set was the first chart-based DI in the papers analysed. Questions on central angle, commission and percentage increase needed two or three steps each.
Numerical Ability (2022)
| Topic | Questions | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Algebra and number properties (surds, digit puzzles, divisibility, remainders, exponents) | 9 | Moderate to Difficult |
| Operators defined by a formula | 2 | Moderate |
| Speed, time and distance (train and bridge, late and early) | 2 | Moderate |
| Average, ages, series, percentage change, compound interest, discount, pipes (1 each) | 7 | Easy to Moderate |
| Total | 20 | Moderate |
Nine of the 20 questions were pure number logic. These reward practice with divisibility and remainders more than memorised formulas, and they are where the paper separated good scorers from average ones.
Verbal Ability/Reasoning (2022)
| Topic | Questions | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Analogies | 6 | Easy to Moderate |
| Coding-decoding | 4 | Moderate |
| Odd one out | 4 | Easy |
| Statements and conclusions | 2 | Moderate |
| Blood relation, circular seating, calendar, vocabulary (1 each) | 4 | Moderate |
| Total | 20 | Easy to Moderate |
English Comprehension (2022)
| Topic | Questions | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Grammar (pronoun, prepositions, conditionals, voice, sentence correction) | 7 | Easy to Moderate |
| Vocabulary (antonym, synonyms, word choice) | 5 | Easy |
| Idioms and phrases | 5 | Easy to Moderate |
| One-word substitution | 2 | Easy |
| Para jumble | 1 | Moderate |
| Total | 20 | Easy |
Despite the section name, there was no reading comprehension passage in 2022.
PU MET 2023 Paper Analysis
The 2023 paper kept the six-block layout. No question was withdrawn, which makes it the cleanest of the five papers. Science and technology questions made up half of the General Knowledge block.
Overall Performance Breakdown (2023)
| Section | Questions | Level | Estimated good attempts |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Knowledge (Q1-20) | 20 | Easy to Moderate | 15-17 |
| Economics and Business Environment (Q21-40) | 20 | Easy to Moderate | 14-17 |
| Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation (Q41-60) | 20 | Moderate | 12-14 |
| Numerical Ability (Q61-80) | 20 | Moderate | 14-16 |
| Verbal Ability/Reasoning (Q81-100) | 20 | Moderate | 13-16 |
| English Comprehension (Q101-120) | 20 | Easy to Moderate | 16-18 |
| Overall | 120 | Easy to Moderate | 84-98 |
General Knowledge (2023)
| Topic | Questions | Level |
|---|---|---|
| General science and biology (glucose, hardest substance, bats, curd, root vegetables) | 6 | Easy |
| Technology and space (nibble, Apollo 11, nanotechnology, ChatGPT) | 4 | Easy to Moderate |
| History (Agra, Back to the Vedas, Do or Die) | 3 | Moderate |
| Polity and governance (Speaker's resignation, CAG, NITI Aayog) | 3 | Moderate |
| Sports and awards (Tokyo 2020 medals, French Open 2022, Oscars) | 3 | Easy to Moderate |
| Geography | 1 | Easy |
| Total | 20 | Easy to Moderate |
Ten of the 20 questions were science or technology. Only four had a recent-events hook (Tokyo Olympics medal count, French Open 2022, the 95th Academy Awards and ChatGPT).
Economics and Business Environment (2023)
| Topic | Questions | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Macroeconomics (national income, stagflation, unemployment, marginal propensity to save, trade deficit, crude oil) | 7 | Moderate |
| Banking, credit and insurance (qualitative credit control, terms of credit, IRDAI, shareholder returns) | 4 | Easy to Moderate |
| Government schemes and social issues (MGNREGA, food security, migration, casual employment) | 4 | Easy to Moderate |
| Demand and market structure (law of demand, OPEC as a cartel) | 2 | Easy |
| Population theory, e-commerce, Kyoto Protocol (1 each) | 3 | Easy |
| Total | 20 | Easy to Moderate |
Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation (2023)
| Block | Questions | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Statements and conclusions (Q41-45) | 5 | Easy to Moderate |
| Ranking, date logic, digit sequence, word order, relation (1 each) | 5 | Moderate |
| DI set 1: stream-wise enrolment of students with a percentage of girls | 5 | Moderate |
| DI set 2: two tables on monthly laptop sales and brand ratio | 5 | Moderate to Difficult |
| Total | 20 | Moderate |
Both DI sets needed percentage-of-percentage or ratio-then-total steps. Set 2 combined two tables, so reading speed decided how many of the five you finished.
