Table

Table of of
C O N T E N T S
C O N T E N T S
About SEBI
• What is the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)?
• Brief History of SEBI
• SEBI Departments & Their Functions
• Hierarchy in SEBI

About SEBI Assistant Manager

• How is the recruitment conducted?
• What is the pattern of the examination?
• What is the eligibility?
• Cut-offs so far
• What is the syllabus of the examination?
• What is the job profile?
• What is the salary?
• What are the other allowances and benefits?
• Additional benefits apart from CTC
• Offices of SEBI
• What is the training at SEBI like?
• All about postings
• What are the promotion opportunities?

Resources to Become SEBI Assistant Manager

• Resources for Phase 1
• Resources for Phase 2
• Resources for Interview

Our 6 step formula to become SEBI Grade A O icer

• What is the 6 step formula?
• Our Legacy - Our Students
 Disclaimer
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About SEBI
About SEBI

• What is the Securities and Exchange Board

of India (SEBI)?

• Brief History of SEBI

• SEBI Departments & Their Functions

• Hierarchy in SEBI
 About SEBI | 03

About SEBI

What is the Securities and Exchange

Board of India (SEBI)?
SEBI is a statutory body and a market regulator, which
controls the securities market in India. The primary
function of SEBI is to protect investors' interests in
securities and promote and regulate the securities
market.

The Preamble of the Securities and Exchange Board of

India describes the basic functions of the Securities and
Exchange Board of India as "to protect the interests of
investors in secu ities and to promote the development
of, and to regulate the secu ities market and for matters
connected in addition to that or incidental thereto”

Ms. Madhabi Puri Buch is the first woman chairperson

of SEBI. She is also the first person from the private
sector to be appointed to this position.

Brief History of SEBI

The Securities and Exchange Board of India was constituted as a non-statutory body on
April 12, 1988, through a resolution of the Government of India.

SEBI was established as a statutory body in the year 1992 and the provisions of the
Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 (15 of 1992) came into force on January
30, 1992.
 About SEBI | 04
SEBI Departments & Their Functions
• Alternative Investment Fund and
Foreign Portfolio Investors Department
(AFD): AFD handles all work related to
Alternative Investment Funds (AIF),
Venture Capital Funds (VCF), Foreign
Venture Capital Investors (FVCI),
Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI),
Designated Depository Participant
(DDP) and Custodians.
• Corporation Finance Department
(CFD) The Corporation Finance
Department deals with matters relating
to-
◦ Issuance and listing of securities
◦ Corporate governance and
accounting/auditing standards
◦ Social Stock Exchange- Policy
Formulation, Regulatory Supervision,
etc.
◦ Delisting, etc.
• Corporation Finance Investigation
Department (CFID): The CFID is
responsible for carrying out preliminary/
detailed investigations on fraud,
diversion/ siphoning or misappropriation
of funds; non-compliance with objects
of the issue of IPO, etc.
• Department Economic and Policy
Analysis (DEPA): This department has
2 division, Statistics and Publication
that collects the data from various
sources and also verify their accuracy
and continuously maintain/ update the
data and Regulatory Research that
prepare inputs on regulatory
developments or changes in regulatory
structures.
• Department of Debt and Hybrid
Securities (DDHS): The department
has been entrusted with matters
related to Corporate Bonds, listed debt
securities, Non-convertible
Redeemable preference shares
(NCRPS), Real Estate Investment Trust
(REITs), Infrastructure Investment Trust
(InvITs), Deemed Public Issues of debt
securities (DPI) and complaints in
respect of aforementioned areas of
work.
• Enforcement Department: This
department shall enforce action
against market misdemeanors through
SEBI administrative proceedings and is
responsible for handling appeals
against SEBI orders filed before the
Hon’ble Securities Appellate Tribunal
(SAT), Appeals filed against the SAT
order in the Hon’ble Supreme Court,
criminal complaints filed by SEBI in
appropriate Courts and Settlement
Proceedings.
• Enquiries and Adjudication
Department (EAD): The EAD would
handle quasi-judicial matters and
provide timely hearings and initiate
adjudication brought by the other
departments against alleged violators
who are within SEBI's disciplinary
jurisdiction.
• General Services Department (GSD):
This department would support all of
the internal operations of SEBI.
 About SEBI | 05
• Recovery and Refund department
(RRD): RRD deals with recovery
proceedings against the defaulters
who have failed to pay the penalty,
fees, disgorgement amount or monies
directed to be refunded to investors
and refund of such monies.
• Human Resources Department (HRD):
The Human Resources Division will
perform all the functions in its role as
the principal personnel and human
resources authority in SEBI.
• Information Technology Department
(ITD): The Information Technology
Department (ITD) of SEBI is the
enabler of the technology landscape in
the organization.
• Integrated Surveillance Department
(ISD): The ISD is responsible for
market surveillance of all segments of
the Securities market.
• Investigations Department (IVD):
The IVD is responsible for:
◦ Conducting examination or
investigations related to all segments
of the securities market.
◦ Providing referrals to the
Enforcement Department.
◦ Assisting the concerned
department(s)/offices in quasi-
judicial proceedings.
◦ Maintenance of database and other
related works.
• Investment Management Department
(IMD): IMD handles work related to the
regulatory & developmental policy of
Mutual Funds, Portfolio Managers and
Collective Investment Scheme and
various other work related to
registration of Portfolio Managers, an
inspection of Mutual Funds and
Portfolio Management Service (PMS),
etc.
• Legal Affairs Department (LAD):The
LAD would be responsible to provide
legal counsel to the Board and to its
other departments and to handle non-
enforcement litigation.
• Market Intermediaries Regulation and
Supervision Department (MIRSD):
MIRSD is responsible for the
registration, supervision, compliance
monitoring and inspections of all
market intermediaries in respect of all
segments of the markets viz. equity,
equity derivatives, currency
derivatives, debt and debt related
derivatives and commodity derivatives.
• Market Regulation Department
(MRD):
MRD is responsible for the formulation
of policy and supervision of
functioning and operations of Market
Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs) such
as Stock Exchanges, Depositories and
clearing corporations as well as Vault
Managers.
 About SEBI | 06

