If the selling price of an article is ₹1,792 after a 20% discount, then the marked price of the article is:

Correct — D. A discount is always reckoned on the marked price, so the marked price is what you are solving for.

SP = MP × (100 − 20)% = 0.8 × MP
1792 = 0.8 × MP
MP = 1792 ⁄ 0.8 = ₹2,240

Check it forwards: 20% of 2240 is 448, and 2240 − 448 = 1792 → option (d)

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  ₹2,140 — ₹2,140 less 20% is ₹1,712, not ₹1,792. It sits close to 1792 × 1.2 = ₹2,150.40, the figure you get by adding 20% back instead of dividing by 0.8.
• (b)
  ₹2,260 — ₹2,260 less 20% is ₹1,808 — sixteen rupees over. The marked price has to divide by 0.8 onto 1,792 exactly.
• (c)
  ₹2,160 — ₹2,160 less 20% is ₹1,728. Testing each option forwards exposes the gap in one multiplication, which is faster than working backwards under time pressure.

This is a reverse percentage: you are given the result of a reduction and asked for what it was reduced from.

A 20% discount multiplies the marked price by 0.8, so recovering the marked price means dividing by 0.8, not adding 20% back. The two operations are not inverses of each other, because they use different bases.

Note also which price the discount attaches to. Discount is a cut on the marked price, while profit and loss are measured against the cost price. This question never mentions a cost price at all.

Key facts

• SP = MP × (100 − discount%) ⁄ 100, so at a 20% discount MP = SP ⁄ 0.8.
• Adding 20% back does not undo a 20% cut: 1792 × 1.2 = 2,150.40, while the marked price is 2,240.
• Discount is always calculated on the marked price, and profit or loss on the cost price.
• A discount of 20% is the same as multiplying by the fraction 4⁄5.

Common traps

• Adding 20% to ₹1,792 rather than dividing by 0.8.
• Treating ₹1,792 as the price before the discount.
• Assuming a cost price is implied and hunting for a profit percentage the question never asks for.

No directly related past PYQ was found.