Numerical Ability (2023)
| Topic | Questions | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Probability and permutation | 4 | Moderate |
| Speed, time and distance (late and early, train and tunnel, boat) | 3 | Moderate |
| Simple and compound interest | 2 | Moderate |
| Time and work, pipes and leaks | 2 | Moderate |
| Averages | 2 | Easy to Moderate |
| Ratio and proportion | 2 | Easy |
| Number system and LCM/HCF | 2 | Moderate |
| Percentage, profit and loss, mensuration (1 each) | 3 | Easy to Moderate |
| Total | 20 | Moderate |
Probability returned after a gap in 2022, and it brought permutation with it. Four more quant-type questions (a product of fractions, a ratio problem, hexagon diagonals and a sum of odd numbers) were placed in the reasoning block, so the real quant load was 24 questions.
Verbal Ability/Reasoning (2023)
| Topic | Questions | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Statements and logical equivalence (negation, conclusions) | 4 | Moderate |
| Quant-type questions (fraction product, ratio, diagonals, sum of odd numbers) | 4 | Easy to Moderate |
| Number and letter series | 3 | Moderate |
| Coding-decoding | 3 | Moderate |
| Odd one out | 2 | Easy |
| Team selection (conditions) | 2 | Moderate |
| Family puzzle and figure counting (1 each) | 2 | Moderate |
| Total | 20 | Moderate |
English Comprehension (2023)
| Topic | Questions | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Grammar (tenses, modals, voice, narration, parts of speech, sentence correction) | 11 | Easy to Moderate |
| Vocabulary (synonym, similar pair, spelling, one-word substitution) | 6 | Easy |
| Idioms and phrases | 3 | Easy to Moderate |
| Total | 20 | Easy to Moderate |
Grammar took more than half of the section, and again there was no reading passage.
PU MET 2024 Paper Analysis
The 2024 booklet kept the same subject areas but changed their order and size. It opened with English (Q1-20), then Data Interpretation and Reasoning (Q21-55), General Knowledge (Q56-75), Economics and Business (Q76-95) and Numerical Ability (Q96-120). Four questions were withdrawn (Q44, Q66, Q77 and Q103). Numerical Ability had 25 questions, the largest standalone block of its kind in the five papers.
Overall Performance Breakdown (2024)
| Section | Questions | Level | Estimated good attempts |
|---|---|---|---|
| English (Q1-20) | 20 | Easy to Moderate | 16-18 |
| Data Interpretation and Reasoning (Q21-55) | 35 | Moderate | 24-29 |
| General Knowledge (Q56-75) | 20 | Easy to Moderate | 13-16 |
| Economics and Business Environment (Q76-95) | 20 | Easy to Moderate | 14-17 |
| Numerical Ability (Q96-120) | 25 | Moderate | 18-21 |
| Overall | 120 | Easy to Moderate | 85-101 |
English (2024)
| Topic | Questions | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Vocabulary (antonyms, word meaning, sentence completion) | 6 | Easy to Moderate |
| Prepositions | 3 | Easy |
| Active and passive voice | 3 | Easy to Moderate |
| Idioms and phrases | 3 | Easy |
| Direct and indirect narration | 2 | Moderate |
| Pronoun usage, one-word substitution, spelling (1 each) | 3 | Easy |
| Total | 20 | Easy to Moderate |
Grammar (prepositions, voice, narration and pronoun usage) made up 9 of the 20 questions. There was no reading passage and no para jumble. Rare words such as "zonation" and "unobtrusive" were the only tricky items.
Data Interpretation (2024)
Only 9 questions, the fewest of any paper analysed, in two table-based sets. The first (Q21-25) gave candidates appeared and qualified across five states and five years, and asked for approximate percentages, an average and a year-wise comparison. The second (Q26-29) gave the share of population below the poverty line with male-female ratios for five states, and needed ratio chains. There were no charts. The second set was the harder one because every answer needed two or three ratio steps.
