NABARD Development Assistant Exam Analysis 2026, All Shifts Exam Review
NABARD Development Assistant Exam Analysis 2026 for the 21 February prelims exam conducted in two shifts. Get detailed section-wise review, difficulty level analysis, good attempts, question trends, and shift comparison to understand expected cut-off movement.
EXAM ANALYSIS
As per students review exam difficulty level is easy to moderate.
Good attempt
English 33-35
Reasoning 23-25
Mathematics 20-25
Overall 75-82
NABARD Development Assistant Prelims Exam Pattern
The first phase of NABARD Development Assistant is Prelims. Since NABARD Development Assistant recruitment consists of two different posts- Development Assistant and Development Assistant (Hindi) so the first phase, Prelims, is different for different posts. It consists of three sections – English Language, Numerical Ability and Reasoning for Development Assistant. For Development Assistant(Hindi) Numerical Ability is replaced with the test of Professional Knowledge (Hindi). There will be 100 questions of 100 marks with a composite timing of 1 hour. Moreover, the Prelims exam for the post of Developmet Assistant/Development Assistant (Hindi) will be a screening test.
NABARD Development Assistant Prelims Exam Pattern
| Sr. No. | Name of the Tests | No. of Questions | Maximum Marks | Duration |
| 1. | English Language | 40 | 40 | 20 min |
| 2. | Numerical Ability | 30 | 30 | 20 min |
| 3. | Reasoning | 30 | 30 | 20 min |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 60 min | |
| 1. | English Language | 40 | 40 | 20 min |
| 2. | Professional Knowledge (Hindi) | 30 | 30 | 20 min |
| 3. | Reasoning | 30 | 30 | 20 min |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 60 min | |
NABARD Development Assistant Mains Exam Pattern
The second phase of the NABARD Development Assistant/Development Assistant (Hindi) exam 2026 will be Mains. It consists of four sections- Quantitative Aptitude, General Awareness, Reasoning and Computer Knowledge and one descriptive test of English Language. The exam pattern of NABARD Development Assistant and NABARD Development Assistant (Hindi) Mains is more or less the same but the Quantitative Aptitude section is again replaced with Test of Professional Knowledge (Hindi) in NABARD Development Assistant (Hindi). The duration for the Mains will be 90 minutes for the objective test and 30 minutes for the English descriptive test.
NABARD Development Assistant Mains Exam Pattern
| Sr. No. | Name of the Tests | No. of Questions | Maximum Marks | Duration |
| 1. | Reasoning | 30 | 30 | 30 min |
| 2. | Quantitative Aptitude | 30 | 30 | 30 min |
| 3. | General Awareness (with special reference to agriculture, rural development and banking) | 50 | 50 | 25 min |
| 4. | Computer Knowledge | 40 | 40 | 20 min |
| 5. | English Language (Descriptive)Essay, Precis writing, Report / Letter Writing | 3 | 50 | 30 min |
| Total | 200 | 135 min | ||
NABARD Development Assistant (Hindi) Mains Exam Pattern
| Sr. No. | Name of the Tests | No. of Questions | Maximum Marks | Duration |
| 1. | Reasoning | 20 | 20 | 25 min |
| 2. | Professional Knowledge (Hindi) | 50 | 50 | 35 min |
| 3. | General Awareness (with special reference to agriculture, rural development and banking) | 40 | 40 | 25 min |
| 4. | Computer Knowledge | 40 | 40 | 20 min |
| 5. | English Language (Descriptive)Essay, Precis writing, Report / Letter Writing | 3 | 50 | 30 min |
| Total | 200 | 135 min | ||
Language Proficiency Test (LPT)
The candidates who qualify NABARD Development Assistant Prelims and Mains exam will be called for the Language Proficiency Test. The LPT will be conducted after the declaration of the NABARD Development Assistant Mains exam at the Regional Office of the concerned State. The LPT will be qualifying in nature. However, the candidates who fail to qualify the LPT will not be considered for appointment as Development Assistant at NABARD.
Please note that the candidates who have passed the Standard 10 and 12 with the concerned language as one of the subjects will not be required to take the Language Proficiency Test. However, they will have to submit a valid proof of the same i.e marksheet for class 10/12 with the specified Language as subject.
The list of languages for the LPT of concerned states is given in the table below.
| States | Exam centres |
| Andhra Pradesh | Telugu |
| Assam | Assamese |
| Bihar | Hindi |
| Chhattisgarh | Hindi |
| Goa | Konkani |
| Gujarat | Gujarati |
| Haryana | Hindi |
| Karnataka | Kannada |
| Madhya Pradesh | Hindi |
| Maharashtra | Marathi |
| Manipur | Imphal. |
| Nagaland | English |
| New Delhi | Hindi |
| Odisha | Oriya |
| Punjab | Punjabi |
| Rajasthan | Hindi |
| Tamil Nadu | Tamil |
| Telangana | Telugu |
| Uttar Pradesh | Hindi |
| Uttarakhand | Hindi |
| West Bengal | Bengali |
NABARD Development Assistant Marking Scheme
The NABARD Development Assistant Prelims and Mains exam will carry negative marking for every wrong answer that you attempt. 1/4th marks will be deducted for each wrong answer in both the phases. Take a look at the table below for more details on the NAbARD Development Assistant marking scheme below.
NABARD Development Assistant Marking Scheme
| NABARD Development Assistant Marking Scheme | Marks deductions |
| For correct answers | 1 mark |
| For wrong answers | 1/4 marks |
| For not attempted | 0 (no marks) |
NABARD Development Assistant Exam Language
The NABARD Development Assistant exam will be conducted through online mode. Furthermore, all the questions in the NABARD Development Assistant Prelims and Mains exam, except the English/Hindi Language section can be attempted in English and Hindi.
Selection Process
- For final selection, the merit list will be prepared State wise.
- The NABARD Development Assistant Prelims exam will be qualifying in nature. Therefore, the marks obtained in the Prelims exam will not be considered for making the final merit list.
- The final merit list will be prepared on the basis of the marks obtained in the Mains examination (Objective + Descriptive).
Resolution of Tie Cases
In cases where more than one candidate secure the equal aggregate marks, tie will be resolved by applying the following methods one after another :
