TCS Interview Questions 2026: NQT, Technical, Coding and HR (With Answers)

TCS hires more freshers than almost any company in India. Nearly every one of them goes through the same path: the TCS NQT test, then one to three interview rounds. The good news is that the questions repeat a lot. If you prepare the patterns below, you will walk in knowing most of what they ask.

This guide covers the full TCS hiring process, the NQT exam pattern, and 45 commonly asked TCS interview questions (technical, coding, managerial and HR) with short answers.

TCS hiring process at a glance

1. Register on the TCS NextStep portal and apply for the NQT drive.
2. Take the TCS NQT (online test). Your score decides your track: Ninja, Digital or Prime.
3. Technical interview (TR): your projects, one programming language, DBMS, OS, basic coding.
4. Managerial round (MR): mostly for Digital and Prime. Situations, teamwork, problem solving.
5. HR round: relocation, night shifts, the service agreement, documents.
6. Offer letter and joining, usually followed by TCS's initial learning program.

Experienced hires (2+ years) usually skip the NQT. They get one or two technical rounds focused on their stack, then a managerial and HR round.

TCS NQT exam pattern (2026)

The NQT is one integrated online test of about 190 minutes, in two parts. There is no negative marking, so attempt every question.

• Numerical ability: 20 questions, 25 min
• Verbal ability: 25 questions, 25 min
• Reasoning ability: 20 questions, 25 min
• Advanced quant + reasoning: 15 questions, 25 min
• Advanced coding: 3 problems, 90 min

Coding can be done in C, C++, Java, Python or C#. Each section has its own timer, so you cannot go back.

TCS Ninja vs Digital vs Prime

• Ninja (approx. ₹3.4 – 3.9 LPA): decided by your foundation section score. Interview: TR + HR (sometimes combined).
• Digital (approx. ₹7 – 7.5 LPA): foundation + advanced aptitude. Interview: TR + HR.
• Prime (approx. ₹9 – 11.5 LPA): foundation + advanced aptitude + coding. Interview: TR + MR + HR.

Salary figures change by drive and degree (UG or PG). Always check the latest numbers on the TCS NextStep portal.

Common eligibility: 60% (or 6.0 CGPA) in 10th, 12th and graduation, no active backlogs, and a total education gap of no more than 24 months.

TCS NQT aptitude questions (examples)

These are the kinds of questions that appear in the foundation section. Practise speed. You get roughly a minute per question.

1. A train 150 m long crosses a pole in 15 seconds. What is its speed in km/h?
   Speed = 150/15 = 10 m/s = 36 km/h.
2. A shopkeeper marks an item 40% above cost and gives a 20% discount. What is his profit %?
   Price = 1.4 × 0.8 = 1.12 of cost, so 12% profit.
3. A can finish a job in 10 days and B in 15 days. How long together?
   1/10 + 1/15 = 1/6, so 6 days.
4. Find the next number: 2, 6, 12, 20, 30, ?
   Differences are 4, 6, 8, 10, so the next is 30 + 12 = 42.
5. If CAT is coded as DBU, how is DOG coded?
   Each letter moves one step forward: EPH.
6. Verbal: pick the correct sentence. "He don't know" / "He doesn't know".
   "He doesn't know." Expect many questions on subject-verb agreement, articles and prepositions.

TCS technical interview questions

The technical round is mostly about one language you are comfortable with, your final-year project and CS basics. Pick one language and know it well. Interviewers go deep on whatever you write on your resume.

Programming basics

1. What is the difference between C and C++?
   C is procedural. C++ adds object-oriented features like classes, inheritance and polymorphism.
2. What are the four pillars of OOP?
   Encapsulation, abstraction, inheritance and polymorphism. Be ready to give a real example of each.
3. What is the difference between method overloading and overriding?
   Overloading means the same method name with different parameters in one class (compile time). Overriding means a child class redefines a parent method (run time).
4. What is a pointer?
   A variable that stores the memory address of another variable.
5. What is the difference between an array and a linked list?
   An array has a fixed size and fast index access. A linked list grows dynamically and makes insert/delete easy, but access is slow.
6. Why is Java platform independent?
   Java compiles to bytecode, which runs on any machine that has a JVM.
7. What is the difference between == and .equals() in Java?
   == compares references. .equals() compares content (when overridden, as in String).
8. What is the difference between a list and a tuple in Python?
   A list is mutable. A tuple is immutable and slightly faster.
9. What is exception handling?
   Catching runtime errors with try/catch (or try/except) so the program does not crash.
10. What is recursion? Give an example.
    A function calling itself, for example factorial(n) = n × factorial(n − 1).

