Banking · National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)
NABARD Grade A — National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development — Assistant Manager in Grade A
The complete NABARD Grade A blueprint: tier-wise pattern, topic weightage from previous-year analyses, and free chapter-by-chapter study material.
4 stages — Phase I, Phase II, Psychometric Test, Interview250 final-merit marks (Phase II 200 + Interview 50)2-tier Phase I design — a qualifying block AND a separate merit-ranking block Free · tutor-verified
NABARD Grade A at a glance
Conducted byNational Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)
CycleOnce a year (notification timing varies by cycle; check nabard.org for the current cycle's dates)
ModePhase 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.
EligibilityBachelor's degree with 60% marks (relaxed for reserved categories) in any discipline for the RDBS Generalist stream, or a specified technical/professional qualification (CA/CS/ICWA, or a relevant Master's/technical degree) for specialist streams; age 21-30 with standard reserved-category relaxations
LanguagesEnglish & Hindi for objective sections; Phase II descriptive answers in English
Pay bandBasic pay ₹44,500 on the NABARD Grade A officer scale, with gross monthly emoluments of approximately ₹1,00,000 once DA, TA, HRA and other allowances are added
Posts you can get
Assistant Manager in Grade A — Rural Development Banking Service (RDBS, Generalist) plus specialist streams (Legal, Protocol & Security, and others that vary by cycle)India's apex development bank for agriculture and rural development, refinancing cooperative banks, RRBs and commercial banksA smaller, more specialised cadre than most PSU banking exams — recent cycles have run under 100 vacancies
⚡ What changed 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.
- 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.
- This hub's ESI content is shared directly with RBI Grade B (identical subject matter), and Agriculture & Rural Development is genuinely new, NABARD-specific content — the only ARD chapters on this site.
How NABARD Grade A selection works
Know what each stage is for before you spend a single hour preparing.
QUALIFYING ONLY FOR FINAL MERIT; THE 'MERIT BLOCK' RANKS THE PHASE II CALL-UP
Phase I — Two-Tier Objective Screening
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.
200 OF YOUR FINAL 250 MARKS
Phase II — Two Papers
General English (100, wholly descriptive) + a combined Economic & Social Issues and Agriculture & Rural Development paper (100: objective + descriptive). Both fully merit-counting.
NON-SCORING, MANDATORY
Psychometric Test
Assesses psychological/behavioural fitment; does not add to or subtract from merit, but is a mandatory stage before the interview.
FINAL 50 MARKS
Interview
In-person, candidate's choice of English or Hindi. Final merit = Phase II (200) + Interview (50) = 250 marks.
The exam pattern, tier by tier
Marks, timing and negative marking exactly as per the official notification.
Phase I — Two-Tier Objective Screening
Qualifying only for final merit; merit block ranks the Phase II shortlist200 marks · 200 Q
120 min · −0.25 per wrong answer
| Section | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reasoning (non-merit block) | 20 | 20 | — min |
| English Language (non-merit block) | 30 | 30 | — min |
| Computer Knowledge (non-merit block) | 20 | 20 | — min |
| Quantitative Aptitude (non-merit block) | 20 | 20 | — min |
| Decision Making (non-merit block) | 10 | 10 | — min |
| General Awareness (merit block) | 20 | 20 | — min |
| Economic & Social Issues (merit block) | 40 | 40 | — min |
| Agriculture & Rural Development (merit block) | 40 | 40 | — min |
💡 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
Merit — feeds the 200-mark Phase II total100 marks · 3 Q
90 min, wholly descriptive · No negative marking
| Section | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| General English | Essay + Precis + Correspondence | 100 | 90 min |
Official syllabus units
- Essay (~500-600 words, rural development/agriculture/financial inclusion themes)
- Precis & comprehension
- Business/office correspondence (letters, office notes, field-visit reports)
Phase II — Paper 2: Economic & Social Issues and Agriculture & Rural Development
Merit — feeds the 200-mark Phase II total100 marks · ~30 objective + ~6 descriptive Q
120 min (30 min objective + 90 min descriptive, separate timers) · −0.25 on the objective half; no negative marking on the descriptive half
| Section | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economic & Social Issues | part of combined paper | 50 | shared min |
| Agriculture & Rural Development | part of combined paper | 50 | shared min |
💡 ESI and ARD are combined into ONE paper here, unlike RBI Grade B's separate ESI and Finance & Management papers.
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. Here is how Phase I's 200 marks split — click any block to open its chapters:
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.
Subjects in NABARD Grade A
Chapter-by-chapter study material built to the exam's own blueprint.
Topic-wise weightage — what to study first
Question counts per topic, distilled from previous-year paper analyses. Click any topic with a link to open its full chapter.
| Topic | Phase I Q | Phase II Q | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Puzzles & Seating Arrangement | 5–7 | Very high | |
| Syllogism | 1–2 | High | |
| Inequality (direct & coded) | 1–2 | Medium | |
| Coding–Decoding | 1–2 | Medium | |
| Blood Relations | 1 | Medium | |
| Direction & Distance | 1 | Medium | |
| Order & Ranking | 1 | Low | |
| Alphanumeric / Alphabet Series | 1 | Low | |
| Data Sufficiency | 0–1 | Low | |
| Input–Output | 0–1 | Low | |
| Logical / Verbal Reasoning | 0–1 | Low | |
| Computer Aptitude (in Reasoning) | 0–1 | Low |
🎯 The identical banking-family reasoning syllabus as IBPS PO — puzzles and seating arrangement carry the heaviest weight within this smaller 20-question allocation.
