DIRECTIONS for questions: Read the information given below and answer the question that follows.

At InnovateX, six employees, Asha, Bunty, Chintu, Dolly, Eklavya, and Falguni, were split into two groups of three each: Elite led by Manager Kuku, and Novice led by Manager Lalu.

At the end of each quarter, Kuku and Lalu handed out ratings to all members in their respective groups. In each group, each employee received a distinct integer rating from 1 to 3.

The score for an employee at the end of a quarter is defined as their cumulative rating from the beginning of the year. At the end of each quarter the employee in Novice with the highest score was promoted to Elite, and the employee in Elite with the minimum score was demoted to Novice. If there was a tie in scores, the employee with a higher rating in the latest quarter was ranked higher.

1. Asha, Bunty, and Chintu were in Elite at the beginning of Quarter 1. All of them were in Novice at the beginning of Quarter 4.

2. Dolly and Falguni were the only employees who got the same rating across all the quarters.

3. The following is known about ratings given by Lalu:

• Bunty received a rating of 1 in Quarter 2.
• Asha and Dolly received ratings of 1 and 2, respectively, in Quarter 3.

What was Eklavya’s score at the end of Quarter 2?

The correct answer is 4.

To solve this, let us systematically deduce the movements and ratings of the employees. Let the initials A, B, C, D, E, and F represent Asha, Bunty, Chintu, Dolly, Eklavya, and Falguni respectively.

Step 1: Understand the Promotions and Demotions
At the beginning of Quarter 1 (Q1), the Elite group consists of A, B, and C, while the Novice group consists of D, E, and F. By the beginning of Quarter 4 (Q4), all of A, B, and C are in Novice. Since exactly one employee is demoted from Elite and one promoted from Novice at the end of each quarter, the 3 quarters (Q1, Q2, and Q3) must account for exactly 3 demotions and 3 promotions. This means A, B, and C were each demoted exactly once and stayed in Novice, while D, E, and F were each promoted exactly once and stayed in Elite.

Step 2: Identify Who Moved When
From condition 3, Lalu (the Novice manager) gave B a rating of 1 in Q2. This means B was in the Novice group during Q2. Therefore, B must be the employee who was demoted at the end of Q1. Similarly, Lalu gave A and D ratings in Q3, meaning A and D were in Novice during Q3. For A to be in Novice in Q3, A must have been demoted at the end of Q2 (leaving C to be the one demoted at the end of Q3).

Since D was still in Novice in Q3, D could not have been promoted at the end of Q1 or Q2. Thus, D is the one promoted at the end of Q3. This leaves E and F as the two employees promoted at the end of Q1 and Q2, in some order.

Step 3: Deduce the Ratings in the Novice Group
Condition 2 states that D and F received the same rating across all quarters. From condition 3, D received a rating of 2 in Q3. Since D's rating is constant, D received a rating of 2 in every quarter.

In Q1, the Novice group consisted of D, E, and F. The available ratings in the group are 1, 2, and 3. We know D got 2. This means E and F got 1 and 3 in some order. The employee who scored 3 would have the highest score and be promoted to Elite. Let us test the two possibilities:

Case 1: E got 3 in Q1.
If E got 3, then F got 1. Because F's rating is constant (Condition 2), F must receive a rating of 1 in every quarter. E would be promoted at the end of Q1. In Q2, the Novice group would consist of D, F, and B (who was demoted). Their ratings must be 1, 2, and 3. We know B got 1 (Condition 3) and D got 2 (constant). This leaves a rating of 3 for F. However, this contradicts the fact that F must constantly receive 1! Thus, this case is logically impossible.

Case 2: F got 3 in Q1.
If F got 3, then E got 1. Since F's rating is constant, F receives a 3 in every quarter. F is promoted at the end of Q1. In Q2, the Novice group consists of D, E, and B. Their ratings must be 1, 2, and 3. We are given that B got 1 in Q2, and we know D constantly gets 2. Therefore, E MUST receive a rating of 3 in Q2.

Step 4: Calculate Eklavya's Score
We have deduced that Eklavya (E) received a rating of 1 in Q1 and a rating of 3 in Q2. His score at the end of Quarter 2 is his cumulative rating for Q1 and Q2:

$\mathrm{Score}=1+3=4$

(As a quick consistency check: at the end of Q2, E has a score of 4, and D has a score of 2 + 2 = 4. They tie for the highest score in Novice. The tie-breaker rule promotes the employee with the higher rating in the latest quarter. In Q2, E's rating was 3 while D's was 2. E is ranked higher and gets promoted to Elite, perfectly matching our timeline where E is promoted at the end of Q2.)