Hierarchy in SEBI

01 Chairperson

Whole Time
Member 02

Executive
03 Directors

Chief General
04
Manager

General
05 Manager

Deputy
General Manager 06

Assistant
07 General Manager

Manager 08

Assistant
09
Manager
 02
About SEBI Assistant Manager

About SEBI
Assistant
Manager
• How is the recruitment conducted?
• What is the pattern of the examination?
• What is the eligibility?
• Cut-offs so far
• What is the syllabus of the examination?
• What is the job profile?
• What is the salary?
• What are the other allowances and benefits?
• Additional benefits apart from CTC
• Offices of SEBI
• What is the training at SEBI like?
• All about postings
• What are the promotion opportunities?
 About SEBI Assistant Manager | 08

About SEBI Assistant Manager

How is the recruitment conducted?
Officers in Grade A cadre of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) are recruited
through a 3 stage recruitment process –

Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3

Examination Examination Examination

Preliminary Mains Interview

Exam Exam

What is the pattern of the examination?

Phase 1 Exam Details
• Phase 1 or the preliminary examination consists of 2 papers.
• Paper 1 is of 100 Marks, 60 minutes duration and contains multiple choice questions on
the subjects viz. General Awareness (including some questions related to the Financial
Sector of easy to moderate difficulty level), English Language, Quantitative Aptitude and
Test of Reasoning.
• Paper 2 for the general stream is of 100 marks, 40 minutes duration and contains multiple
choice questions on subjects – Commerce, Accountancy, Management, Finance, Costing,
Companies Act and Economics.
• Negative marking (1/4th of marks assigned to the question) is applicable for Paper 1 and
Paper 2 in Phase 1.
• There is also a minimum cut-off of 30% for Paper 1 (no sectional cut-off is there) and a
minimum cut-off of 40% for Paper 2 in Phase 1.
• Candidates need to secure separate cut-offs in each paper as mentioned above as well as
aggregate cut-off marks of 40% in Phase 1 exam to be shortlisted for Phase 2.
• Phase 1 marks are used only for shortlisting the candidates for the Phase 2 and are not
counted for the final selection of the candidates.
 About SEBI Assistant Manager | 09

Phase 1 Paper 1 of SEBI Grade A exam has the following 4 sections:

Section No of Questions Max Marks

General Awareness 20 25

English Language 20 25

Quantitative Aptitude 20 25

Reasoning 20 25

Total 80 100

Phase 1 Paper 2 of SEBI Grade A exam has the following 7 sections:

Section No of Questions Max Marks

Commerce

Accountancy

Management

50 questions covering these 7 sections

Finance

Costing

Companies Act

Economics

Total 50 100
 About SEBI Assistant Manager | 10

Phase 2 Exam Details:

For the General Stream, it consists of 2 papers of 100 Marks each.

Name of Type of Time No. of Marks Cut off Weightage

Paper Paper (Minutes) Questions

Paper-I: Online 60 3-4 100 30% 1/3rd

English Descriptive
(Descriptive
Test) to test
the drafting
skills

Paper-II: Objective 40 50 100 40% 2/3rd

Commerce,
Accountanc
y,
Managemen
t, Finance,
Costing,
Companies
Act and
Economics.

Aggregate 40%
Cut off

• Candidates shortlisted for Phase II are issued new Hall Tickets.