| Topic | Phase I Q | Phase II Q | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data Interpretation | 4–6 | Very high | |
| Simplification & Approximation | 3–4 | High | |
| Number Series | 2–3 | High | |
| Arithmetic — Percentage, Profit & Loss, Interest | 3–4 | High | |
| Quadratic Equations | 1–2 | Medium | |
| Ratio, Proportion & Partnership | 1 | Medium | |
| Average, Mixture & Alligation | 1 | Medium | |
| Time, Work, Speed & Distance | 1 | Medium | |
| Permutation, Combination & Probability | 0–1 | Low | |
| Mensuration | 0–1 | Low | |
| Data Sufficiency (quant) | 0–1 | Low | |
| Quantity Comparison (I vs II) | 0–1 | Low |
🎯 A compact 20-question allocation — prioritise the fast, reliable topics (Simplification, Number Series, basic arithmetic) before the lower-frequency ones.
| Topic | Phase I Q | Phase II Q | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | 6–8 | Very high | |
| Cloze Test | 4–5 | High | |
| Error Spotting / Sentence Correction | 3–4 | High | |
| Para Jumbles / Sentence Rearrangement | 3–4 | Medium | |
| Sentence / Double Fillers | 2–3 | Medium | |
| Word Swap / Word Usage | 2–3 | Medium | |
| Sentence Improvement | 2–3 | Medium | |
| Column-based / Connectors | 1–2 | Low | |
| Vocabulary | 1–2 | Low |
🎯 Standard banking-family objective English. Phase II's General English paper is a separate, much larger, rural-development-themed descriptive paper, covered under its own subject.
| Topic | Phase I Q | Phase II Q | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer Fundamentals & Hardware | 5–7 | High | |
| MS Office & Shortcuts | 5–7 | High | |
| Networking, Internet & Security | 4–5 | Medium | |
| Abbreviations & Memory | 2–3 | Low |
🎯 A shallow, finite syllabus shared with IBPS PO's own Computer Aptitude subject — computer fundamentals, MS Office, networking basics and common abbreviations. A focused single session covers nearly all of it.
| Topic | Phase I Q | Phase II Q | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decision making & problem solving | 8–10 | Medium |
🎯 Scenarios describe an administrative or ethical situation and ask which response is most appropriate — there is no formula-based way to derive the answer, only a sense of the administratively/ethically soundest option.
| Topic | Phase I Q | Phase II Q | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current Affairs | 8–10 | Very high | |
| Banking & Financial Awareness | 5–7 | High | |
| Static Banking & Economy | 2–3 | Medium | |
| Budget & Economic Survey | 1–2 | Medium | |
| Static GK | 2–3 | Medium |
🎯 Current affairs and banking/financial awareness, feeding directly into the merit-block score that ranks candidates for the Phase II call — worth extra attention given its dual role.
| Topic | Phase I Q | Phase II Q | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Growth, Development & Poverty Measurement | 8–10 | Very high | |
| Employment, Agriculture & Economic Reforms | 8–10 | Very high | |
| Social Sector — Education, Health & Social Justice | 8–10 | High | |
| Demographics, Urbanisation & Sustainable Development | 8–10 | High |
🎯 Growth vs. development, poverty measurement, employment/agriculture/reforms, the social sector, and demographics/sustainability — the identical four-chapter subject built for RBI Grade B, since both exams' seed syllabi describe the same ESI content.
| Topic | Phase I Q | Phase II Q | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indian Agriculture — Cropping Pattern, Irrigation & Productivity | 8–10 | Very high | |
| Agricultural Marketing, Credit & Rural Finance | 8–10 | Very high | |
| Rural Development Programmes & Panchayati Raj | 8–10 | Very high | |
| Land Reforms, Animal Husbandry & Allied Activities | 8–10 | High |
🎯 Cropping pattern and irrigation, agricultural marketing and rural credit (including NABARD's own refinancing role), rural development programmes and Panchayati Raj, and land reforms/animal husbandry/allied activities — the paper expects a scheme named with its year and a figure cited with its source.
| Topic | Phase I Q | Phase II Q | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay (rural development, agriculture, financial inclusion themes) | 35–45 marks | Very high | |
| Precis & Comprehension | 30–40 marks | Very high | |
| Business & Office Correspondence | 20–30 marks | Very high |
🎯 Essay, precis and business/office correspondence, all themed around NABARD's own mandate — agricultural credit, farmer income, rural infrastructure, SHGs/microfinance — not generic banking-essay material. Every mark here counts toward final merit.
NABARD Grade A resources
Everything you need to prepare.
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FAQs
Frequently asked questions
Yes for final merit, but with a twist: Phase I has a 'merit block' (General Awareness, ESI, ARD — 100 of its 200 marks) that specifically ranks candidates for the Phase II call-up shortlist, even though the whole of Phase I is discarded from the FINAL merit calculation.
No — unlike RBI Grade B's separate ESI and Finance & Management papers, NABARD combines ESI and ARD into ONE 100-mark Phase II paper.
It's a mandatory, non-scoring stage between Phase II and the Interview, assessing psychological/behavioural fitment for the role — it doesn't add to or subtract from merit but must be completed.
The underlying skills (essay, precis, correspondence) are shared, but NABARD's essay and correspondence themes are specifically rural-development-focused (agricultural credit, farmer income, watershed infrastructure), not generic banking topics — and unlike some exams, every mark here counts toward final merit.
A Bachelor's degree with 60% marks in any discipline (RDBS Generalist stream), age 21-30. Selected candidates join as Assistant Manager in Grade A at basic pay ₹44,500/month, with gross monthly emoluments of approximately ₹1,00,000.
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