NABARD Grade A 2023 Preparation Strategy

Most great things in life are a marathon, not a sprint. Most memorable cricket innings are those from the Test matches, not T20s!

Similarly, most of the desires in life need you to develop a process that you have fun going through.

If Sachin Tendulkar just wanted to become a great cricketer, it wasn’t enough! He had to develop a rigorous physical and mental routine, a very good process to get there. Along the way, he also had fun through the journey.

When you are studying for NABARD Grade A, develop a strong process — which means, time table, small but achievable goals, check list, dedicated time slots to take tests etc. This is the process.

A good strategy and consistency go a long way. In order to prepare for the NABARD Grade A exam, you will need to take a few tests to have good picture of your strengths and weaknesses. Doing so will help you gauge yourself on which areas of the NABARD Grade A exam do you have to work on.

You can also practice from my mock tests; I’ve compiled them with care so these tests can help you learn about 4-5 concepts from one question.

Preparation is 85% of the game and the most crucial aspect of your preparation is to have a solid strategy. Every individual has their own niche and differences; therefore, I’d advise you to take inspiration from strategies online with a grain of salt.

To know more about how to create a good strategy, you can go through this document which will help you curate your personalized strategy.

It is also of utmost importance to enjoy the process of the preparation. To be in tuned with your strategy and not having a burn out.

It is now my responsibility that you get the right strategy, material, and guidance so that the day, you step into the examination hall, is not an anxious, nervous day but a confident, proud day for you.

To start you off, let me provide you some high-quality study material.

Preparation Strategy: NABARD Grade A Phase 1 & 2

In this section, you’ll notice that I have divided the NABARD Grade A preparation strategy into several topics. If you go through each of them thoroughly, read carefully all the points stated in them, and act exactly according to what I have mentioned in them, you’ll be able to ace your NABARD Grade A exam with flying colors.

Along with the topics, I have also included a time-bound, detailed, and subject-wise study plan in the sections down below that you can use to schedule your NABARD Grade A exam preparation.

The greatest feature of this study plan is that it is very easy to grasp and is in a tabulated format.

Anyway, let us start with the most important topics related to the NABARD Grade A exam preparation:

Study Sequence

1. When you start with your preparation, take at least 3 mocks of both Phase 1 and 2 to identify your strong and weak areas. Scores < 50% shall be considered weak.

2. Categorize subjects falling under strong and weak categories, after carefully evaluating which of them you are strong in and which of them you are weak in. Be honest.

3. Create a Study Timeline: Divide the preparation time into week-wise phases. Select 2 subjects at a time, one that you are strong in, and the other you are weak in. You can also use the timetable given by me below. It is divided into morning and evening shifts.

4. Brush up on Current Affairs: You can make use of ‘Spotlight’, and ‘Finance Current Affairs’ to study current affairs. If you have limited time, start with current affairs when you are done with at-least 50% of your syllabus. Do not begin your preparation with current affairs.

5. Practice Writing: Attempt a test of Essay every week to improve your writing skills.

Important Techniques

1. Schedule your day before leaving the bed in the morning and stick to this as far as possible.

2. Revise either daily or weekly, depending on your timetable. Working aspirants can follow weekly revision schedule and students can follow a daily revision schedule.

3. Analyze previous year’s paper: It would help in listing the important static part of Subjects and indicate the Shifting trends/Changing patterns.

4. Self-Assessment: Always observe yourself, you are the best guide of yourself. You must know where you lack and how much time you need to devote to a topic.

5. Don’t devote too much time to reading the newspaper. Current affairs magazines are more helpful before interviews. Argumentation and opinions help in the interview stage more. You can rely on monthly magazines for Phase 1 and Phase 2.

Approach to mocks

1. Writing mocks every week is very important. Mocks can be sectional or comprehensive, depending on the stage of your preparation. You can start with sectional tests of NABARD Phase 1 and Phase 2. When the examination is 1 month away, you can begin comprehensive mocks.

2. Sectional as well as comprehensive tests help by improving time management skills of the aspirant.

3. Mock analysis is as important as mocks itself. You can analyse mocks by dividing your answers into 3 parts- correct, incorrect and not answered. You need to work on questions that got correct by fluke and the answers that got wrong due to silly mistakes. Try to minimize these two.

Here’s a couple of Free Mock Tests, covering both Phase-1 and Phase-2 of NABARD Grade A. These Mock Tests are personally designed by me.

Work on elimination technique to score higher and also enhance your accuracy. Under elimination, you eliminate all options before finalizing your answer choice. It is certainly more time consuming but more accurate as well. (Elimination is not always successful in quant and reasoning. If you have arrived at the right answer by solving a question, no need to apply elimination)

Do’s and Don’ts

1. Cramming Wisely: Question papers have become a mix of concepts and facts – this needs a holistic approach wherein you are cramming and understanding concepts together.

2. Limited Sources: The source is like an old trusted friend, which will always help you in your time of need. There is no time for reading new books, which our brain usually forced us to do, decide on a few and stick with them.

3. Aptitude tests: Don’t forget to practice the Aptitude mock test as it has emerged as a villain. Cover aspects like comprehension, mental ability, and logical reasoning while taking aptitude tests.

4. Time Management: Do not spend your energy by talking and discussing unusually. Avoid stressful people and follow Eat, Sleep, Study & Meditate strategy for better results.

5.Say no to Facebook, Instagram, Web series or any other social media platform which can easily distract you.

6. Do not use your phone while studying. If you don’t have a laptop, get an old laptop or desktop. Phones aren’t meant to study. Keep your phone in another room or in a drawer while studying. This is rule 101.

These are all the important points that you’d need to be mindful of while preparing for the NABARD Grade A exam.

Now it is time for me to share with you the Day-wise study plan that I have designed for you all in the form of tables, but before we go over to that, let me just list out some salient points that will help you understand the study plan better.

Day-Wise Study Plan

1. The plan has been divided into 3 parts- Phase 1 Quant, Reasoning, and English; Phase 2 Economic and Social Issues; Phase 2 Agriculture & Rural Development. Based on your priority, you can pick up any one of the 3 parts.

2. If you have more than 4 months in hand for your prep, it is advisable to start with Phase 1 & 2 ARD and ESI followed by Phase 1 Computer Awareness & Decision Making and finally Phase 1 QRE. However, there is no hard and fast rule for the same. You can also start with Phase 1 QRE, if you feel that you are very weak in the same.

3. Pick up a maximum of 2 subjects in one day, as described in the study plan. Do not pick up more than 2 subjects at one point.

4. If you are a working aspirant, you need to divide your studies into 2 slots- morning and evening. Get up before other aspirants and start your day with the morning targets provided in the below study plan. Try to leave your office by 6 PM, come back home and sleep for 1 hour straight. Start studying by 8 PM and give only 3 hours. There’s no need to burn the midnight oil.

5. Repeat the cycle after you have completed your syllabus once. In the second reading, start with current affairs too. You need to cover Phase 1 and Phase 2 current affairs together. 

Phase 1 – STUDY PLAN (Quant, Reasoning & English)

Phase 1 – STUDY PLAN (Computer Awareness & Decision Making)

Phase 1 & Phase 2 – STUDY PLAN (ARD & ESI)

Conclusion

With that, we arrive at the end of the article. To conclude, I want to say that this article is extremely important as NABARD Grade A exam preparations are concerned.

What I have mentioned in this article would be massively beneficial to you, provided you read it with the utmost sincerity and earnestness.

Having said that, I’d like you to know that I have full confidence in your ability to crack the NABARD Grade A Exam, and I wish you all the very best for the preparations that lie ahead.

Have a great day!