XAT PYQs 2025

The XAT 2025 Previous Year Paper is a comprehensive 180-minute exam consisting of 95 questions divided into four distinct sections: Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning, Decision Making, Quantitative Aptitude & Data Interpretation, and General Knowledge. This specific paper is notable for the removal of the Essay Writing section and a reduction in GK questions to 20, maintaining its reputation as a moderate-to-difficult test that prioritizes conceptual depth over speed.

Start Test

Choose Normal practice or a Simulated test.

Questions, answer key and solutions.

Questions: 75
Duration: 225 min
Marks: 75
Attempts: 100
Access: Free

Share test:

Normal practice, or a Simulated test

The same questions, either way. Normal practice teaches; the simulated test tells you where you stand.

No account needed

Normal

Untimed

Every question on one page, loading as you scroll. Choose an option and see straight away whether it was right.

No timer. Nothing to start and nothing to submit. Stop whenever you like.
Answered as you choose. Tap an option and it is marked at once, with the correct answer shown.
Solutions in place. The explanation, and the video where one has been added, sit under the question.
Open to guests. Normal practice needs no sign-in.

Open Normal practice

Real exam conditions

Simulated

Timed CBT

The computer-based test format: one clock, a question palette, and a score the moment you submit.

A clock that does not pause. 225 minutes from the moment you begin, and the paper is submitted for you when it reaches zero.
Question palette. Answered, not answered and marked for review, section by section, as the real interface has it.
Full screen, proctored. The test takes over the screen; leaving it three times submits the paper.
Answers hidden until you submit. The key, the explanations and your score all arrive together at the end.

About this test

This full-length paper represents the actual admission test for XLRI and other top B-schools conducted on January 5, 2025. It serves as the ultimate benchmark for aspirants to gauge their readiness under real exam conditions. The paper is structurally divided into two parts:

Part 1: The Core Sections (Scored for Percentile)
- Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning (26 Questions): A mix of critical reasoning and dense reading comprehension. Key passages included "Meritocracy is a Myth" and "Greedy Work," along with a poem by Sujata Bhatt.
- Decision Making (21 Questions): The defining section of XAT, featuring complex business and ethical caselets like the "Sundaram Store" financial dilemma and the "Humane Dynamix" HR conflict.
- Quantitative Aptitude & Data Interpretation (28 Questions): A rigorous section heavy on Arithmetic and Geometry, with data sets requiring intense calculation and logical deduction.
Part 2: General Knowledge (Not Scored for Percentile)
- General Knowledge (20 Questions): Reduced from previous years, this section focuses on static GK and current affairs without negative marking.
- Real 2025 Questions Included:
  - Current Affairs: Winners of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics (Acemoglu, Johnson, Robinson) and the Booker Prize (Samantha Harvey for Orbital).
  - Static GK: Questions on the Dhimsa folk dance (Andhra Pradesh) and the world's only floating national park (Keibul Lamjao, Manipur).
  - Personalities: Identifying Sirimavo Bandaranaike as the world's first female Prime Minister.
Exam Features:
- Total Duration: 180 minutes (Revised from 210 minutes).
- Marking: +1 for correct, -0.25 for incorrect (Part 1 only), and a special penalty of -0.10 for leaving more than 8 questions unattempted.
- Note: The Essay Writing section was removed from the main exam pattern for this specific year.

Test structure

How the paper is split, and how long each part runs. A section you have finished cannot be returned to.

Section	Questions	Time
XAT 2025 Quantitative Aptitude & Data Interpretation	28	75 min
XAT 2025 Bussiness Decision Making	21	75 min
XAT 2025 Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning	26	75 min

Marking & rules

Total marks: 75 across 75 questions.
Negative marking: A wrong answer costs marks. Leaving a question unanswered costs nothing.
Attempts: 100 in total. An attempt is spent the moment you begin one.

What you get when you submit

The analysis is ready the moment you submit the paper.

Score and accuracy

Marks, percentage, right, wrong and skipped, and the time you took.

Section by section

The same figures for each section, so a weak one cannot hide in an average.

The full answer key

Every question with your answer, the right one, the working, and the video where there is one.

Where you stand

Your score against the spread of everyone else who has sat this test.