NABARD Grade A
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
Complete guide to passing the NABARD Grade A exam on your first attempt.
~$10 (INR 850)
~1%
Annual exam
India
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
₹10-18 LPA
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Complete Overview
NABARD Grade A is the recruitment examination for the post of Assistant Manager in Grade A at the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, an apex development finance institution wholly owned by the Government of India. Indian citizens aged 21 to 30 with the discipline-specific degree named in the advertisement take it, and Advertisement No. 05/Grade A/2025-26 set the total payable at 850 rupees for general candidates, made up of a 700 rupee application fee plus 150 rupees of intimation charges, exclusive of GST. SC, ST and PWBD candidates pay 150 rupees of intimation charges only.
The 2025-26 cycle advertised 91 posts. Assistant Manager (RDBS) accounted for 85 of them across fourteen disciplines, the largest being 48 in General, 10 in Computer or Information Technology, 5 in Finance and 4 for Chartered Accountants. Assistant Manager (Legal) accounted for 2 posts and Assistant Manager (Protocol and Security) for 4. Phase I was scheduled for 20 December 2025 and Phase II for 25 January 2026.
For RDBS and Legal candidates the selection has four phases. Phase I is a single online preliminary paper of 200 questions for 200 marks in a composite 120 minutes across eight tests: Test of Reasoning 20 questions, English Language 30, Computer Knowledge 20, Quantitative Aptitude 20, Decision Making 10, General Awareness 20, Economic and Social Issues with focus on Rural India 40, and Agriculture and Rural Development with emphasis on Rural India 40. The first five are qualifying tests and the last three are merit tests. NABARD shortlists for the Main Examination on merit-section marks alone, which means 100 of the 200 marks decide who moves forward.
Phase II is the Main Examination, also online, in two papers. Paper I is General English, delivered as an online descriptive paper of 3 questions for 100 marks in 90 minutes, typed on the keyboard. Paper II for the Generalist post covers Economic and Social Issues and Agriculture and Rural Development, with an objective part of 30 questions for 50 marks in 30 minutes and a descriptive part where 6 questions are set and 4 must be attempted, two of 15 marks each and two of 10 marks each, for 50 marks in 90 minutes. Specialist and Legal candidates take a stream-specific Paper II built on the same structure. Phase III is a mandatory psychometric test of multiple choice questions lasting 90 minutes, and the interview carries 50 marks.
A penalty of one fourth of the marks assigned to a question applies to wrong answers in both Phase I and Phase II. The calling ratio is a maximum of 1:25 for the Main Examination and 1:3 for the interview, and merit lists are prepared discipline by discipline because vacancies are earmarked that way. Final selection for RDBS and Legal rests on Phase II and the interview taken together.
Starting basic pay is 44,500 rupees per month in a scale reaching 89,150 rupees over 17 years, and NABARD states that initial monthly gross emoluments are approximately 100,000 rupees.
Why Get NABARD Grade A Certified?
Starting basic pay is 44,500 rupees per month in a scale reaching 89,150 rupees over 17 years, and NABARD states that initial monthly gross emoluments are approximately 100,000 rupees.
Vacancies are earmarked discipline by discipline and merit lists are prepared the same way, so a fisheries postgraduate competes against other fisheries candidates for the 2 posts in that discipline rather than against the 48-post General pool.
Only the three merit tests decide shortlisting for Phase II, which is 100 of the 200 Phase I marks. Reasoning, English, Computer Knowledge, Quantitative Aptitude and Decision Making only have to clear their individual cut-offs.
The total payable in the 2025-26 cycle was 850 rupees for general candidates and 150 rupees for SC, ST and PWBD candidates, exclusive of GST.
Fourteen RDBS disciplines were advertised in one cycle, covering agriculture engineering, plantation and horticulture, fisheries, food processing, soil science, civil and electrical engineering, media, economics and the professional qualifications of Chartered Accountant and Company Secretary.
Officers work on refinance to cooperative banks and regional rural banks, watershed and tribal development programmes and rural infrastructure lending, which is subject matter that transfers directly into development finance and agricultural policy roles.
NABARD lists perquisites including bank accommodation subject to availability, interest free festival advance, leave travel concession, free dispensary facility with reimbursement of medical expenses, and loans at concessional interest for housing, car, children's education and personal computers.