Reasoning (2024)
| Topic | Questions | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Blood relations and family puzzle | 6 | Moderate |
| Statements, syllogisms and conclusions | 4 | Easy to Moderate |
| Direction sense | 3 | Moderate |
| Coding-decoding | 3 | Moderate |
| Team selection with conditions | 3 | Moderate |
| Logic puzzles (doubling basket, sums from four notes) | 2 | Moderate |
| Odd one out, ranking in a row, letter pairs, number series, seating (1 each) | 5 | Easy to Moderate |
| Total | 26 | Moderate |
Analogies, a regular in 2019, 2021 and 2022, did not appear at all. Syllogism Q44 was withdrawn. The team-selection set (Q45-47) is the same type of question that appeared in 2023.
General Knowledge (2024)
| Topic | Questions | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Books and authors (Pinjar, The Lean Startup, Thinking, Fast and Slow) | 3 | Moderate |
| Fintech and banking (e-RUPI, UPI, unclaimed deposits) | 3 | Easy to Moderate |
| AI and software (OpenAI CEO, Sora, Microsoft Office) | 3 | Easy to Moderate |
| Sports (IPL, Junior Asia Cup 2023, National Games mascot) | 3 | Easy to Moderate |
| Science, defence and misc (hydrogen bomb, shorthand writer, DRDL) | 3 | Easy to Moderate |
| EV charging plan and ESG | 2 | Easy |
| Capital of Finland and Saka Era | 2 | Easy to Moderate |
| Aviation report (most punctual airport) | 1 | Moderate |
| Total | 20 | Easy to Moderate |
About 6 of the 20 questions were tied to recent events (the EV charging plan, OpenAI's CEO, Sora, the Junior Asia Cup, the National Games mascot and the Cirium airport report). Microsoft Office (Q66) was withdrawn.
Economics and Business Environment (2024)
| Topic | Questions | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Startup and entrepreneurship terms (proof of concept, customer acquisition, bootstrapping, burn rate, advisory shares, Shark Tank India) | 7 | Easy to Moderate |
| Management and marketing (acquisition, product concept, Henry Fayol, unity of command) | 4 | Easy |
| Business law and economic systems (laissez faire, consumer forum limits, sweat equity, monopolistic trade practice) | 4 | Moderate |
| Accounting and BOP (IFRS 17, capital account, going concern) | 3 | Moderate |
| Business news (World Bank road safety project, Zomato controversy) | 2 | Moderate |
| Total | 20 | Easy to Moderate |
This block changed character. Instead of 2023's macroeconomics-heavy mix, 7 of 20 questions came from startup vocabulary, and management and marketing concepts filled another 4. Q77 (monopolistic trade practice) was withdrawn.
Numerical Ability (2024)
| Topic | Questions | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Profit, loss and discount | 4 | Moderate |
| Number system, LCM/HCF (cube root, perfect square, HCF, consecutive numbers) | 4 | Easy to Moderate |
| Averages | 3 | Easy to Moderate |
| Ratio and proportion (machines, loom, chairs and tables) | 3 | Easy |
| Percentage | 2 | Easy |
| Probability | 2 | Easy to Moderate |
| Speed, time and distance (train and platform, boat) | 2 | Moderate |
| Simple interest, time and work (1 each) | 2 | Moderate |
| Depreciation, heights and distances, logarithm (1 each) | 3 | Moderate |
| Total | 25 | Moderate |
Most questions were standard formula problems, and profit and loss was the biggest single topic. Heights and distances and logarithms did not appear in the 2019 to 2023 breakdowns above. There was no mensuration question and no direct compound interest question. Q103 (boat and stream) was withdrawn.
How Did Section Weightage Change Over the Years?
To compare all five papers on one scale, we grouped every question into five areas.
| Area | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Knowledge + Economics and Business | 45 | 33 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
| Data Interpretation | 15 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 9 |
| Numerical Ability (including quant puzzles) | 20 | 24 | 27 | 24 | 25 |
| Reasoning | 28 | 33 | 22 | 26 | 26 |
| English | 12 | 15 | 21 | 20 | 20 |
| Total | 120 | 120 | 120 | 120 | 120 |
Three patterns stand out. First, General Knowledge, Economics and English together made up 57 questions in 2019, 48 in 2021, 61 in 2022, 60 in 2023 and 60 in 2024, so roughly half the paper rewards knowledge. Second, English grew from 12 to 20 or more questions while reasoning shrank from 33 to 22 between 2021 and 2022, then settled at 26. Third, Data Interpretation fell from 15 questions to 9, so reasoning and numerical questions now carry more of the calculation load.