• For candidates who have applied in multiple streams, Paper II is conducted in various
shifts, the timings of which is intimated in the Hall Ticket.
• Negative marking (1/4th of marks assigned to the question) for Paper 2 in Phase 2 is
applicable.
• There is a minimum cut-off of 30% for Paper 1 and a minimum cut-off of 40% for Paper 2
in Phase 2.
• Candidates need to secure separate cut-off in each paper as mentioned above as well
as aggregate cut-off marks of 40% in Phase 2 exam (weightage of 1/3rd for Paper 1 and
2/3rd for Paper 2) to be shortlisted for Phase 3.
• Candidates equaling 3 times the number of vacancies are shortlisted, in order of merit,
for Phase 3 i.e. the Interview.
• All question papers (in both the Phases, except the test of English) are set bilingually in
Hindi and English.
 About SEBI Assistant Manager | 11

Phase 3 Details:

Phase 3 of the SEBI Grade A examination consists of an Interview.

◦ Candidates are shortlisted for interview based on their Phase 2 marks only (sum of 2
papers)
◦ Weightage of marks obtained in Phase 2 is 85%, while marks obtained in interview is
given a weightage of 15%.
◦ Candidates can opt for interview either in Hindi or English
The final selection of candidates is done by adding marks secured in Phase 2 and Interview.

What is the eligibility?

• Age Limits: (As of the notification date) – A candidate must not have exceeded the age
of 30 years.
• Educational Qualification (General Stream):
Master’s Degree in any discipline, Bachelors’ Degree in Law, Bachelors’ Degree in Engineering
from a recognized university, CA / CFA / CS / Cost Accountant.

Age Relaxation

5 3 10 13 15 5
years years years for years years years for
for for Person for for Ex-
SC/ST OBC with PwBD PwBD servicemen
Benchm (OBC) (SC/ST) (served at
ark least 5
Disabilit years of
y [PwBD continuous
(UR)] Military
Service)
 About SEBI Assistant Manager | 12

Cut-O s so far
• SEBI Grade A 2022 Phase 2 Cut-Off -

• SEBI Grade A 2020 Phase 2 Cut-Off -

• SEBI Grade A 2018 Phase 1 & 2 Cut-Off -

Note - 2018 examination was based on old pattern.

▪ Phase 1 had 1 single paper with 5 sections (General Awareness, English Language,
Quantitative Aptitude, Test of Reasoning & Awareness about Securities Market) of
40 marks each.
▪ Phase 2 had 3 papers (paper 1 - Securities Market, paper 2 - English (Writing
Skills), paper 3 - Economic & Social Issues and Finance & Management) of 100
marks each.
 About SEBI Assistant Manager | 13
What is the syllabus of the examination?
Paper 1 Phase 1 Syllabus
• General Awareness
◦ National News: MoUs, summits and
major events related to India.
◦ International: Summits, Conferences
held abroad.
◦ Financial & Economics News
◦ Financial Awareness: RBI and SEBI
Notification and Regulations
◦ Defence: Military exercises, drills and
major updates related to the defence
sector of India
◦ Days in News: Major events or days,
along with their date, and theme
◦ Persons in News: Obituaries,
appointments, retirements
◦ Sports: Major tournaments and their
winners
◦ Science, Technology and Space
◦ Awards and honours
◦ Environment
◦ Banking, Economy related news
▪ Reports and Government Schemes
◦ Books and Authors
◦ Static GA – Chief Ministers and
Cabinet Ministers, National Parks and
Sanctuaries, Organisations’
Headquarters, Banks’ Headquarters
and Taglines, Power Plants in India,
Indian Dance Forms, Countries’
Capitals and their Currencies.
 About SEBI Assistant Manager | 14

• English Language
◦ Grammar ◦ Cloze test
◦ Error Spotting ◦ Rearrangement
◦ Sentence Improvement ◦ Para jumbles
◦ Comprehension Ability ◦ Double Fillers
◦ Comprehension passage ◦ Vocabulary - Synonyms, Antonyms,
One-word Substitution, Phrasal Verbs

• Quantitative Aptitude
◦ Ratio and Proportion ◦ Questions on Series and Quadratic
◦ Percentage equation
◦ Profit and Loss ◦ Mathematical Inequalities
◦ Simple and Compound Interest ◦ Number Series
◦ Questions on Average and Age ◦ Data Interpretation
◦ Time and Work ◦ Simplification/Approximation
◦ Pipes and Cistern ◦ Quantity Comparisons
◦ Time and Distance ◦ Data Sufficiency
◦ Mixture and Alligation ◦ Partnership

• Reasoning Ability
◦ Alphanumeric series ◦ Blood Relation
◦ Coding and Decoding ◦ Puzzles and Seating arrangement
◦ Syllogism ◦ Input-Output
◦ Direction Sense ◦ Critical Reasoning
◦ Inequality ◦ Questions based on Data Sufficiency
◦ Ranking and Order

