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How To Prepare for SEBI Grade A Officer

Topics Covered: SEBI Grade A Preparation Strategy, Study Sequence, Important Techniques, Approach to Mocks, DOs & Don’ts, Day-Wise Study Plan, Phase 1 – Paper 2 Study Plan and Phase 1 & 2 – Paper 2 Study Plan

An organization like SEBI is considered to be one of premium institutes in the country. Therefore, when we discuss about the most prestigious examinations which take place nationwide, the exam of SEBI Grade A comes up in mind subsequently.  

Lakhs of aspirants apply each year for this exam which is also one of the reasons for its competitive nature.  

To begin with, SEBI is the apex regulatory body of the security market of India. Constituted by the Indian Government, SEBI is handled with the task of protecting the interest of investors and furthering the development of the securities market of India. 

Now, given the gravity of responsibilities vested on the shoulders of the organization, it is only understandable that the people working at SEBI be the absolute Crème de la crème from amongst the young population of our nation. 

Therefore, needless to say, these extremely able-minded men and women working for SEBI are selected through one of the most stringent multi-stage selection processes in the nation today. 

This selection process called the SEBI Grade A exam, is taken by thousands of hopeful candidates every year, and as mentioned before, only a select few manage to clear all the stages unscathed to finally be recruited as a SEBI Grade A officer. 

In this article, I have talked in detail about the SEBI Grade A Preparation strategy that you should adopt for a successful SEBI Grade A exam preparation. 

I have made this SEBI Grade A preparation strategy after taking into account the experience of thousands of students that I have had the privilege to teach and also to learn from. 

I have carefully considered the reasons as to why someone fails to crack the exam, even after having slogged so hard in their SEBI Grade A exam preparation. 

You can say that the SEBI Grade A preparation strategy that I am sharing with you here in this article is the final cog that you’d need for a successful SEBI Grade A exam preparation. 

Therefore, if you are one of the aspirants planning to appear for this exam, then I have good news for you regarding that, as in the page I will discussing the preparation strategy with you that you can effectively utilize to ace this exam. 

And, now about the update I promised you about SEBI Grade A 2023. Well, here’s it, as per a dependable source, the notification may come in December 2023 or in the following months. 

So, now you know, hence now is the most ideal time to recognise the relevancy of this blog. 

Soak every information that has been provided. 

Thus, without wasting any more of your time, let us dive right in. 

Table of Content – SEBI Grade A Preparation Strategy

Preparation Strategy: SEBI Grade A Phase 1 & 2

In this section, I have divided the SEBI 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 SEBI Grade A exam with flying colours. 

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 SEBI 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 SEBI 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. Score < 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.
Preparation Kit for SEBI Grade A Exams
Preparation Kit for SEBI Grade A Exams

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 SEBI 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 SEBI Grade A. These Mock Tests are personally designed by me.

4. 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 SEBI 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- Phase 1 Quant, Reasoning and English; Phase 2 Finance Theory & Numerical; Phase 2 Management; Phase 2 Companies Act & Costing; Phase 2 Accounts & Economics. Based on your priority, you can pick up any one of it.
  2. If you have more than 4 months in hand for your prep, it is advisable to start with Phase 2 F&M plan, followed by Phase 2 Companies Act & Costing, then Phase 2 Accounts & Economics 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. You can use Daily Current Affairs by Neha Ma’am and Finance Current Affairs by Gulabsa Ma’am to cover current affairs daily. (Available on YouTube).
SEBI Grade A 2022 Toppers
SEBI Grade A 2022 Toppers

