NABARD Grade A & B — Officer Careers in Rural Development.
Assistant Manager and Manager posts at the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development.
Start Preparing →Grade A — Assistant Manager.
RDBS, Legal and Protocol & Security streams. Phase 1, Phase 2 and interview.
Grade A Guide →Grade A 2026 Notification Expected.
Last cycle: 91 posts. Phase 1 had 200 questions in 2 hours.
See Status →Master ESI and ARD.
Economic & Social Issues and Agriculture & Rural Development carry the most weight.
Syllabus →Grade B — Manager.
Recruited only occasionally, for experienced postgraduates.
Grade B Guide →What Do You Need for NABARD?
NABARD Grade A vs Grade B
Two officer entry levels at India’s apex bank for agriculture and rural development.
| Item | Grade A | Grade B |
|---|---|---|
| Post | Assistant Manager | Manager |
| Age | 21–30 | 25–32 |
| Degree | Graduate 60% or PG 55% | PG 60% + experience |
| Last cycle | 2025 — 91 posts | 2021 — 7 posts |
| Stages | Phase 1, 2 + Interview | Phase 1, 2 + Interview |
Figures from the last cycles, as reported. Always confirm on nabard.org.
NABARD Grade A — Assistant Manager
The main NABARD officer exam. 2025 cycle: 91 posts — RDBS 85, Legal 2, Protocol & Security 4.
1. Age
21–30 years for RDBS and Legal; 25–40 years for Protocol & Security.
2. RDBS (general)
Graduation with 60% or PG/MBA with 55% (lower for SC/ST/PwBD), or CA/CS/CMA, or PhD.
3. Legal
LLB with 60% or LLM with 55%.
4. Protocol & Security
Ex-servicemen with 10 years of commissioned service.
Specialist RDBS disciplines (for example agriculture, finance, IT, statistics) need a degree in that field. Fee: ₹850, or ₹150 for SC/ST/PwBD (as reported).
Grade A Phase 1 Qualifying
200 objective questions in 2 hours. 0.25 marks deducted for each wrong answer.
| Section | Qs | 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 | 40 | 40 |
| Agriculture & Rural Development | 40 | 40 |
| Total (2 h) | 200 | 200 |
English, Reasoning, Computer, Quant and Decision Making are qualifying; GA, ESI and ARD marks are used to shortlist for Phase 2. Pattern as per recent notifications.
Grade A Phase 2 and Interview
For RDBS generalists. Specialists take a paper in their discipline instead of ESI and ARD.
| Paper | Marks | Format |
|---|---|---|
| I — General English | 100 | Descriptive, 90 min |
| II — ESI and ARD | 100 | Objective + descriptive |
| Total | 200 |
Interview: 50 marks. Final merit: Phase 2 + interview. Starting basic pay ₹44,500, about ₹1 lakh a month with allowances (as reported).
NABARD Grade B — Manager
Recruited only occasionally. The last notification reported was in 2021, for 7 posts.
Eligibility
Age 25–32. A postgraduate degree (usually 60%) or professional qualification, plus relevant experience.
Phase 1
Objective test of 200 marks with the same subjects as Grade A, including ESI and ARD.
Phase 2
Descriptive English plus subject papers on ESI, ARD and related areas.
Interview
75 marks in the 2021 cycle.
Details are from the 2021 cycle and may change. Check the next notification on nabard.org.
NABARD Syllabus
ESI and ARD carry 80 of 200 Phase 1 marks and dominate Phase 2. Tap a subject to see its topics.
📈Economic & Social IssuesPhase 1 · Phase 2
- Indian economy — growth, inflation, poverty, employment
- Fiscal and monetary policy, the Budget and Economic Survey
- Globalisation and international institutions
- Social structure, demographics, education and health
- Rural and social welfare schemes
🌾Agriculture & Rural DevelopmentPhase 1 · Phase 2
- Agronomy, soils, irrigation and crops
- Animal husbandry, fisheries and forestry
- Agricultural marketing, credit and insurance
- Rural development, cooperatives and SHGs
- NABARD’s role, schemes and reports
🧠Reasoning & Decision MakingPhase 1
- Puzzles and seating arrangement
- Syllogism and inequalities
- Coding-decoding, blood relations, directions
- Situation-based decision-making questions
➕Quantitative AptitudePhase 1
- Simplification and number series
- Data interpretation
- Arithmetic — percentage, ratio, interest
- Time and work, speed and distance
📖English and ComputersPhase 1 · Phase 2
- Reading comprehension, cloze test, error detection
- Essay, précis, report and letter writing (Phase 2)
- Computer basics, MS Office, internet and networking
🌎General AwarenessPhase 1
- Current affairs — last six months
- Banking and financial awareness
- Government schemes and static GK
Free NABARD Study Material
Notes built around NABARD reports, the Economic Survey and rural schemes.
ℹ️These resources are being added subject by subject. Pages marked “Coming soon” are not published yet.
Agriculture & Rural Development
Topic notes from agronomy to rural credit.
Coming soon → 📈Economic & Social Issues
Indian economy and social issues.
Coming soon → 📝Rural Schemes
Government and NABARD schemes in one place.
Coming soon → ✍️Descriptive English
Essay, précis and report writing.
Coming soon → 🏢RBI Grade B & Assistant
Similar ESI-based officer exam.
Explore →NABARD Mock Tests
Tests in the real pattern with negative marking.
⚠️Under development. The mock tests below are planned and will open here when ready.
Phase 1 Full Mock
- Questions: 200
- Duration: 2 h
- Marks: 200
- Negative: 0.25
ARD Sectional
- Questions: 40
- Duration: 25 min
- Marks: 40
- Negative: 0.25
ESI Sectional
- Questions: 40
- Duration: 25 min
- Marks: 40
- Negative: 0.25
Phase 2 Descriptive
- Papers: English + ESI/ARD
- Marks: 200
- Format: Typed answers
- Review: Model answers
NABARD Previous-Year Papers
Memory-based papers with solutions.
Coming soon.
How to Prepare for NABARD Grade A
The notification is expected soon — begin with the scoring subjects.
Start with ARD
It is unique to NABARD and carries heavy weight in both phases.
Read official reports
The Economic Survey, Union Budget and NABARD’s annual report.
Track rural schemes
Know the aim, ministry and key numbers of each major scheme.
Don’t ignore qualifying sections
Reasoning, English, Quant and Computer must still be cleared.
Practise typing answers
Phase 2 descriptive answers are typed on a computer.
Take mocks
Attempt full Phase 1 mocks and analyse ESI and ARD accuracy.
NABARD 2026 Status
The Grade A 2026 notification has not been released yet, as reported. Last cycle: notification 4 November 2025, Phase 1 20 December 2025, Phase 2 25 January 2026. Always check the official website.
NABARD FAQs
What is NABARD?
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development is India’s apex development bank for agriculture and rural areas. It recruits officers in Grade A (Assistant Manager) and Grade B (Manager). Official notices are under Careers on nabard.org.
Has the 2026 Grade A notification been released?
Not as of mid-October 2026, as reported. It is expected later in 2026 — check the official website.
What are the Grade A streams?
Rural Development Banking Services (RDBS) — generalist and specialist disciplines — plus Legal Service and Protocol & Security Service.
How often is Grade B recruited?
Only occasionally. The last Grade B notification reported was in 2021, for 7 posts.
What is the starting pay for Grade A?
Basic pay of ₹44,500, with total monthly emoluments of about ₹1 lakh including allowances, as reported.
Is there negative marking?
Yes. 0.25 marks are deducted for each wrong answer in objective tests.
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