SEBI, RBI, and NABARD are apex institutions in India. Thousands of aspirants appear for one or more of these exams every year in the hopes of working for exclusive organizations such as these. Living in the tech-savvy age where everyone believes in working smart more than working hard, there is no harm in adapting this approach for preparing competitive exams. If you are a Government Job Aspirant, you must be aware that the exam pattern of most of the Government exams is the same. Tough, the the syllabus of the Mains or Phase 2 exams may differ. But the Prelims or Phase 1 syllabus is more or less the same.
Implementation of Combined Preparation Strategy: A Condition Applied
ixamBee, being one the pioneers in preparing students to ace these exams, believes in adapting smart strategies in the preparation of Exams like RBI Grade B, SBI, SEBI, and NABARD. A combined preparation approach for all of them will save you time and effort. Before moving ahead, it is important for you to know that the combined preparation strategy is only applicable to exams that have something in common. The RBI, SEBI, and NABARD are Apex Institutes. This means all of them play a significant role in holding the monetary authority of the Country. They maintain the money supply, Interest Rates, and Inflation in the market. Hence, these similarities play an essential role in the preparation for these institutions.
In this article today, we will make a comparative analysis of the exam pattern and syllabi for the RBI Grade B, SEBI Grade A, and NABARD Grade A exams. This will help us understand how we can prepare for all three exams together and ultimately clear them.
Exam Pattern Comparative Analysis
All three exams have a common pattern. The exam is conducted in 3 phases. They are:
- Phase 1
- Phase 2
- Interview
We will take up each phase one by one through the course of this article and try to find the common parts so we can understand how we can prepare for all the exams together.
Phase 1 Comparative Analysis
Subject Name | RBI Grade B | SEBI Grade A | NABARD Grade A |
Quantitative Aptitude | Simplification and approximation, Number Series, Quadratic Equation, Number System / HCF & LCM, Ratio and Proportion, Average, Partnership, Ages, Percentage, Profit & Loss, Time, Speed & Distance, Problems on Trains, Boat and Stream, Time & Work / Pipes and Cisterns, Simple and Compound Interest, Mixture & Allegations, Permutation and Combination, Probability, Data Interpretation (DI), Caselet DI and Data Sufficiency | Simplification and approximation, Number Series, Quadratic Equation, Number System / HCF & LCM, Ratio and Proportion, Average, Partnership, Ages, Percentage, Profit & Loss, Time, Speed & Distance, Problems on Trains, Boat and Stream, Time & Work / Pipes and Cisterns, Simple and Compound Interest, Mixture & Allegations, Permutation and Combination, Probability, Data Interpretation (DI), Caselet DI and Data Sufficiency | Data Interpretation, Inequalities, Number Series, Approximation and Simplification, Data Sufficiency, HCF and LCM, Profit and Loss, SI & CI, Problem on Ages, Work and Time, Speed Distance and Time, Probability, Permutation and Combination, Mensuration, Average, Ratio and Proportion |
English | Grammar, Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension, Passage Making, Error Spotting, Jumble Words, Sentence Framing, Fill in the blanks. | Grammar, Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension, Passage Making, Error Spotting, Jumble Words, Sentence Framing, Fill in the blanks | Error Spotting, Sentence Rearrangement, Reading Comprehension, Passages, Synonyms, Idioms & Phrases |
General Awareness | Monetary Policies, Banking and Financial Awareness, Economic Terms, Current Affairs, Static GK, Financial and Economic News, Government Schemes. Agreement & Deals, Banking Terms- rates & processes, National Institutions | Monetary Policies, Banking and Financial Awareness, Economic Terms, Current Affairs, Static GK, Financial and Economic News, Government Schemes. Agreement & Deals, Banking Terms- rates & processes, National Institutions | Current Affairs – National & International, Budget, Awards and Honours, Important Days, International & National Organizations, Sports, Books and Authors, Science – Inventions & Discoveries, Countries & Capitals |
Reasoning | Puzzles, Seating Arrangement- Circular, Square & Linear, Data Sufficiency, Directions and Distance, Coding-Decoding, Blood relations, Inequality, Syllogism, Machine input and output, Verbal Reasoning, Ordering and Ranking, Arrangement and Pattern, Scheduling, Distance and Direction, Ranking | Check Section 4 for the complete syllabus. | Puzzles, Seating Arrangements, Direction Sense, Blood Relations, Syllogisms, Order and Ranking, Coding-Decoding, Machine Input-Output, Inequalities, Alpha-Numeric-Symbol Series, Data Sufficiency, Number System and Conversions, Logical Reasoning |
Computer Knowledge | – | – | Computer Languages, Basic Hardware and Software, History of Computer, Devices, Viruses and Hacking, MS Office, Networking, DBMS |
Agriculture and Rural Development | – | – | Check Section 4 for the complete syllabus |
Economic and Social Issues | – | – | Check Section 4 for the complete syllabus |
Take a look at the detailed RBI Grade B, SEBI Grade A, and NABARD Grade A exam pattern and syllabus here.
As you can see from the table above, not only are the subjects the same for the Prelims paper, with the exception of Computer Knowledge for NABARD Grade A but the topics being assessed under these sections are also more or less the same.
To acquaint yourself with the latest news and GK updates, you can find weekly updates on all aspects of general awareness on our BeePedia page. Moreover, these BeePedia updates are comprehensive and free, and you can download them from the ixamBee website. BeePedia is also available in Hindi.
Phase 1 Questions Analysis
Provided below is a table showing the number of questions you can expect from each section for each exam.
