NABARD Grade A – Prelims vs Mains: Syllabus & Pattern Comparison
When aspirant starts his preparation for nabard grade a examination a clear mind map should be there in his mind what constitutes Phase I of the examination and what constitutes Phase II of the examination.
| Feature | Prelims | Mains |
| Stage | Phase I (Screening Test) | Phase II (Descriptive & Objective) |
| Mode | Online (Objective) | Online (Paper I: Descriptive English 100 Marks, Paper II: ESI ARD – 50 Marks Objective + 50 Marks Subjective |
| Total Marks | 200 marks | 200 marks |
| Time Duration | 2 hours | Paper I: 1.5 hrs Paper II: 1.5 hrs |
| Nature | Qualifying for Mains | Qualifying for Interview |
| Sections | Qualifying Papers (100 Marks) 1. Reasoning (20) 2. Quantitative Aptitude (20) 3. English Language (30) 4. Computer Knowledge (20) 5. General Awareness (20) Merit Papers (100 Marks) 6. Economic & Social Issues (ESI) (40) 7. Agriculture & Rural Development (ARD) (40) | Paper I (General English): Essay, Letter, Report, Paragraph (Descriptive) Paper II (Stream-Specific): For Generalist: ESI & ARD (Objective + Descriptive) For Specialists: Stream-relevant technical questions |
| Negative Marking | 0.25 per wrong answer | Only for objective part of Paper II (0.25 for 1 Marker and 0.50 for 2 Marker) |
Key Differences:
- Prelims is a qualifying MCQ test; Mains evaluates your in-depth writing and subject knowledge.
- Paper I in Mains exam of NABARD Grade A is purely descriptive English; Paper II of NABARD exam varies based on your discipline (Generalist vs Specialist).
- Mains performance + Interview decides final selection.
What Inference Do You Draw from the comparison
- Do optimum practice for quant, reasoning, English (Objective), Decision making and Computer to qualify the sectional cutoff
- Though GA is counted in merit section for phase I it is not carried over to the next phase of the examination. Try to score a marks anywhere between 5-10 in it. Invest time that you save in GA for ESI and ARD. NABARD Grade A exam cutoff analysis of last 5 year tells that try to reach for phase II of the exam by ridinng on back of ESI and ARD not on back of GA as final selction depends on ESI and ARD only
- Deciding paper out of 8 paper in nabard examination which determines your final selection and cutoff is ESI and ARD. More you will work on ESI and ARD from prelims more chances of selection you will have in mains as mains constitutes ESI and ARD only in nabard examination
- Another important paper in nabard mains is English descriptive which alone carries 100 marks.
| NOT CARRIED OVER TO PHASE II | CARRIED OVER TO PHASE II | ||||||
| Practice MAXIMUM as it helps in Phase II as well to be in the SELECTED LIST | |||||||
Why to choose NABARD Mentorship Online Course by Clarity
“Words don’t speak much but performance speaks a lot” The list continues which cannot be inculcated in this article
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