Paper 1 (Phase 2):

• English
The paper on English shall be framed in a manner to assess the writing skills including
expression and understanding of the topic including precis writing/ essay writing/
comprehension.
 About SEBI Assistant Manager | 15
Paper 2 (Phase 1+2)
• Commerce and Accountancy:
◦ Accounting as a financial information
system
◦ Accounting Standards with specific
reference to Accounting for
Depreciation, Inventories, Revenue
Recognition, Fixed Assets, Foreign
Exchange Transactions, Investments
◦ Cash Flow Statement, Fund flow
statement, Financial statement
analysis; Ratio analysis
◦ Accounting for Share Capital
Transactions including Bonus Shares,
Right Shares
◦ Employees Stock Option and Buy-
Back of Securities
◦ Preparation and Presentation of
Company Final Accounts.
• Management:
◦ Management: its nature and scope;
The Management Processes;
Planning, Organization, Staffing,
Directing and Controlling
◦ The Role of a Manager in an
Organization. Leadership: The Tasks
of a Leader
◦ Leadership Styles; Leadership
Theories; A successful Leader versus
an effective Leader
◦ Human Resource Development:
Concept of HRD; Goals of HRD
◦ Motivation, Morale and Incentives:
Theories of Motivation; How
Managers Motivate; Concept of
Morale; Factors determining morale;
Role of Incentives in Building up
Morale
◦ Communication: Steps in the
Communication Process;
Communication Channels; Oral
versus Written Communication;
Verbal versus non-verbal
Communication; upward, downward
and lateral communication; Barriers
to Communication, Role of
Information Technology.
 About SEBI Assistant Manager | 16
• Finance:
◦ Financial System
▪ Role and Functions of Regulatory
bodies in the Financial Sector
◦ Financial Markets
▪ Primary and Secondary Markets
(Forex, Money, Bond, Equity, etc.),
functions, instruments, recent
developments
◦ General Topics
▪ Basics of Derivatives: Forward,
Futures and Swap
▪ Recent Developments in the
Financial Sector
▪ Financial Inclusion- use of
technology
▪ Alternate source of finance,
private and social cost-benefit,
Public-Private Partnership
▪ Direct and Indirect taxes; Non-tax
sources of Revenue, GST, Finance
Commission, Fiscal Policy, Fiscal
Responsibility and Budget
Management Act (FRBM)
▪ Inflation: Definition, trends,
estimates, consequences, and
remedies (control): WPI, CPI -
components and trends
• Companies Act:
◦ The Companies Act, 2013 – Specific reference to Chapter III, Chapter IV, Chapter VIII,
Chapter X, Chapter XI, Chapter XII and Chapter XXVII.
• Costing:
◦ Overview of Cost and Management
Accounting - Introduction to Cost and
Management Accounting, Objectives
and Scope of Cost and Management
Accounting.
◦ Methods of Costing - Single Output/
Unit Costing, Job Costing, Batch
Costing, Contract Costing, Process/
Operation Costing, Costing of Service
Sectors.
◦ Basics of Cost Control and Analysis -
(i) Standard Costing, (ii) Marginal
Costing, (iii) Budget and Budgetary
Control
◦ Lean System and Innovation:- a)
Introduction to Lean System b) Just-
in-Time (JIT) c) Kaizen Costing d) 5
Ss e) Total Productive Maintenance
(TPM) f) Cellular Manufacturing/ One-
Piece Flow Production Systems g) Six
Sigma (SS) h) Introduction to Process
Innovation and Business Process Re-
engineering (BPR)
 About SEBI Assistant Manager | 17

• Economics:

◦ Demand and Supply, Market Structures, National Income: Concepts and Measurement,
Classical & Keynesian Approach Determination of output and employment,
Consumption Function, Investment Function, Multiplier and Accelerator, Demand and
Supply for Money, IS-LM, Inflation and Phillips Curve, Business Cycles

◦ Balance of Payments, Foreign Exchange Markets, Inflation, Monetary and Fiscal Policy,
Non-banking Financial Institutions.

What is the job profile?

As per the transfer and placement policy of SEBI, employees may be posted to different
departments/offices and assigned work on areas ranging from policy formulation to
intermediary registration, inspection, supervision, investigation, adjudication, etc. The job
profile of an employee is also dependent upon the stream opted at the time of recruitment.
You can refer to the different departments and their functions on page no. 04

What is the salary?

A SEBI Grade A officer is entitled to an annual CTC of Rs 21,60,000. The take-home pay
after all the deductions is around Rs. 1 lakh/month without accommodation and with
accommodation it is around Rs. 70,000/month. Major deductions are, Employer & Employee
NPS contribution and income tax.
 About SEBI Assistant Manager | 18

What are the other allowances and benefits?