Exam Format & Structure
Duration
Phase I runs a composite 120 minutes for all eight tests together, with no separate section timing. Phase II Paper I runs 90 minutes. Phase II Paper II runs 30 minutes for the objective part and 90 minutes for the descriptive part. The mandatory psychometric test runs 90 minutes. The Protocol and Security Service online examination runs a composite 120 minutes.
Questions
Phase I has 200 questions for 200 marks: 20 Reasoning, 30 English Language, 20 Computer Knowledge, 20 Quantitative Aptitude, 10 Decision Making, 20 General Awareness, 40 Economic and Social Issues, and 40 Agriculture and Rural Development. Phase II Paper I has 3 descriptive questions for 100 marks. Phase II Paper II has 30 objective questions for 50 marks, where some carry 2 marks and some carry 1 mark, plus 6 descriptive questions of which 4 must be attempted for 50 marks. The Protocol and Security Service paper has 50 questions in each of its four tests.
Passing Score
NABARD does not publish fixed cut-off marks in advance. It states that cut-offs in both Phase I and Phase II are applied in two stages, first on scores in individual tests and then on the total score, and that they are set discipline-wise because vacancies are earmarked by discipline. The calling ratio is a maximum of 1:25 for the Main Examination and 1:3 for the interview, and NABARD may reduce those ratios at its discretion. Phase I shortlisting uses marks scored in the merit section only.
Question Types
- Objective multiple choice questions across all eight Phase I tests
- Online descriptive General English answers typed on the keyboard in Phase II Paper I
- Objective questions in Phase II Paper II with mixed 1 mark and 2 mark values
- Descriptive Phase II Paper II answers typed on the keyboard, two of 15 marks and two of 10 marks, with Hindi typing available on Remington and Inscript layouts
- Multiple choice psychometric test in Phase III
- Personal interview carrying 50 marks, which may be taken in Hindi or English
Delivery Method
Online examination at centres named in the call letter. Candidates report ahead of the printed reporting time for Aadhaar-linked biometric authentication, biometric and photo capture, document collection and instructions. NABARD states biometric data and photographs are captured from the Main Examination onwards, and separate call letters are issued for each shift of Phase II and Phase III. A candidate selects one centre for Phase I and one centre for Phase II or Phase III, and the two may be different.
Exam Domains & Topics
One of the two heavyweight merit tests, worth 40 questions and 40 marks in Phase I and half the subject matter of Phase II Paper II for the Generalist post. The published syllabus runs from the structural features of the Indian economy through poverty measurement, population policy, industrial policy, rural banking reform and the social structure of India.
Key Topics to Master:
- Nature of the Indian economy, structural and institutional features, and economic underdevelopment
- Opening up of the Indian economy, globalisation, economic reforms and privatisation
- Inflation trends and their impact on national economy and individual income
- Poverty measurement, poverty alleviation programmes and employment generation, rural and urban
- Population trends, population growth and economic development, and population policy in India
- Rural banking and financial institutions in India and reforms in the banking and financial sector
- Role of international funding institutions, IMF, World Bank, WTO and regional economic cooperation
- Social structure, multiculturalism, urbanisation and migration, gender issues and the joint family system
- Social justice, problems of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, positive discrimination and human development
The other heavyweight merit test, again 40 questions and 40 marks in Phase I. It is the section that distinguishes NABARD Grade A from every other financial sector recruitment in India, and it demands technical agricultural content rather than economics. The published syllabus starts from the definition of agronomy and moves through soil, water, farm engineering, horticulture and animal husbandry.
Key Topics to Master:
- Definition and branches of agriculture, scope of agronomy and classification of field crops
- Factors affecting crop production, agro climatic zones and cropping systems
- Problems of dryland agriculture, seed production, seed processing and the seed village concept
- Meteorology, weather parameters and crop-weather advisory, precision farming, system of crop intensification and organic farming
- Soil and water conservation, major soil types, soil fertility, fertilisers, soil erosion and watershed management
- Irrigation management, sources and types of irrigation, crop-water requirement, command area development and micro-irrigation
- Farm machinery and power, sources of farm power, water harvesting structures, farm ponds and agro processing
- Plantation and horticulture production technology, post-harvest management and value and supply chain management
- Animal husbandry, farm animals and their role in the Indian economy
The largest of the five qualifying tests at 30 questions for 30 marks, and the only Phase I test not set bilingually. It only has to clear its individual cut-off, since shortlisting for the Main Examination uses merit-section marks alone. It still matters as preparation for the 100 mark descriptive Paper I in Phase II.