Current Affairs Share in the GK Block
| Year | Questions with a recent-events link | Out of | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 13 | 45 | About 29% |
| 2021 | 10 | 33 | About 30% |
| 2022 | 3 | 40 | About 8% |
| 2023 | 4 | 40 | 10% |
| 2024 | 8 | 40 | 20% |
Counts are Aptitude360 classification of questions tied to events from the year or so before the exam.
Which Topics Appear Every Year?
This table shows how many Numerical Ability questions came from each topic. For 2022, 2023 and 2024 it covers the Numerical Ability block only.
| Topic | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple and compound interest | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Profit, loss and discount | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Speed, time and distance | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Percentage | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Averages | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Time and work, pipes | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Probability and permutation | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| Ratio and proportion | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Number system, LCM/HCF, algebra | 7 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 4 |
| Mensuration | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Other (mixture, operators, series, ages, depreciation, heights and distances, logarithm) | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| Total | 20 | 24 | 20 | 20 | 25 |
Simple and compound interest, profit and loss, speed-time-distance and percentage appeared in all five papers. Those four topics are the safest place to start. Averages and probability appeared in four of the five. In Reasoning, coding-decoding and odd one out appeared every year. Analogies were common until 2022 but vanished in 2023 and 2024. Statements and conclusions appeared in 2022, 2023 and 2024 (2, 9 and 4 questions), and blood relations and direction sense returned in 2024.
Do PU MET Questions Repeat?
Yes. We found repeated questions, or the same concept with changed numbers, in every pair of consecutive papers we checked.
| Question or concept | Where it appeared |
|---|---|
| Wheat production table, five DI questions on five states, 1986 to 1990 | 2019 Q21-25 and 2021 Q111-115 (same data, states relabelled) |
| Scooter and moped prices in ratio 9:5, scooter costs Rs 6,800 more | 2019 Q6 and 2021 Q117 |
| A boy runs at 15.6 km/h, how many metres in 2 minutes | 2019 Q15 and 2021 Q108 |
| How many times the hands of a clock are at right angles in a day | 2019 Q16 and 2021 Q107 |
| Difference between compound and simple interest for 2 years is Rs 32 | 2022 Q75 (find rate) and 2023 Q72 (find amount) |
| Reaching late at one speed and early at another | 2022 Q78 and 2023 Q65 |
| Train crossing a platform, bridge or tunnel | 2021 Q21, 2022 Q72, 2023 Q66 and 2024 Q102 |
| Team selection with conditions (same question type) | 2023 (2 questions) and 2024 Q45-47 |
| OPEC or cartel | 2019 Q60, 2021 Q29, 2022 Q30 and 2023 Q40 |
| Kyoto Protocol | 2019 Q67, 2021 Q27 and 2023 Q24 |
| Dronacharya Award | 2019 Q46 and 2021 Q34 |
The practical point is that old papers are a question bank. A cartel question appeared in four of the five papers, a train problem appeared in every paper from 2021 to 2024, and the Rs 32 interest question came back with its numbers swapped. Solve every old paper completely, including the answer key, before you move to mocks.
How Difficult Is PU MET?
| Year | Overall level | Easiest area | Toughest area | Withdrawn questions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Easy to Moderate | English, Reasoning | Table-based DI (three calculation-heavy sets) | 4 |
| 2021 | Moderate | General Knowledge, Reasoning | DI and vocabulary | 6 |
| 2022 | Moderate | English, Economics | Numerical Ability (nine number-logic questions) and the pie chart DI | 2 |
| 2023 | Easy to Moderate | General Knowledge (science), English | DI sets with multi-step percentages | 0 |
| 2024 | Easy to Moderate | English, startup and management terms | Ratio-chain DI set and the family, direction and team-selection puzzles | 4 |
PU MET is usually described as easier than CAT. The papers back that up for knowledge sections. The difficulty sits in the 34 to 39 questions of Numerical Ability and Data Interpretation, where you have no calculator and about a minute per question.
What Can You Expect in PU MET 2027?