Apart from salary, as an Assistant Manager at SEBI, you are entitled to various allowances
and benefits. The details of the allowances are given in the table below:

Component Monthly (in ₹) In hand (in ₹) Remarks

Basic + Dearness Allowance If you avail housing

+ facility from SEBI then
1,40,000 1,00,000
Special Allowance + Family 35,000 will be
Allowance deducted

Petrol Allowance 21,700 21,700 200 liters/month

Newspaper Allowance 800 800 2,400 per Quarter

Servant/Maid Allowance 5,000 5,000 15,000 per Quarter

Telephone Allowance 2,700 2,700 8,100 per quarter

Medical Allowance 4,000 4,000 52,000 per year

Laptop Allowance 1,000 1,000 40,000 once in 4 years

1.8 lakhs + 72k once in

Furniture Allowance 3,000 3,000
5 years

Brief Case Allowance 350 350 4,000 per year

Sodexo 800 800 9,600 per year

Books 600 600 7,000 per Year

Spectacle Allowance 600 600 7,000 per Year

Total 1,80,000 1,35,650 CTC = 21,60,000

 About SEBI Assistant Manager | 19

Additional benefits apart from CTC:

• SEBI has excellent canteen facilities and by paying just ₹100, you can have lunch for the
whole month.
• There are free gym facilities to keep yourself fit.
• For sports enthusiasts, SEBI keeps organizing cricket, badminton, etc. tournaments.
Also, sports kits are reimbursed.
• They also have a budget of ₹5000 per employee per 6 months to go out and enjoy.
• There is a BSP program, which is basically a brainstorming program and a budget of
₹11000 per year is allocated for it. The agenda of this program is to allow people to go
out and brainstorm their strengths and weaknesses as a team and what can be done
better in the organization.
• SEBI also pays up to ₹7000 per month for the education of your children. (up to 2
children)
• SEBI is 5-days a week office and working hours are 9 AM to 6 PM. And you have almost
160 holidays in a year. (104 Saturdays & Sundays, 42 casual & other leaves, approx. 15
National holidays)

O ices of SEBI -
The Head office of SEBI is located in Mumbai and SEBI has a total of 4 Regional Offices,
located in New Delhi, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Kolkata. Then they have local offices in the
cities of North, South, East, and West Zones of the country.

What is the training at SEBI like?

• After your selection, you undergo a 6-week induction program at The National Institute
of Securities Markets (NISM), Patalganga, Maharashtra, which basically covers technical
inputs on securities markets as well as behavioural sessions to enhance the soft skills of
the participants. After that, on-job training starts and you are on a probation period of 2
years.
 About SEBI Assistant Manager | 20

All about postings -

• Generally, after recruitment, you are posted to the Head Office i.e., Mumbai and as per
the experts, it is always better to have your first posting in Mumbai because you get to
work on a wider canvas here and gain a hell lot of experience. However, if you wish to be
posted in your home town, you may request the same to SEBI. Also, there are no rural
postings in SEBI at all.
• Foreign postings in SEBI -
SEBI does not have its office abroad, so you do not get posted abroad. However, you
may get an opportunity to go on deputation to various other domestic regulatory bodies,
Government departments, foreign regulatory bodies, multilateral organizations and other
organizations relevant to the financial market.

What are the promotion opportunities?

An officer can expect an interview call for the promotion within 3-5 years of service. These
promotions are done based on your annual report and how you perform in the interview
round. So the promotions in SEBI are time bound and based on your performance. The
highest level one can reach is Executive Director. Whole Time Members and Chairman are
appointed by the Government of India and they can be even from other regulatory bodies.
Resources to
Become SEBI
Assistant
Manager

• Resources for phase 1

• Resources for phase 2

• Resources for interview

 Resources to Become SEBI Assistant Manager | 22

Resources to Prepare for SEBI Grade A Exam

Resources can be divided into -

Magazines Newspapers Websites

Books

Resources for Phase 1 Paper 1:

Subject Books Websites Newspapers Magazines

Quantitative Aptitude
Quantitative
for CAT by Arun NA NA NA
Aptitude
Sharma

A Modern Approach to
Verbal and Non Verbal
Reasoning
Reasoning - RS NA NA NA
Ability
Aggarwal

We are not suggesting

Read editorial
any book here - the
section of The
English idea to develop a NA NA
Hindu/The
decent vocabulary
Indian Express
through reading

Google Search
to find out the
General Static GK questions in
important
Awareness SEBI are asked based NA NA
static aspects
(Static GK) on current affairs!
of current
news