Key Topics to Master:
- Reading comprehension across passages on economics and rural development
- Error spotting and sentence correction
- Cloze test and fill in the blanks
- Para jumbles and sentence rearrangement
- Vocabulary in context, including synonyms and antonyms
- Sentence improvement and phrase replacement
- Idioms and phrasal verbs
A qualifying test of 20 questions for 20 marks. With 200 questions to cover in 120 minutes, the average budget is 36 seconds per question across the whole paper, so puzzle-heavy reasoning sets have to be selected rather than exhausted. The one fourth negative marking penalty applies here as everywhere in Phase I.
Key Topics to Master:
- Seating arrangement and puzzle sets
- Syllogism and statement-conclusion reasoning
- Inequality and coded inequality
- Blood relations and direction sense
- Coding and decoding
- Order and ranking
- Data sufficiency
A qualifying test of 20 questions for 20 marks. NABARD does not publish a sectional time limit, so the whole 120 minutes is shared, which makes it tempting to overspend here. Since these marks do not count towards the Phase II shortlist, the sensible approach is to secure the cut-off and move to the merit tests.
Key Topics to Master:
- Simplification and approximation
- Number series
- Data interpretation from tables, bar charts and pie charts
- Percentage, ratio and proportion
- Profit and loss, simple and compound interest
- Time and work, time speed and distance
- Averages, mixtures and alligation
- Permutation, combination and probability
A qualifying test of 20 questions for 20 marks that rewards factual recall over reasoning, which makes it the fastest of the five qualifying tests to clear. Candidates from the Computer and Information Technology discipline, which had 10 of the 85 RDBS vacancies in the 2025-26 cycle, will find it well below the level of their Phase II stream paper.
Key Topics to Master:
- Computer fundamentals, hardware components and input and output devices
- Operating system basics and file management
- Microsoft Office applications and shortcut keys
- Networking concepts, internet and email
- Database and DBMS basics
- Computer security, viruses and firewalls
- Abbreviations and computer terminology
- Number systems and basic computer memory concepts
The smallest of the three merit tests at 20 questions for 20 marks, and the one where scores are most volatile. Because it counts towards the Phase II shortlist alongside Economic and Social Issues and Agriculture and Rural Development, it deserves systematic daily reading rather than last-week revision.
Key Topics to Master:
- Current national and international affairs
- Banking and financial sector developments including RBI policy announcements
- Government schemes in agriculture and rural development and their implementing ministries
- NABARD's own schemes, refinance products and organisational structure
- Budget and Economic Survey highlights
- Awards, appointments and summits
- Static general knowledge on Indian polity and institutions
- Agricultural statistics including production, minimum support prices and credit flow
The smallest test in Phase I at 10 questions for 10 marks, and one of the five qualifying tests. It presents workplace or administrative situations and asks which course of action fits. It is unusual among Indian recruitment papers, so most candidates meet the format for the first time in a NABARD mock rather than in previous preparation.
