Is NABARD Grade A Exam Tough?

If you’re planning to start your NABARD Grade A preparation but wondering, “Is the NABARD Grade A exam tough?”, you’re not alone. Many aspirants, especially beginners like you, feel confused at first. 

But let me tell you there’s no simple yes or no answer to this question. 

To find out the answer. Let’s first understand what makes the NABARD Grade A exam difficult.

What Makes the NABARD Grade A Exam Difficult?

Here are some factors that make the NABARD Grade A exam a tough nut to crack:

1. 8 Phase 1 Subjects

• Covering 8 different subjects in a single exam is challenging for many aspirants.
• It requires you to cover a vast syllabus.
• Switching between these 8 subjects in the exam makes it difficult. 

2. Tight Time Limit: 120 Minutes

• You need to solve 200 questions in just 120 minutes.
• It is challenging, as you’ll get an average of 36 seconds per question.

3. Sectional Cutoff

• Besides the overall cut-off, you also need to clear the cut-off of each Phase 1 subject.
• The composite time (no sectional timing) makes it more difficult, as you need to balance time for the merit and non-merit sections on your own.

4. Descriptive Questions

• The Phase 2 exam includes both objective and descriptive questions.
• Switching from MCQs to crafting well-structured essays under time pressure demands writing practice and conceptual clarity.

5. High Competition

• Every year, thousands of aspirants apply for a limited number of vacancies:
  • 2024: 52920 applied for 50 posts
  • 2023: 74042 applied for 77 posts
  • 2022: 60806 applied for 80 posts
  • 2021: 71589 applied for 74 posts
• On average, there are 900 to 1000 aspirants for each vacancy.
• With such high competition, only the most consistent and well-prepared candidates make it through.

These were the factual reasons that made the NABARD Grade A exam seem difficult.

But the real question is, “Is NABARD Grade A actually tough to crack?”

Let’s find out.

Is NABARD Grade A Really Difficult to Crack?

The NABARD Grade A exam might be challenging for you if you:

1. Find it Difficult to Memorise Data

• The NABARD Grade A exam includes lots of factual data, ranking, and statistics from schemes and reports.
• If you find it difficult to memorise factual information, this part can feel overwhelming.

What you should do

• Create short, crisp notes for quick revision.
• Revise regularly, even 15-20 minutes daily.
• Practice topic-wise MCQs to retain facts better.

2. Are not from an Agricultural Background

• Many non-agriculture aspirants often find ARD (Agriculture and Rural Development) challenging in the beginning.
• But that doesn’t mean only agriculture graduates can crack this exam.
• Many aspirants who cleared this exam were from non-agricultural background.

What you should do

• Start with basic ARD concepts, like soil, crops, irrigation, and animal husbandry.
• Make simple summaries for each topic. 
• Watch videos for better understanding.
• Focus more on agriculture-related current affairs, which are part of your syllabus.

3. Don’t know the High-Weightage Topics

• Trying to cover everything without knowing what’s important can waste time.
• You might end up spending hours on low-priority areas while missing high-scoring topics.

What you should do

• Analyse previous year papers to identify recurring topics.
• Prioritize those high-weightage topics. 
• Focus more on GA,  ESI, and ARD as they appear in both Phase 1 and 2.

4. Are New to Descriptive Writing

• Descriptive writing is a key part of Phase 2, and many aspirants find it tough, especially if they’re new to it.
• You need to express your thoughts clearly, structure your answers well, and include relevant facts and examples to make them impactful.

What you should do

• Learn the basics of essay and precis writing.
• Practice one descriptive answer daily on topics from ESI and ARD.
• Focus on clarity, structure, and flow (introduction, body, conclusion).
• Add facts, schemes, and real data to make your answers more credible.
• Seek advice from mentors, friends, and subject-matter experts.

Now that you know what makes this exam challenging, you might be wondering, “How can I make the NABARD Grade A exam easier to crack?”

Let’s find out. 

How to Make NABARD Grade A Easier to Crack?

The NABARD Grade A exam may look tough, but with the right approach, you can make it much easier to crack. 

In addition to the tips mentioned above, here is how you can make your NABARD Grade A preparation easy:

1. Prioritize ESI, ARD, and Current Affairs

• ESI, ARD, and Current Affairs are crucial subjects covered in both Phase 1 and 2. 
• They also fall under the merit section of Phase 1, which decides whether you qualify for Phase 2.

