OICL AO cheat sheet

Syllogism: draw only conclusions true in every possible Venn arrangement; "some A are B" and "no A are B" both allow A and B to be disjoint, so "all A are B" never follows from "some".

Ordering puzzles: fix the most constrained entity first (a definite position or a definite neighbour), then propagate; a puzzle with n entities and k definite slots usually resolves within k+2 deductions.

Coded inequality: A > B ≥ C < D means A > C and C < D are certain, but A vs D and B vs D are undetermined; only definite relations count as answers.

Blood relations: convert each statement into a signed chain (father of = +1 generation up, son of = −1 down); net generation sign gives the relationship, gender word gives the side.

Direction sense: track displacement as (x, y) with North = +y and East = +x; final distance = √(x² + y²) and final bearing = tan⁻¹(y/x) measured from East.

Seating arrangement: for a circle of n facing the centre, left neighbour = clockwise and right = anticlockwise; reverse both if people face outward.

Series and analogy: check difference, then ratio, then alternating or square/cube patterns; letter series advances are usually prime-number or +1,+2,+3 gaps.

Data sufficiency: stop as soon as the question is answerable from either statement alone or only jointly; do not solve beyond the sufficiency threshold.

Subject-verb agreement: "one of the + plural noun" takes a singular verb; "each, every, either, neither, nobody" are singular; "none" may be singular or plural by sense.

Conditional inversion: "Had I known" = "If I had known"; "Were he present" = "If he were present"; "Should you need" = "If you should need".

Error-spotting priority: article use, preposition after verbs (comprise of is wrong; comprise is transitive), comparatives with "than", and double negatives.

Reading comprehension: answers must be supported by the passage text, not by general knowledge; extreme words (always, never, only) usually signal a wrong option.

Cloze test: use collocation and grammar first, meaning second; prepositions and articles after the gap often decide the answer.

Para jumbles: find the opener (no pronoun or definite reference), then chain by pronouns, connectors (however, therefore) and repeated noun phrases.

Vocabulary in context: choose the option that fits the sentence's register; "affect" is a verb, "effect" a noun; "principal" = main, "principle" = rule.

Sentence improvement: prefer the shortest grammatically complete option; reject options that change the original meaning or introduce redundancy ("return back", "discuss about").

Simple interest = P·R·T/100; compound interest = P[(1+R/100)^T − 1]; for 2 years the CI − SI gap = P(R/100)².

Profit and loss: successive discounts of a% and b% equal a single discount of a + b − ab/100 percent; SP = CP(100 + profit%)/100.

Time-speed-distance: km/h to m/s multiply by 5/18; for equal distances at speeds x and y, average speed = 2xy/(x+y).

Trains: time to cross a platform = (train length + platform length)/speed; time to pass a pole = train length/speed.

Boats: downstream speed = b + s, upstream = b − s; b = (D + U)/2 and s = (D − U)/2.

Time and work: if A does a job in x days and B in y days, together they take xy/(x+y) days; use LCM of days as total work units.

Mixtures: alligation gives ratio of quantities = (mean − cheaper) : (dearer − mean); repeated replacement leaves original × (1 − k/total)^n.

Mensuration: cylinder volume = πr²h, cone = πr²h/3, sphere = 4πr³/3; circle area = πr², circumference = 2πr.

Probability: P(A or B) = P(A) + P(B) − P(A and B); for independent events P(A and B) = P(A)·P(B).

IRDAI is the insurance regulator, headquartered at Hyderabad; it was constituted in 1999 under the IRDA Act and became IRDAI in 2015.

Life Insurance Corporation was nationalised in 1956; general insurance was nationalised in 1972 with GIC, and private insurers re-entered after the IRDA Act, 1999.

RBI was established on 1 April 1935 under the RBI Act, 1934, and nationalised in 1949; it sets the repo rate under the Monetary Policy Committee, created in 2016.

CRR is the share of net demand and time liabilities kept with RBI; SLR is held in approved securities such as government bonds.

NABARD (1982) handles rural credit, SIDBI (1990) MSME finance, EXIM Bank (1982) foreign trade finance, and NHB (1988) housing finance.

Payment systems: NPCI operates UPI, IMPS, RuPay and NACH; RTGS is for high-value real-time settlement and NEFT settles in half-hourly batches.

Insurance ombudsman handles policyholder complaints up to ₹30 lakh; the Bima Bharosa portal is IRDAI's grievance system.

Priority sector lending target is 40% of adjusted net bank credit for commercial banks, with 18% for agriculture and 7.5% for micro enterprises.

Insurable interest must exist at proposal for life insurance and at the time of loss for general insurance; absence makes the contract void.

Utmost good faith (uberrimae fidei) obliges full disclosure of material facts; non-disclosure lets the insurer avoid the contract within the contestability period.

Indemnity applies to general insurance only; life insurance is a benefit policy, so the sum assured is paid rather than a measured loss.

Subrogation transfers the insured's recovery rights to the insurer after indemnity; contribution shares a loss among insurers when policies cover the same interest.

Proximate cause is the dominant, effective cause of loss; remote causes are ignored when deciding whether a peril is covered.

Deductible is a fixed amount the insured bears; franchise means the insurer pays nothing if loss is below the threshold but pays in full above it.

Reinsurance is insurer-to-insurer risk transfer; facultative is case-by-case, treaty is automatic for a defined class of business.

Life insurance premium has two parts: risk premium for mortality and savings element that builds cash or surrender value; ULIPs invest in funds and carry market risk.

IRDAI rules: free-look period of 30 days for policies sold distance/digitally and 15 days otherwise; grace period is 30 days for monthly and 15 days for other modes.

Essay structure: introduction with a thesis in 2-3 sentences, 2-3 body paragraphs each with one argument plus an example, and a conclusion that restates the position without new points.

Letter format: sender address, date, receiver designation, subject line, salutation, body, and complimentary close; formal letters avoid contractions and slang.

Word limit discipline: 250-word essays need roughly 12-15 sentences; exceeding the limit by more than 10% risks penalty, so plan paragraph lengths before writing.

Precis writing keeps only the central idea, uses about one-third of the original length, and is written in the third person without quotation.

Cohesion devices: use "however, moreover, consequently, in contrast" to link paragraphs; avoid starting consecutive sentences with the same word.

Insurance and banking topics recur: financial inclusion, digital payments, insurance penetration, claim settlement, bancassurance, and MSME credit.

Avoid absolutes and clichés ("since time immemorial", "each coin has two sides"); prefer concrete data-style statements over rhetorical questions.

Proofreading pass: check subject-verb agreement, articles, tense consistency, and spelling of technical terms such as "premium", "indemnity", "collateral".