NABARD Grade A Syllabus: Phase I and Phase II
Every Phase I section and both Phase II papers, with the marks each one carries.
NABARD Grade A runs across three phases, and only two of them count toward your final rank. Phase I is an online, objective test covering eight sections and it is qualifying only: your Phase I score decides whether you're shortlisted for Phase II, not where you finish.
Phase II is where marks start to matter. It has two papers: a descriptive English paper, and a paper on Economic & Social Issues (ESI) and Agriculture & Rural Development (ARD) that mixes objective and descriptive questions. Phase III adds a non-scoring psychometric test alongside an interview.
Final merit is built from Phase II (200 marks) and the interview (50 marks), a total of 250, combined at an 80:20 weighting. Phase I contributes nothing to that final number once you clear it.
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Phase I (Preliminary) Syllabus: Section-wise Marks
Phase I is 200 marks across eight sections, 120 minutes, with a quarter-mark negative for each wrong answer. ESI and ARD alone carry 80 of the 200 marks, more than the other six sections combined.
Reasoning
Questions
20
Marks
20
English Language
Questions
30
Marks
30
Computer Knowledge
Questions
20
Marks
20
Quantitative Aptitude
Questions
20
Marks
20
Decision Making
Questions
10
Marks
10
General Awareness
Questions
20
Marks
20
Economic & Social Issues (ESI)
Questions
40
Marks
40
Agriculture & Rural Development (ARD)
Questions
40
Marks
40
Total
Questions
200
Marks
200
| Section | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Reasoning | 20 | 20 |
| English Language | 30 | 30 |
| Computer Knowledge | 20 | 20 |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 20 | 20 |
| Decision Making | 10 | 10 |
| General Awareness | 20 | 20 |
| Economic & Social Issues (ESI) | 40 | 40 |
| Agriculture & Rural Development (ARD) | 40 | 40 |
| Total | 200 | 200 |
Every section is compulsory, there's no choice of which to attempt. Below is what each section actually covers, where a verified topic list exists.
Reasoning Syllabus
20 questions, 20 marks. Covers:
- check_circlePuzzles & seating arrangement
- check_circleSyllogism
- check_circleBlood relations
- check_circleCoding-decoding
- check_circleInequalities
- check_circleDirection sense
- check_circleData sufficiency
- check_circleInput-output
English Language Syllabus
30 questions, 30 marks. Covers:
- check_circleReading comprehension
- check_circleCloze test
- check_circleError spotting
- check_circleSentence improvement
- check_circlePara jumbles
- check_circleDescriptive skills (essay, précis, report drafting)
Computer Knowledge Syllabus
20 questions, 20 marks. No official topic-by-topic list is separately published for this section. It draws on general computer awareness: basic hardware and software concepts, operating systems, the internet, and common office applications.
- check_circleGeneral computer awareness and terminology
- check_circleBasic hardware, software and operating system concepts
- check_circleInternet, email and networking basics
- check_circleCommon office and banking-related computer applications
Quantitative Aptitude Syllabus
20 questions, 20 marks. Covers:
- check_circleNumber series
- check_circleSimplification & approximation
- check_circleData interpretation
- check_circleQuadratic equations
- check_circlePercentages, ratio & proportion
- check_circleProfit & loss
- check_circleTime-speed-distance & time-and-work
Real Phase 1 sections, including ESI and ARD. No signup.
Decision Making Syllabus
10 questions, 10 marks. No official topic-by-topic list is separately published for this section. It's typically situational: short case-style scenarios that test analytical and judgment-based reasoning rather than recalled facts.
- check_circleSituational and case-based reasoning
- check_circleAnalytical and judgment-based questions
- check_circlePrioritisation and logical decision scenarios
General Awareness Syllabus
20 questions, 20 marks. Covers:
- check_circleCurrent affairs
- check_circleBanking & financial awareness
- check_circleRBI, NABARD & other regulators
- check_circleGovernment schemes
- check_circleStatic GK, awards & appointments
Agriculture & Rural Development (ARD) Syllabus
40 questions, 40 marks, tied with ESI as the largest single section. Covers:
- check_circleCrops, soils, irrigation & farm mechanization
- check_circleAgricultural economics & marketing
- check_circleAnimal husbandry, fisheries & horticulture
- check_circleRural credit & cooperatives
- check_circleNABARD's role & rural financial institutions
- check_circleRural-development schemes
- check_circleAgriculture & rural insurance
Phase II (Mains) Syllabus: Paper I & Paper II
Phase II is 200 marks total, the number that actually decides most of your final rank alongside the interview.
