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NABARD Grade A guidance: how the paper is cracked, from your own numbers
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development — Assistant Manager in Grade A. Conducted by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). Nisha knows this paper from the site's own pattern pages — and reads your scores, your mocks and what you haven't touched before saying a word.
NABARD Grade A guidance · Plan my weeksNisha · AI guide · has read your profile
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On the table
Carries the marks · Reasoning AbilityPuzzles & Seating ArrangementPhase I 5–7 Open the chapter
The paper · NABARD Grade A200 questions, 200 marksWrong answers cost marks
Nisha“Before we plan anything: when do you sit NABARD Grade A, and how many hours a day do you really have?”
Talk TypeEnd & get my plan06:12
Ends in a plan
Stages
4
First paper
200 questions, 200 marks
Marking
Wrong answers cost marks
Your guide
Nisha, free
How it's decided
NABARD Grade A, stage by stage
Once a year (notification timing varies by cycle; check nabard.org for the current cycle's dates). Phase I: online objective. Phase II: one wholly descriptive paper (General English) and one combined objective+descriptive paper (ESI & ARD). Interview: in-person, candidate's choice of English or Hindi..
Phase I — Two-Tier Objective ScreeningQualifying only for final merit; the 'merit block' ranks the Phase II call-up
200 questions · 200 marks · 120 minutes across 8 sections. A non-merit block (Reasoning, English, Computer Knowledge, Quant, Decision Making — 100 marks) and a merit block (General Awareness, ESI, ARD — 100 marks) both require clearing sectional cutoffs, but only the merit block's score ranks candidates for the Phase II shortlist.
Phase II — Two Papers200 of your final 250 marks
General English (100, wholly descriptive) + a combined Economic & Social Issues and Agriculture & Rural Development paper (100: objective + descriptive). Both fully merit-counting.
Psychometric TestNon-scoring, mandatory
Assesses psychological/behavioural fitment; does not add to or subtract from merit, but is a mandatory stage before the interview.
InterviewFinal 50 marks
In-person, candidate's choice of English or Hindi. Final merit = Phase II (200) + Interview (50) = 250 marks.
The papers
3 papers, and how each is marked
Phase I — Two-Tier Objective Screening
200 questions200 marks120 minNegative marking
Qualifying only for final merit; merit block ranks the Phase II shortlist
Sectional cutoffs apply across all 8 sections, but only the merit block (General Awareness + ESI + ARD) ranks candidates for the Phase II call — a distinctive two-tier design within an otherwise fully-qualifying Phase I.
Phase II — Paper 1: General English
3 questions100 marks90 minNo negative marking
Merit — feeds the 200-mark Phase II total
Marking: No negative marking
Phase II — Paper 2: Economic & Social Issues and Agriculture & Rural Development
100 marks120 minNegative marking
Merit — feeds the 200-mark Phase II total
Marking: −0.25 on the objective half; no negative marking on the descriptive half
~30 objective + ~6 descriptive
Economic & Social Issues50 marksAgriculture & Rural Development50 marks
ESI and ARD are combined into ONE paper here, unlike RBI Grade B's separate ESI and Finance & Management papers.
Where the marks come from
Where your final NABARD Grade A score comes from
Phase I is qualifying only for final merit, but it has a distinctive two-tier design: clear sectional cutoffs across all 8 sections, while a specific 'merit block' (General Awareness + ESI + ARD, 100 of Phase I's 200 marks) ranks candidates for the Phase II call-up shortlist. Phase II (General English 100 + combined ESI & ARD 100 = 200 marks) plus the Interview (50 marks) make up your final 250-mark merit.
Agriculture & Rural Development40 marks · 20%
Tied with ESI as the largest single Phase I section — genuinely NABARD-specific content.
Economic & Social Issues40 marks · 20%
Identical content to RBI Grade B's own ESI subject — shared via this hub's content-aliasing.
English Language30 marks · 15%
Part of the non-merit qualifying block, though still requires clearing its own sectional cutoff.
Reasoning20 marks · 10%
Standard banking-family reasoning syllabus, non-merit block.
Computer Knowledge20 marks · 10%
A section not shared by most other exams in this hub's banking family.
General Awareness20 marks · 10%
Part of the merit-ranking block, alongside ESI and ARD.
Decision Making10 marks · 5%
A small, UPSC-CSAT-style section shared via this hub's content-aliasing.
What changed this cycle
Things last year's advice gets wrong
Phase I has a distinctive two-tier design: a 'non-merit' qualifying block (Reasoning, English, Computer Knowledge, Quantitative Aptitude, Decision Making — 100 marks) and a separate 'merit' block (General Awareness, ESI, ARD — 100 marks) that specifically ranks candidates for the Phase II call, even though Phase I overall remains qualifying-only for final merit.
Phase I includes both Computer Knowledge and Decision Making sections — a combination not shared by most other exams in this hub's banking family.
Phase II's Economic & Social Issues and Agriculture & Rural Development are combined into ONE paper (unlike RBI Grade B, which keeps ESI and its equivalent Finance & Management as two separate papers).
NABARD adds a mandatory, non-scoring Psychometric Test between Phase II and the Interview — a stage most other banking exams in this hub don't have.
The chapters that carry the marks
Where a plan for NABARD Grade A usually starts
The highest-weight chapters in each subject, linked to their notes. Weights are estimates from previous papers where the conducting body publishes none. Your guide weighs these against your own scores.
Sectional cut-offs, speed, and the mock-analysis habit that decides bank and SSC results. Pick one to start, or just talk — Nisha has read your profile either way.
1. Phase I — Two-Tier Objective Screening — Qualifying only for final merit; the 'merit block' ranks the Phase II call-up. 2. Phase II — Two Papers — 200 of your final 250 marks. 3. Psychometric Test — Non-scoring, mandatory. 4. Interview — Final 50 marks.
How is the NABARD Grade A paper marked?
Phase I — Two-Tier Objective Screening: 200 questions, 200 marks, 120 min. Marking: −0.25 per wrong answer
Is there negative marking in NABARD Grade A?
Yes. −0.25 per wrong answer
What decides the final merit in NABARD Grade A?
Phase I is qualifying only for final merit, but it has a distinctive two-tier design: clear sectional cutoffs across all 8 sections, while a specific 'merit block' (General Awareness + ESI + ARD, 100 of Phase I's 200 marks) ranks candidates for the Phase II call-up shortlist. Phase II (General English 100 + combined ESI & ARD 100 = 200 marks) plus the Interview (50 marks) make up your final 250-mark merit.
What has changed in NABARD Grade A recently?
Phase I has a distinctive two-tier design: a 'non-merit' qualifying block (Reasoning, English, Computer Knowledge, Quantitative Aptitude, Decision Making — 100 marks) and a separate 'merit' block (General Awareness, ESI, ARD — 100 marks) that specifically ranks candidates for the Phase II call, even though Phase I overall remains qualifying-only for final merit.
What does the NABARD Grade A guide know about me?
Only what you have done on the site: your scores by subject and chapter for NABARD Grade A, what you have never been tested on, the kinds of mistake you make across topics, your mocks, your projected score, your error book, your last two weeks and your goals. You can open the exact page Nisha reads before you start.
Is it free?
Talking to Nisha, the AI guide, is free — up to four talks a day. Real guides who have cleared or teach NABARD Grade A set their own prices, and many offer a free call or a short demo.
Every fact on this page comes from the exam's blueprint on this site. How the guide uses it: how Guidance works.
