LIC HFL Assistant/Associate key terms

A word that carries essentially the same meaning as another word in a given context, such as 'begin' and 'commence'. Synonym questions ask you to pick the option closest in meaning to the highlighted word.

A word whose meaning is opposite to another word, such as 'expand' and 'contract'. Antonym questions test whether you can identify the option that reverses the sense of the given word.

The sense a word takes from the sentence around it rather than from its dictionary entry. The same word can shift meaning with usage, so the surrounding clause decides the correct option.

A fixed expression whose meaning cannot be worked out from its individual words, such as 'to bite the bullet'. Idiom questions test recognition of the accepted figurative sense.

A question type where a part of a sentence is underlined and you choose the option that best substitutes it without changing the intended meaning or breaking grammatical agreement.

A task in which a sentence is divided into parts and you identify the segment containing a grammatical flaw, such as wrong tense, wrong preposition, or faulty subject-verb agreement.

The rule that a verb must match its subject in number and person, so a singular subject takes a singular verb. Collective nouns, either/or constructions, and phrases between subject and verb often complicate this.

The principle that items joined by a conjunction or listed in a series should share the same grammatical form, such as all infinitives or all gerunds, so the sentence reads evenly.

A passage with words removed and replaced by blanks, each blank carrying numbered options. You choose the option that fits both the grammar and the overall theme of the passage.

A set of questions based on a short passage, testing main idea, specific detail, inference, tone, and vocabulary in context. Answers must be supported by the text, not by outside knowledge.

A conclusion drawn from stated facts without being directly written. Inference questions ask what the passage implies, so the answer must follow logically from the text but not be a literal quotation.

An unstated premise that must be true for an argument to hold. In verbal reasoning, the correct assumption is necessary to the conclusion, not merely a plausible or helpful addition.

The claim an argument tries to establish, supported by the stated premises. Conclusion questions ask which option follows necessarily from the given statements, regardless of real-world belief.

A deductive argument built from two or more categorical statements, such as 'All A are B' and 'All B are C', from which a necessary conclusion follows. Only the stated relations may be used.

A diagram of overlapping circles used to represent sets and their relationships. It is the standard tool for testing whether a syllogistic conclusion is definitely true, possibly true, or false.

In syllogism questions, a conclusion that may be true under at least one valid arrangement of the sets, even if not always true. Such conclusions are marked as possibilities rather than certainties.

A puzzle describing family ties through statements or coded symbols, asking how two named people are related. Drawing a family tree with gender and generation markers prevents errors.

A problem tracking movement in terms of north, south, east, and west, often with turns and distances, to find final position or shortest distance. A rough sketch usually solves it quickly.

A puzzle placing people around a circle or in a row using clues about who sits next to, opposite, or between whom. Circular versions involve facing centre or facing outward, which reverses left and right.

A question set giving several conditional clues about people, floors, days, or boxes, requiring one consistent arrangement. Most clues are definite; a few may be conditional and must be tested.

A question where words or numbers are converted into a pattern or code, and you must either decode a given code or encode a new word using the same rule, such as letter shifts or reversals.

A sequence mixing letters, digits, and symbols, with questions about counting, positions, or which element falls at a stated place. Careful left-to-right tracking is essential.

A task of finding the missing or next element in a sequence of numbers, letters, or figures by identifying the underlying rule, such as a constant difference, a growing difference, or alternating operations.

A pair-based question where the relationship between the first two items must be applied to a third item to find its partner, for example letter shifts or number operations.

A question where symbols replace comparison signs, such as 'A @ B' meaning A is not less than B. You decode the statements and then test which conclusions are definitely true.

A question giving a problem plus two or more statements, asking whether the data supplied is enough to answer it. You judge sufficiency only, without computing the final value.

A machine-based reasoning set where an input line of words or numbers is rearranged step by step by a fixed rule. You must identify the rule and predict a later step or the final output.

A sequence of numbers following a hidden pattern, such as squares, cubes, prime steps, or alternating multiplication and subtraction. You find the wrong term or the next term.

A calculation question requiring evaluation of an expression using BODMAS order: brackets, orders, division, multiplication, addition, subtraction. Approximation variants ask for the nearest whole value.

A fraction expressed per hundred, used to compare quantities and to compute increase, decrease, profit, discount, and interest. Converting between fractions and percentages speeds up many calculations.

A ratio compares two quantities of the same kind, and a proportion states that two ratios are equal. These concepts underlie partnership, mixture, and age problems.