Key Topics to Master:
- Situational judgement in administrative and banking contexts
- Course of action questions following a stated problem
- Assumption and inference identification
- Statement and argument evaluation
- Cause and effect relationships
- Prioritisation of competing actions
Recommended Study Plan
- 1Download Advertisement No. 05/Grade A/2025-26 from nabard.org and read the vacancy table to see how many posts exist in the intended discipline, since merit lists are prepared discipline-wise
- 2Check the educational qualification row for that discipline, including the percentage thresholds, which are typically 60 percent at graduate level or 55 percent at postgraduate level with lower figures for SC, ST and PWBD candidates
- 3Confirm the age condition of 21 to 30 years on the stated cut-off date, and note the applicable relaxation, remembering that NABARD allows no cumulative relaxation
- 4Copy the Phase I table into a study sheet, marking which five tests are qualifying and which three carry merit
- 5Read the published Economic and Social Issues and Agriculture and Rural Development syllabus paragraphs in full, because they name every examinable topic
- 1Cover the structural and institutional features of the Indian economy and the sequence of economic reforms since 1991
- 2Study poverty measurement methods and the named poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes, rural and urban
- 3Read the population chapter, covering population trends, the link between growth and development, and India's population policy
- 4Read the rural credit chapter, distinguishing institutional from non-institutional agencies, which connects directly to NABARD's refinance role
- 5Read the latest Economic Survey chapters on agriculture and rural development from indiabudget.gov.in
- 1Learn the definitions the syllabus names first: agriculture and its branches, agronomy and its scope, and the classification of field crops
- 2Map the agro climatic zones of India and the cropping systems associated with each
- 3Cover soil types, soil fertility, fertiliser classes, soil erosion and watershed management, which is a NABARD programme area as well as a syllabus topic
- 4Study irrigation types and sources, crop-water requirement, command area development and micro-irrigation
- 5Read the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare annual report on agricoop.gov.in for current scheme names and coverage figures
- 1Cover farm machinery and power sources, water harvesting structures, farm ponds and agro processing including controlled storage, godowns, bins and grain silos
- 2Study plantation and horticulture production technology, post-harvest management and value chain management
- 3Cover animal husbandry, including farm animals and their role in the Indian economy
- 4Read the NABARD annual report on nabard.org for the bank's refinance disbursements, the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund and its development programmes
- 5Learn NABARD's own scheme names and mandates, since General Awareness draws on them
- 1Run timed drills on reasoning, quantitative aptitude and English with a strict per-question budget, since the whole Phase I paper allows 120 minutes for 200 questions
- 2Cover the Computer Knowledge syllabus in one pass, since it rewards recall and can be secured quickly
- 3Practise Decision Making questions specifically, because the format appears in few other Indian recruitment papers
- 4Work out an attempt rule that accounts for the one fourth negative marking penalty, based on measured accuracy rather than instinct
- 5Time a full 200 question paper once to see where the 120 minutes actually goes
- 1Read PIB releases daily, filtering for agriculture, rural development, cooperative banking and financial inclusion announcements
- 2Compile the past six months of banking and agriculture news into a category-wise sheet
- 3Read the RBI monetary policy statements and the annual report chapter on rural credit
- 4Learn the current minimum support prices for major crops and the annual agricultural credit flow target from official releases
- 5Do 60 General Awareness questions under timed conditions and check whether the recall gaps are in schemes, statistics or appointments
- 1Sit two complete Phase I simulations of 200 questions in 120 minutes with one fourth negative marking applied
- 2Score the merit section separately from the qualifying section, since only merit marks decide the Phase II shortlist
- 3Check that every one of the five qualifying tests would clear a plausible individual cut-off, because cut-offs are applied on individual tests first
- 4Rework every wrong answer in Economic and Social Issues and Agriculture and Rural Development, which together carry 80 of the 100 merit marks
- 5Adjust the time split so that the two 40 question merit tests get the largest share of the 120 minutes
- 1Write to the exact Phase II Paper II descriptive format: choose 4 from 6 questions, two answered at 15 mark depth and two at 10 mark depth, inside 90 minutes
- 2Practise General English descriptive answers for Paper I, 3 questions for 100 marks in 90 minutes, typed on a keyboard
- 3Decide in advance how many minutes each 15 mark and each 10 mark answer gets, since the two difficulty levels are stated in the notification
- 4Candidates intending to type in Hindi should practise on the Remington or Inscript layout, which are the two NABARD supports
- 5Build answer skeletons for recurring Economic and Social Issues themes such as poverty alleviation, rural credit and agricultural marketing reform
- 1Drill the Paper II objective format of 30 questions for 50 marks in 30 minutes, remembering that some questions carry 2 marks and some carry 1 mark
- 2For specialist disciplines, revise the stream-specific syllabus published in the advertisement, since Paper II is paragraph based, numerical or application based interpretive for those candidates
- 3Run one full Phase II day: 90 minutes of Paper I, then 30 minutes of Paper II objective, then 90 minutes of Paper II descriptive
- 4Apply the one fourth negative marking penalty to the Phase II objective part, which the notification states applies in both phases
- 5Read about the mandatory psychometric test format so that the 90 minute multiple choice session is not a surprise
- 1Prepare to discuss NABARD's mandate, its refinance products, the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund and the discipline applied for, since the interview carries 50 marks and final selection combines Phase II and interview
- 2Prepare answers on the candidate's own academic specialisation, because the discipline-wise merit list means the panel expects depth in that field
- 3Download call letters from nabard.org, noting that separate call letters are issued for each shift of Phase II and Phase III
- 4Assemble the original photo identity proof plus a photocopy, and carry the Aadhaar card for the Aadhaar-linked biometric authentication
- 5Confirm the exam centre selected for Phase I and the one selected for Phase II or Phase III, which NABARD allows to be different
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Best Study Resources
NABARD Advertisement No. 05/Grade A/2025-26
Official notification PDFThe authoritative document on nabard.org. It carries the discipline-wise vacancy table, educational qualifications with percentage thresholds, the Phase I and Phase II structures with question counts, marks and durations, the negative marking rule, the calling ratios, the fee table, the pay scale and the full Economic and Social Issues and Agriculture and Rural Development syllabus.
