TCS NQT Mock Test 2026: Practice Paper with Solutions

TCS NQT Foundation is the first gate for all three hiring tracks, running approximately 75 minutes across Verbal, Numerical, and Reasoning sections. This paper gives you 17 worked questions across those sections plus the Advanced Programming Concepts block.

What the 2026 TCS NQT Foundation covers

All candidates sit the same 190-minute integrated exam. Part A (Foundation) determines Ninja eligibility; Part B (Advanced) separates the Digital and Prime candidates. The TCS NQT official hiring page carries current eligibility criteria and cycle dates.

Part	Duration	Sections
Part A: Foundation	~75 min	Verbal Ability, Numerical Ability, Reasoning Ability
Part B: Advanced	~115 min	Advanced Quant, Advanced Reasoning, Programming Concepts, Coding (2 problems)
Total	~190 min

Track assignment by NQT percentile:

Track	CTC (UG fresher)	What decides it
Ninja	Rs 3.5 to 3.9 LPA	Foundation percentile cutoff
Digital	Rs 7.0 to 7.5 LPA	Foundation cutoff + Advanced NQT performance
Prime	Rs 9.0 to 11.0 LPA	Top Foundation + Advanced + extended technical interview

There is no negative marking in the Foundation sections. Section switching is allowed within Part A: you can move between Verbal, Numerical, and Reasoning during the 75-minute window. For a deeper look at section-level difficulty and the percentile scoring model, the TCS NQT Cognitive Skills breakdown covers each sub-section in detail. For timing strategy on the Ninja track, see the TCS Ninja questions and pattern guide.

Verbal Ability: 4 practice questions

The Verbal section tests vocabulary, grammar, and comprehension. TCS NQT Verbal draws from synonyms, antonyms, error identification, fill-in-the-blank, and sentence rearrangement. Grammar questions on subject-verb agreement are especially frequent.

Q1: Synonyms

• Question: Choose the word closest in meaning to METICULOUS.
  • A. Reckless
  • B. Careful
  • C. Ancient
  • D. Indifferent
• Answer: B. Careful
• Explanation: Meticulous means showing great attention to detail and precision. Careful is the direct synonym. Reckless is the antonym. Ancient and Indifferent are unrelated.

Q2: Error identification

• Question: Identify the error in this sentence: “Neither the manager nor the employees was present at the meeting.”
  • A. Neither the manager
  • B. nor the employees
  • C. was present
  • D. at the meeting
• Answer: C. was present
• Explanation: With “neither…nor”, the verb agrees with the subject closer to it. Here the closer subject is “employees” (plural), so the correct verb is “were present”, not “was present”.

Q3: Fill in the blank

• Question: The project was delayed due to _____ beyond the team’s control.
  • A. issues
  • B. circumstances
  • C. opinions
  • D. estimates
• Answer: B. circumstances
• Explanation: “Circumstances beyond one’s control” is the standard idiomatic phrase for unforeseeable external factors. “Issues” is informal; “opinions” and “estimates” do not fit the sentence logic.

Q4: Antonyms

• Question: Choose the antonym of MAGNANIMOUS.
  • A. Generous
  • B. Petty
  • C. Brave
  • D. Humble
• Answer: B. Petty
• Explanation: Magnanimous means generous, forgiving, and noble-minded. Its antonym is petty, meaning small-minded or ungenerous. Generous is a synonym. Brave and Humble are unrelated to the meaning of magnanimous.

Numerical Ability: 5 practice questions

Numerical Ability in TCS NQT favours direct application over multi-step derivations. The dominant topics are time and work, percentages, ratio and proportion, time-speed-distance, and profit-and-loss. For shortcut methods that save time on these topics under exam conditions, the aptitude shortcuts guide has formula-based approaches for each topic.

Q1: Time and work

• Question: A completes a job in 6 days. B completes the same job in 12 days. How many days do they take working together?
• Working:
  • A’s daily rate: 1/6 of the job
  • B’s daily rate: 1/12 of the job
  • Combined rate: 1/6 + 1/12 = 2/12 + 1/12 = 3/12 = 1/4
  • Days to finish together: 4
• Answer: 4 days

Q2: Percentage increase

• Question: A product’s price increases from Rs 500 to Rs 650. What is the percentage increase?
• Working:
  • Increase = 650 - 500 = 150
  • Percentage increase = (150 / 500) × 100 = 30
• Answer: 30%

Q3: Ratio and proportion

• Question: A and B share profits in the ratio 3:5. A’s share is Rs 24,000. What is B’s share?
• Working:
  • 3 parts = Rs 24,000 → 1 part = Rs 8,000
  • B’s share = 5 × Rs 8,000 = Rs 40,000
• Answer: Rs 40,000

Q4: Time, speed, and distance

• Question: A car covers 240 km in 4 hours. At the same speed, how long does it take to cover 360 km?
• Working:
  • Speed = 240 / 4 = 60 km/h
  • Time for 360 km = 360 / 60 = 6 hours
• Answer: 6 hours