The sum of a set of values divided by the number of values. Weighted averages apply when groups of different sizes are combined, and the average changes predictably when a value is added or removed.

Interest computed only on the original principal for the whole period, using principal times rate times time divided by one hundred. It does not compound, so each year adds the same amount.

Interest calculated on the principal plus previously accumulated interest, so the amount grows geometrically. For half-yearly or quarterly compounding, the rate is divided and the periods multiplied accordingly.

Profit is selling price minus cost price, and loss is the reverse. Profit percentage is normally calculated on cost price, while discount is calculated on marked price, a distinction that decides many answers.

Problems about how long individuals or groups take to finish a task, solved by treating total work as one unit and adding rates of work per day. Pipes and cisterns use the same logic with filling and emptying rates.

The relation that distance equals speed multiplied by time. Questions cover relative speed, trains crossing poles or platforms, and boats with and against a stream current.

Questions based on tables, bar graphs, line graphs, or pie charts, requiring calculation of totals, averages, ratios, or percentage change from the supplied data rather than from memory.

The rate at which the Reserve Bank of India lends short-term funds to commercial banks against government securities. Raising it usually tightens liquidity and is treated as a hawkish policy signal.

The rate at which the Reserve Bank of India absorbs surplus liquidity from banks by borrowing against securities. It sits below the repo rate and forms the lower bound of the liquidity adjustment corridor.

Actions by a central bank to manage money supply, credit, and interest rates in pursuit of price stability and growth. In India, the Monetary Policy Committee sets the policy repo rate.

The share of a bank's net demand and time liabilities that must be held as cash with the Reserve Bank of India. It earns no interest and directly reduces funds available for lending.

The minimum proportion of net demand and time liabilities that a bank must hold in liquid assets such as cash, gold, or approved securities. Unlike the cash reserve ratio, it earns some return.

A loan or advance on which principal or interest has remained overdue for more than ninety days. Banks must classify such accounts as substandard, doubtful, or loss assets and make provisions.

Money a bank sets aside from profit to absorb expected losses on doubtful or non-performing loans. Higher provisioning reduces reported profit and is watched closely by regulators.

A measure of a bank's capital relative to its risk-weighted assets, ensuring it can absorb losses. Under Basel norms, Indian banks must maintain a minimum ratio plus a capital conservation buffer.

Lending for the purchase, construction, or improvement of residential property, typically secured by a mortgage on the home. In India it is regulated by the Reserve Bank of India and, for housing finance companies, by the National Housing Bank.

The transfer of an interest in immovable property as security for a loan, with the property returning to the borrower once the debt is repaid. It gives the lender a right to enforce the security on default.

A secured retail loan used to buy or build a house, repaid in equated monthly instalments over a long tenure. Interest may be fixed or floating, and the property remains mortgaged until closure.

A fixed payment made every month to repay a loan, combining interest and principal so the loan is fully cleared by the end of the tenure. Early instalments are interest-heavy, later ones principal-heavy.

The gradual reduction of a loan balance through scheduled payments, or the spreading of a cost over time. An amortisation schedule shows how each instalment splits between interest and principal.

The loan amount expressed as a percentage of the property's value. A lower ratio means a larger down payment and less risk to the lender, and regulators cap it for higher-value home loans.

An agency that collects and shares borrowers' repayment history with lenders, helping them assess creditworthiness. In India, credit information companies such as CIBIL, Experian, Equifax, and CRIF operate under RBI regulation.

A numerical summary of a borrower's credit history, commonly ranging from 300 to 900 in India, used by lenders to judge repayment reliability. A higher score improves loan approval chances and pricing.

A Reserve Bank of India mandate requiring banks to direct a minimum share of credit to specified sectors such as agriculture, micro enterprises, education, and weaker sections, including housing loans within limits.

The effort to bring unserved and underserved people into the formal financial system through bank accounts, credit, insurance, and digital payments. Initiatives such as Jan Dhan Yojana and payments banks support this goal.

An institution established in 1988 as the principal agency to promote housing finance and regulate housing finance companies in India. Its regulatory functions were later transferred to the Reserve Bank of India.

A document promising or ordering payment that can be transferred by delivery or endorsement, such as a cheque, promissory note, or bill of exchange. It is governed in India by the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.

A written order directing a bank to pay a stated sum from the drawer's account to a named payee or bearer. Crossing, endorsement, and validity periods of three months are frequently tested details.

An independent authority set up by the Reserve Bank of India to resolve customer complaints against banks and certain financial entities free of charge, after the bank's own grievance redressal has failed.