Regulatory Exams · Assistant Manager
SEBI Grade A 2027: The Complete Aspirant's Guide
Notification outlook, eligibility, the three-stage selection process, exam pattern, syllabus, salary, and how SEBI stacks up against PFRDA and IFSCA. Everything you need to plan your preparation in one place.
Basic Pay Scale
₹62,500rising to ₹1,26,100
Gross (Mumbai)
₹1.84 Lapprox. per month
Age Limit
30 yrsmax, on cut-off date
Selection
3 StagesPhase I, II, Interview
01 · The basics
What is the SEBI Grade A exam?
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is a statutory body set up by an Act of Parliament to protect the interests of investors, to promote the development of the securities market, and to regulate it. The SEBI Grade A exam is a national-level test conducted to recruit Officer Grade A, also called Assistant Manager, which is the entry-level officer position at SEBI.
An Assistant Manager helps shape the framework of India's capital markets. The day-to-day work can include framing new investment regulations, reviewing IPO filings, monitoring market fraud, and carrying out policy analysis. Recruitment happens across several streams: General, Legal, Information Technology, Research, Official Language, Engineering (Electrical), and Engineering (Civil).
Full form
SEBI
Securities and Exchange Board of India, the capital market regulator.
Role
Assistant Manager
Entry-level Officer Grade A, posted to any SEBI department across India.
02 · When it happens
Notification and expected timeline
SEBI Grade A recruitment is not strictly annual. Historically it has been held in alternate years, but SEBI released notifications in both 2024 and 2025, which improves the chances of a fresh cycle for 2026 to 2027. The 2025 cycle is a good template for what the next notification is likely to look like.
Here is the actual schedule from the 2025 notification, which you can use as a planning reference for the upcoming cycle:
| Activity (2025 cycle, for reference) | Dates |
|---|---|
| Online application & fee | 30 Oct 2025 to 28 Nov 2025 |
| Phase I online exam | 10 January 2026 |
| Phase II online exam | 21 February 2026 |
| Phase III interview | Intimated later (held around May to June 2026) |
For the next cycle, the detailed notification is expected to appear on the SEBI Careers page as "Recruitment of Officer Grade A (Assistant Manager)". The application window usually opens on the same day the detailed notice is published, so keeping an eye on www.sebi.gov.in from the second half of 2026 is a sensible habit.
03 · Posts on offer
Vacancies and streams
The 2025 notification advertised the following stream-wise vacancies. The numbers for the next cycle will be confirmed only in the fresh notification, but the stream structure tends to stay consistent, with the General stream carrying the most seats.
| Stream | Posts (2025) | Core qualification |
|---|---|---|
| General | 56 | Master's or 2-year PG Diploma in any discipline, or Bachelor's in Law/Engineering, or CA/CFA/CS/CMA |
| Legal | 20 | Bachelor's Degree in Law |
| Information Technology | 22 | B.E. in any branch, or Bachelor's plus PG in Computer Science/IT |
| Research | 4 | Master's/PG Diploma in Economics, Finance, Statistics, or allied fields |
| Official Language | 3 | Master's in Hindi/Hindi Translation with English at Bachelor's level, or related combinations |
| Engineering (Electrical) | 2 | Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering |
| Engineering (Civil) | 3 | Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering |
A candidate can apply for a maximum of two streams for which they are eligible, with a separate application and fee for each.
04 · Who can apply
Eligibility criteria
Age limit
A candidate must not have exceeded 30 years as on the cut-off date fixed in the notification. In the 2025 cycle the cut-off was 30 September 2025, meaning candidates had to be born on or after 1 October 1995. The next cycle will carry its own cut-off date, so read the fresh notice carefully.
Upper age relaxation (as per the 2025 notice) includes:
- Up to 5 years for SC/ST candidates.
- Up to 3 years for OBC (Non-Creamy Layer) candidates.
- Up to 10 years for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD), with higher relaxation when combined with reserved categories.
- Up to 5 years for eligible ex-servicemen.
Educational qualification
The qualification depends on the stream, as shown in the vacancy table above. For the popular General stream, the requirement is a Master's Degree or a two-year Post Graduate Diploma in any discipline, or a Bachelor's Degree in Law or Engineering, or a professional qualification such as CA, CFA, CS, or CMA. Final-year students can appear for Phase I and Phase II, but they must produce proof of passing before joining.
