Career with Reserve Bank of India

Reserve Bank of India recruits Officers in Grade ‘B’ (General) and the number of vacancies usually range from 70 to 80 for each panel year. The candidate must be between 21 and 30 years (subject to relaxation for certain categories) and must have the requisite educational qualifications (First Class Bachelor’s degree/ Second Class Masters degree etc.)

The selection is usually through Written Examinations and Interview. Written Examination is conducted in two phases—Objective (Phase I) and Subjective (Phase II). The subjective exam is conducted 3-4 months after the objective exam for the candidates qualifying in the objective test.

The Objective Stage or Phase I of WE

Objective Paper is of 3 hours duration for 200 marks. The objective test or Phase I act as a filtering mechanism. The candidate is subjected to a predictable test similar to a MBA entrance or Bank PO exams. The question paper is divided in four sections—1) General Awareness, 2) Reasoning, 3) English and 4) Quantitative aptitude. Candidates have to secure minimum marks separately for each section. The number of candidates taking the exam is usually between 1, 50,000 to 2, 00,000.

The objective exam is not difficult and a candidate with average aptitude for such a general test will be able to clear it. There are certain points that distinguish RBI’s objective test from other similar exams:-

1. General Awareness and Reasoning occupy the pride of place in the exam and have greater number of questions and weightage compared to Quantitative aptitude and English.

2. A candidate is not allowed to move to the other sections unless the time allowed for a particular section has lapsed. So, if General Awareness has been allotted 45 minutes and 60 questions, the candidate will not be allowed to access the questions of some other section (say, English) unless 45 minutes are over, even if he or she has attempted all the 60 questions.

3. The sectional cut-off is usually low but the overall cut off for selection to phase II of written examination is often high, it can easily reach around 110 marks (for general category) out of total 200 marks.

Tips for Success in Phase I

Though there is no fixed method to succeed in what is essentially an aptitude test, there are certain tips that are useful for this stage of examination. It has been observed that general awareness section is dominated with current issues and economy based questions. The time tested strategy for preparing is the regular reading of a good national daily (The Hindu is usually a favorite). It is also useful to supplement it with a business daily (Business Standard, Business Line, Financial Express etc.)

The candidates with certain distaste for mathematics might need to push themselves, but only just. RBI DOES NOT expect you to be a human calculator and the questions are of a reasonable standard and with some practice even those who have not been on talking terms with numbers for years will do just fine. There are number of books available for Quantitative Aptitude for entrance examination, anyone which you feel is the best for you, can be relied upon.

Same could be said about level of reasoning questions; however, those who have not been in the race of a government job or a MBA seat might need to treat this section with caution. It is usually the time factor that counts the most in reasoning section. It is the second most important section after General Awareness and can make or mar a candidate’s prospect. RS Agarwal’s Verbal and non-Verbal Reasoning is an exhaustive book and can be relied upon to ensure good results. English portion is usually the easiest and does not require any particular preparation.

The result of this stage is usually declared within one month of the examination.

The Subjective Stage or Phase II of WE

This stage consists of three papers:

Paper I – English

Paper II – Economic and Social Issues and

Paper III – Finance and Management.

Each of these papers is of 3 hours duration carrying 100 marks. RBI provides an indicative syllabus with the clarification that it is by no means exhaustive. Thus related topics even though not specifically mentioned should be part of the preparation.

Syllabus for Phase II:

Paper I – English

Essay, Précis writing, Comprehension, Business/Office Correspondence.

Paper II – Economic and Social Issues:

Growth and Development – Measurement of growth : National Income and per capita income – Poverty Alleviation and Employment Generation in India – Sustainable Development and Environmental issues. Economic Reforms in India – Industrial and Labour Policy – Monetary and Fiscal Policy – Privatisation – Role of Economic Planning. Globalization – Opening up of the Indian Economy – Balance of Payments, Export-Import Policy – International Economic Institutions – IMF and World Bank – WTO – Regional Economic Co-operation. Social Structure in India – Multiculturalism – Demographic Trends – Urbanisation and Migration – Gender Issues – Social Justice : Positive Discrimination in favour of the under privileged – Social Movements – Indian Political System – Human Development – Social Sectors in India, Health and Education.