Paper I
Content
General English: essay, précis, comprehension, drafting (3 questions, descriptive)
Duration
90 min
Marks
100
Paper II
Content
ESI & ARD: objective (30 MCQ)
Duration
120 min (shared)
Marks
30
Paper II
Content
ESI & ARD: descriptive, answer 4 of 6
Duration
120 min (shared)
Marks
70
Total
Content
Duration
Marks
200
| Paper | Content | Duration | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper I | General English: essay, précis, comprehension, drafting (3 questions, descriptive) | 90 min | 100 |
| Paper II | ESI & ARD: objective (30 MCQ) | 120 min (shared) | 30 |
| Paper II | ESI & ARD: descriptive, answer 4 of 6 | 120 min (shared) | 70 |
| Total | 200 |
Paper I is entirely descriptive, typed online: three questions in 90 minutes, testing writing ability directly rather than through multiple-choice grammar questions. Paper II runs for 120 minutes shared across two parts: 30 objective questions worth 30 marks, followed by a descriptive section where you answer 4 of 6 questions for 70 marks.
Paper II's ESI & ARD content draws on the same two subjects covered in Phase I, tested at greater depth and partly in your own words rather than through options. This page doesn't repeat that topic list; see the ESI and ARD guide for the full topic-by-topic breakdown and how each topic shows up as both an objective and a descriptive question.
Specialist Streams Sit a Different Paper II
Everything above describes the General (RDBS) stream. Candidates in the specialist streams, Agriculture, Finance, IT, Legal, Civil Engineering and Rajbhasha, sit a stream-specific Paper II in place of the general ESI & ARD paper. Which stream you're eligible for, and what its Paper II covers, is a separate question from this page; see the eligibility page for stream-wise eligibility.
Phase III: Psychometric Test and Interview
Phase III has no syllabus in the usual sense. It consists of a psychometric test, which is non-scoring, and an interview, which carries 50 of the total 250 merit marks. There's no subject content to prepare beyond the interview itself, which typically draws on your Phase II performance, your background, and current affairs relevant to NABARD's work.
Where to Get the Official Syllabus PDF
The authoritative syllabus is the one published inside NABARD's official notification PDF on nabard.org. This page reflects that notification's structure as last verified; if you need the document itself, that's where it lives.
How to Use This Syllabus to Plan Your Prep
A few practical steps before you start solving questions:
- checkGo section by section through Phase I and mark which ones are genuinely new to you versus which you already have some grounding in.
- checkTreat ESI and ARD as the highest-priority pair: together they're 80 of Phase I's 200 marks, and ARD/ESI content resurfaces in Phase II Paper II worth another 100 marks.
- checkSeparate your Phase I prep from your Phase II prep early. Phase I is objective and qualifying only; Phase II includes descriptive writing, a different skill that needs its own practice.
- checkFor Computer Knowledge and Decision Making, don't hunt for a topic list that doesn't exist. Build general familiarity instead of memorising a syllabus that isn't published.
- checkOnce you're comfortable with the Phase I section list, move to the ESI and ARD guide for the topic-by-topic depth both phases actually test.
Common Questions
What is the Phase I syllabus?expand_more
Eight sections across 200 marks and 120 minutes: Reasoning (20), English Language (30), Computer Knowledge (20), Quantitative Aptitude (20), Decision Making (10), General Awareness (20), Economic & Social Issues (40) and Agriculture & Rural Development (40). There's a quarter-mark negative for each wrong answer, and the whole phase is qualifying only.
What is the Phase II syllabus?expand_more
Two papers totalling 200 marks. Paper I is General English, descriptive, 90 minutes for 100 marks (essay, précis, comprehension and drafting across 3 questions). Paper II is ESI & ARD, 120 minutes for 100 marks: 30 objective questions worth 30 marks plus a descriptive section where you answer 4 of 6 questions for 70 marks.
Where can I get the official syllabus PDF?expand_more
The authoritative syllabus is published inside NABARD's official notification PDF on nabard.org. This page reflects that notification's structure as last verified.
Is ESI and ARD the most important part?expand_more
It's the single largest paired weight in Phase I at 80 of 200 marks, and it's also all of Phase II Paper II's ESI/ARD portion, worth 100 of Phase II's 200 marks. That makes it the subject with the most marks riding on it across both phases, though the other six Phase I sections still total 120 of Phase I's 200 marks between them.
Does the Phase I syllabus count toward my final rank?expand_more
No. Phase I is qualifying only: it decides whether you're shortlisted into Phase II, but your Phase I score itself carries zero weight in the final merit list. Final merit is built from Phase II (200 marks) and the interview (50 marks), combined 80:20.
Is the syllabus different for specialist streams?expand_more
Phase I is the same for every stream. Phase II differs: candidates in specialist streams such as Agriculture, Finance, IT, Legal, Civil Engineering or Rajbhasha sit a stream-specific Paper II instead of the general ESI & ARD paper, so the general pattern above applies to the General (RDBS) stream specifically.
Next steps
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