Nationality
Applications are invited from Indian citizens. There is no fixed limit on the number of attempts, so eligibility is governed mainly by age and qualification.
05 · How you get selected
Selection process
Selection is a three-stage process. Phase I is only a screening round: marks scored here do not count towards the final merit list. Your final selection depends on Phase II and the interview.
Stage 1
Phase I
Online screening, two papers of 100 marks each. Qualifying only.
Stage 2
Phase II
Online exam, two papers of 100 marks each. Counts towards merit (85%).
- Interview weightage: Final selection is based on Phase II and interview taken together, in an 85:15 ratio.
- Shortlisting: Candidates roughly equal to three times the number of vacancies are called for the interview, in order of merit.
- Negative marking: One-fourth of the marks assigned to a question is deducted for every wrong answer in the objective papers.
06 · Paper structure
Exam pattern (General stream)
Phase I
| Paper | Subjects | Marks | Time | Cut-off |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | General Awareness (with financial sector), English, Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning | 100 | 60 min | 30% |
| Paper 2 | Commerce, Accountancy, Management, Finance, Costing, Companies Act, Economics | 100 | 40 min | 40% |
Both papers are objective. Paper 1 has 4 sections of 20 questions each (80 questions in total). Paper 2 has 50 questions of 2 marks each. Candidates must clear each paper cut-off and an aggregate cut-off of 40% to move to Phase II.
Phase II
| Paper | Type | Marks | Time | Cut-off | Weightage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | English (Descriptive) to test drafting: precis, essay, comprehension | 100 | 60 min | 30% | 1/3 |
| Paper 2 | Objective on Commerce, Accountancy, Management, Finance, Costing, Companies Act, Economics | 100 | 90 min | 40% | 2/3 |
In Phase II, candidates need separate cut-offs in each paper plus an aggregate of 50% (Paper 1 weighted 1/3 and Paper 2 weighted 2/3) to be shortlisted for the interview. Negative marking applies to the objective Paper 2.
07 · What to study
Syllabus overview
The same Paper 2 syllabus applies to both Phase I and Phase II for the General stream. Here is the broad map of what to prepare.
Phase I, Paper 1 (common to all streams)
- Reasoning Ability: seating arrangement, puzzles, syllogism, coding-decoding, inequalities, blood relations, data sufficiency.
- Quantitative Aptitude: data interpretation, number series, quadratic equations, arithmetic (averages, ratio, percentage, time and work, probability).
- English Language: reading comprehension, cloze test, para jumbles, sentence improvement, vocabulary.
- General Awareness: current affairs of the last 4 to 5 months, RBI/SEBI circulars, PIB programmes, banking and economy, schemes, awards, and sports.
Paper 2 (General stream, both phases)
| Subject | Key areas |
|---|---|
| Commerce & Accountancy | Accounting standards, cash flow and fund flow, ratio analysis, share capital, company final accounts |
| Management | Nature and scope, leadership, HRD, motivation and morale, communication |
| Finance | Financial system and markets, derivatives basics, financial inclusion, GST, FRBM, fiscal policy, inflation (WPI, CPI) |
| Costing | Cost and management accounting, methods of costing, standard and marginal costing, lean systems (JIT, Kaizen, Six Sigma) |
| Companies Act | Companies Act, 2013, specific chapters as listed in the notification |
| Economics | Demand and supply, national income, IS-LM, Phillips curve, balance of payments, monetary and fiscal policy, NBFCs |
08 · Pay & perks
Salary and job profile
The pay scale for Officer Grade A is ₹62,500 to ₹1,26,100 over a 17-year progression. At Mumbai, the approximate gross monthly emolument at the minimum of the scale, including SEBI's contribution to NPS and various allowances, is about ₹1,84,000 without accommodation and about ₹1,43,000 with accommodation.
Basic pay
₹62,500
Starting basic, scaling to ₹1,26,100.
Gross (no housing)
~₹1.84 L
Per month at Mumbai, all allowances included.
