Tech Mahindra Aptitude Test: Syllabus, Topics, and Practice Questions

The Tech Mahindra aptitude section tests three distinct skill areas (numerical ability, logical reasoning, and verbal reasoning), each with its own question types, sub-topics, and preparation approach.

This article maps the full syllabus, explains the no-negative-marking rule, and works through practice questions from scratch for the numerical and reasoning areas. If you want the full ELQ test structure (all three sections, timing, cut-off bands), that is covered in the Tech Mahindra ELQ test pattern guide. This article stays on the aptitude section.

What the aptitude section tests

The aptitude section of the Tech Mahindra ELQ test covers 75 questions across three areas:

Area	What it measures
Numerical ability	Calculation speed, mathematical reasoning, quantitative problem-solving
Logical reasoning	Pattern recognition, deductive logic, relationship mapping
Verbal reasoning	Reading comprehension, grammar, vocabulary application

No negative marking applies to any question in the aptitude section. An incorrect answer scores zero; an unanswered question also scores zero. The practical implication: attempting all 75 questions is the correct strategy. If genuinely unsure, eliminate the two least plausible options and pick from the remaining two.

The aptitude section is one of three independently scored elimination sections in the ELQ online test. A strong aptitude performance does not carry over to the communication cut-off or the technical cut-off. All three must be cleared separately.

For a full worked volume of numerical questions beyond this article, the Tech Mahindra quantitative aptitude drill covers the topic range with solutions.

Numerical ability: topics and worked examples

Topics covered

• Percentages
• Profit and loss
• Ratio and proportion
• Time and work
• Time, speed, and distance
• Simple interest and compound interest
• Averages
• Problems on numbers
• LCM and HCF
• Mixtures and allegations
• Permutations and combinations
• Probability
• Quadratic equations
• Number series

The questions stay within these areas. High-school mathematics is the ceiling; the test does not go beyond standard Class 10 and Class 12 level calculations.

Worked practice questions

Time and work

• Q1: A completes a task in 12 days. B completes the same task in 18 days. Working together, how many days do they need?
• Step 1: A’s rate per day = 1/12. B’s rate per day = 1/18.
• Step 2: Combined rate = 1/12 + 1/18. LCM of 12 and 18 = 36. So 3/36 + 2/36 = 5/36.
• Step 3: Days together = 36/5 = 7.2 days.
• Answer: 7.2 days.

Percentages

• Q2: A shopkeeper marks up a product by 25% over cost price, then gives a 10% discount on the marked price. What is the net profit percentage?
• Step 1: Let cost price = 100.
• Step 2: Marked price = 125.
• Step 3: Selling price after 10% discount = 125 minus 10% of 125 = 125 minus 12.5 = 112.5.
• Step 4: Net profit = 112.5 minus 100 = 12.5. Net profit percentage = 12.5/100 x 100 = 12.5%.
• Answer: 12.5% profit.

Ratio and proportion

• Q3: Two numbers are in the ratio 3:5. Adding 6 to each makes the ratio 3:4. Find the numbers.
• Step 1: Let the numbers be 3k and 5k.
• Step 2: After adding 6: (3k + 6) / (5k + 6) = 3/4.
• Step 3: Cross-multiply: 4(3k + 6) = 3(5k + 6), giving 12k + 24 = 15k + 18.
• Step 4: 24 - 18 = 15k - 12k, so 6 = 3k, giving k = 2.
• Step 5: Numbers = 3 x 2 = 6 and 5 x 2 = 10.
• Answer: 6 and 10.

Averages

• Q4: The average of five numbers is 40. One number is removed and the average of the remaining four is 38. What is the removed number?
• Step 1: Sum of five numbers = 5 x 40 = 200.
• Step 2: Sum of four remaining numbers = 4 x 38 = 152.
• Step 3: Removed number = 200 minus 152 = 48.
• Answer: 48.

Logical reasoning: topics and worked examples

Topics covered

• Number series and letter series
• Coding-decoding
• Blood relations
• Seating arrangements (linear and circular)
• Syllogisms
• Analogies (word and number pairs)
• Direction and distance problems
• Odd one out (classification)
• Statement and conclusion

These questions test the ability to recognise patterns and apply logical rules consistently. The skill is clean-step reasoning, not formula recall.

