The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) Grade A Officer exam attracts thousands of candidates every year. It is essential to be clear about the eligibility criteria before you start planning for the NABARD Grade A 2024 exam.
The eligibility criteria covers three main aspects: age, educational qualification, and number of attempts. Let’s examine these details and help you get started in your preparation journey.
Eligibility: Age
The age eligibility for the NABARD Grade A exam is based on the cut-off mentioned in the notification, which is the 1st of the month of the notification year.
Based on the same, candidates must be a minimum of 21 years and a maximum of 30 years of age on or before the cut-off date.
For example, the NABARD Grade A 2023 recruitment notification was released in September. The age eligibility criteria was that candidates must be between 21 and 30 years of age on or before 01-09-2023. This means that candidates must have been born not earlier than 02-09-1993 and not later than 01-09-2002.
The tentative date for the notification release of NABARD Grade A 2024 recruitment is the end of August or the beginning of September. According to this, the cut-off for 2024 applicants will be,
- August Notification: 01-08-2024
(Candidates must have been born not earlier than 02-08-1994 and not later than 01-08-2003.)
- September Notification: 01-09-2024
(Candidates must have been born not earlier than 02-09-1994 and not later than 01-09-2003.)
NABARD Grade A 2024: Age Limit Relaxation
For the recruitment of NABARD Grade A Manager, various upper age limit relaxations are provided for different categories.
| SNo. | Category | Age Relaxation | Upper Age Limit |
| 1 | General category | No Age Relaxation | 30 years |
| 2 | Other Backward Classes (OBC) | 3 years | 33 years |
| 6 | Scheduled Castes (SC) | 5 years | 35 years |
| 7 | Scheduled Tribes (ST) | 5 years | 35 years |
| 8 | Ex-servicemen (including Emergency Commissioned Officers/Short Service Commissioned Officers) | 5 years | 35 years |
| 9 | Children/family members of victims died in the1984 riots | 5 Years | 35 years |
| 10 | PWBD (General) | 10 years | 40 years |
| 11 | PWBD (Other Backward Classes) | 13 years | 43 years |
| 12 | PWBD (Scheduled Castes) | 15 years | 45 years |
Now that you are clear about the eligibility criteria of age, let’s look at the required educational qualifications.
Eligibility: Educational Qualification
In this section we will discuss the eligibility criteria for educational qualifications for the NABARD Grade A Officer exam. Before looking at the various posts separately, here are a few points you need to remember.
- You can only apply for one discipline.
- If you submit multiple applications for different disciplines, only the last application will be considered valid. The fees for all other applications will be forfeited.
- PWBD candidates applying against unreserved posts will not get a relaxation in educational qualification percentage.
- You must have the required educational qualification by the cut-off date for age.
- A Bachelor’s degree in a particular discipline means you must have studied that discipline as the main subject.
Academic Qualifications: Generalist Post
Following are the educational qualifications for the generalist post for the NABARD Grade A Officer role.
- Bachelor’s Degree in any subject from a recognized University
- Minimum of 60% marks
- For SC/ST/PWBD applicants: Minimum of 55% marks in aggregate
(OR)
- Post Graduate degree, MBA/PGDM
- Minimum of 55% marks
- For SC/ST/PWBD applicants: Minimum of 50% marks in aggregate
(OR)
- CA/ CS/ICWA
(OR)
- PhD from Institutions recognized by GOI/UGC
Now, how do you calculate your aggregate score and ensure it is in the right format? In cases of format differences such as CGPA, Grades, Percentage, etc., NABARD provides guidelines to be followed to measure one’s aggregate score.
Academic Aggregate Score: CGPA or Percentage
If your university does not give out grades or percentages, your aggregate grade points (CGPA, OGPA, CPI, etc.) will be converted to grades and/or percentages as follows:
| Equivalent CGPA/ OGPA/ CPI or similar terminologies allotted on a 10-point scale | Class/Division | Aggregate % of Marks |
| 6.75 | 1 (First) | 60% |
| 6.25 | 2 (Second) | 55% |
| 5.75 | 3 (Third) | 50% |
| 5.25 | 4 (Fourth) | 45% |
Note: Your aggregate grade point or percentage of marks will be calculated over the entire course. If your aggregate grade point (CGPA/OGPA/CPI, etc.) is out of a number other than 10, it will be converted to a scale of 10 and then calculated as shown above.
