NABARD Grade A Admit Card for Preliminary Examination
The NABARD Grade A admit card for Preliminary Examination has been made available for download on August 31, 2021. If you have registered for this exam, you should download your call letter now without further ado. You can do so by logging into your account using your Registration No. / Roll No. and Password / DOB(DD-MM-YY). The window to download call letters for the Preliminary Examination will remain open till September 18, 2021.
If you have been taking it easy for any reason, let the admit card release serve as a reminder to you that it’s time to take to your books again!
NABARD Grade A 2021 Exam Date
On August 3, 2021, NABARD released a notification saying that the NABARD Grade A Exam (RDBS/ Rajbhasha) exam will be held on September 18, 2021.
NABARD Grade A 2021 Exam Overview
The most awaited recruitment exam of the year is finally here! So it’s time to saddle up and get ready to race. Take a look at the details below.
| Exam Name | NABARD Grade A/B |
| Exam Conducting Body | National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development |
| Website | https://www.nabard.org |
| Mode of Application | Online |
The important dates for the NABARD exams have been provided in the table below. You should read it carefully and set reminders if necessary so you don’t miss any deadlines.
| Notification Release Date (Newspaper publication) | July 15, 2021 |
| Notification Release Date (Online) | July 16, 2021 |
| Online Application Window | July 17 2021-August 7, 2021 |
| Preliminary Exam Date | September 18, 2021 |
What’s New?
There are some changes introduced in this year’s selection process. Candidates must make note of the following points to avoid any sort of confusion or errors.
| Criteria | Notification 2019 | Notification 2021 |
| Phase 1 Exam Pattern | Only 7 sections were assessed in the Prelims. | A new section on ‘Decision Making’ has been introduced that will be assessed in the Preliminary examination. A total of 8 sections will be assessed now. |
| Interview | Interview for 25 marks | Interview for 50 marks |
| Educational Requirements | Bachelor’s degree in any discipline with an aggregate of 50% | Bachelor’s degree with an aggregate of 60% |
NABARD Grade A 2021 Vacancies
The category-wise and post-wise break-ups for this year’s vacancies have been listed below.
| Post | UR | SC | ST | OBC | EWS | Total | |
| I | Assistant Manager in Grade ‘A’ (Rural Development Banking Service) | ||||||
| 1 | General | 31 | 10 | 05 | 22 | 06 | 74 |
| 2 | Agriculture | 05 | 02 | 01 | 04 | 01 | 13 |
| 3 | Agriculture Engineering | 01 | 01 | – | 01 | – | 03 |
| 4 | Animal Husbandry | 01 | 01 | – | 01 | 01 | 04 |
| 5 | Fisheries | 03 | 01 | – | 02 | – | 06 |
| 6 | Forestry | 01 | 01 | – | – | – | 02 |
| 7 | Plantation/ Horticulture | 02 | 01 | – | 02 | 01 | 06 |
| 8 | Land Development/ Soil Science | 01 | – | – | 01 | – | 02 |
| 9 | Water Resources | 01 | – | – | 01 | – | 02 |
| 10 | Finance | 08 | 03 | 01 | 06 | 03 | 21 |
| 11 | Computer/ Information Technology | 06 | 03 | – | 04 | 02 | 15 |
| AM (RDBS)- Total | 60 | 23 | 07 | 44 | 14 | 148 | |
| II | Assistant Manager in Grade ‘A’ (Rajbhasha Service) | 02 | 01 | 01 | – | 01 | 05 |
| III | Assistant Manager in Grade ‘A’ (Protocol and Security Service) | 02 | – | – | – | – | 02 |
| Total No. of Vacancies | 155 |
NABARD Grade A 2021 Eligibility
Take a look at the table below to learn about the age and educational requirements for this exam.
| Criteria | Assistant Manager (RDBS) | Assistant Manager (Rajbhasha Service) | Assistant Manager (Protocol & Security Service) |
| Age | The candidate must be between 21 and 30 years of age | The candidate must be between 21 and 30 years of age | Between 25 and 40 Years |
| Educational Qualification | Bachelor’s Degree in any subject from a recognized University with a minimum of 60% marks in aggregate, OR, Post Graduate degree, MBA/PGDM from a recognized university with a minimum aggregate of 55% marks in aggregate, OR, CA/ CS/ICWA OR Ph.D. from Institutions recognized by GOI/UGC. Read the educational requirements for the Specialist posts in the official notification. | Bachelor’s Degree from a recognized university in English or Hindi medium with Hindi and English as a compulsory or elective subject with a minimum of 60% marks or equivalent in aggregate and, PG Diploma in Translation (minimum one year) in Hindi to English and vice-versa from any recognized University. Candidates must have studied English and Hindi as subjects in at least 02 years of bachelor’s degree course. | The candidate should be an Officer with a minimum of five years of Commissioned Service in the Defence forces holding a valid Ex-Serviceman Identity Card. |
NABARD Grade A 2021 Exam Pattern
The exam pattern for the NABARD Grade A Assistant Manager (RDBS & Rajbhasha) 2021 has been provided below. The exam will be conducted in 3 phases. The 3 phases are:
- Prelims
- Mains
- Interview
Phase 1
The NABARD Grade A Preliminary Exam pattern and syllabus are the same as the NABARD Grade B Exam Pattern. There are 8 subjects assessed in the Preliminary examination. The entire paper will be for 200 marks, and the total time allotted is 120 minutes. There is no sectional timing.
| Name of Subject | No. of Questions | Maximum 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 |
Please note:
- The test can be taken in either Hindi or English except for the English Language paper.
