SEBI Grade A 2025 · Syllabus & exam pattern
SEBI Grade A Syllabus 2025 and Exam Pattern: Subject-wise Topics
SEBI Grade A selection: Phase I (online, all streams) (60 minutes); Phase II (online) (60 minutes); Phase III (interview) and final merit (—), as per the official notice published 30 October 2025.
Subjects, number of questions, marks, duration and negative marking for every stage, as printed in the official notice.
SEBI Grade A exam pattern 2025
Stages of selection
- 1Phase I: online screening exam of two papers (marks used only to shortlist for Phase II)
- 2Phase II: online exam of two papers (Paper 1 English descriptive, Paper 2 stream-specific)
- 3Phase III: interview, for candidates equal to 3 times the vacancies, in order of merit
Phase I (online, all streams)
60 minutes (Paper 1) + 40 minutes (Paper 2)
| Subject | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Paper 1: General Awareness (including financial sector), English Language, Quantitative Aptitude, Test of Reasoning | — | 100 |
| Paper 2: stream-specific multiple choice questions | — | 100 |
Cut-offs: Paper 1 30%, Paper 2 40%, aggregate 40%. Negative marking of 1/4 of the marks of a question. Phase I marks are used only for shortlisting; all candidates who clear Phase I are shortlisted for Phase II.
Phase II (online)
60 minutes (Paper 1) + 40 to 180 minutes (Paper 2, by stream)
| Subject | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Paper 1: English (Descriptive Test), all streams, 60 minutes, weightage 1/3 | — | 100 |
| Paper 2, General: multiple choice, 90 minutes, weightage 2/3 | — | 100 |
| Paper 2, Legal: 70 MCQs of one mark each + 3 descriptive questions of 10 marks each, 60 minutes, weightage 2/3 | 70 + 3 | 100 |
| Paper 2, Information Technology: multiple choice, 180 minutes, weightage 2/3 | — | 100 |
| Paper 2, Research: descriptive, 120 minutes, weightage 2/3 | — | 100 |
| Paper 2, Official Language: descriptive translation and noting test, 90 minutes, weightage 2/3 | — | 100 |
| Paper 2, Engineering (Electrical) / Engineering (Civil): multiple choice, 40 minutes, weightage 2/3 | — | 100 |
Cut-offs: Paper 1 30%, Paper 2 40%, weighted aggregate 50%. Negative marking of 1/4 applies to the multiple choice questions. Candidates equal to 3 times the vacancies are shortlisted for the interview, in order of merit.
Phase III (interview) and final merit
—
| Subject | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Phase II (weighted) | — | 85% weightage |
| Interview | — | 15% weightage |
For Legal, Engineering (Electrical) and Engineering (Civil), the interview component is split 75% interview (11.25 marks) and 25% relevant post-qualification experience (3.75 marks).
Source: Recruitment of Officer Grade A (Assistant Manager) 2025 – General, Legal, Information Technology, Research, Official Language, Engineering (Electrical) and Engineering (Civil) Streams (published 30 October 2025). Confirm in the official notice before applying.
SEBI Grade A selection: phases, papers and cut-offs
Phase I has two online papers. Paper 1 is common to all streams: 100 marks in 60 minutes on General Awareness (including some questions on the financial sector), English Language, Quantitative Aptitude and Test of Reasoning, with a 30% cut-off. Paper 2 is stream-specific: 100 marks in 40 minutes with a 40% cut-off. The aggregate cut-off is 40%. Phase I marks only shortlist for Phase II, and all candidates who clear Phase I are shortlisted for Phase II.
Phase II also has two online papers. Paper 1 is an English descriptive test of drafting skills for all streams: 100 marks, 60 minutes, 30% cut-off, weightage 1/3. Paper 2 is stream-specific: 100 marks, 40% cut-off, weightage 2/3. The weighted aggregate cut-off is 50%.
There is negative marking of 1/4 of the marks assigned to a question for wrong answers in the objective tests. Candidates equal to 3 times the vacancies are called for the Phase III interview, in order of merit.
Final merit gives 85% weightage to Phase II marks and 15% to the interview. For the Legal, Engineering (Electrical) and Engineering (Civil) streams, the interview's 15 marks are split into the interview (75%, 11.25 marks) and relevant post-qualification experience (25%, 3.75 marks).
- Question papers in both phases are bilingual (Hindi and English), except the English papers. Hindi answers may be typed in the Inscript or Remington (GAIL) layout. The interview may be in Hindi or English.
- You choose up to three cities for Phase I and one city for Phase II. SEBI may change the centre, and requests for a change of centre are not entertained.