Free
NABARD Annual Report
Institutional publicationPublished each year on nabard.org. It sets out refinance disbursements to cooperative banks and regional rural banks, the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund, watershed and tribal development programmes and self-help group linkage figures, which feed both General Awareness and the interview.
Free
NABARD All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey
Research publicationNABARD's own household survey of rural incomes, indebtedness, savings and insurance coverage. It supplies the kind of rural economy statistics that Economic and Social Issues questions and descriptive answers both reward.
Free
Economic Survey of India
Government publicationHosted on indiabudget.gov.in. The agriculture, rural development, social infrastructure and prices chapters map almost point for point onto the Economic and Social Issues syllabus, and they carry current-year figures rather than dated ones.
Free
Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare annual report
Government publicationThe annual report and the Agricultural Statistics at a Glance compilation give crop production figures, minimum support prices, irrigation coverage and scheme outlays, which are the factual base for the Agriculture and Rural Development section.
Free
Indian Council of Agricultural Research publications
Technical publicationICAR publishes handbooks and package of practices covering agronomy, soil science, horticulture and animal husbandry. These match the technical vocabulary the NABARD syllabus uses, such as agro climatic zones, system of crop intensification and precision farming.
Free
RBI Annual Report and Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India
Regulator publicationThe Reserve Bank of India publishes both on rbi.org.in. The chapters on rural credit, cooperative banks and regional rural banks cover the reforms in banking and financial sector topic the NABARD syllabus names.
Free
Press Information Bureau releases
Government news servicePIB carries the official text of announcements from the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Rural Development and NABARD itself on the day they are issued, which is more reliable than compiled current affairs digests for a merit-counting section.
Free
Candidate Grievance Lodging and Redressal Mechanism
Support portalNABARD directs candidates with problems in filling the form, paying fees or downloading the call letter to lodge complaints through this portal, quoting NABARD Officer Grade A in the subject line.
Free
Sectional mock tests matched to the NABARD Phase I structure
Practice materialAny mock series used should reproduce the real structure: 200 questions in a composite 120 minutes across eight named tests, with 80 of the marks concentrated in the two 40 question merit sections and a one fourth penalty for wrong answers.
Free and paid options
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Spreading Phase I preparation evenly across all eight tests.
NABARD shortlists for the Main Examination on merit-section marks only, and the merit section is General Awareness, Economic and Social Issues and Agriculture and Rural Development, worth 100 of the 200 marks. Reasoning, English, Computer Knowledge, Quantitative Aptitude and Decision Making only need to clear their individual cut-offs, so hours spent pushing a reasoning score from good to excellent buy nothing.
Preparing Agriculture and Rural Development as economics rather than as agricultural science.
The published syllabus opens with the definition of agronomy, the classification of field crops and agro climatic zones, then moves through soil types, irrigation systems, farm machinery, horticulture production technology and animal husbandry. This is technical content, and 40 questions depend on it. Candidates from a commerce or economics background have to build this from ICAR-style material rather than from an economy digest.
Managing Phase I as if each of the eight tests has its own clock.
NABARD gives a composite 120 minutes for all eight tests together, with no separate section timing. That is 36 seconds per question on average across 200 questions. The time has to be actively allocated, with the two 40 question merit tests protected, rather than left to whatever order the screen presents.
Answering every Phase I question because there is nothing to lose.
There is. NABARD deducts one fourth of the marks assigned to a question for every wrong answer in Phase I and Phase II both. Unanswered questions carry no penalty. Measure personal accuracy on uncertain questions and set an attempt threshold from that measurement.
Assuming a strong score guarantees selection because the overall vacancy count is 91.
