Last Verified: 2026-03-01 from official conducting body notifications.
Official Overview & Examination Scope
Purpose, Scope & Academic Impact
NABARD is India's apex development bank dedicated to agriculture, rural enterprise financing, and rural infrastructure. Officers in Grade 'A' supervise regional rural banks and co-operative banks, administer national rural credit lines, and direct agri-business investments.
Eligibility Criteria & Academic Qualifications
Exam Pattern & Test Structure
Total: 250 Marks (Phase-II 200 + Interview 50)| Section / Paper | Questions | Marks | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase-I: Qualifying Sections (5 Sections) | Reasoning, English, Computer, Quant, Decision Making (100 Qs) | 100 Marks (Qualifying only) | Part of 120 Mins |
| Phase-I: Merit Sections (3 Sections) | General Awareness (20), ESI (40), Agriculture & Rural Dev - ARD (40) | 100 Marks (Decides Phase-I Merit) | Part of 120 Mins |
| Phase-II Paper I: General English | Descriptive Essay, Précis, Report Writing (Typing) | 100 Marks | 90 Minutes |
| Phase-II Paper II: ESI & ARD | 30 Objective Qs (50 M) + 3 Descriptive Qs (50 M) | 100 Marks | 90 Minutes |
| Interview | Executive Board Interview | 50 Marks | 20-30 Minutes |
Phase-I: +1 correct, -0.25 wrong. Phase-II (200 Marks) + Interview (50 Marks) determine final merit list out of 250 marks.
Negative Marking Rule: 0.25 of marks assigned to question deducted as penalty
Recommended Preparation Roadmap & Strategy
Cutoff Trends & Score Benchmark
Phase-I merit section cutoff (out of 100 marks in GA + ESI + ARD) typically ranges between 42 and 48 marks. Final selection cutoff hovers around 155-165 out of 250.
Recruited Posts, Services & Cadres
Frequently Asked Questions
Which sections decide the Phase-I merit list in NABARD Grade A?
Phase-I contains 8 sections, but merit ranking for Phase-II is decided purely by the score in 3 Merit Sections: General Awareness (20 marks), Economic & Social Issues (40 marks), and Agriculture & Rural Development (40 marks), totaling 100 marks. The other 5 sections are qualifying.
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