- For ESI and ARD, the focus of the syllabus is on Rural India.
- There will be a negative marking of 1/4th mark for every wrong answer (applicable in Phase 2 as well).
- The marks obtained in the sections of Reasoning, English Language, Computer Knowledge, Quantitative Aptitude, and Decision Making are only qualifying in nature.
- Candidates will be shortlisted based on their performance in the merit section. The subjects included in this section are General Awareness, ESI, and ARD.
Phase 2
| NABARD Grade A | No. of Questions | Maximum Marks | Time allotted | |
| Paper 1 | For all posts/Disciplines- Descriptive English (Writing Skills) | 30 | 100 | 90 minutes |
| Paper 2(AM RDBS Generalist) | Economic and Social Issues (ESI) | Objective- 30 Descriptive- 6 | Objective- 50 Descriptive- 50 | Objective- 30 minutes Descriptive- 90 minutes |
For all the Specialist posts for RDBS and Rajbhasha posts, Paper 2 in Phase 2 will be specific to the relevant field.
Phase 3
The Interview will be conducted for 50 marks.
For the Assistant Manager (Protocol & Security Service), there is only 1 interview round for 100 marks.
Take a look at the complete NABARD Grade A 2021 syllabus before you begin your preparation.
NABARD Grade A 2021 How to Apply?
The application for the exam has to be submitted online. The procedure comprises 3 mains steps.
- Application Registration
- Payment of Application Fee
- Photograph & Signature Scan and Upload
You must read the entire notification in detail to carry out every step properly. Providing any misinformation or incorrectly filling up your form can cost you dearly.
NABARD Grade A 2021 Application Fee
The application fee for the posts of Assistant Manager (RDBS/Rajbhasha/P &SS) categories has been provided in the table below. The fee is non-refundable.
Assistant Manager (RDBS & Rajbhasha Service)
| Category | Application Fee | Intimation Charges | Total |
| For SC/ ST/ PWBD | NIL | ₹150 | ₹150 |
| For all others | ₹650/- | ₹150 | ₹800 |
| Staff | @ | @ | @ |
@ NABARD staff will be required to pay fee/intimation charges as indicated above at the time of online application, which will be reimbursed on submission of fee receipt only to those employees of NABARD (Staff Candidates) who satisfy the eligibility criteria for the post.
Assistant Manager (Protocol & Security Service)
| Category | Application Fee | Intimation Charges | Total |
| For SC/ ST/ PWBD | NIL | ₹100 | ₹100 |
| For all others | ₹650/- | ₹100 | ₹750 |
NABARD has released official notifications for Grade A posts as well. You can read the exhaustive exam details for the NABARD Grade B Recruitment 2021 if you like.
NABARD Trivia
- NABARD was established on July 12, 1982.
- The NABARD headquarters is in Mumbai.
- The Chairman at present is Dr. G.R. Chintala.
- NABARD regulates and administers the work of State Co-operative Bankes (StCBs), District Co-operative Central Banks (DCCBs) and Regional Rural Banks (RRBs).
- It was established on the recommendations of the Shivaraman Committee under the Prime Ministership of Indira Gandhi.
Why choose ixamBee?
If you are preparing for the NABARD Grade A exam, there is no time like the present to join forces with ixamBee. Our NABARD Grade A Online Course provides aspirants with all the material that is needed to ace the examination. In our online course, you will be provided with:
- Weekly online classes
- 700+ video lessons
- 500+ study notes
- 10,000+ practice questions
- 22+ full-length mock tests
- 5 descriptive tests
- Live sessions with faculty members to clear doubts
- Interview preparation guidance
Aside from these online courses, we also provide the NABARD Grade A online test series that you can take at any time. These test series are available on our website, and they are completely free. As part of your preparation, reviewing some previous years’ question papers would be prudent. Both these activities will aid you in weighing your preparation.
As you prepare for these exams, we at ixamBee wish you the best.
To help you prepare 50% faster for competitive exams, ixamBee provides free Mock Test Series, all the Current Affairs in English and Current Affairs in Hindi in the BeePedia capsules for GA Preparation. You can also get the latest updates for Bank PO, Bank Clerk, SSC, RBI NABARD, and Other Government Jobs.
Also See
Review Previous Years’ Question Papers for NABARD Grade A Exam
NABARD Grade B 2021 Official Notification Released! Major Changes in Eligibility & Exam Pattern
NABARD Grade A vs NABARD Grade B: Exam, Job Profile and More
10 Mistakes to Avoid in NABARD Grade A Preparation
How should working aspirants prepare for the NABARD Grade A examination?