Vacancies are earmarked discipline-wise and NABARD prepares the merit list for each stage discipline-wise. In the 2025-26 cycle that meant 48 posts in the General discipline but only 1 in Agriculture Engineering and 1 in Media Specialist. The cut-off a candidate faces is the one for their own discipline, not a common one.
Practising the Phase II descriptive paper as a single essay exercise.
Paper II sets 6 descriptive questions of which 4 must be attempted, and the notification specifies two of 15 marks each with a stated difficulty level and two of 10 marks each, inside 90 minutes. That means choosing which four to answer and calibrating depth to mark value, which is a different skill from writing one long piece.
Ignoring the psychometric test because it carries no published marks.
NABARD states that only candidates who score the minimum cut-off in the Main Examination will be shortlisted for interview provided they appear in the Psychometric Test. It is a mandatory multiple choice session lasting 90 minutes, and skipping it removes a candidate from the interview list regardless of Main Examination performance.
Preparing for Decision Making with general reasoning practice.
Decision Making is its own test of 10 questions for 10 marks, presenting administrative situations and asking which course of action fits. It is not covered by standard reasoning drills. Practise the format directly, since 10 marks with a one fourth penalty is enough to matter against a sectional cut-off.
Applying to a Protocol and Security Service post while preparing for the RDBS pattern.
That post has a different age band of 25 to 40 years with no relaxation for any category, and a different online examination structure: Test of Reasoning 50 questions for 50 marks, English Language 50 questions for 25 marks, General Awareness with special reference to the banking industry 50 questions for 50 marks, and Test of Professional Knowledge 50 questions for 75 marks, in a composite 120 minutes for 200 marks. There is no Mains paper for this stream.
Exam Day Tips
- 1
Carry the call letter along with the original photo identity proof and a photocopy of that same proof. NABARD accepts PAN card, passport, permanent driving licence, voter's card, bank passbook with photograph, a photo identity proof issued by a Gazetted Officer or a People's Representative on official letterhead, a valid recent college or university identity card, an Aadhaar or e-Aadhaar card with photograph, an employee ID, or a Bar Council identity card with photograph.
- 2
Do not rely on a ration card or a learner's driving licence. NABARD names both as invalid ID proof.
- 3
Carry the Aadhaar card specifically, because NABARD runs Aadhaar-linked biometric authentication at the centre before the examination begins.
- 4
Confirm the name on the identity proof matches the call letter exactly. Candidates whose name changed after marriage should carry the original Gazette notification, the original marriage certificate or an affidavit in original, since a mismatch bars entry on its own.
- 5
Download a separate call letter for each shift of Phase II and Phase III. Phase I and Phase II or Phase III may also be at different centres, since NABARD allows one centre selection for each.
- 6
Plan the Phase I time budget before starting, since all eight tests share one composite 120 minute clock. The two 40 question merit tests deserve the largest slice because only merit marks decide the Phase II shortlist.
- 7
Leave genuinely unknown questions blank rather than guessing, because one fourth of the marks assigned to a question is deducted for a wrong answer in both Phase I and Phase II.
- 8
In Phase II Paper II, read all 6 descriptive questions before starting, then choose the 4 to attempt. Two carry 15 marks each and two carry 10 marks each, so answer depth should follow mark value.
- 9
Expect biometric data and photograph capture from the Main Examination onwards, which adds to the time needed at the venue beyond the printed testing duration.
Career Paths & Salary Ranges
Assistant Manager in Grade A, NABARD
The entry officer post across the Rural Development Banking Service, Legal or Protocol and Security Service. Work covers refinance to cooperative banks and regional rural banks, project appraisal, district credit planning and development programme supervision. Probation is two years, extendable by up to one more year.
Starting basic pay of 44,500 rupees per month; NABARD states initial monthly gross emoluments are approximately 100,000 rupees
Manager and Assistant General Manager, NABARD
Internal promotion moves an officer from field appraisal into regional office management, policy formulation and supervision of refinance portfolios and development funds.
Progression within the Grade A scale rising to 89,150 rupees basic over 17 years, then higher grades
Development finance and agricultural credit specialist
Officers who deepen into agricultural credit work on district credit plans, priority sector lending assessment and the appraisal of rural infrastructure projects, which is a specialisation that few institutions in India build.
Within the Grade A scale of 44,500 to 89,150 rupees basic while in NABARD service. NABARD publishes no separate figure for this specialisation
Rural banking and microfinance leadership
Regional rural banks, cooperative banks and microfinance institutions recruit for the combination of self-help group linkage experience and refinance knowledge that NABARD work builds.
