Tips to prepare ESI for NABARD Grade A in 2 weeks

In this article, we will try to draw a sketch of the preparation strategy for the Economic and Social Issues (ESI) section for the NABARD Grade-A recruitment examination.

If we look into the structure of the last year’s paper, it becomes clear that the majority of the questions in this section are based on government schemes that have some social impact. The schemes that have some connection to the major contemporary social and economic issues are given preference over the obsolete ones.

The major idea of this section is to check the aspirants’ understanding of the way things are in the economy and society. This means that if there has been some extra emphasis from the government’s side to improve on the standard of education then the related topics are likely to find more weightage in the examination.

1. What to study?

The syllabus of the ESI section is mentioned in the recruitment notification. It is important to look into the syllabus closely to get an idea of what the paper actually requires. The categorical division of the syllabus will help the aspirants in properly cataloging the portions to which they need to put extra effort while preparation.

2. Sources to explore

The major issue with specialized examinations like NABARD Grade A is that those who do not have an educational background related to the specific subjects, find it difficult to mark the relevant sources for preparation.

Government documents

This examination is basically built around economic and social concerns, indices, and statistics. Thus, the aspirants need to look into some of the majorly legitimate sources which carry the facts and figures about the government activities in this field. Some of the major documents which the aspirant needs to tend to are listed below.

• Economic Survey (2018)
• The Union Budget (2018-19)
• Policy Reviews of the Government of India
• PIB bulletins

Most of the above documents can be readily availed through online sources. Magazines

The current policy stance of the government can be understood by the articles which come in some of the magazines listed below.

• Yojana
• Kurukshetra

These magazines act as the government’s mouthpieces to inform the citizens about the regular challenges faced as well as the achievements regarding those challenges. The importance of these magazines in accordance with the government examinations cannot be stated enough.

Some non-government publications like ‘Frontline’ and ‘Pratiyogita Darpan act as the mode of getting ensemble information and can be readily used for revision.

Books to refer

There are some standard books that are referred for those preparing for ESI.

• NCERT Economics books for classes XI and XII
• Social & Economic Problems in India by Naseem A Azad
• Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh
• Social Problems in India by Ram Ahuja
• Indian Social System by Ram Ahuja

It is important to do selective studying of these books as they have way too extensive information than the scope of the examination. Moreover, not much time remains for the examination thus the aspirants need to concentrate on selective study instead of going through all the content of the books.

Other sources

For preparing the current affairs section asked into the paper, the aspirants need to take a look at the newspaper reports of at least the last three quarters. Below mentioned are the sources for the same.

• The Hindu
• The Economic Times
• Livemint

These sources are important as they are known to cover the stories that eventually become relevant for the competitive examinations.

Last-minute hustle

As little time remains before the examination, the preparation strategy needs to be comprehensive as well as precise. Let’s look at some of the effective ways to utilize the time which is left with us before the examination.

• If you have made notes, then spend most of your time going through them. Keep iterating the revision even towards the fag end of the examination.
• If you do not have pre-prepared notes, then make sure to go through the weekly and monthly summaries of the newspapers; these summaries are readily available online.
• The monthly GK Digest from Gradeup will come in handy while trying to revise the information of the last few months in just a few days.
• Take as many quizzes as possible. After taking each quiz, make sure to analyze the questions and their solutions. This will help you in retaining those questions till the examination.
• Taking mock tests helps you in getting used to the exact environment of the actual examination. Therefore, it is imperative to take mocks on a regular basis. Analysis of the mocks goes a long way in getting their information in your system, so never skip that part.
• As the time is limited, thus do not try to cover the whole syllabus but make sure not to skip out the major portions like government schemes, surveys, international ratings, indices, etc.

The most important thing in order to perform in the examination is to be confident about the preparation.  Therefore, take all these tips, improvise them according to your suitability and implement them to get the optimized result.

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