How to do it

• Start with the basic concepts of ESI and ARD, such as
  • ESI: GDP, inflation, poverty
  • ARD: Cropping patterns, soil, irrigation, and farm practices.
• Gradually move to the complex topics, such as
  • ESI: Economic and social policies, reports, and government initiatives.
  • ARD: Rural credit, agribusiness, and sustainable development.
• Dedicate 30–45 minutes daily to Current Affairs.
• Prioritise Government Schemes, as around 40% of Phase 1 current affairs questions in 2024 came from this topic.

2. Learn to be Selective

• The vast syllabus and limited time make it challenging to cover everything in depth. 
• You don’t have to cover every topic.
  • Study those topics that carry more marks.

How to do it

• Refer to previous year papers to identify frequently asked topics.
• Prioritize high-weightage topics and later cover the low-priority topics.
• Avoid wasting time on areas that rarely appear in the exam.

3. Have a Positive Mindset

• Confidence plays a huge role in NABARD Grade A preparation. 
• Believing in your ability to improve each day keeps you consistent and motivated.

How to do it

• Focus on your daily progress rather than comparing yourself with others.
• Keep reminding yourself that every topper once started as a beginner.
• Appreciate small achievements, like completing a topic, as motivation.
• Visualize your goal of becoming a NABARD Grade A officer.

4. Stay Consistent and Revise Regularly

• Consistency is what separates successful aspirants from the rest. 
• Even short but regular study sessions are more effective than long, irregular ones.

How to do it

• Study each day (cover new topics or revise old ones), even if only for 30 minutes.
• Keep one day a week for revision and mock tests.
• Make short notes for last-minute revisions.

Can an Average Student Clear the NABARD Grade A Exam?

Absolutely yes! 

An average student can definitely clear the NABARD Grade A exam. 

In fact, many selected NABARD Grade A officers once considered themselves average. They had average academic marks, came from non-agriculture backgrounds, and started with self-doubt.

But what set them apart was the right strategy, consistency, and discipline in their preparation.

To explain it further, let’s look at the education qualifications, work experience, gap years, and number of attempts of candidates who cracked the NABARD Grade A 2024 exam.

Important Note: The data below is based on the 24 EduTap students who cleared the NABARD Grade A 2024 exam on 50 general RDBS vacancies.

Educational Qualification

Indeed, the majority of students who cracked the NABARD Grade A exam come from an agricultural background, including fields like:

• Agronomy
• Horticulture
• Botany
• Forestry and related disciplines

In fact, out of 24 selected students, around 70% were from agricultural backgrounds.

However, the remaining 30% were from non-agricultural fields such as:

• Mathematics
• Physics
• Geology

Learning: It is possible to crack the NABARD Grade A exam with a non-agricultural background.

Work Experience

As you can see, the majority of selected aspirants have no prior work experience.

Learning: This busts the myth that work experience plays an important role in selection for the NABARD Grade A exam.

Gap Years

As you can see, around 40% of selected students had no gap years, while the majority had a gap of 1 to 6+ years.

Learning: This clearly shows that gap years do not affect your chances of success.

Number of Attempts

As you can see, only about 20% of students clear the NABARD Grade A exam on their first attempt. The majority succeed after multiple attempts, and some even take more than 3 years to crack it.

Learning: It’s absolutely possible to clear the NABARD Grade A exam on your first attempt, but for most aspirants, success comes with persistence, consistency, and continuous improvement.

Now, let’s take a look at the subject-wise difficulty level of the NABARD Grade A exam.

What is the Subject-wise Difficulty Level of NABARD Grade A?

At EduTap, we analyzed the past years’ NABARD Grade A question papers to understand the difficulty level of each subject.

Here’s what we found:

What is the Expected NABARD Grade A 2025 Difficulty Level? 

Based on the analysis of previous years’ question papers, the NABARD Grade A 2025 exam is expected to have: 

• A Moderate to Difficult difficulty level in Phase 1
• A Moderate difficulty level in Phase 2

Important Note: If you stay consistent with current affairs, focus on government schemes, and build strong conceptual clarity in ESI and ARD, the exam becomes manageable and easier to crack.

If you still believe the NABARD Grade A exam is tough, let’s compare it with the other competitive exams. 

NABARD Grade A vs RBI Grade B: Which is Tough?