Set by the recruiting bank or institution, and outside any NABARD-published scale
Agricultural policy and programme roles
Watershed development, tribal development and food processing programme work maps onto roles at state rural development agencies, agri-value chain firms and multilateral programme offices.
Set by the recruiting agency or firm, and outside any NABARD-published scale
Prerequisites & Requirements
- A discipline-specific degree named in the advertisement. For the General discipline in RDBS, a Bachelor's degree in any subject with a minimum of 60 percent marks in aggregate, or 55 percent for SC, ST and PWBD applicants, or a postgraduate degree, MBA or PGDM with a minimum of 55 percent, or 50 percent for SC, ST and PWBD applicants.
- Specialist disciplines carry their own qualification and percentage requirements, covering Chartered Accountant, Company Secretary, Finance, Computer or Information Technology, Agriculture Engineering, Plantation and Horticulture, Fisheries, Food Processing, Land Development and Soil Science, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Media and Economics.
- The Legal post requires a Bachelor's degree in Law with enrolment as an Advocate and a minimum of 60 percent marks in the aggregate.
- Age between 21 and 30 years as on the stated cut-off date, which for the 2025-26 cycle was 1 November 2025. The Protocol and Security Service post instead requires an age between 25 and 40 years with no relaxation for any category.
- Upper age relaxation of 3 years for OBC applicants, up to 5 years for SC and ST applicants where posts are reserved and for eligible ex-servicemen, 10 years for PWBD (General), 13 years for PWBD (OBC) and 15 years for PWBD (SC or ST). NABARD states that no cumulative age relaxation is available beyond what the advertisement provides.
- Indian citizenship.
- No prior work experience is required for the RDBS Assistant Manager post, though NABARD reserves the right to raise the minimum experience requirement for the Protocol and Security Service post in order to limit the number of candidates called for interview.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does NABARD Grade A cost to apply for?
In the 2025-26 cycle the total payable was 850 rupees for general candidates, comprising a 700 rupee application fee and 150 rupees of intimation charges, exclusive of applicable GST. SC, ST and PWBD candidates paid 150 rupees of intimation charges with no application fee. NABARD employees who satisfy the eligibility criteria pay the same charges at application and have them reimbursed on submission of the fee receipt, with staff candidate status verified at the interview.
How many attempts do I get, and is there a waiting period after failing?
NABARD does not publish a cap on the number of recruitment cycles a candidate may enter, so the practical limit is the upper age of 30 years for RDBS and Legal plus any category relaxation. There is no waiting period. Since NABARD runs the recruitment periodically rather than to a guaranteed annual date, the next attempt depends on when the following advertisement is issued.
What happens if I fail Phase I?
The process ends for that cycle and nothing carries forward. NABARD applies Phase I cut-offs in two stages, first on scores in individual tests and then on the total score, and shortlists for the Main Examination on merit-section marks only. The calling ratio for the Main Examination is a maximum of 1:25, and NABARD may reduce it at its discretion.
Which sections of Phase I actually count?
The merit section, made up of General Awareness, Economic and Social Issues with focus on Rural India, and Agriculture and Rural Development with emphasis on Rural India, worth 20, 40 and 40 marks respectively. NABARD states that shortlisting of candidates for the Mains exam is based on marks scored in the merit section only. Test of Reasoning, English Language, Computer Knowledge, Quantitative Aptitude and Decision Making are the qualifying section, and they only have to clear their individual cut-offs.
Is there negative marking?
Yes. For every wrong answer marked, one fourth of the marks assigned to that question is deducted as a penalty in Phase I and Phase II both. Unanswered questions carry no penalty, so leaving a genuinely unknown question blank is the correct choice.
Do Phase I marks count towards final selection?
No. NABARD states that the final selection and ranking for the post of Assistant Manager in Grade A for RDBS and Legal will be based on performance in the Phase II Main Examination and the interview taken together. Phase I marks determine only who is called for Phase II.
How does the psychometric test fit in?
It is Phase III, it is mandatory, it is multiple choice, and it lasts 90 minutes. NABARD states that only candidates who score the minimum cut-off marks in the Main Examination will be shortlisted for interview provided they appear in the Psychometric Test. Its date is announced separately on the website, and separate call letters are issued for each shift.
Which identity documents are accepted at the exam centre?