Phase II Paper 2 by stream
| Stream | Type | Marks | Duration | Cut-off |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General | Multiple choice | 100 | 90 minutes | 40% |
| Legal | 70 MCQs of 1 mark + 3 descriptive questions of 10 marks | 100 | 60 minutes | 40% |
| Information Technology | Multiple choice | 100 | 180 minutes | 40% |
| Research | Descriptive | 100 | 120 minutes | 40% |
| Official Language | Descriptive (translation and noting) | 100 | 90 minutes | 40% |
| Engineering (Electrical) | Multiple choice | 100 | 40 minutes | 40% |
| Engineering (Civil) | Multiple choice | 100 | 40 minutes | 40% |
Weightage of Paper 2 is 2/3 in every stream. The advertisement does not print the number of questions for the objective papers other than the Legal stream.
SEBI Grade A syllabus: Phase I and Phase II
Phase I Paper 1 (all streams) covers General Awareness (including some questions on the financial sector), English Language, Quantitative Aptitude and Test of Reasoning. Phase II Paper 1 (all streams) is an English descriptive test that assesses writing skills, including expression and understanding of the topic, through précis writing, essay writing and comprehension.
For the General stream, Paper 2 of Phase I (100 marks, 40 minutes) and Paper 2 of Phase II (100 marks, 90 minutes) have a common syllabus. The topic areas below are those printed in the advertisement's syllabus annexure; weightages marked 'indicative' are printed as indicative only.
- General – Commerce & Accountancy: accounting as a financial information system; accounting standards (including depreciation, inventories, revenue recognition, fixed assets, foreign exchange, investments); cash flow and fund flow statements, financial statement analysis and ratio analysis; accounting for share capital including bonus and rights issues; employee stock options and buy-back of securities; preparation and presentation of company final accounts.
- General – Management: nature and scope; planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling; role of a manager; leadership styles and theories; human resource development; motivation, morale and incentives; communication (process, channels, barriers, role of IT).
- General – Finance: financial system and the role of financial sector regulators; financial markets (primary and secondary: forex, money, bond, equity) and their instruments; basics of forwards, futures and swaps; financial inclusion through technology; alternate sources of finance, cost-benefit analysis and PPP; direct and indirect taxes, GST, Finance Commission, fiscal policy and the FRBM Act; inflation, WPI and CPI.
- General – Costing: overview of cost and management accounting; methods of costing (single unit, job, batch, contract, process/operation, service sector); standard costing, marginal costing and budgetary control; lean system and innovation (JIT, Kaizen costing, 5S, TPM, cellular manufacturing / one-piece flow, Six Sigma, process innovation, business process re-engineering).
- General – Companies Act: Companies Act, 2013, with specific reference to Chapters III, IV, VIII, X, XI, XII and XXVII.
- General – Economics: demand and supply, market structures, national income, classical and Keynesian approaches, consumption and investment functions, multiplier and accelerator, demand and supply of money, IS-LM, inflation and the Phillips curve, business cycles, balance of payments, foreign exchange markets, monetary and fiscal policy, non-banking financial institutions.
- Legal – Phase I Paper 2: Constitution of India; Contract Law; Code of Civil Procedure, 1908; Transfer of Property Act, 1882; Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996; The Limitation Act, 1963; Administrative Law; Jurisprudence and Interpretation of Statutes; Important Latin terms and maxims; Law of Torts and Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
- Legal – Phase II Paper 2 (indicative): Criminal Law (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023; Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023) and Law of Evidence (Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023) 30%; Corporate Laws (Companies Act, 2013; LLP Act, 2008; Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016) 30%; Securities Laws (Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956; SEBI Act, 1992; Depositories Act, 1996; listed SEBI regulations) 40%.
- Information Technology – Phase I Paper 2: Database Concepts; SQL Queries; Programming Concepts (Java/C/C++); Data Analytics Languages (Python/R); Algorithms for problem solving; Networking Concepts; Information & Cyber Security Concepts; Data warehousing; Shell Programming. Phase II Paper 2 (indicative marks): Algorithms 30, Data Structure 40, String Manipulation 10, Object Oriented Programming 20 — multiple choice questions on logic flow completion, debugging, syntax understanding, program dry-run outputs and data analysis.
- Research – Phase I Paper 2: Economics; Public Economics; Statistics and Econometrics; International Economics; Financial Markets. Phase II Paper 2 (descriptive, indicative): Economics 25%, Financial Markets 50%, Statistics 25%.
