SEBI Grade A 2024 Pattern Phase 1 & 2: Subjects, Marks, Papers & Duration

Understanding the complete pattern of the SEBI Grade A exam is crucial for aspirants. With the knowledge of SEBI Grade A patten, you get to know the number of papers, subjects in each phase, marking scheme, mode, language and time duration.

Below, we have explained the latest SEBI Grade A 2024 pattern and syllabus as per the official notification. 

SEBI Grade A 2024 Pattern

According to the official notification of SEBI Grade A 2024, the selection procedure of the SEBI Grade A exam is:

1. Phase 1 (Pre)
2. Phase 2 (Mains)
3. Phase 3 (Interview)

Let’s start with understanding the phase 1 pattern.

SEBI Grade A 2024 Pattern for Phase 1 

The SEBI Grade A Phase 1 (Prelims) exam is qualifying in nature and serves as a screening test to shortlist candidates for the next rounds of the examination. 

Here is the detailed SEBI Grade A Phase 1 exam pattern:

Phase 1 consists of 2 papers, which we have explained below in detail.

Paper 1 of SEBI Grade A Phase 1

SEBI Grade A Phase 1 Paper 1 comprises 80 multiple-choice questions with a total of 100 marks (1.25 marks for each question) and is to be completed within a 60-minute time frame. 

These questions are spread across four subjects (20 questions per subject) as under:

1. General Awareness
2. English Language
3. Quantitative Aptitude
4. Test of Reasoning

The above details have been summarised below.

Paper 2 of SEBI Grade A Phase 1

The paper 2 of SEBI Grade A Phase 1 for the general stream comprises 100 marks, and 40 minutes are given to complete the paper. 

It includes 50 multiple-choice questions (2 marks each) on the following subjects:

1. Commerce & Accountancy
2. Management
3. Finance
4. Costing
5. Companies Act
6. Economics

The above details have been summarised below.

Now that you have understood the SEBI Grade A preliminary stage pattern, let’s take a look at some other important details of SEBI Grade A phase 1 pattern.

SEBI Grade A 2024 Pattern: Additional Details of Phase 1

Mode 

The SEBI Grade A Assistant Manager Phase 1 exam is conducted online. Candidates are required to tick the right answers on a computer screen.

Structure

SEBI Grade A Prelims exam consists of objective-type questions.

Nature

SEBI Grade A Phase 1 exam is qualifying where the marks obtained are used only for shortlisting candidates for Phase 2. The Phase 1 marks do not contribute to the final selection of candidates.

Language

Question papers for both Paper 1 and Paper 2 are available in both Hindi and English, except for the English language test. 

Number of Questions

Paper 1 and Paper 2 consist of 80 and 50 questions, respectively. 

Marks

The total marks for the SEBI Grade A Phase 1 exam are 200.

• Paper 1 consists of 100 marks, where each question is worth 1.25 marks.
• Paper 2 consists of 100 marks, where each question is worth 2 marks.

Cut-Off Marks

Fixed cut-offs are set for Paper 1 and Paper 2. 

The cut-off for Paper 1 is a minimum of 30%, i.e., 30 marks out of 100, while for Paper 2, it is a minimum of 40%, i.e., 40 marks out of 100.

All you have to do is score at least 30 marks in Paper 1, 40 marks in Paper 2, and a total of 80 or more marks in Paper 1+2 to be shortlisted for the Phase 2 exam. 

Important Note: There are no sectional cut-offs.

Negative Marking 

1/4th of the marks are deducted for each wrong answer, i.e.0.3125 marks for Paper 1 and 0.5 marks for Paper 2. No marks are deducted if a candidate leaves a question unanswered. 

Duration

Candidates get 60 minutes to complete Paper 1 and 40 minutes for Paper 2.

The above details have been summarised below.

SEBI Grade A 2024 Pattern for Phase 2

As per the official notification, here is the SEBI Grade A Phase 2 (Mains) pattern:

Similar to the Phase 1 exam, the Phase 2 exam also consists of 2 papers.

Paper 1 of SEBI Grade A Phase 2 

SEBI Grade A Phase 2 Paper 1 comprises descriptive English questions with a total of 100 marks and is to be completed within a 60-minute time frame. 

It comprises 3 questions: essay, precis, and reading comprehension. 

Paper 2 of SEBI Grade A Phase 2

SEBI Grade A Phase 2 Paper 2 for the general stream comprises 100 marks, and 90 minutes are given to complete the paper. 

It includes 100 multiple-choice questions on the following subjects:

1. Commerce & Accountancy
2. Management
3. Finance
4. Costing
5. Companies Act
6. Economics

The above details have been summarised below.

Now that you have understood the SEBI Grade A Phase 2 exam pattern, let’s take a look at some other important details. 

SEBI Grade A 2024 Pattern: Additional Details of Phase 2

Mode 

The SEBI Grade A Phase 2 exam is conducted online. For Paper 1, candidates answer descriptive questions by typing their answers using the keyboard. For Paper 2, candidates answer objective questions by selecting answers on the screen.

Language

The Phase 2 exam is offered in Hindi and English languages, except for the descriptive English, which is solely in English.

Marks

The total marks for the SEBI Grade A Phase 2 exam are 200.

• Paper 1 consists of 100 marks, where Essay consists of 30 marks, Precis consists of 30 marks, and Reading Comprehension consists of 40 marks.
• Paper 2 consists of 100 marks, where each question is worth 1 mark.

Cut-Off Marks

Candidates must score a minimum of 30% in Paper 1, i.e., 30 marks out of 100, and a minimum of 40%, i.e., 40 marks out of 100 in Paper 2. 