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

Quantitative Aptitude Reasoning
Morning Evening
Chapters Days Chapters Days
Profit & Loss Day 1 & 2 Inequalities Day 1 & 2
Time & Work Day 3 & 4 Directions Day 3 & 4
Ratio & Proportion Day 5 & 6 Blood Relations Day 5 & 6
Average, Mixture & Alligations Day 7 & 8 Statements & Assumptions Day 7 & 8
Time, Speed & Distance Day 9 & 10 Statements & Arguments Day 9 & 10
Quadratic Equation Day 11 Statements & Course of Action Day 11
Quadratic Equation Day 12 Coding Decoding Day 12
Numbers, HCF & LCM Day 13 Coding Decoding Day 13
Numbers, HCF & LCM Day 14 Input & Output Day 14
Data Interpretation Day 15 Input & Output Day 15
Data Interpretation Day 16 Arrangements Day 16
S.I. & C.I. and Partnership Day 17 & 18 Arrangements Day 17 & 18
Percentages Day 19 & 20 Number Systems Day 19 & 20
Ages Day 21 & 22 Puzzles Day 21 & 22
Approximation Day 23 & 24 Syllogism Day 23 & 24
Simplification Day 25 & 26 Analogies Day 25 & 26
English Reasoning
Morning Evening
Chapters Days Chapters Days
Reading Comprehension Day 27 & 28 Statements & Conclusion Day 27 & 28
Cloze Test Day 29 & 30 Cause & Effect Day 29 & 30
Para Jumbles Day 31 & 32 Order & Ranking Day 31 & 32
Common Errors Day 33 & 34 Alphabet Test Day 33 & 34
Phrase Replacement Day 35 & 36 Sequence & Symbols Day 35 & 36
Critical Reasoning Day 37 & 38 Classification Day 37 & 38
Sentence Correction Day 39 & 40 Data Sufficiency Day 39 & 40
Combining Sentences Day 41 & 42
Fill in the Blanks Day 43 & 44
Vocabulary Day 45 & 46

Phase 1 & Phase 2 (Paper 2) – STUDY PLAN (Finance, Management, Commerce & Accountancy, Costing, Companies Act and Economics )

Finance Management
Morning Evening
Chapters Days Chapters Days
Regulatory Bodies Day 1 & 2 Introduction Day 1 & 2
Indian Banking Systems Day 3 & 4 Evolution of Mgmt. Thought Day 3 & 4
Indian Financial Systems Day 5 & 6 Mgmt. Function & Mgmt. Roles Day 5 & 6
Financial Market Day 7 & 8 Nudge Theory Day 7 & 8
Risk Management in Banking Sector Day 9 & 10 Intro to Org. Behaviour Day 9 & 10
Financial Inclusion Day 11 & 12 Personality Day 11 & 12
Alt. Source of Finance PPP Day 13 & 14 Perception Day 13 & 14
Corporate Governance in Banking Sector Day 15 & 16 Motivation Day 15 & 16
Inflation Day 17 & 18 Leadership Day 17 & 18
Fintech Day 19 & 20 Emotional Intelligence Day 19 & 20
Global Financial Market & Intl. Banking Day 21 & 22 Analysis of Interpersonal Relationship Day 21 & 22
Impact of Global Financial Crisis Day 23 & 24 Conflict Day 23 & 24
FDI FPI Disinvestment Day 25 & 26 Organisation Change Day 25 & 26
GST Day 27 & 28 Organisation Development Day 27 & 28
Commerce & Accountancy Management
Morning Evening
Chapters Days Chapters Days
Basics of Accounting Day 29 & 30 Human Resource Development Day 29 & 30
Accounting as Financial Acc. System Day 31 & 32 Morales & Incentives Day 31 & 32
Acc. Standards & Indian Acc. Standards Day 33 & 34 Communication Day 33 & 34
Cash Flow Statement Day 35 & 36 Performance Appraisal Day 35 & 36
Fund Flow Statement Day 37 & 38 Training & Development Day 37 & 38
Financial Statement Analysis Day 39 & 40 Corporate Governance Day 39 & 40
Commerce & Accountancy Costing
Morning Evening
Ratio Analysis Day 41 & 42 Overview of Cost Accounting Day 41 & 42
Accounting for Share Capital Day 43 & 44 Overview of Mgt. Accounting Day 43 & 44
Employee Stack Option & Buy Back of Security Day 45 & 46 Single Output & Unit Costing Day 45 & 46
Preparation of Company Final Accounts Day 47 & 48 Job Costing Day 47 & 48
Additional Topics Day 49 Batch Costing Day 49
Companies Act Costing
Morning Evening
Introduction to Companies Act Day 50 Batch Costing Day 50
Introduction to Companies Act Day 51 Contract Costing Day 51
Prospectus, Allotment of Secuties & Pvt. Placement Day 52 Contract Costing Day 52
Prospectus, Allotment of Secuties & Pvt. Placement Day 53 Process Costing Day 53
Share Capital & Debentures Day 54 Process Costing Day 54
Share Capital & Debentures Day 55 Costing of Service Sectors Day 55
Declaration & Payment of Dividend Day 56 Costing of Service Sectors Day 56
Declaration & Payment of Dividend Day 57 Standard Costing Day 57
Audit & Auditors Day 58 Standard Costing Day 58
Audit & Auditors Day 59 Marginal Costing Day 59
Appointment & Qualification of Directors Day 60 Marginal Costing Day 60
Appointment & Qualification of Directors Day 61 Budget & Budgetory Control Day 61
Meetings of Board Day 62 Budget & Budgetory Control Day 62
Meetings of Board Day 63 Lean System Day 63
National Company Law Tribunal & Appeliate Tribunal Day 64 Lean System Day 64
National Company Law Tribunal & Appeliate Tribunal Day 65
Economics Economics
Morning Evening
Introduction to Economics Day 66 & 67 Demand & Elasticity of Demand Day 66 & 67
Supply & Elasticity of Supply Day 68 & 69 Relationship between AR & MR Day 68 & 69
Utility Analysis Day 70 & 71 Procedure Equillibrium Day 70 & 71
Theory of Costs Day 72 & 73 Market Structures Day 72 & 73
National Income Day 74 & 75 Determination of Output & Employment Day 74 & 75
Classical & Keynesian Approach Day 76 & 77 Demand & Supply for Money Day 76 & 77
IS-LM Day 78 & 79 Inflation & Phillips Curve Day 78 & 79
Business Cycle Day 80 & 81 Balanace of Payment Day 80 & 81
Foreign Exchange Market Day 82 & 83 Non-Banking Financial Institutions Day 82 & 83
Baumols Sales Maximization Model Day 84 & 85

