NABARD Grade A Syllabus 2026 & Exam Pattern: Phase 1, 2, and Interview Guide

NABARD shortlists eligible candidates to fill Assistant Manager vacancies through a rigorous three-stage selection process: Prelims, Mains, and Interview. Mastering the NABARD Grade A Syllabus is the essential first step to kickstart your preparation for the NABARD Exam. Banking aspirants must successfully qualify across all three stages to secure Grade A Officer positions. In this article, we provide a comprehensive breakdown of the Grade A syllabus.

NABARD Grade A Syllabus and Exam Pattern 2026

A thorough understanding of the NABARD syllabus and exam pattern enables you to strategize your preparation effectively. Candidates aspiring for NABARD Grade A 2026 Assistant Manager vacancies must familiarize themselves with the exam pattern, detailed syllabus, and marking scheme. Review the summary of the NABARD Syllabus 2026 below for quick insights into the preliminary and mains examinations, marking criteria, and more.

NABARD Syllabus 2026- Overview
Organisation	National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)
Posts Name	Grade A
Category	Syllabus
Selection Process	Prelims, Mains, Interview
Types of Questions	Prelims- Objective Mains- Objective & Descriptive
Duration	Prelims- 120 minutes Mains- 90 minutes each paper
Negative Marking	Prelims & Mains- 0.25 Marks
Official website	www.nabard.org

NABARD Grade A Score Card 2026 Out - Click to Check

NABARD Grade A Cut Off 2026 Out- Click to Check

NABARD Grade A Selection Process 2026

To be successfully recruited as an Assistant Manager in Grade ‘A’ within the Rural Development Banking Service, candidates must clear all three stages of the selection process: Prelims, Mains, and the Interview round.

Stage 1: Prelims Exam

Stage 2: Mains Exam

Stage 3: Interview

NABARD Grade A Exam Pattern 2026

The NABARD Grade A Prelims exam is conducted online featuring 200 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) over a duration of 2 hours, while the NABARD Grade A Mains exam comprises two papers (Paper I and II), each lasting 90 minutes. A negative marking penalty of 1/4th of the total marks assigned to a question applies to incorrect answers in both Phase I and Phase II. Explore the detailed NABARD Exam Pattern below.

NABARD Grade A Prelims Exam Pattern 2026

The NABARD Grade A Prelims Exam Pattern 2026 is outlined below.

Qualifying Section – Test of Reasoning, English Language, Computer Knowledge, Quantitative Aptitude and Decision Making sections is qualifying in nature.
Merit Section – General Awareness, Eco & Soc. Issues and Agriculture & RuralDevelopment, with an emphasis on Rural India,s are merit sections.
Shortlisting of candidates for the Mains exam will be based on the marks obtained in the Merit Section Only.
Duration of exam – 120 minutes.
Language – The NABARD Grade A Prelims Exam 2026 will be held in English and Hindi.

Name of Test	Number of Questions	Maximum Marks	Total Time
Test of Reasoning	20	20	120 minutes
English Language	30	30
Computer Knowledge	20	20
Quantitative Aptitude	20	20
Decision Making	10	10
General Awareness	20	20
Eco & Soc. Issues (with focus on Rural India)	40	40
Agriculture & Rural Development with Emphasis on Rural India	40	40
Total	200	200

NABARD Grade A Mains Exam Pattern 2026

The NABARD Grade A Mains Examination consists of two comprehensive papers. Paper I is a descriptive test evaluating General English, whereas Paper II comprises multiple-choice questions tailored to the specific post selected by the candidate.

NABARD Grade A Generalist Mains Exam Pattern

Paper	Grade A Subjects	Type of Paper	Total Questions	Total Marks	Duration
Paper I	General English	Online Descriptive	3	100	90 Minutes
Paper-II	Economic and Social Issues & Agriculture and Rural Development	Objective	30	50	30 minutes
Paper-II		Descriptive Type	06 (Attempt 4 questions [2 of 15 marks each and 2 of 10 marks each]	50	90 Minutes

NABARD Grade A Specialist Mains Exam Pattern

Paper	Grade A Subjects	Type of Paper	Total Questions	Total Marks	Duration
Paper I	General English	Online Descriptive	3	100	90 Minutes
Paper-II	Stream-Specific Paper	Objective	30	50	30 Minutes
Paper-II	Stream-Specific Paper	Descriptive Type	06 (Attempt 4 questions [2 of 15 marks each and 2 of 10 marks each]	50	90 Minutes

NABARD Grade A Prelims Syllabus 2026

The topics for all subjects included in the NABARD Grade A Prelims Exam are listed below. Candidates are advised to prepare for the Phase 1 exam strictly according to the updated NABARD Grade A Prelims Syllabus 2026.

Reasoning Ability Syllabus

Puzzles & Seating arrangement
Syllogism
Data sufficiency
Statement based questions (Verbal reasoning)
Inequality
Miscellaneous Questions
Input-Output
Blood relations
Coding-Decoding

Quantitative Aptitude Syllabus

Data Interpretations
Quadratic Equations
Number Sehonoursries
Simplification/ Approximation
Data Sufficiency
Arithmetic Questions
Quantity Comparisons
Mathematical Inequalities

English Language Syllabus

Reading Comprehension
Cloze test
Sentence improvement
Spotting the errors
Fill in the blanks
Sentence rearrangement
Para Jumbles
New pattern questions

General Awareness Syllabus

The questions in this test will be from Current Affairs and Banking and economy and insurance.
In Current Affairs, questions can be asked about recent appointments, awards, and honours; sports; new schemes; national and international news; and the latest developments in science and technology.

