From Working Aspirant to NABARD Gr. A Officer: AIR 10 Ankit Sharma’s Inspiring Story

For NABARD Grade A | 22nd December 2023 – 10 mins read

“If you truly desire to achieve something, then you must make no excuses and go right after it with unwavering commitment”

– Ankit Sharma

There are usually a lot of things we aspire to achieve in a lifetime but often more than not, we fail at doing the same, not because we lack potential but due to our inability to complete the task within the deadline!

As exam aspirants, I am sure this rings true to your ears as well, especially while preparing for a prominent yet challenging exam like NABARD.

After interacting with many students, I often find them complaining about the paucity of time to cover everything given under the syllabus and become exam–ready.

Well, it is of significant importance for candidates to believe in themselves to dream bigger but I also strongly suggest them to learn the skill of adaptability as it is necessary to fight any challenge that is thrown at one’s face.

To offer you an inspiring example of adaptability, let me introduce you to NABARD Grade A Topper 2022 Ankit Sharma who not only qualified for the exam but also secured an All India Rank 10 in his first attempt.

Now, the interesting part here is that he managed to prepare and clear this exam while working as a Probationary officer in a bank posted in Mumbai.

So, how exactly did he manage to attain success in an exam like NABARD Grade A despite a hectic working schedule in the banking sector?

To provide you insights on his journey to success, I will take you through the ups and downs, his strategy, and his mindset to combat the challenges he faced during his preparation time, all of which I am sure you can take inspiration from.

His Educational Background and Early Life

Having completed his graduation in Electronics and Communication Engineering in the year 2017, he worked in the corporate sector for 2 years.

Dissatisfied with his job, he decided to turn his attention to the banking sector. In the year 2020, he cleared IBPS PO through which he got posted in Mumbai and worked in the head office of the Bank of India.

He expressed his inclination and interest in finance subject during his graduation days which prompted him to pursue a career in banking.

His inspiration to join the NABARD

One of his closest friends from school was preparing for the UPSC exam; however, knowing very well about the difficulty level of the exam, he had the NABARD Grade A exam as his Plan B.

Having cleared the exam, he shared his perspective with Ankit regarding the pros and cons of working in NABARD and his motivation/ purpose for joining the organization in the first place.

After listening to him talk so passionately about his job, Ankit was fuelled with the desire to create a meaningful impact on society, which he could do by preparing for the exam.

Managing Time to Prepare for Exam

The working lives of bankers are believed to be quite hectic and taking out time to do other things in life can be considered challenging. Well, turns out, there’s truth to that perception according to Ankit’s experience.

After getting posted in Mumbai, managing time turned out to be a huge task for him to carry out his basic routine, let alone preparation for the NABARD exam.

As the city itself is known to be the one of busiest cities in the world, in addition to hours spent on his daily travel from his home to office, Ankit painstakingly managed to allocate time for exam preparation.

His Strategy for NABARD Exam Preparation

In the year 2021, he began his preparation for banking examinations, i.e., IBPS PO and RBI Grade B, which he believed has helped him immensely in the preparation for the NABARD exam.

Since there is a weighty presence of topics like General Awareness, ESI, and QRE which is an acronym for Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning, and English Comprehension, preparing for regulatory exams will prove to be beneficial for the NABARD exam.

Talking about his strategy for Phase 1 and Phase 2, he first analyzed his strengths and weaknesses. He had a strong foundation in QRE, Decision- Making and Computer Awareness, owing to his past background and preparation for RBI.

Therefore, he focussed on subjects like Economic and Social Issues (ESI) and Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD) since these two subjects play a major part in the exam.

For the ARD section, he referred to the notes provided on our official platform to summarize the key topics under this subject as he was an enrolled student.

Whereas, in the case of the ESI section, he emphasized reading in depth about government schemes, reports, and General Awareness.

Apart from this, he thoroughly revised his notes on these two subjects and practiced the previous year’s papers to gain an overall idea about the nature of the questions asked in the exam.

Coming to the subjective part, which tests the answer-writing skills of the candidate, he credits his working experience in the corporate sector, which has helped him sail through this part.

Having had command over e-mail and letter writing, he ensured to practice answer-writing within the time – limit and practiced as many mocks as possible.

His Experience with the Interview

To be ready and thorough for the actual Interview, he decided to give many mocks from different platforms.

After receiving feedback to improve his performance, he worked diligently to prepare his answers in an informative yet concise manner.

He suggests aspirants focus on their answers, especially while forming answers on joining an institution like NABARD.

It was receiving this constructive review and suggestions that benefitted him hugely in terms of delivering his answers during the Interview.

His advice to the Aspirants

Upon reflecting on his journey from preparation to achieving exam success, he emphasizes on two things – patience and perseverance which played a major role in keeping him on the right track!

While it is important for aspirants to not lose faith in themselves, it is equally crucial for them to be disciplined and responsible enough to complete their daily goals.

He strongly advises the aspirants to not lose their motivation and to leave no stone unturned in their preparation if they dream of cracking this examination.

Ankit’s inspiring journey to success in this competitive exam is a testament to his dedication, perseverance, and most importantly, his willingness to work on his shortcomings.

It was his mental attitude and patience that led him to achieve such a huge accomplishment on his first attempt.

His story serves as a reminder for us that to attain success, one must hold no excuses, take full accountability for our actions, and have strong self-confidence in the face of any challenge that is given!