Conclusion

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

What I have mentioned above 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 SEBI Grade A Exam, and I wish you all the very best for the preparations that lie ahead.

Have a great day!

CEO of Anujjindal.in

About Anuj Jindal

━━━━━

Anuj Jindal, the founder, is an ex-manager from SBI, with an M.Com from Delhi School of Economics. He also has a JRF in Commerce & Management and NET in HRM, along with more than 5 years of experience in the field of Education.

FAQs: How To Prepare for SEBI Grade A Officer

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    Does the SEBI Grade A exam has negative marking? 

    SEBI Grade A exam follows the usual procedure of a banking exam, I.e., Its Phase I exam is divided into 2 papers and 3 sections. The total weightage of the Phase-I test is 100 marks each and there is a negative marking of 1/4 marks for every wrong answer

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    Will SEBI previous year’s papers will be helpful for preparation? 

    Going through the previous year’s paper is one of the initial steps of preparing for SEBI Grade A exam. It is a helpful practice for the following factors: 

    • It can act as a potential test-taker with the general structure of the exam.  
    • It provides a general idea about the topics that are being asked in the exam.
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    How can I Prepare for SEBI Grade A exam more effectively? 

    Here are some of the following tips you can apply to prepare effectively for the exam: 

    • Start with the basics, get a deep understanding of the SEBI Grade A syllabus, and then proceed with the topics chronologically or in the order you find suitable.  
    • Dedicate considerable time to each topic and in the process recognise your strengths and weaknesses.  
    • Once you get hold of the entire syllabus, then try to finish it in the minimum time possible, so that later you can designate time for revision.  
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    Can you share some General Awareness preparation tips? 

    Since the General Awareness section does not specify any boundaries. Start with reading newspapers and look for important news on sports, national affairs, financial schemes, etc. to stay updated. 

    Refer the thoroughly curated current affairs section that I have prepared just for you. Click here to access the current affairs.   

    Moreover, watch the comprehensive current affairs sessions of Neha ma’am on YouTube, as she comes up with the latest happenings every day.  

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    How do I start preparing for SEBI Grade A?
    There are some tips that you can refer to while beginning your preparation for the exam, these are as follows: 

    • Go through the syllabus and exam pattern of SEBI Grade A  
    • Be thorough with the topics and analyze your strong and weak areas. 
    • Make sure you are updated with current affairs as questions from it are asked in General Awareness section.  
    • Solve Previous Year Questions to understand the type of questions asked.  
    • Practice as many mocks as possible as it will help you assess your preparation level.  

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    Is it easy to clear SEBI grade A?
    To clear the exam for SEBI Grade A, you must complete the syllabus and do multiple revision. In addition to that, if you prepare effectively by following a study schedule with multiple revisions, dedication, smart work and ample practice, then it is very much possible for you to ace the exam.    

2 Comments
  1. Akash

    Hi..Akash here. I have been selected for interview for sebi grade a legal stream . Do you provide any in person interview package. Kindly email at

    Reply
    • admin

      Hi Akash,
      At this time we do not provide Interview Preparation Course & Guidance for SEBI Legal Stream. We will inform you if we provide such in future.

      Reply
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