Computer Knowledge Syllabus

This section covers essential core topics such as

Networking
Input-output devices
DBMS
MS Office
Internet
History of computers & generations
Shortcuts

NABARD Grade A Mains Syllabus 2026

Check the subject-wise Mains Exam Syllabus for NABARD Grade A Officer posts right here,

NABARD Grade A- Economic and Social Issues Syllabus 2026

NABARD Grade A- Economic and Social Issues Syllabus 2026
Name of Section	Topics asked
Nature of Indian Economy	Structural and Institutional features Economic Underdevelopment Opening up the Indian Economy Globalization Economic Reforms in India Privatization.
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 the Banking/ Financial sector.
Globalization of Economy	Role of International Funding Institutions IMF & World Bank WTO Regional Economic Cooperation
Social Structure in India	Multiculturalism Demographic trends Urbanization 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 underprivileged	Social Movements Indian Political Systems Human Development

NABARD Grade A- Agriculture & Rural Development Syllabus 2026

NABARD Grade A- Agriculture & Rural Development Syllabus 2026
Name of Section	Topics asked
Agriculture	Definition, meaning and its branches Agronomy: Definition, meaning, and scope of agronomy. Classification of field crops. Factors affecting crop production Agro Climatic Zones Cropping Systems: Definition and types of cropping systems. Problems of dry land - Seed production, seed processing, seed village Meteorology: weather parameters, crop-weather advisory Precision Farming System of Crop Intensification Organic farming
Soil and Water Conservation	Major soil types Soil fertility Fertilizers Soil erosion Soil conservation Watershed management
Water Resource	Irrigation Management Types of irrigation Sources of irrigation Crop-water requirement Command area development Water conservation techniques Micro-irrigation Irrigation pumps Major, medium and minor irrigation.
Farm and Agri Engineering	Farm Machinery and Power Sources of power on the farm- human, animal, mechanical, electrical, wind, solar and biomass, biofuels Water harvesting structures Farm Ponds Agro-Processing Controlled and modified storage, perishable food storage, godowns, bins, and grain silos.
Plantation & Horticulture	Definition, meaning, and its branches Agronomic practices and production technology of various plantation and horticulture crops Post-harvest management, value, and supply chain management of Plantation and Horticulture crops.
Animal Husbandry	Farm animals and their role in the Indian economy Animal husbandry methods in India Common terms pertaining to different species of livestock Utility classification of breeds of cattle. Introduction to common feeds and fodders, their classification, and utility. Introduction to the poultry industry in India (past, present, and future status) Common terms pertaining to poultry production and management The concept of mixed farming and its relevance to socio-economic conditions of farmers in India Complimentary and obligatory nature of livestock and poultry production with that of agricultural farming.
Fisheries	Fisheries resources Management and exploitation - freshwater, brackish water, and marine Aquaculture- Inland and marine Biotechnology Post-harvest technology Importance of fisheries in India Common terms pertaining to fish production.
Forestry	Basic concepts of Forest and Forestry Principles of silviculture, forest mensuration, forest management, and forest economics Concepts of social forestry, agroforestry, joint forest management Forest policy and legislation in India, India State of Forest Report 2015 Recent developments under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Agriculture Extensions	Its importance and role, methods of evaluation of extension programs Role of Krishi Vigyan Kendra's (KVK) in the dissemination of Agricultural technologies.
Ecology and Climate Change	Ecology and its relevance to man, natural resources, sustainable management, and conservation Causes of climate change, GreenHouse Gases (GHG), major GHG emitting countries, climate analysis Distinguish between adaptation and mitigation Climate change impact on agriculture and rural livelihoods Carbon credit IPCC, UNFCCC, CoP meetings Funding mechanisms for climate change projects Initiatives by Govt of India, NAPCC, SAPCC, INDC.
Present Scenario of Indian Agriculture and Allied activities	Recent trends Major challenges in agriculture measures to enhance Viability of agriculture Factors of Production in agriculture Agricultural Finance and Marketing Impact of Globalization on Indian Agriculture and issues of Food Security Concept and Types of Farm Management.
Rural Development	Concept of Rural Area Structure of the Indian Rural Economy Importance and role of the rural sector in India Economic, Social and Demographic Characteristics of the Indian rural economy Causes of Rural Backwardness. Rural population in India Occupational structure Farmers, Agricultural Laborers, Artisans, Handicrafts, Traders, Forest dwellers/tribes and others in rural India Trends of change in rural population and rural workforce Problems and conditions of rural labour Issues and challenges in Hand-looms Panchayati Raj Institutions – Functions and Working. MGNREGA, NRLM – Aajeevika, Rural Drinking water Programmes, Swachh Bharat, Rural Housing, PURA, and other rural development programs.

NABARD Grade A- Information Technology Syllabus 2026

NABARD Grade A- Information Technology Syllabus 2026
Subject	Topics
Information Technology	Introduction to Software Data Structure through ‘C’ and ‘PASCAL’ Elements of Systems Analysis and Design Numerical and Statistical Computing Data Communication and Networks Object-Oriented Computer Architecture Object-Oriented Systems Computer Fundamentals File Structure and Programming in COBOL Database Management Systems Software Engineering Accounting and Finance on Computers Operating Systems Intelligent Systems Relational Database Management Systems

NABARD Grade A Interview Round

Candidates who successfully qualify the Prelims and Mains exams become eligible for the interview stage, where panels evaluate subject expertise, current affairs awareness, and critical thinking through strategic questioning. Each year, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development establishes a merit list based on the cut-off marks to invite qualifying candidates for the interview. The interview carries a weightage of 50 marks. Candidates may choose to conduct their interview in either Hindi or English. Those who clear the interview round are subsequently called for document verification and final appointment.

NABARD Grade A Salary Check Details

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