Selection Procedure of NABARD Grade A Officers

Selection Process is of three stages:

Stage I : Preliminary Examination

Stage II : Mains Examination

Stage III: Interview

Phase I – Preliminary Examination (Online Exam)

Objective Type: MCQ (Multiple Choice Questions) carrying 200 marks.

Duration: 120 Minutes Composite Time

i) Test of Reasoning – 20 marks

ii) English Language – 40 marks

iii) Computer Knowledge –20 marks

iv) General Awareness – 20 marks

v) Quantitative Aptitude – 20 marks

vi) Economic & Social Issues (with focus on Rural India) – 40 marks

vii) Agriculture & Rural Development (with focus on Rural India) – 40 marks

Phase II – Main Examination

Phase II – Main Examination will be online and will be a mix of MCQ and descriptive pattern.

Paper-I – General English: (Descriptive – online through key board)

The paper will have descriptive questions carrying 100 marks.

Duration: 1 ½ hrs

The analytical and drafting abilities of the candidate shall be assessed through this Descriptive Paper on General English comprising essay writing, comprehension, report writing, paragraph writing & letter writing.

Paper–II (MCQ):

i) for posts as at (a) in Table I – Economic & Social Issues andAgriculture & Rural Development (with focus on Rural India)

ii) for posts as at (b) to (n) in Table I : Paper on related discipline

Duration: 1 ½ hrs. – 100 Marks

Phase III – Interview

Applicants qualifying in the Phase-II Examination and securing sufficiently high rank in merit shall be short-listed for interview.

Marks for Interview : 25 Marks

The Preliminary Examination is only qualifying in nature and is meant to serve as a screening test. Candidates who qualify and rank sufficiently high as decided by NABARD, shall be called for appearing at the Main Examination. The calling ratio for Main Exam shall be 1:25. There will be penalty for wrong answers marked by the candidate. For every wrong answer marked, 1/4th of the marks assigned to that question will be deducted as penalty in Phase I and Phase II, both. Cut-offs in Phase I and Phase II may be applied in two stages : (i) On scores in individual tests, (ii) On Total Score

SYLLABUS of NABARD Grade A Officers

Illustrative syllabus for Phase II (Main Examination) may be as furnished below:

For All Posts

1) Paper I – English: Essay, Précis writing, Comprehension and Business/Office Correspondence. The paper on English shall be framed in a manner to assess the writing skills including expressions and understanding the topic.

For General Posts

2) Paper II – Economic & Social Issues and Agriculture & Rural Development

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 & Rural Development:

Agriculture: definition, meaning and its branches, Agronomy: definition, meaning and scope of agronomy. Classification of field crops. Factors affecting on crop production, Agro Climatic Zones; Cropping Systems: Definition and types of cropping systems. Problems of dry land Page agriculture; Seed production, seed processing, seed village; Meteorology: weather parameters, crop-weather advisory; Precision Farming, System of Crop Intensification, organic farming;

a) Soil and Water Conservation : Major soil types, soil fertility, fertilisers, soil erosion, soil conservation, watershed management;

b) 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.

c) Farm and Agri Engineering : Farm Machinery and Power, Sources of power on the farm- human, animal, mechanical, electrical, wind, solar and biomass, bio fuels, water harvesting structures, farm ponds, watershed management, Agro Processing, Controlled and modified storage, perishable food storage, godowns, bins and grain silos.

d) 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.

e) Animal Husbandry: Farm animals and their role in 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 poultry industry in India (past, present and future status), Common terms pertaining to poultry production and management. 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.

f) 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.

g) 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 Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

h) Agriculture Extensions: Its importance and role, methods of evaluation of extension programmes, Role of Krishi Vigyan Kendra’s (KVK) in dissemination of Agricultural technologies.

i) Ecology and Climate Change: Ecology and its relevance to man, natural resources, their sustainable management and conservation. Causes of climate change, Green House Gases (GHG), major GHG emitting countries, climate analysis, distinguish between adaptation and mitigation, climate change impact to agriculture and rurallivelihood, carbon credit, IPCC, UNFCCC, CoP meetings, funding mechanisms for climate change projects, initiatives by Govt of India, NAPCC, SAPCC, INDC.

j) 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 Labourers, Artisans, Handicrafts, Traders, Forest dwellers/tribes and others in rural India- Trends of change in rural population and rural work force; problems and conditions of rural labour; Issues and challenges in Handlooms

Panchayati Raj Institutions – Functions and Working. MGNREGA, NRLM – Aajeevika, Rural Drinking water Programmes, Swachh Bharat, Rural Housing, PURA and other rural development programmes.

Apply Online for NABARD Grade A Officers