IFSCA’s structure will look familiar if you have studied SEBI Grade A: two qualifying papers in Phase 1, a descriptive English paper and a domain paper in Phase 2, then an interview, with the final score built 85% on Phase 2 and 15% on the interview. Phase 1 marks do not count.
The part that is genuinely IFSCA’s own is Phase 2 Paper 2, and that is where the exam is won.
Phase 1 — two papers, one day, qualifying only
| Paper | Content | Questions | Marks | Time | Minimum |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | General Awareness, English Language, Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning | 100 | 100 | 60 min | 30% |
| Paper 2 | Domain paper — see below | 50 | 100 | 60 min | 40% |
| Aggregate minimum | 40% | ||||
Negative marking is 0.25 per wrong answer. You must clear both individual minimums and the aggregate.
Paper 2 is the harder of the two: 50 questions worth 2 marks each, so a wrong answer costs 0.5, and the questions are heavier than Paper 1’s. Fifty questions in sixty minutes sounds generous until you meet them.
Phase 1 Paper 2 syllabus
- General knowledge and current affairs, national and international
- Economic and social development — sustainable development, poverty, inclusion, demographics
- Commerce and Accountancy
- Management
- Finance and Costing
- Indian economy and the global economy
- Five-Year Plans
- Government schemes in the financial sector
Compare that with SEBI Grade A’s Phase 1 Paper 2 — Commerce, Accountancy, Management, Finance, Costing, Companies Act, Economics — and the overlap is most of it. What IFSCA adds is economic and social development and the schemes layer, which is RBI Grade B’s ESI ground.
Phase 2 — where your rank is decided
Foreign Currency Settlement System (FCSS) at GIFT City | #ifscagradea #rbigradebTap to play · from the C4S channel
| Paper | Content | Marks | Time | Minimum | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | English, descriptive | 100 | 60 min | 30% | 1/3 |
| Paper 2 | Domain MCQs — see below | 100 | 60 min | 40% | 2/3 |
| Aggregate minimum | 50% | ||||
Phase 2 Paper 2 syllabus — the IFSCA-specific part
- The IFSCA Act, 2019 and IFSCA’s own structure, powers and regulations
- GIFT City and GIFT IFSC — what an International Financial Services Centre is, what operates inside it, and why
- Global financial centres — how the major ones are organised, and where GIFT sits among them
- Banking
- Capital markets
- Insurance
- Pension funds
- Bullion
- Union Budget and Economic Survey
Read that list again and notice what it says about the job. IFSCA regulates banking, securities, insurance, pensions and bullion in one place, so the exam asks you about all five. Nobody arrives with all five ready — but a SEBI aspirant already has capital markets, an RBI aspirant has banking and the economy, and an IRDAI aspirant has insurance. The gap is usually the IFSCA Act, GIFT and bullion, and that gap is small enough to close in a few focused weeks.
The descriptive English paper
A third of Phase 2, and the paper candidates prepare least. The themes track the regulator’s world — financial centres, market integrity, the economy, technology in finance. What separates scripts here is not vocabulary but structure and the ability to finish inside sixty minutes, and both come only from writing timed pieces by hand beforehand.
The same paper exists at SEBI, so practice carries across. Our analysis of SEBI’s 2024 descriptive paper is a useful model of what these questions look like in practice.
ARD notes, the monthly current affairs PDF and a descriptive English sample — all free, on WhatsApp.
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| Who is called | Candidates who clear Phase 2, in person |
| Language | Hindi or English, your choice |
| Interview marks | Not disclosed in the advertisement |
| Final selection | 85% Phase 2 + 15% interview |
With 85% of the score already fixed by the time you walk in, the interview rarely rescues a weak Phase 2. Expect it to test whether you understand what IFSCA is for — why India built a separate regulator for GIFT City, and what problem a unified regulator solves. That is a reading question, not a personality one.
How to prepare, in order
- Phase 2 Paper 2 first. Two-thirds of Phase 2, and the only part nobody can borrow from another exam.
- The descriptive paper, weekly. One timed piece a week from the day you start, not the month before.
- Phase 1 on maintenance. Clear it with a margin; the marks are discarded.
- Current affairs daily, tilted towards the financial sector, the Budget and the Economic Survey.
See also: notification status and eligibility · salary and job profile · previous year papers