Officers also receive benefits such as Leave Fare Concession, medical expenses, learning and knowledge allowances, conveyance, and a subsidised lunch facility. Probation is for two years. Postings can be to any SEBI office in India and to any department, regardless of the stream through which you were recruited. Combined with a reasonable work-life balance, this makes the role one of the most sought-after in the regulatory sector.
09 · The bar to clear
Cut-off structure
Two things decide your progress: the fixed qualifying cut-offs written into the pattern, and the final merit cut-off, which changes every year based on vacancies and competition.
- Phase I: minimum 30% in Paper 1, 40% in Paper 2, and 40% aggregate.
- Phase II: minimum 30% in Paper 1, 40% in Paper 2, and 50% aggregate (1/3 and 2/3 weightage).
- Final selection: based on the combined Phase II and interview score in an 85:15 ratio.
As a sense of how competitive the regulatory space is, the closely related IFSCA Grade A 2024 final cut-off for the General stream stood at 72.44, and PFRDA Grade A 2025 had a General category minimum weighted score of 73.48 out of 100. SEBI's merit cut-offs are in a broadly similar high range, so aim well above the qualifying minimums.
10 · Sister regulators
SEBI vs PFRDA vs IFSCA
Many aspirants prepare for all three regulatory Grade A exams together, because the pattern and a large part of the syllabus overlap. SEBI and PFRDA share a common Paper 2 syllabus, with PFRDA adding a Pension Sector section. IFSCA shares about 70% of the content and adds topics on GIFT City, IFSCs, and global finance.
| Feature | SEBI | PFRDA | IFSCA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regulates | Securities market | Pension sector, NPS, APY | Financial services in IFSCs (GIFT City) |
| Statute | SEBI Act, 1992 | PFRDA Act, 2013 | IFSCA Act, 2019 (set up April 2020) |
| Basic pay | ₹62,500 | ₹44,500 | ₹62,500 |
| Approx. gross | ~₹1.84 L | ~₹1.57 L | ~₹1.80 L |
| Probation | 2 years | 1 year | 2 years |
| Headquarters | Mumbai | New Delhi | GIFT City, Gandhinagar |
Because IFSCA is a unified regulator, it exercises the powers of RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, and PFRDA within India's International Financial Services Centres. If you are preparing seriously for SEBI Grade A, a small amount of extra reading opens the door to PFRDA and IFSCA as well.
11 · Cracking it
Preparation strategy
- Build the Phase I base first: since it is qualifying, aim to clear it comfortably so you can focus energy on Phase II, which decides your rank.
- Master Paper 2 subjects: Commerce, Accountancy, Finance, Costing, Management, Companies Act, and Economics carry the highest weight. Standard references help here.
- Practise descriptive English: Phase II Paper 1 tests precis, essay, and comprehension. Regular writing practice with feedback pays off.
- Stay current: read RBI and SEBI circulars, PIB releases, and the Economic Survey. Financial-sector current affairs of the last 4 to 5 months are important.
- Take full-length mocks: practise with negative marking so your accuracy and time management improve together.
Handy reference books
- Accountancy: T.S. Grewal, D.K. Goel, and ICAI accounting standards material.
- Economics: H.L. Ahuja and M.L. Jhingan.
- Finance: Indian Financial System by M.Y. Khan.
- Management: L.M. Prasad; Costing: M.N. Arora and S.N. Maheshwari.
12 · Common questions
Frequently asked questions
Is there a SEBI Grade A 2027 notification out yet?
What is the salary of a SEBI Grade A officer?
Is there negative marking?
Can final-year students apply?
Do Phase I marks count in the final selection?
Can I prepare for SEBI, PFRDA, and IFSCA together?
13 · Start preparing
SEBI / PFRDA / IFSCA Grade A 2026-27 Courses
Guided preparation by Brajesh Mohan (Lead Educator, Edugrade Learning). Choose the full mentorship programme for end-to-end coverage from prelims to interview, or the test series to sharpen your exam temperament. Both cover Phase I and Phase II.
All In One SEBI/PFRDA/IFSCA Gr. A 2026-27 Mentorship Course
Valid till SEBI Phase II 2027
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Valid till Dec 31, 2026
Prices and validity are as listed by the course provider and may change. Clicking a button opens courses.edugrade.in to complete enrolment.