Weekly/Mon
-The Hindu
General thly current
- The Livemint
Awareness NA NA affairs
(Current Affairs) compilations
PDFs
 Resources to Become SEBI Assistant Manager | 23

Resources for Phase 2 Paper 1:

Subject Books Websites Newspapers Magazines

We are not
The Hindu (editorial
suggesting any book
- PIB (will help in section) - will help
Descriptiv here - the idea is to
collecting good in building NA
e English develop a decent
points for essay) command over
vocabulary through
language
reading

Resources for Phase 1 and Phase 2 Paper 2:

Subject Books Websites Newspapers Magazines

- 11th Class NCERT Part 1

ICAI
and 2
Knowledge
Portal
Commerce & - 12th Class NCERT Part 2
(www.icai.o NA NA
Accounts
rg) -
- Students guide to
Intermediat
Accounting Standards by Dr
e Course
D.S Rawat

-Principles and Practice of

Management - LM Prasad

-Principles and Practice of

Management - TN Chhabra

-Organizational Behaviour - http://www.

LM Prasad manageme
Management NA NA
ntstudygui
-Organizational Behaviour - de.com/
Stephen Robinson and
Niharika Vohra

-Business Ethics and

Corporate Governance - B.N
Ghosh
 Resources to Become SEBI Assistant Manager | 24

-Principles and Practice Of

Banking (IIBF)
-Latest
-Bank Financial Management Investopedia
Economic
(IIBF) - Livemint
Survey
Finance - FAQs (editorials
-Latest
-Indian Financial System by section of section)
Union
Bharati Pathak RBI website
Budget
-Indian Economy by Ramesh
Singh

Cost Accounting - Principles

Paper 8,10
and Practice - M N Arora
and 15 of
Intermediate
Costing Modern Cost and NA NA
Study
Management Accounting - M
Material on
Hanif
www.icmai.in

E book of
Companies
Companies Act, 2013 - Make Act 2013
Companies Act NA NA
it Simple by AUBSP given on
www.ebook.
mca.gov.in

- Indian Economy by Ramesh

Singh
Economics NA NA NA
- Principles of
Microeconomics by HL Ahuja

A note of caution here - all the above resources are not to be read cover to cover. You must
refer to the syllabus as well as the previous year's questions and then do the selective
reading.
 Resources to Become SEBI Assistant Manager | 25

Interview Resources:
The moment you clear Phase 2 examination, trust me you experience a different level of
anxiety. You start to watch all sorts of videos, and FOMO pushes you to cover everything
possible and follow every strategy you are advised. But, if you have read the pattern of SEBI
exam on page no. 11 you would be aware that the weightage of the interview is 15%, which
indicates the interview is going to be more about your analytical skill and your perception
about the external world. So, these are the 7 key areas you need to focus on for the
interview.

• Detailed Application Form or DAF:

DAF is the most important tool for your interview because it tells the panel members
about you and helps them judge you. If you have prepared atleast 100 questions on your
DAF including family background, educational qualification, gap years if any, low % in
academics, etc. really well, you will be very easily able to turn the interview in your
favour. Also, while filling your DAF, you should avoid some of these common mistakes -
◦ Not giving professional references: Always give professional references so that they
can vouch for your competitiveness and intelligence. Giving random references looks
really awkward.
◦ Following a random order for filling educational qualifications
◦ Not giving honest reasons for leaving the previous job. You need to be honest yet
careful while filling this section, as in you may write that for better career prospects
you left the job but saying that you left the job because your boss was pathetic can do
harm.

• Know about SEBI:

The interviewer of any organization expects you to know atleast a bit about the
organization. In-depth knowledge is however not required. To know about SEBI, the
About section, Annual reports, Press releases containing recent developments in SEBI
and Speeches on the SEBI website are more than sufficient but do not try to mug up
rather read them well. Also, the interviewer may not ask direct questions but you can
always use the information collected over the time to frame your answers in the
interview.

• Make yourself Stand Out:

You can give a standard answer to a standard question but how can you give more
practical and thoughtful answers so that they realize that you are a serious/deserving
candidate? Your answers will look more real & practical if you have ground knowledge.
You can gain this knowledge by visiting some stock exchanges and interacting with
people there or by simply observing people working there. You can do some NISM
 Resources to Become SEBI Assistant Manager | 26

you can do some NISM certifications that take hardly 3-4 days. Read some books by Ex-
SEBI officials, for eg., Going Public by U.K.Sinha and A Game Changer’s Memoir by
G.N.Bajpai, because these books will give you great insights about how SEBI works,
what are the challenges, how SEBI has transformed, etc. and incorporating what you
learn in your answers will certainly fetch you some extra marks.