Q5: Profit and loss

• Question: A trader buys goods at Rs 800, marks them 25% above cost, then offers a 10% discount. What is the profit percentage?
• Working:
  • Cost price = Rs 800
  • Marked price = 800 × 1.25 = Rs 1,000
  • Selling price = 1,000 × 0.90 = Rs 900
  • Profit = 900 - 800 = Rs 100
  • Profit percentage = (100 / 800) × 100 = 12.5
• Answer: 12.5% profit

Reasoning Ability: 4 practice questions

Reasoning covers series, coding-decoding, blood relations, syllogisms, and arrangements. The questions in this section tend to be more time-intensive than Verbal or Numerical. Practice solving each type under the one-minute-per-question target.

Q1: Letter series

• Question: Find the next group: ACE, BDF, CEG, DFH, ___
• Working:
  • ACE: positions 1, 3, 5 (each letter skips one)
  • BDF: positions 2, 4, 6
  • CEG: positions 3, 5, 7
  • DFH: positions 4, 6, 8
  • Pattern: each group’s starting letter advances by one; internal step is +2
  • Next group starts at E(5): E(5), G(7), I(9)
• Answer: EGI

Q2: Coding and decoding

• Question: If NOTEBOOK is coded as OPUFCPPL (each letter is shifted one position forward in the alphabet), what is the code for PENCIL?
• Working:
  • Verify the rule: N+1=O, O+1=P, T+1=U, E+1=F, B+1=C, O+1=P, O+1=P, K+1=L → OPUFCPPL ✓
  • Apply to PENCIL: P+1=Q, E+1=F, N+1=O, C+1=D, I+1=J, L+1=M
• Answer: QFODJM

Q3: Number series

• Question: Find the next number: 3, 7, 15, 31, 63, ___
• Working:
  • 3 × 2 + 1 = 7 ✓
  • 7 × 2 + 1 = 15 ✓
  • 15 × 2 + 1 = 31 ✓
  • 31 × 2 + 1 = 63 ✓
  • 63 × 2 + 1 = 127
• Answer: 127

Q4: Blood relations

• Question: A is B’s brother. C is A’s mother. D is C’s husband. How is D related to B?
• Working:
  • A is B’s brother → A and B are siblings
  • C is A’s mother → C is also B’s mother (same parents)
  • D is C’s husband → D is married to C, the mother of A and B
  • Therefore D is B’s father
• Answer: D is B’s father.

Advanced NQT: Programming Concepts for the Digital track

The Programming Concepts block is part of Part B (Advanced NQT). Digital and Prime track candidates must clear this along with Advanced Coding. Questions are MCQ-format: output prediction, time complexity, data structures, and language fundamentals. For full practice on the coding problems that follow, the TCS NQT coding questions guide covers recent problem types with solutions.

Q1: Python output

• Question: What does the following code print?

x = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
print(x[::2])

• A. [1, 2, 3]
• B. [2, 4]
• C. [1, 3, 5]
• D. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
• Answer: C. [1, 3, 5]
• Explanation: [::2] starts at index 0 and takes every second element. Index 0 = 1, index 2 = 3, index 4 = 5. Result: [1, 3, 5].

Q2: C arithmetic output

• Question: What does this C code print?

#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
    int a = 3, b = 4;
    printf("%d", a * b - 2);
    return 0;
}

• A. 5
• B. 10
• C. 12
• D. 14
• Answer: B. 10
• Explanation: Operator precedence: multiplication before subtraction. 3 × 4 = 12, then 12 - 2 = 10.

Q3: Time complexity

• Question: What is the time complexity of binary search on a sorted array of n elements?
  • A. O(n)
  • B. O(n log n)
  • C. O(log n)
  • D. O(1)
• Answer: C. O(log n)
• Explanation: Binary search eliminates half the search space at each step. On n elements, the maximum number of steps is log base 2 of n, giving O(log n).

Q4: Data structures

• Question: Which data structure follows the LIFO (Last-In, First-Out) principle?
  • A. Queue
  • B. Stack
  • C. Linked List
  • D. Tree
• Answer: B. Stack
• Explanation: A stack adds and removes elements from the same end (the top). The last element pushed is the first one popped. Queue uses FIFO; linked lists and trees have no inherent ordering constraint.

AI skills and TCS Prime in 2026

The Programming Concepts questions above are a filter for Digital track eligibility. Prime track demands more. According to TCS CHRO Sudeep Kunnumal, 60% of TCS’s fresher hires in FY26 are AI-skilled, up from 10 to 15% three years earlier. The Prime track interview now includes a project review in the extended technical round, and a deployed project carries more weight than any completed course.

If the Prime track (Rs 9–11 LPA) is the target, building one or two small AI projects before the interview is a concrete way to differentiate. TinkerLLM is a ₹299 entry point to build and deploy a first LLM-based project with guided exercises.