SEBI Grade A Paper 2: Subjects, Weightage and Why It Decides
Paper 2 appears in both phases and carries two-thirds of Phase 2's weight. It is the exam inside the exam.
Paper 2 is the stream-specific paper of SEBI Grade A, and it does the selecting. It appears in both phases: a 50-question, 40-minute objective screen in Phase 1, then a 90-minute, 100-mark paper in Phase 2 that carries two-thirds of the Phase 2 weight. Since Phase 2 itself is 85% of final selection, no other paper comes close to Paper 2's influence on your rank.
For the General stream, that one paper spans seven subject areas: Commerce, Accountancy, Management, Finance, Costing, Companies Act and Economics. The width is the difficulty. Each area below is described with how it behaves at Phase 1 speed versus Phase 2 depth.
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The Paper 2 Subject Areas, Both Phases
How each area tests differently across the two phases:
Commerce and Accountancy
Accounting standards, financial statements, partnership and company accounts, auditing basics.
Phase I: MCQ angle
Phase 1: fast standalone questions on standards, entries and statement mechanics at under a minute each.
Phase II: descriptive angle
Phase 2: fuller problems and concept application, where partial understanding that survives MCQs gets exposed.
Costing
Cost concepts, marginal and standard costing, budgeting and variance analysis.
Phase I: MCQ angle
Phase 1: formula-recall and short computation questions.
Phase II: descriptive angle
Phase 2: multi-step variance and budgeting problems that reward practised working, not memorised formulas.
Management
Management functions, organisational behaviour, leadership, governance.
Phase I: MCQ angle
Phase 1: theory-and-theorist matching, model components.
Phase II: descriptive angle
Phase 2: applying frameworks to organisational scenarios with a clear line of argument.
Finance
Financial system and markets, instruments across equity, debt and derivatives, risk and return, portfolios, mutual funds and IPOs.
Phase I: MCQ angle
Phase 1: instrument features, market mechanics and definition-level questions.
Phase II: descriptive angle
Phase 2: connected questions across markets and instruments, closest to SEBI's own working domain.
Companies Act 2013
Key provisions of the Act.
Phase I: MCQ angle
Phase 1: section-level and provision-recall questions, the purest memory test on the paper.
Phase II: descriptive angle
Phase 2: provisions applied to situations, testing whether you know what a rule is for.
Economics
Micro and macroeconomics.
Phase I: MCQ angle
Phase 1: definitions, curves and standard results.
Phase II: descriptive angle
Phase 2: reasoning through economic mechanisms rather than reciting them.
Why Candidates Underinvest in Paper 2
Because Paper 1 preparation is familiar. Aptitude drills have visible daily progress and endless material; Companies Act and costing feel slow by comparison. So hours drift toward the paper that carries one-third weight and away from the one that carries two-thirds. Strong candidates lose ranks to this allocation error rather than to ability.
The correction is mechanical: fix Paper 2's share of your weekly hours first, at a majority share, and let Paper 1 take the remainder as maintenance drills.
Commerce and finance questions in exam format. No signup.
Specialist Streams: Same Logic, Different Subject
For Legal, IT, Research, Official Language and Engineering candidates, Paper 2 is your own discipline, and everything above about weightage still applies: two-thirds of Phase 2, inside the 85% that decides selection.
SEBI Grade A Paper 2 FAQs
Why is Paper 2 considered the most important SEBI Grade A paper?expand_more
It carries two-thirds of Phase 2's weight, and Phase 2 contributes 85% of final selection. No other component moves your rank as much.
What subjects does Paper 2 cover for the General stream?expand_more
Commerce, Accountancy, Management, Finance, Costing, Companies Act 2013 and Economics, tested objectively in Phase 1 and at depth in Phase 2.
How long is Paper 2 in each phase?expand_more
Phase 1: 50 questions in 40 minutes for 100 marks. Phase 2: 90 minutes for 100 marks, objective for the General stream with descriptive elements in some streams.
Next steps
Take a full SEBI Grade A mock testFind your Paper 2 gaps while there is time to close them.