A PAN card, passport, permanent driving licence, voter's card, bank passbook with photograph, a photo identity proof issued by a Gazetted Officer or a People's Representative on official letterhead with photograph, a valid recent identity card issued by a recognised college or university, an Aadhaar or e-Aadhaar card with photograph, an employee ID, or a Bar Council identity card with photograph. The original and a photocopy must both be submitted to the invigilator with the call letter. A ration card and a learner's driving licence are not valid. NABARD also asks candidates to carry the Aadhaar card for Aadhaar-linked biometric authentication.
Is the exam taken from home under remote proctoring?
No. All phases are conducted online at centres named in the call letter. NABARD captures biometric data, specifically the thumb impression, and a photograph of candidates from the Main Examination onwards, and verifies them subsequently. Candidates select one centre for Phase I and one centre for Phase II or Phase III, and the two may be different.
Can I write the exam in Hindi?
Yes for most of it. Phase I is bilingual in Hindi and English except for the test of English language. In Phase II Paper II, descriptive answers may be typed in English or Hindi, with Hindi typing supported on the Remington and Inscript keyboard layouts. Legal candidates type their Paper II descriptive answers in Hindi on those layouts. The interview may also be taken in Hindi or English.
What accommodations are available for candidates with disabilities?
Seven of the 85 RDBS vacancies in the 2025-26 cycle were reserved for candidates with benchmark disabilities, applied horizontally within the vacancies earmarked for the unreserved, SC, ST, OBC and EWS categories. Compensatory time of twenty minutes per hour of examination, or as otherwise advised, is permitted for eligible candidates. Upper age relaxation is 10 years for PWBD (General), 13 years for PWBD (OBC) and 15 years for PWBD (SC or ST).
How are scores calculated across different sessions?
NABARD applies an equating procedure. The number of questions answered correctly in each objective test gives a corrected score after the penalty for wrong answers is applied. Corrected scores are then made equivalent to take account of minor differences in difficulty between test forms held in different sessions, producing equated scores. Test-wise scores and total scores are reported to two decimal places.
Does NABARD give candidates their mark sheet?
No. NABARD states that the Bank does not furnish the mark sheet of the selection process to candidates. Results and shortlists are published on nabard.org, so plan on the published lists rather than on a per-section score report.
How many candidates are called for interview?
The calling ratio for the interview is a maximum of 1:3, and NABARD may reduce it at its discretion. Because vacancies are earmarked discipline-wise, the ratio operates within each discipline rather than across the whole cohort. The interview carries 50 marks.
How does NABARD Grade A compare with RBI Grade B?
Both are three-stage recruitments at apex financial institutions with an objective screening phase, a written phase and an interview, and both include an Economic and Social Issues component. The difference is the second merit subject: NABARD devotes 40 Phase I questions to Agriculture and Rural Development with technical agronomy, soil, irrigation and animal husbandry content, whereas RBI Grade B tests Finance and Management instead. NABARD also adds a mandatory 90 minute psychometric test that RBI Grade B does not have.
How does it compare with IBPS or SBI probationary officer exams?
The aptitude sections overlap, but NABARD Grade A concentrates its marks differently. In a bank probationary officer prelims, reasoning and quantitative aptitude carry the bulk of the marks; in NABARD Phase I they are qualifying tests worth 20 marks each while Economic and Social Issues and Agriculture and Rural Development carry 40 marks each and decide the shortlist. NABARD also recruits into fourteen separate RDBS disciplines rather than one common officer pool.
What is the pay progression and probation period?
Starting basic pay is 44,500 rupees per month in a scale of 44,500 with increments of 2,500 for four stages to 54,500, then 2,850 for seven stages to 74,450, then an efficiency bar, then 2,850 for four stages to 85,850, then 3,300 for one stage to 89,150, across 17 years. NABARD states initial monthly gross emoluments are approximately 100,000 rupees. Probation is two years and may be extended at the Bank's discretion by up to one further year. Selected candidates are covered by the defined contribution New Pension Scheme along with gratuity and a group term insurance plan.
Can I apply for more than one discipline?
NABARD retains only the latest valid completed application where a candidate submits more than one, and the application fee or intimation charges paid on the other registrations are forfeited. Since vacancies and merit lists are both discipline-wise, the sensible approach is to select the single discipline where the qualification fits and the vacancy count is most favourable.
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