Furthermore, candidates need to secure aggregate cut-off marks of 50%, i.e., 100 marks out of 200 in the Phase 2 exam to be shortlisted for interview.

The aggregate marks are calculated by giving a weightage of ⅓ to Paper 1 and ⅔ to Paper 2. 

Example: If a candidate has scored 90 and 60 marks in Paper 1 and 2 respectively, the aggregate marks will be calculated as follows:

For Paper 1, you take 1/3rd of the marks, which is (1/3) * 90 = 30 marks.

For Paper 2, you take 2/3rd of the marks, which is (2/3) * 60 = 40 marks.

Now, add these weighted marks to get aggregate marks:

1/3rd marks of Paper 1 + 2/3rd marks of Paper 2, i.e. 70 marks out of 100.

Negative Marking

There is no negative marking for descriptive English. 

For Paper 2, there is 1/4th negative marking, i.e., 0.50 marks are deducted for each incorrect answer. No marks are deducted if a candidate leaves a question unanswered.

Duration

Candidates get 60 minutes to complete the Paper 1 and 90 minutes for the Paper 2.

The above details have been summarised below.

Important Note: 

• Typically, the number of candidates shortlisted for Phase 3 is approximately three times the number of available vacancies.

SEBI Grade A 2024 Interview Pattern

Candidates are shortlisted for interview based on their Phase 2 marks only (aggregated sum of 2 papers). 

Here is the SEBI Grade A interview pattern:

• Mode: The interview is conducted in person at various exam centers.
• Language: You can take the interview in Hindi or English.
• Number of Questions: The number of questions varies depending on the panel.
• Marks: The interview marks are not mentioned in the official SEBI Grade A notification.
• Weightage: The weightage of marks obtained in Phase 2 is 85%, while marks obtained in the interview are given a weightage of 15%.
• Duration: The interview typically lasts between 20 and 45 minutes. 

The above details have been summarised below.

Final Selection as SEBI Grade A Officer

The final selection is based on the aggregate marks obtained in Phase 2 (Papers 1 and 2) and the interview.

To calculate the final aggregate marks, let’s take the same example of a student who scored 140 marks out of 200 in phase 2 of SEBI Grade A.

Normalize it to 100 marks for easy calculation, making it 70 marks out of 100. Now, apply the Paper 2 weightage of 85% to this score, which is 85% of 70 equals 59.5 marks. 

Let’s assume the student scores 6 marks during the interview, bringing the total to 59.5 + 6 = 65.5 marks. 

So, the final aggregate marks for the student are 65.5.

Changes in Pattern of SEBI Grade A Exam

Below, we have explained the changes in the SEBI Grade A exam pattern.

SEBI Grade A Phase 1 Pattern Change 

Here is the Phase 1 pattern of 2018:

• The SEBI Grade A Phase 1 used to have 5 subjects: General Awareness, English Language, Quantitative Aptitude, Test of Reasoning, and Awareness about Securities Market.
• Candidates were given 2 hours to complete the paper, consisting of 200 marks.
• Candidates must secure at least 40% marks in each paper to qualify for Phase 2.

Changes Introduced in 2020

In 2020, SEBI introduced 1 additional paper in the Phase 1 exam and made some changes to the existing paper.

Changes to Paper 1

• SEBI removed the Securities Market subject from paper 1.
• It reduced the total marks to 100 and the duration to 1 hour.
• Candidates were required to score 30% marks in Paper 1. 

Introduction of Paper 2

Paper 2 worth 100 marks was introduced and 40 minutes were given to complete the paper. It included  50 multiple-choice questions (2 marks each) on Commerce, Accountancy, Management, Finance, Costing, Companies Act, and Economics.

Candidates were required to score at least 40% marks in the Paper 2. 

SEBI Grade A Phase 2 Pattern Change 

Here is the Phase 2 pattern in 2018.

• The SEBI Grade A Phase 2 exam had 3 papers:
  • Paper 1: Securities Market 
  • Paper 2: Descriptive English
  • Paper 3: Economic & Social Issues and Finance & Management
• Each paper was worth 100 marks, making it a total of 300 marks paper.
• Candidates were given 40 minutes (each) for Paper 1 and 3 and 60 minutes for Paper 2.
• Candidates had to secure at least 40% marks in each paper to qualify for the interview. 
• Candidates had to also score a minimum of 30% in Paper 1, a minimum of 40% in Paper 2, and aggregate cut-off marks of 50%.

Changes Introduced in 2020

In 2020, SEBI reduced the number of papers from 3 to 2.

• SEBI removed Paper 1 i.e. Securities Market. 
• It made Descriptive English as Paper 1 and kept the same marks and duration. 
• It introduced changes to Paper 3 and made it Paper 2. It kept the same marks and duration. Multiple choice questions were asked in Paper 2 from Commerce, Accountancy, Management, Finance, Costing, Companies Act, and Economics.

Changes Introduced in 2024

In 2024, SEBI changed the Phase 2 Paper 2 duration from 40 minutes to 90 minutes and number of questions from 60 to 100.

Conclusion

Understanding the latest SEBI Grade A 2024 pattern gives a roadmap for your preparation. By familiarizing yourself with the latest selection procedure of the SEBI Grade A exam, you can:

• Strategically compare the exam format to your strengths and background
• Pinpoint areas that need extra focus
• Select the most effective study materials
• Focus on the high-weightage sections

Ultimately it can help you craft a tailored study plan that maximizes your chances of cracking the exam.