Below, I have compared the NABARD Grade A exam with the RBI Grade B exam:

Remarks

• NABARD Grade A:
  • Competition is lower compared to the RBI Grade B exam. 
  • Phase 1 is more challenging as it includes 8 subjects to cover.
  • The Phase 2 paper 2 syllabus overlaps with Phase 1, which helps reduce pressure in the later stage.
• RBI Grade B:
  • Competition is significantly higher than the NABARD Grade A exam. 
  • Phase 1 is comparatively easier.
  • Phase 2 is more demanding, with 3 papers and an entirely different syllabus from Phase 1. 

NABARD Grade A vs SEBI Grade A: Which is Tough?

Below is a side-by-side comparison of the NABARD Grade A and SEBI Grade A exams:

Remarks

• NABARD Grade A:
  • Competition is lower compared to the SEBI Grade A exam. 
  • Phase 1 is comparatively easier
  • The Phase 2 paper 2 syllabus overlaps with Phase 1, which helps reduce pressure in the later stage.
• SEBI Grade A:
  • Competition is significantly higher than the NABARD Grade A exam. 
  • Phase 1 is more challenging as it includes 2 papers.  
  • Similar to NABARD, the Phase 1 Paper 2 syllabus overlaps with Phase 2 Paper 2, which helps reduce pressure in the later stage.

NABARD Grade A vs IBPS AFO: Which is Tough?

Here is a comparison between the NABARD Grade A and IBPS AFO exams:

Remarks

• NABARD Grade A:
  • Competition is higher compared to the IBPS AFO exam. 
  • Phase 1 is more challenging as it includes 8 subjects to cover.
  • Phase 2 Paper 1 is descriptive.
  • The Phase 2 paper 2 syllabus overlaps with Phase 1, which helps reduce pressure in the later stage.
• IBPS AFO:
  • Competition is significantly lower than the NABARD Grade A exam. 
  • Phase 1 is comparatively easier as it only has 3 subjects.
  • Phase 2 is objective and consists of 1 single paper on agriculture. 

NABARD Grade A vs SBI PO: Which is Tough?

Here’s a detailed comparison of the NABARD Grade A and SBI PO exams.

Remarks

• NABARD Grade A:
  • Competition is higher compared to the SBI PO exam. 
  • Phase 1 is more challenging as it includes 8 subjects to cover.
  • The Phase 2 paper 2 syllabus overlaps with Phase 1, which helps reduce pressure in the later stage.
• SBI PO:
  • Competition is significantly lower than the NABARD Grade A exam. 
  • Phase 1 is comparatively easier as it only has 3 subjects.
  • Phase 2 is more challenging as it includes general/ economy/ banking awareness.

NABARD Grade A vs SSC CGL: Which is Tough?

Here’s a simple comparison of the NABARD Grade A exam with the SSC CGL exams:

Remarks

• NABARD Grade A:
  • Competition is higher compared to the SSC CGL exam. 
  • Phase 1 is more challenging as it includes 8 subjects to cover.
  • Phase 2 Paper 1 is descriptive.
  • The Phase 2 paper 2 syllabus overlaps with Phase 1, which helps reduce pressure in the later stage.
• SSC CGL:
  • Competition is significantly lower than the NABARD Grade A exam. 
  • Tier 1 is comparatively easier as it only has 3 subjects.
  • Tier 2 includes GA and Computer, along with the Tier 1 subjects.
  • Tier 2 also includes the data entry speed test.

NABARD Grade A Preparation Tips

Here are a few additional tips to make your NABARD Grade A preparation easier:

1. Start Early

• Don’t wait for the official notification to begin your preparation. 
• Starting early helps you build a strong foundation and reduces last-minute pressure.

Important Note: Now that the notification is out, it’s time to speed up your studies and focus on revision and mock tests.

2. Don’t Run Behind Multiple Sources

• Avoid collecting too many materials and ending up confused.
• It’s better to choose one trusted source for each subject and follow it consistently.
• Sticking to limited, high-quality resources helps you stay focused and saves valuable time

3. Learn from Proven Strategies

• Take inspiration from NABARD Grade A toppers’ strategies to understand what worked for them. But don’t follow them blindly. 
• Adapt their approach based on your strengths, weaknesses, and available time to create a study plan that truly works for you.

Final Thoughts

Whether the NABARD Grade A exam feels tough or easy depends on how you approach it. If you follow the right strategy and apply the suggestions shared in this article, cracking this exam becomes much more achievable.

Best of Luck!