Now that you are clear about the educational eligibility for the exam, let’s understand whether or not you can apply for the exam as a final-year student.
Can Final Year Students Apply?
Yes, final-year students are eligible to apply for the NABARD Grade A exam, but their final results must be declared before the cut-off date mentioned in the notification.
Following are the tentative cut-offs for expected August and September notifications respectively.
- August Notification: 01-08-2024
All final-year students must have their final results declared and received on or before 1 August 2024.
- September Notification: 01-09-2024
All final-year students must have their final results declared and received on or before 1 September 2024.
Here are some preparation tips for final-year students interested in applying for the NABARD Grade A exam:
- Start preparing for the exam early. The NABARD Grade A exam is competitive, so it is important to build a comprehensive preparation strategy.
- Make sure that you meet all of the eligibility criteria.
- Stay updated on the latest information. The NABARD website publishes regular updates on the recruitment process, including the release of the notification, the application deadline, and the exam date.
The only remaining question is whether there is a limit on the number of attempts for the NABARD Grade A exam. Let’s find out!
NABARD Grade A: Number of Attempts
The latest official notification for the NABARD Grade A 2023 exam does not specify the maximum number of attempts. Therefore, candidates who meet the eligibility criteria are eligible to apply for the exam.
NABARD Grade A 2024 Notification: Expected Date
NABARD Grade A aspirants eagerly await the release of the recruitment notification and exam dates for the 2024 exam. This information is crucial for developing preparation strategies, ensuring timely syllabus coverage, and systematic revision.
Let us briefly analyse the previous year’s trends to come at a tentative date for the release of the recruitment notification for the 2024 exam.
| Event | Notification Release | Prelims Date | Result Date of Prelims | Mains Date |
| 2023 | 2 September 2023 | 16 October 2023 | 4 November 2023 | 19 November 2023 |
| 2022 | 18 July 2022 | 7 September 2022 | 3 October 2022 | 29 October 2022 |
| 2021 | 17 July 2021 | 18 September 2021 | 15 October 2021 | 16 November 2021 |
| 2020 | 15 January 2020 | 25 February 2020 | 23 March 2020 | 24 September 2020 |
As per the trend of the last 4 years, except for the year 2020, the notification was released in the 3rd quarter of the year.
If the same trend of the last 3 years is to be followed for 2024, the notification can be expected at the end of August or the beginning of September 2024.
Conclusion
In this blog, we have discussed the eligibility criteria of age and educational qualifications for the NABARD Grade A 2024 exam. We have also discussed the number of attempts available and whether or not you can apply for the exam as a final-year student. Lastly, we have provided the tentative date for the 2024 notification release.
Understanding the eligibility criteria for the NABARD Grade A officer exam is the first step in your journey to becoming an assistant manager. Once you have met the criteria, you can begin the dedicated and hard work required to achieve success in the competitive exam.
Important Note: The eligibility criteria for the NABARD Grade A 2024 exam are subject to change at the discretion of NABARD and the details released in the official 2024 notification.
FAQs
The age limit for the NABARD Grade A exam is 21 to 30 years. There is an age relaxation of 3 years for OBC candidates and 5 years for SC/ST/PWBD candidates.
The educational qualification for the NABARD Grade A exam is a bachelor’s degree in any discipline from a recognized university. There are also specific educational qualifications required for some of the specialist posts.
There is no limit on the number of times you can attempt the NABARD Grade A exam. However, it is important to remember the eligibility criteria of age and educational qualifications.
There are a number of ways to prepare for the NABARD Grade A exam. You can join a coaching institute, take online courses, or study on your own. There are also a number of books and resources available to help you prepare for the exam.
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