This is a forecast from the 2022, 2023 and 2024 papers, not an official announcement. The final structure comes from the official brochure, and the 2024 paper shows that block order and size can change.
| Section | Expected questions | Expected level | What to expect |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Knowledge | About 20 | Easy to Moderate | Science and technology at the core, books and authors, fintech and AI, and 4 to 6 recent-events questions |
| Economics and Business Environment | About 20 | Easy to Moderate | Startup and management vocabulary, basic economics, banking and credit, business law, a few business-news items |
| Data Interpretation | 9 to 10 | Moderate | Two sets of four or five questions (table, pie or bar chart) with percentage and ratio steps |
| Numerical Ability (including quant puzzles) | 24 to 27 | Moderate | Profit and loss, interest, speed-time-distance, percentage, averages, number logic, probability |
| Reasoning | 22 to 26 | Easy to Moderate | Blood relations, direction sense, coding-decoding, syllogisms, team selection, series, odd one out |
| English | 20 to 21 | Easy to Moderate | Grammar (prepositions, voice, narration, tenses, modals), vocabulary, idioms. Keep a little reading comprehension practice in case a passage returns |
How Should You Prepare Using These Trends?
Plan your two hours. With 120 questions in 120 minutes, the knowledge sections should finish quickly so the calculation sections get more time. This is one workable split.
| Section | Suggested time | Approach |
|---|---|---|
| English | 12 minutes | Grammar rules and idioms are fast marks, so finish them first |
| General Knowledge | 10 minutes | Skip a question if you do not know it, since recall does not improve with time |
| Economics and Business Environment | 10 minutes | Definition and vocabulary questions take seconds |
| Reasoning | 25 minutes | Do odd one out, syllogisms and blood relations first, puzzles and series last |
| Numerical Ability | 33 minutes | Take percentage, averages, interest and profit and loss first, number logic last |
| Data Interpretation | 20 minutes | Pick the DI set with fewer steps first |
| Review and OMR check | 10 minutes | Check bubbles against question numbers |
Because the 2024 booklet started with English instead of General Knowledge, scan the whole booklet in the first minute and begin with the section you find fastest.
Use the negative marking rule. A wrong answer costs 0.25 marks. A blind guess among four options has an expected value of about +0.06 marks, and removing even one option raises it to about +0.17. So guess only after you have eliminated at least one option.
Priorities by topic. Start with interest, profit and loss, speed-time-distance and percentage, because they appeared every year. Then add averages, probability, permutation and number properties, which carried the harder questions in 2022, 2023 and 2024. For GK, study science and technology first, then keep a monthly current-affairs list, since recent-events questions returned in 2024. For Economics and Business, learn the basic definitions, banking terms and startup vocabulary (burn rate, bootstrapping, proof of concept), which filled 7 of 20 questions in 2024. For English, revise prepositions, tenses, modals, voice and narration, and keep a list of idioms.
How to Solve PU MET Previous Year Papers
- Solve one full paper in 120 minutes with no calculator, in an exam-like sitting.
- Check it against the answer key and mark the reason for each miss: concept gap, calculation slip, or time.
- Tally your errors by section and topic, the way the tables above are built.
- Re-solve the repeated question types listed above until they take under a minute.
- Move to timed mocks only after you have finished all available papers.
Good to know
You can practice previous year papers in a timed, exam-style interface in our PYQ section and test yourself with the mock tests.
How Aptitude360 Helps You Prepare for PU MET
Solving past papers only helps if you study why each question was asked and which topics repeat. At Aptitude360 in Sector 34A, Chandigarh, we teach Quant, Reasoning and English in small batches with personal mentorship, online, offline or hybrid. For PU MET we work from papers like the ones analysed above, so your practice follows what the exam has actually asked.
| Support | Benefit for PU MET aspirants |
|---|---|
| Section-wise paper analysis | Shows which topics earn marks every year |
| Timed paper practice | Builds speed without a calculator |
| Mock tests | Trains time split and guessing discipline under negative marking |
| Small batches and mentoring | Doubt solving on weak topics such as DI and number logic |
Preparing for PU MET 2027? Book a free demo class or take the free assessment test to see where you stand today. Both are free, with no obligation.
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Sources
- PU MET question papers with answer keys (Series A) for 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, analysed by Aptitude360
- Panjab University Management Entrance Test, official website: met.puchd.ac.in
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