NABARD Grade A Recruitment: Today is the last day to apply, Hurry Up!

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has issued Advertisement No. 05/Grade A/2025-26 inviting online applications from Indian citizens for recruitment to the post of Assistant Manager in Grade A in the Rural Development Banking Service (RDBS – General and Specialist disciplines), Legal Service, and Protocol & Security Service, and the online application window closes today, 30 November 2025. The application and fee payment process has been open from 8 November 2025 and will remain available only up to the end of today on the official website www.nabard.org , while the Phase I preliminary examination for RDBS, Legal and Protocol & Security is scheduled on 20 December 2025, followed by the Phase II mains examination for RDBS and Legal on 25 January 2026.

In total, there are 91 vacancies, including 85 posts of Assistant Manager (RDBS – comprising General and 13 specialist streams), 2 posts of Assistant Manager (Legal), and 4 posts of Assistant Manager (Protocol & Security), with reservations for SC, ST, OBC, EWS and PWBD categories as per Government of India norms. For RDBS and Legal posts, the age limit is 21 to 30 years as on 1 November 2025, meaning candidates must have been born between 2 November 1995 and 1 November 2004, with applicable relaxations for reserved categories and PWBD candidates, whereas the Protocol & Security post has a different band of 25 to 40 years with no age relaxation. A candidate can apply for only one option from among Assistant Manager (RDBS – General or any one specialist discipline), Assistant Manager (Legal), or Assistant Manager (Protocol & Security), and in case of multiple applications only the last submitted form will be considered.

For the RDBS General post, the basic eligibility is a bachelor’s degree in any subject from a recognised university with at least 60 per cent marks in aggregate (55 per cent for SC, ST and PWBD candidates) or a specified higher qualification such as a postgraduate degree, MBA/PGDM, professional qualifications like CA/CS/CMA/ICWA, or PhD from recognised institutions. Specialist RDBS disciplines require specific educational qualifications such as degrees or postgraduate degrees in Finance, Computer Science/IT, Agriculture Engineering, Horticulture/Plantation, Fisheries, Food Processing/Food Technology/Dairy Technology, Soil Science/Agriculture/Environmental Science, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mass Media/Communication/Journalism or Applied Economics, each with prescribed minimum marks and, where applicable, proof of specialisation.

For the Legal Service, candidates must possess an LLB degree recognised by the UGC and the Bar Council of India with at least 60 per cent marks in aggregate of all semesters, or an LLM degree with a minimum of 55 per cent, and practicing advocates will need to produce Bar Council registration and experience certificates at the time of interview. The Protocol & Security post is reserved for defence services officers, requiring service as a Commissioned Officer in the Army, Navy or Air Force with at least 10 years of commissioned service (with a reduced minimum for eligible PWBD candidates), along with valid ex-serviceman credentials and release conditions as detailed in the advertisement.

The selection pattern for RDBS and Legal posts consists of a Phase I preliminary online examination for 200 marks in 120 minutes, covering Reasoning, English Language, Computer Knowledge, Quantitative Aptitude, Decision Making, General Awareness, Economic and Social Issues with focus on rural India, and Agriculture & Rural Development, where only the marks of the merit section (General Awareness, ESI and ARD) are used for shortlisting to mains. Phase II mains has two papers: Paper I is descriptive General English (three questions, 100 marks, 90 minutes) and Paper II comprises both objective and descriptive components related to ESI and ARD for RDBS General, stream-specific subjects for Specialists, and legal subjects for the Legal stream, with answers to be typed on the computer.

Candidates who clear mains and appear for the mandatory psychometric test (MCQ-based, 90 minutes) are called for an interview carrying 50 marks, and the final merit list for RDBS and Legal is prepared on the basis of combined marks of mains and interview. For Protocol & Security, there is a single-stage online examination of 200 multiple-choice questions across Reasoning, English, General Awareness with banking focus and Professional Knowledge, followed by a psychometric test and an interview of 50 marks, with final selection based on the total of the online exam and interview.

The application fee structure provides that SC, ST and PWBD candidates pay only intimation charges of ₹150, while all other candidates must pay ₹700 as application fee plus ₹150 as intimation charges, exclusive of applicable GST, through the prescribed online payment gateway. Selected candidates will be placed in the Grade A scale with basic pay of ₹44,500 in the scale of 44,500–89,150 (17 years), along with dearness allowance, house rent allowance or lease facility, local compensatory allowance and grade allowance, with the current initial gross emoluments at the Head Office estimated at about ₹1,00,000 per month in addition to benefits such as residential accommodation subject to availability, medical facilities, leave travel concessions, staff loans at concessional rates, National Pension System contributions, gratuity and group term insurance coverage.

Applications can be submitted only through the online link available on the NABARD website under the “Career” section, where candidates must complete registration, fill in personal, educational and other details, upload a recent photograph, signature, left thumb impression and handwritten declaration in the specified formats and sizes, and complete fee payment before submitting and taking a printout of the final application for record, since no other mode of application is accepted.