• Current Affairs:
Current affairs can be covered through Livemint and SEBI website. The questions asked
in the interview are mostly open-ended where they may ask you “What is recently in
News about SEBI?” so basically if you know any News about SEBI thoroughly you will be
able to answer this question. More than facts, reasons & implications behind any action
are most important. So, current affairs with any 1 standard newspaper can be managed
very easily.
• Static syllabus:
Direct questions from the static part are rare in the interview. However, they may ask
questions about the basics of the Capital Market and regulations of the Capital Market.
Regulations are important because SEBI is a capital market regulator so the panelist may
expect you to be aware of some basics of these regulations.
• Mannerism in Interview:
Knowledge is important, but your personality plays a vital role in creating your
impression. Mannerism includes -
1. Dress Code
2. How to Enter & Exit the room
3. How to make optimal eye contact
4. Right Body Language for Interview
5. Right Sitting Posture for Interview
6. Right Hand Movement during Interview
7. How to handle stress
8. How to say ‘I Don’t Know’ to a Question?
9. How to politely disagree if at all you need to disagree
• Mock Interview:
Mock interview helps you test yourself. It stimulates your thought process. For eg., the
questions asked in the mock interview may be on different lines which you might have
not even thought of. It gives you firsthand experience, but only if you take a mock
interview with an experienced panelist.
Our 6 step
04
formula to
become
SEBI Grade A
O icer
• What is the 6 step formula?
• Our Legacy - Our Students
 Our 6 step formula to become SEBI Grade A O icer | 28

What is the 6-Step Formula?

Set a
clear goal #1
Always remember that when goals are vague, outcomes are vague. So does it mean that
you must set only 1 and clear goal of clearing the SEBI Grade A examination? You may.
Nothing wrong in it. We, however recommend following a Plan A and Plan B approach. And
no, Plan B here does not mean a backup career option! What it means is that you should
design your Plan A and Plan B exams in such a manner that 1) the preparation of your Plan A
exam/s ‘must’ automatically lead to atleast 60-70% preparation of Plan B exam/s and 2)
when you are devoting time to study for Plan B exam/s, it must automatically strengthen
your preparation for Plan A exam/s.
For example - Let's say your Plan A exam is to crack the SEBI Grade A exam, what should be
your Plan B? The most ideal Plan B will be RBI Grade B exam. How? Because it checks both
points as explained above - preparation of SEBI Grade A automatically leads to preparation
of more than 60% syllabus of RBI Grade B and when you are devoting time to study
anything for RBI Grade B, it is actually strengthening your preparation for SEBI Grade A as
well. Understood? Let's move to step 2.

#2 Understand
the exam
The syllabus and previous year questions are like the 2 headlights of your car of
preparation. You miss one of these and your car will meet with an accident, let me
guarantee you this right here! The biggest blunder aspirants like you commit is that they do
not define the scope of the syllabus of the examination and prepare under the impression
that anything and everything can be asked in the examination which is even remotely
related to the syllabus! Hell no! This is NOT the case. Download and print a copy of the
 Our 6 step formula to become SEBI Grade A O icer | 29

syllabus and then do the same for previous year questions (link has been provided above).
Go through the syllabus atleast 10 times and then go through the previous year questions
(year wise) and see for yourself what are the important topics and in what depth they need
to be studied for the examination. Believe me, more than 90% of the so-called sincere
aspirants do not do this.

Shortlist
Resources #3
Based on step 2 above, now is the time to shortlist your study sources - be it coaching
material, books, websites, magazines, or the like! And remember, once you prepare a list of
the resources that you are going to follow, DO NOT get swayed by new material that keeps
flooding the market through telegram, Facebook, websites, advertisements, etc! Keep your
head down and focus on completing your study sources. Yes, once you are done with your
sources, you can move to a secondary source but not before that!

Design a
#4 Time Table
This is a very important step - you must design a time table for yourself. This time table is
for ‘you’ and ‘you’ alone. Do not compare your time table with others, some like studying
early in the morning, some like to burn the midnight oil, some can sit at a stretch for 6 hours,
some study for 2 hours and take a break and then study again. Some study on all 7 days,
some study for 5 days and take a 2-day break. Whatever! The point or the goal is to have a
time table that ‘works’ for ‘you’. It is not meant to earn shower of praises from your parents,
friends or peers!
 Our 6 step formula to become SEBI Grade A O icer | 30

Develop
Consistency #5
Ah consistency! The ever-elusive thing! The secret to developing consistency is to make
‘micro easy targets’. How? Let's compare 2 situations. Student A makes a plan that he will
study 8 hours everyday starting tomorrow and sets a goal for himself for the next day -
cover 50 pages of current affairs magazine, 20 pages of basics of accounting from a book,
50 questions of ratio and proportion and write 1 essay. He starts his day full of energy but
towards the end of the day finds himself in quite an uncomfortable position realizing that
only 50% of the target has been covered. He is not able to sleep comfortably that night and
gets up the next morning tired and frustrated. Now he has to complete the pending tasks of
Day 1 as well as cover whatever he decided for Day 2 as well! Quite an uphill task, don’t you
think?
On the other hand, Student B makes a plan that he will also study 8 hours a day and sets a
goal of completing 20 pages of current affairs magazine, 10 pages of basics of accounting
and 1 essay. What will happen is that this student will complete his target ahead of schedule
and having done that feel elated, joyful and full of confidence! This will lead to a good
night’s sleep and hence even higher energy for the next day!
Getting my rhythm? This is how you make ‘micro and ‘easy’ targets and achieve them daily
and move ahead with consistency.

