Manoj starts from Point A and drives 25 km towards South. He then takes a left turn, drives 17 km, turns left and drives 28 km. He then takes a left turn and drives 20 km. He takes a final left turn, drives 3 km and stops at Point P. How far (shortest distance) and towards which direction should he drive in order to reach Point A again? (All turns are 90 degrees turns only unless specified)

The correct option is 3 km to the east.

Let us track Manoj's movement step-by-step using a standard 2D Cartesian coordinate system, taking the starting Point A as the origin $(0,0)$.

Step 1: Manoj starts at Point A $(0,0)$ and drives 25 km towards South.
Since moving South decreases the y-coordinate by 25 km:
Position after Step 1 = $(0,-25)$

Step 2: He takes a left turn (facing South, a left turn leads towards East) and drives 17 km.
Moving East increases the x-coordinate by 17 km:
Position after Step 2 = $(0+17,-25)=(17,-25)$

Step 3: He turns left (facing East, a left turn leads towards North) and drives 28 km.
Moving North increases the y-coordinate by 28 km:
Position after Step 3 = $(17,-25+28)=(17,3)$

Step 4: He takes a left turn (facing North, a left turn leads towards West) and drives 20 km.
Moving West decreases the x-coordinate by 20 km:
Position after Step 4 = $(17-20,3)=(-3,3)$

Step 5: He takes a final left turn (facing West, a left turn leads towards South), drives 3 km, and stops at Point P.
Moving South decreases the y-coordinate by 3 km:
Final Position at Point P = $(-3,3-3)=(-3,0)$

Reaching Point A from Point P:
Manoj is currently at Point P $(-3,0)$ and wants to return to Point A $(0,0)$.
The distance needed to move along the x-axis is:

$0-(-3)=3\text{km}$

Since his x-coordinate is -3, he is 3 km to the West of Point A. Therefore, to reach Point A again, he must drive 3 km towards East.