NABARD Grade A Mains Exam Analysis 2024, All Questions Review

The NABARD Grade A Mains Exam 2024 was conducted on 20 October 2024, marking a critical step for aspirants aiming for a prestigious career in the agricultural and rural banking sector. This Phase 2 exam is decisive, as it evaluates candidates’ in-depth understanding of economic, social, and rural development issues. Candidates reported a balanced mix of conceptual, application-based and analytical questions across sections.

NABARD Grade A Mains Exam Analysis 2024

The NABARD Grade A Mains 2024 was a mix of objective and descriptive questions, demanding both knowledge and writing proficiency. The General English paper tested candidates’ ability to express their thoughts effectively through essays, letters, and reports. For Generalist Posts, Paper 2 focused on Economic and Social Issues (ESI) and Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD), with questions centred on rural policies, financial inclusion, and current issues. For Specialist Posts, Paper 2 had stream-specific questions, targeting core domain knowledge.

NABARD Grade A Phase 2 Exam Analysis 2024: Difficulty Level

The overall difficulty level of the exam was Moderate. While the General English section was relatively manageable, Paper 2 presented some challenging questions, particularly in the objective section, where in-depth knowledge was required. Specialist candidates found the stream-specific questions slightly tricky, requiring clarity of concepts.

NABARD Grade A Mains Exam Analysis 2024: Section-wise Analysis

The exam was divided into two sections: Paper 1 (General English) and Paper 2 (subject-specific content). English section was focused on writing essays, business letters, and reports related to current economic, agricultural, and social issues. In paper 2, Generalist candidates faced a mix of objective questions on ESI and ARD topics, followed by descriptive questions requiring detailed analysis. Specialist candidates had domain-specific questions aligned with their respective streams.

NABARD Grade A Phase 2 Exam Analysis 2024: General English

The General English section included topics like financial inclusion, sustainable agriculture, and rural entrepreneurship. Candidates were required to draft essays, letters or reports, focusing on their ability to communicate ideas coherently.

Letter Writing: 30 marks (220 word limit)

• Write a letter to the Municipal Office to inform them about the damage in the roads and to take necessary actions.
• Complain Letter to an organisation related to the faulty electronic device
• Request Letter- related to article completion as writer

Essay Writing: 40 marks (520 word limit)

• Credit Facilities for Sustainable Agriculture
• Rural Youth Education & Empowerment
• Fisheries and its role in GDP
• Forestry Related

Precise Writing: 30 marks (120 word limit)

• Ethiopian Water Harvesting, Crisis & Management

NABARD Grade A Phase 2 Exam Analysis 2024: ESI & ARD (Objective & Descriptive)

The objective questions covered topics such as government schemes, inflation trends, microfinance, and the role of agriculture in GDP. The descriptive part required analytical answers on recent rural development programs and financial reforms.

Descriptive:

15 marker questions

• Post-harvest infrastructure, value addition & storage importance in agriculture
• From 2014-2014, what are the government initiatives related to financial inclusion?
• Agriculture infrastructure & storage related

10 marker questions

• 2 schemes: PM Vishwakarma scheme & PM Svamitva scheme
• How storage facilities enhance income in agriculture & also the relation to productivity.
• Institutional Rural Credit

Objective

• PM-JUGA
• MNREGA
• NRLM
• PLFS

NABARD Grade A Phase 2 Exam Analysis 2024: Stream Specific (Objective & Descriptive)

Candidates appearing for specialist roles answered questions specific to their stream, like agriculture engineering, forestry, or IT. The descriptive part tested their knowledge of recent advancements and trends in their respective domains.

Agriculture

15 Marker Questions

• What are the conditions of Indian Agriculture? What are the government initiatives for boosting agri development in the country?
• Define Protected cultivation with respect to horticulture, horticulture & Forestry
• What is crop insurance & role of agri cooperatives in agriculture

10 Marker Questions

• What is dryland farming? What is the watershed, its importance & classification of the watershed?
• What is Agriculture extension? What is the role of KVK in extension & how does extension help in the transfer of technology?

2 marker Questions

• Plant Physiology- C3 & C4 related
• Farm management Related
• Weed Management
• Sustainable Agriculture- PKVY-related
• Command area development

1 Marker Questions

• Seed Validity
• Arrangement of Aloe vera leaf
• Sugar content in Litchi
• Monoculture definition
• CAM Related question
• Woodyplant, not tree

Development Management

15 Marker Questions

• Cooperative Marketing & its importance in rural India
• Income Inequality & its Reason
• Lewis theory of Population

10 Marker Questions

• Measures of poverty reduction
• Rostow’s model of economic growth

NABARD Grade A Mains Exam Analysis 2024: Video Link

NABARD Grade A Phase 2 Exam Pattern 2024

The NABARD Grade A Mains Exam included both objective and descriptive components. Paper 1 (General English) was entirely descriptive, while Paper 2 had a mix of objective and descriptive questions tailored to the post of generalist or Specialist. Each section carried significant weight, making it essential for candidates to perform well across both.