DBMS and SQL

1. What is normalization?
   Organising tables to remove duplicate data. Know 1NF, 2NF and 3NF with one example.
2. What is the difference between a primary key and a foreign key?
   A primary key uniquely identifies a row. A foreign key links to the primary key of another table.
3. What is the difference between DELETE, TRUNCATE and DROP?
   DELETE removes rows (can use WHERE, can roll back). TRUNCATE removes all rows quickly. DROP removes the whole table.
4. Write a query to find the second highest salary.
   SELECT MAX(salary) FROM employee WHERE salary < (SELECT MAX(salary) FROM employee);
5. What are joins? Name the types.
   Joins combine rows from tables. The types are INNER, LEFT, RIGHT, FULL and SELF.
6. What are ACID properties?
   Atomicity, consistency, isolation and durability. Together they keep transactions reliable.

OS, networking and cloud basics

1. What is the difference between a process and a thread?
   A process has its own memory. Threads share the memory of their process.
2. What is a deadlock?
   Two or more processes each waiting for a resource the other holds, so none can continue.
3. What is virtual memory?
   Using disk space as an extension of RAM so bigger programs can run.
4. What is the difference between TCP and UDP?
   TCP is reliable and connection-based. UDP is faster with no delivery guarantee.
5. What is cloud computing?
   Renting computing resources (servers, storage) over the internet, for example AWS, Azure or GCP. This is often asked for Digital.

TCS coding interview questions

You may be asked to write code on paper or in a shared editor. These are the most repeated ones:

1. Check whether a number is prime.
2. Reverse a string without using a built-in function.
3. Check whether a string is a palindrome.
4. Print the Fibonacci series up to n.
5. Find the factorial of a number (loop and recursion).
6. Find the second largest element in an array.
7. Swap two numbers without a third variable.
8. Count the vowels in a string.
9. Remove duplicates from an array.

Tip: Explain your logic out loud before you write. TCS interviewers care more about clear thinking than perfect syntax.

TCS managerial round questions

1. Tell me about a time you worked in a team and something went wrong.
   Use the STAR method: situation, task, action, result.
2. Your client asks for a change one day before delivery. What do you do?
   Understand the impact, talk to your lead, agree on priorities, and be honest about timelines.
3. How do you handle pressure or tight deadlines?
   Give a real example where you planned, prioritised and delivered.
4. Explain your project to someone non-technical.
   Practise a 60-second version with no jargon.

TCS HR interview questions

1. Tell me about yourself.
   Cover education, one or two projects, your skills, and why TCS. Keep it under 90 seconds.
2. Why do you want to join TCS?
   Mention scale, training, global projects and the chance to work across technologies. Avoid generic lines.
3. Are you willing to relocate anywhere in India?
   TCS expects a yes. Hesitation here can cost you the offer.
4. Are you okay with night shifts or rotational shifts?
   Many client projects run in other time zones. Answer honestly but positively.
5. Where do you see yourself in five years?
   Talk about growing skills and responsibility within the company, not leaving it.

How to prepare for the TCS interview in 2 weeks

• Days 1–5: Aptitude daily (quant, reasoning, verbal) and 2–3 easy coding problems.
• Days 6–9: Revise your main language, OOP, DBMS and OS. Use our Java interview questions and Python interview questions guides.
• Days 10–12: Know your project inside out: what you built, why, the challenges and your exact role.
• Days 13–14: Mock HR answers out loud. Keep your documents and certificates ready.

Want a shortcut? Get a referral

Applying with a referral from a current employee can get your profile in front of a recruiter much faster, especially for experienced roles. See our guide on how to get a job referral at TCS (with a list of referrers).

Frequently asked questions

How many rounds are there in the TCS interview?
Usually the NQT test plus 1–3 interviews (technical, managerial, HR), depending on the track.

Is the TCS interview hard?
The Ninja interview is mostly basics. Digital and Prime go deeper into coding and problem solving.

Does TCS NQT have negative marking?
No. Attempt every question.

Can I apply to TCS without the NQT?
Freshers almost always go through the NQT. Experienced professionals apply directly through the TCS careers site or a referral.

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