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NABARD Grade B Exam Analysis
National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD) conducted an online examination for the recruitment of Assistant Manager (RDBS) in Grade ‘B’ across the country on 6th August 2017.
There were 200 questions, which had to be answered in 120 minutes time period. There were seven sections, divided into two parts – Part I and Part II.
NABARD Grade B Examination Pattern
Questions asked in each part were as follows:
Part I: Reasoning, English Language, Computer Knowledge, Quantitative Aptitude and General Awareness
Part II: Economic & Social Issues and Agriculture & Rural Development
All the other sections, except the English Language section, were available bilingually (English and Hindi language). The questions asked were Multiple Choice objective type questions, which consisted of 5 options and was of 1 mark each. Also, there was a negative marking of 0.25 marks for every wrong answer.
Breakdown of the Paper
Detailed breakdown of the paper is as follows:
| Section | Total Questions | Max. Marks | Level of Difficulty | Possible Attempts | Possible Score | Approximate Time Taken |
| Economic and Social Issues | 40 | 40 | Moderate | 25 -30 | 23 – 30 | 18 minutes |
| Agriculture and Rural Development | 40 | 40 | Moderate | 22 – 27 | 22 – 25 | 18 minutes |
| Reasoning | 20 | 20 | Easy | 13 -15 | 14 – 16 | 15 minutes |
| English Language | 40 | 40 | Easy – Moderate | 32 – 35 | 31-33 | 30 minutes |
| Computer Knowledge | 20 | 20 | Easy – Moderate | 15-17 | 13 -16 | 10 minutes |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 20 | 20 | Easy – Moderate | 12 – 15 | 12 -15 | 17 minutes |
| General Awareness | 20 | 20 | Moderate | 11-15 | 11-13 | 12 minutes |
| Total | 200 | 200 | Moderate | 120 – 128 | 120 minutes |
Detail analysis of Each Section
Economic and Social Issues
Most of the questions asked in this section were based on Banking and Insurance, Government Committees, Economic Policies, Budget, Social Issues, Crop insurance, Aids to farmers. Students felt this section was of easy to moderate difficulty level. An overall attempt of 23 to 30 questions can be considered a good attempt.
Agriculture and Rural Development
Most of the questions asked in this section were based on the Agriculture and Animal Husbandry. Questions were basically based on like the Types of Seeds for particular seasons, Soil types, Irrigation, Names of Crop Varieties, Poultry, etc. It can be said that an overall attempt of 20 to 25 questions can be considered as a good attempt.
Reasoning
This section saw moderate level of questions. A student could have attempted at least 15 questions from this section. Test takers felt that the questions were not time consuming. There were questions based on Circular and Parallel Sitting arrangement, Syllogism, Inference, Direction, Linear Arrangement, etc.
Detailed analysis of the difficulty level of questions from a scale of 1-10
| Scale | Difficulty Level |
| 1-3 | Easy |
| 4-6 | Easy to Moderate |
| 7 | Moderate |
| 8-10 | Difficult |
English Language
This section contained questions on topics like Fill in the blanks, Reading Comprehension, Phrase Replacement, and two types of Error Spotting. It can be assumed that an overall attempt of 33 questions to be a good attempt.
Computer Knowledge
The questions were based on basics concepts of computer like internet, Virus, Antivirus, Biometrics, Business Software, etc. However, a major chunk of questions were on Business Software. Students found this section was of easy to moderate difficulty level and an attempt of 16 questions can be considered as a good attempt.
Quantitative Aptitude
Students found this section was of moderate difficulty level. A major part of the questions paper consisted of questions from DI – table and line graph, Data Sufficiency, Partnership, Time and Work, Probability, Mixture and Alligation, Series and Percentage. The questions of DI (Table) were computative in nature. The questions based on Data Sufficiency and Probability were moderate to difficult. However if a student is well prepared, he/she could have easily managed to attempt around 15 questions in this section.
General Awareness
General Awareness comprised questions of moderate difficulty level primarily based on current affairs. There were 15 questions from the Current world affairs of the past three months. However, candidates who have kept themselves up-to-date with current affairs of the past three to four months would have easily answered most of the questions in this section. Some other questions were on Geography, History, Politics.