- Official Language – Paper 2 (common to both phases): Official Language Policy of the Govt. of India; Hindi-to-English and English-to-Hindi translation; legal terminology; administrative, banking and capital market terminology (both directions).
- Engineering (Electrical) – Paper 2 (both phases): Electrical Materials; Electric Circuits and Fields; Electrical and Electronic Measurements; Computer Fundamentals; Basic Electronics Engineering; Analog and Digital Electronics; Systems and Signal Processing; Control Systems; Electrical Machines; Power Systems; Power Electronics and Drives.
- Engineering (Civil) – Paper 2 (both phases): Building Materials; Solid Mechanics; Structural Analysis; Design of Steel Structures; Design of Concrete and Masonry structures; Construction Practice, Planning and Management; Flow of Fluids, Hydraulic Machines and Hydro Power; Hydrology and Water Resources Engineering; Environmental Engineering; Geo-technical Engineering and Foundation Engineering; Surveying and Geology; Transportation Engineering.
Papers, marks and durations
| Phase / paper | Streams | Marks | Duration | Cut-off | Weightage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase I Paper 1 | All | 100 | 60 minutes | 30% | Shortlisting only |
| Phase I Paper 2 | Each stream | 100 | 40 minutes | 40% | Shortlisting only |
| Phase II Paper 1 (English descriptive) | All | 100 | 60 minutes | 30% | 1/3 |
| Phase II Paper 2 | General | 100 | 90 minutes | 40% | 2/3 |
| Phase II Paper 2 | Legal | 100 | 60 minutes | 40% | 2/3 |
| Phase II Paper 2 | Information Technology | 100 | 180 minutes | 40% | 2/3 |
| Phase II Paper 2 | Research | 100 | 120 minutes | 40% | 2/3 |
| Phase II Paper 2 | Official Language | 100 | 90 minutes | 40% | 2/3 |
| Phase II Paper 2 | Engineering (Electrical / Civil) | 100 | 40 minutes | 40% | 2/3 |
Phase I aggregate cut-off 40%; Phase II weighted aggregate cut-off 50%.
Frequently asked questions
What is the SEBI Grade A exam pattern?
Phase I (online, all streams): Paper 1: General Awareness (including financial sector), English Language, Quantitative Aptitude, Test of Reasoning, Paper 2: stream-specific multiple choice questions (60 minutes (Paper 1) + 40 minutes (Paper 2)). Cut-offs: Paper 1 30%, Paper 2 40%, aggregate 40%. Negative marking of 1/4 of the marks of a question. Phase I marks are used only for shortlisting; all candidates who clear Phase I are shortlisted for Phase II. Phase II (online): Paper 1: English (Descriptive Test), all streams, 60 minutes, weightage 1/3, Paper 2, General: multiple choice, 90 minutes, weightage 2/3, Paper 2, Legal: 70 MCQs of one mark each + 3 descriptive questions of 10 marks each, 60 minutes, weightage 2/3, Paper 2, Information Technology: multiple choice, 180 minutes, weightage 2/3, Paper 2, Research: descriptive, 120 minutes, weightage 2/3, Paper 2, Official Language: descriptive translation and noting test, 90 minutes, weightage 2/3, Paper 2, Engineering (Electrical) / Engineering (Civil): multiple choice, 40 minutes, weightage 2/3 (60 minutes (Paper 1) + 40 to 180 minutes (Paper 2, by stream)). Cut-offs: Paper 1 30%, Paper 2 40%, weighted aggregate 50%. Negative marking of 1/4 applies to the multiple choice questions. Candidates equal to 3 times the vacancies are shortlisted for the interview, in order of merit. Phase III (interview) and final merit: Phase II (weighted), Interview (—). For Legal, Engineering (Electrical) and Engineering (Civil), the interview component is split 75% interview (11.25 marks) and 25% relevant post-qualification experience (3.75 marks).
What is the SEBI Grade A exam pattern?
Phase I: Paper 1 (100 marks, 60 minutes) and a stream paper (100 marks, 40 minutes), for shortlisting only. Phase II: English descriptive (100 marks, 60 minutes, weightage 1/3) and a stream paper (100 marks, weightage 2/3). Then an interview; final merit is 85% Phase II and 15% interview.
Is there negative marking in SEBI Grade A?
Yes. A wrong answer in the objective tests costs 1/4 of the marks assigned to that question.
What is the SEBI Grade A General stream syllabus?
Paper 2 of both phases covers Commerce & Accountancy, Management, Finance, Costing, Companies Act and Economics. Paper 1 of Phase I covers General Awareness, English, Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning; Paper 1 of Phase II is English descriptive writing.