RBI Grade B | SEBI Grade A | NABARD Grade A |
GA-80 QA-30 ENG- 30 RE-60 | GA-25 QA-25 ENG- 25 RE- 25 Paper 2 on Commerce, Accountancy, Management, Finance, Costing, Companies Act and Economics for 100 marks. | GA-20 QA-20 ENG- 40 RE-20 COMP-20 ARD-40 ESI-40 |
Total-200 | Total-200 | Total-200 |
As you can see, General Awareness, Quantitative Aptitude, English, and Reasoning are common sections for all three exams at the Preliminary stage. While more questions are asked from each section for RBI Grade B for a total of 200 marks, the four sections make up 100 marks in the SEBI and NABARD exams in question. For SEBI Grade A, two papers are held in the Prelims round. The second paper is assessed on the aforementioned sections for 100 marks. The detailed syllabus for Accountancy, Management and Finance, for SEBI Grade A is given in the following section. For NABARD Grade A, all seven sections are assessed in 1 common paper for 200 marks to be solved within 120 minutes. The detailed syllabi for ARD and ESI are also provided in the following section.
Phase 2 Comparative Analysis
Exam Name | Subject Name with Syllabus | Subject Name with Syllabus | Subject Name with Syllabus |
NABARD Grade A | Economic & Social Issues Nature of Indian Economy – Structural and Institutional features – Economic underdevelopment – Opening up the Indian Economy – Globalisation – Economic Reforms in India – Privatisation. Inflation – Trends in Inflation & their Impact on National Economy and Individual Income. Poverty Alleviation and Employment Generation in India – Rural and Urban – Measurement of Poverty – Poverty Alleviation Programmes of the Government. Population Trends – Population Growth and Economic Development – Population Policy in India. Agriculture – Characteristics / Status – Technical and Institutional changes in Indian Agriculture – Agricultural performance – Issues in Food Security in India – Non-Institutional and Institutional Agencies in Rural Credit. Industry – Industrial and Labour Policy – Industrial Performance – Regional Imbalance in India’s Industrial Development – Public Sector Enterprises. Rural banking and financial institutions in India – Reforms in Banking/ Financial sector. Globalisation of Economy – Role of International Funding Institutions – IMF & World Bank – WTO – Regional Economic Co-operation. Social Structure in India – Multiculturalism – Demographic trends – Urbanisation and Migration – Gender Issues Joint family system – Social Infrastructure – Education – Health and Environment. Education – Status & System of Education – Socio -Economic Problems associated with Illiteracy – Educational relevance and educational wastage – Educational Policy for India. Social Justice: Problems of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes – socio-economic programmes for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes and other backward classes. Positive Discrimination in favour of the under privileged – Social Movements – Indian Political Systems – Human Development. Current Economic & Social Issues. | Agriculture Agriculture, Cropping Systems, Meteorology Soil and Water Conservation Water Resource Farm and Agri Engineering Plantation & Horticulture Animal Husbandry Introduction to the poultry industry in India Fisheries ForestryAgriculture Extensions Ecology and Climate Change | Rural Development Rural Area Rural population in India Panchayati Raj Institutions |
SEBI Grade A | Commerce & Accountancy Accounting as a financial information system. Accounting Standards with specific reference to Accounting for Depreciation, Inventories, Revenue Recognition, Fixed Assets, Foreign Exchange Transactions, Investments. Cash Flow Statement, Fund flow statement, financial statement analysis; Ratio analysis.Accounting for Share Capital Transactions including Bonus Shares, Right Shares.Employees Stock Option and Buy-Back of Securities.Preparation and Presentation of Company Final Accounts. | Management Management: its nature and scope The Role of a Manager in an Organization. Leadership Styles Human Resource Development Motivation, Morale, and Incentives Communication | Management Management: its nature and scope The Role of a Manager in an Organization. Leadership Styles Human Resource Development Motivation, Morale, and Incentives Communication |
RBI Grade B | Economic and Social Issues Growth and DevelopmentIndian EconomyGlobalizationSocial Structure in India | English (Writing Skills) The paper on English is designed in a manner to check the writing skills of the candidate including the power of expression and understanding of the topic. | Finance and Management Financial System Financial Markets General Topics Management |
If you study the table given above carefully, you will observe that the ESI syllabus for NABARD Grade A and RBI Grade B is more or less the same. Similarly, while Finance and Management have been presented as two separate sections for SEBI Grade A, Finance and Management have been clubbed together for RBI Grade B, with the syllabus, once again, remaining more or less the same. For SEBI Grade A, the specialized paper also assesses questions on Commerce, Accountancy, Finance and Management, Costing, Company Acts and Economics.
Phase 3 Comparative Analysis
Let us now look at the weightage of the interview phase for each of these exams. Interview rounds are very important as they are the final qualifying step in the selection process. Interviewers not only test the candidates’ overall knowledge and aptitude but also judge their personalities.
Exam Name | Interview Marks |
NABARD Grade A | 25 marks |
SEBI Grade A | 15% of Phase 2 marks |
RBI Grade B | 75 marks |
Through the course of this article, we have learned that the three exams in discussion have the same exam pattern. Similarly, the sections assessed in the three exams are also quite similar. So, when you are preparing for any of these exams, it is worth a try to prepare for the other two as well.
Prepare with ixamBee
At ixamBee, you can find all the online courses to help you prepare for these exams. You can even find a combo course that will help you prepare for all three exams together. Moreover, we offer exclusive courses for each of these exams that will give you a personalized study plan and one-on-one sessions with the faculty, among other requisite materials. If you like, you can also review the previous year’s question papers. It would bode you well to take our free mock tests so that you can gain a sense of your preparation. In fact, you should take the free mock tests for all three exams so you can understand how similar they are, which will help your overall preparation.
To help you prepare 50% faster for competitive exams, ixamBee provides free Mock Test Series and 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.
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