Consider the following data of expenses (in lakhs) of an organization year wise:

Year	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
Expenses (Rs. lakh)	160	185	220	300	510

Then expected expenses trend for the year 2006 using method of least squares is:

Apply the relevant identity from the chapter and substitute the values established in the previous step, keeping the original constraint in view.

Use the simplified expression to isolate the unknown, then plug the result back into the question setup to confirm the working is internally consistent.

Cross-check against a boundary or limiting case. Both the dimensional balance and the qualitative behaviour at the extreme should agree with the candidate answer.

Combine the steps above to identify the correct option. The remaining choices each fail at least one of the consistency, dimensional, or boundary checks.