Develop
#6 Faith
Always think from your mind and feel from your heart. If you reverse this sentence, you will
get trapped in ‘emotions’. Being emotional isn’t bad at all, it’s good! Getting trapped in
emotions is what is bad! Once you complete step 1-5, you will start to develop faith in
yourself. Have a little trust on your mentors as well, talk to them, mail them, get in touch
and see how they can help you!
After you learn and understand this 6 Step Formula to dominate SEBI Grade A Exam, you
can literally apply it on any examination you are taking or might take in the future!
The above formula will always help you set a clear goal (Plan and B) and plan all your
activities around that one clear goal.
Our 6 step formula to become SEBI Grade A Oicer | 31

Our Legacy - Our Students

Rank

1
Mr. Rajendran S Mr. Nitin Kakerwal Mr. Gaurav Mr. Vishal Gawande
SEBI Grade A 2018 SEBI Grade A 2018 SEBI Grade A 2018 SEBI Grade A 2018

Mr. M.D Afzal Shareef Mr. Arun Bhandari Ms. Himabindu Ms. Kiran Dhembre
SEBI Grade A 2018 SEBI Grade A 2018 SEBI Grade A 2018 SEBI Grade A 2020

Ms. Akansha Mr. Dhruv Ms. Gopika Mr. Rahul

SEBI Grade A 2020 SEBI Grade A 2020 SEBI Grade A 2020 SEBI Grade A 2020

Ms. Komal Mr. Lakshay Mr. Mohit

SEBI Grade A 2020
Mr. Johnson
SEBI Grade A 2020 SEBI Grade A 2020
SEBI Grade A 2020

Mr. Rajvardhan Mr. Ramakrishna Mr. Raunak

SEBI Grade A 2020 SEBI Grade A 2020 SEBI Grade A 2020 Mr. Shailesh
SEBI Grade A 2020

Mr. Sachin Ms. Sakshi Mr. Sarvesh Mr. Pranjal Bansal

SEBI Grade A 2020 SEBI Grade A 2020 SEBI Grade A 2020 SEBI Grade A 2020
Our 6 step formula to become SEBI Grade A Oicer | 32

Mr. Sunil kumar Ms. Tammana Mr. Teja Mr. Anurag Bolia
SEBI Grade A 2020 SEBI Grade A 2020 SEBI Grade A 2020 SEBI Grade A 2022

Mr. Vijay Mr. Karthik B

Ms. Rinki Mr. Abhishek Ashish SEBI Grade A 2022
SEBI Grade A 2022 SEBI Grade A 2022 SEBI Grade A 2022

Mr. Vivek Sharma

Mr. Avinash Jaiswal Mr. Chetan Choraria Mr. Pradeepvishnu SEBI Grade A 2022
SEBI Grade A 2022 SEBI Grade A 2022 SEBI Grade A 2022

Mr. Pradeep Mr. Prashant Kumar Ms. Prashasti Godara Mr. Sushant Sanjay
SEBI Grade A 2022 SEBI Grade A 2022 SEBI Grade A 2022 SEBI Grade A 2022

Mr. Rishabh Mr. Roshan Lal Ms. Srinidhi Adhikary Ms. Suvarna
SEBI Grade A 2022 SEBI Grade A 2022 SEBI Grade A 2022 SEBI Grade A 2022

Mr. Gourav Singh Ms. Himanshi Mr. Vishwbahu Ms. Tanya

SEBI Grade A 2022 SEBI Grade A 2022 SEBI Grade A 2022 SEBI Grade A 2022

Mr. Rishabh Sanjay Mr. Diwakar Kumar Mr. Akshay Gajghate Mr. Yashwanth
SEBI Grade A 2022 SEBI Grade A 2022 SEBI Grade A 2022 SEBI Grade A 2022
Our 6 step formula to become SEBI Grade A Oicer | 33

What SEBI Toppers have to Say About Us

Our 6 step formula to become SEBI Grade A Oicer | 34
Our 6 step formula to become SEBI Grade A Oicer | 35
Our 6 step formula to become SEBI Grade A Oicer | 36