Worked practice questions

Number series

• Q5: Find the missing number: 4, 9, 16, 25, ?, 49.
• Step 1: Recognise the pattern: 2^2 = 4, 3^2 = 9, 4^2 = 16, 5^2 = 25, 6^2 = 36, 7^2 = 49.
• The missing term is the square of 6.
• Answer: 36.

Coding-decoding

• Q6: In a code, each letter is shifted forward by 2 positions in the alphabet (A becomes C, B becomes D, Y becomes A, Z becomes B). How is FACE coded?
• Step 1: F is the 6th letter. Shift forward by 2: position 8 = H.
• Step 2: A is the 1st letter. Position 3 = C.
• Step 3: C is the 3rd letter. Position 5 = E.
• Step 4: E is the 5th letter. Position 7 = G.
• Answer: HCEG.

Blood relations

• Q7: A is the father of B. B is the sister of C. C is the mother of D. How is A related to D?
• Step 1: A is B’s father. B is C’s sister, so A is also C’s father (same parent).
• Step 2: C is D’s mother. A is C’s father.
• Answer: A is D’s maternal grandfather.

Seating arrangement (linear)

• Q8: Five people P, Q, R, S, T sit in a row. P sits at one end. Q is not adjacent to P. R sits between S and T. What is a valid arrangement?
• Step 1: P is at position 1. Q cannot be at position 2, so Q is at position 3, 4, or 5.
• Step 2: R must be between S and T in consecutive seats: S-R-T or T-R-S.
• Step 3: Place Q at position 5. Remaining seats 2-4 hold R, S, T with R between S and T.
• Step 4: Arrangement: P, S, R, T, Q or P, T, R, S, Q.
• Answer: P, S, R, T, Q is a valid arrangement.

Verbal ability: what the section tests

Topics covered

The verbal section of the Tech Mahindra aptitude test covers:

• Reading comprehension (passages of 150 to 300 words, with 3 to 5 questions each)
• Grammar and sentence correction (identify and fix errors)
• Vocabulary in context (synonyms, antonyms, fill-in-the-blank)
• Para-jumbles (arrange sentences into logical order)
• Sentence completion
• Articles, prepositions, tenses, and subject-verb agreement

Preparation approach

Reading comprehension passages are time-intensive relative to the marks available. Timed practice with real passages builds the pace needed. Read the question first, then the passage. That sequencing targets where to spend reading time.

For grammar and sentence correction questions, the most reliable technique is to read the sentence for agreement errors (subject-verb, pronoun-antecedent) and then check prepositions and article usage. Most wrong answers in grammar questions fail in exactly one of these dimensions.

Vocabulary questions test words in context, not isolated definitions. For each blank-fill question, substitute the answer choices one at a time and check whether the resulting sentence is grammatically and semantically coherent.

Para-jumble questions are most efficiently solved by identifying the mandatory first sentence (the one that introduces a topic without referring back to an unstated subject) and the mandatory last sentence (the one that concludes or summarises). Building from anchors outward is faster than trying all permutations.

AI readiness and Tech Mahindra’s Project Indus

The aptitude test scores the reasoning skills that get a fresher through the ELQ gate. What happens after is a different question.

Tech Mahindra partnered with NVIDIA to build a Hindi-first large language model and an education-domain LLM under Project Indus. The company is also hiring for AI Governance Lead and AI Governance Practitioner roles, per Tech Mahindra Careers. These are not roadmap items; they are active roles and active projects.

Freshers placed through the standard ELQ track can find themselves working adjacent to this GenAI work within one or two years of joining. The aptitude gate does not test for it. Building familiarity with how LLMs function, before the join date, is a practical differentiator.

FACE Prep’s 2026 AI roadmap for Indian engineering students maps the curriculum from zero to working familiarity with GenAI systems. For a lower-stakes entry point, TinkerLLM is a self-paced LLM playground at ₹299 that covers the core intuitions the Project Indus team works with daily.