Paper III – Finance and Management:

Finance : The Union Budget – Direct and Indirect taxes; Non-tax sources of revenue; Outlays; New Measures; Financial Sector Reforms; Capital Market, Money Market and Foreign Exchange Market; Stock Exchanges and their Regulation; Capital Market Intermediaries and their Regulation; Role of SEBI; Functions of the Money Market; Growth and Operation of the Money Market; The Foreign Exchange Market; From FERA to FEMA; Exchange Rate Management; Exchange Risk Management; Role of Banks and Financial Institutions in Economic Development; Regulation of Banks and Financial Institutions; Disinvestment in Public Sector Units.

Management: Management: its nature and scope; The Management Processes; Planning Organisation, Staffing, Directing and Controlling; The Role of a Manager in an Organisation. 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; Performance Appraisal – Potential appraisal and development – Feedback and Performance Counseling – Career Planning – Training and Development – Rewards – Employee Welfare. 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. Corporate Governance: Factors affecting Corporate Governance; Mechanisms of Corporate Governance.

Importance of Good Performance in Phase II for Final Selection

If you want a career with RBI, you have to do very well in this stage. A poor performance here will end your progress to interview stage and even if you are somehow able to barely clear the cut off with low scores, then you will require an exceptional performance in interview and lot of luck to make it to final list of selected candidates. The interview is just for 50 marks while the written test is for 300 marks. There is no cut-off in the interview and thus a very good score in written stage insures you against a mediocre or poor interview. Candidates with very good scores in written and very poor performance in interview have made it to the final selection list but the reverse—great scores in interview and poor marks in written has often lead to heartbreak, failure and anguish. Please see the information provided by RBI for the 2010 panel year examination to appreciate the importance of Phase II:

Aggregate cut – off marks in paper I, II & III taken together in phase II written examination for shortlisting the candidates for interview (out of total 300 marks).

Aggregate marks in phase II Written examination and Interview taken together (out of total 350 marks) obtained by the last recommended candidate under the respective category with reference to the no. Of vacancies notified under each category.

Tips for Selection Phase II:

The previous examination question papers for this stage are available on the Internet and have been shared by the candidates on social networking website Orkut in a community named ‘Reserve Bank of India Grade B Exam-2009’ and ‘Reserve Bank of India Grade B Exam-2010’, a useful platform to share information and interact with fellow aspirants. There is no short cut for this stage and with the exception of Paper I (English), it requires some effort and focused preparation. Candidates who do not regularly appear for such subjective examinations or have undergone degrees that do not require them to write essay type answers in examination are advised to devote some time to honing their written composition skills as part of their preparation. Ultimately, coherence in presentation and lucidity of the language of the answer matters a lot, when there is not much to distinguish between answers of candidates.

For Paper I: No special preparation required.

For Paper II: Economic and Social Issues

For Economic Related Topics:

The following material is extremely useful to cover most of the syllabus for this paper.

1. Dutt and Sundaram’s Indian Economy (latest edition)

2. Uma Kapila’s Indian Economic development since Independence (latest edition)

3. Last 2-3 Years Economic Survey, Government of India

The questions are of essay type and familiarity with recent developments and relevant statistics shall be an advantage. Regular reading of editorial sections of good newspapers is a must as this paper usually has questions based on current issues.

For Social Issues:

This is a very broad area and there is no particular book which can be prescribed. Yet, Class XI and XII books of Sociology of NCERT are good background text for preparation. The questions are general is nature like corruption, reservation, environment, gender disparity etc. Some of the social issues are also addressed in the economic books suggested above. Reading a good monthly competitive exam magazine like Pratyogita Darpan etc., which focuses on current issues and topics of Group Discussion can be useful.

The candidate is given the choice to attempt any 5 out of 9 or 10 questions (economic and social issues combined).

For Paper III:

Finance Portion:

This is perhaps the trickiest part of the syllabus. The questions can range from unexpected (like write an essay on regulation of stock exchanges) to mundane (what do you understand by credit ratings). The best resource for this section is the websites of RBI and SEBI. The candidate should start with the FAQs section on the website of these two regulators. Since the questions are essentially on regulatory finance, it is helpful if one understands the regulatory and administrative framework for financial regulation in India. A start can be made by going through the Finance section of India Year Book by Publication Division, Ministry of I&B. Further, the best way to cover the topics in this section is searching through the reports available on RBI or SEBI’s website. The module VI of Company Secretary Executive exam by ICSI on Securities Laws is also a very useful resource. Report on Currency and Finance by RBI, also cover some important topics in this section. The candidate usually has to attempt 3 questions out of 5.

Management Portion:

This portion initially disheartens some of non-management background candidates and appears a spoiler. But, the questions are usually very open ended (like comment on Great Leaders are born, not made) and with some background reading even a non-management background candidate will be able to articulate his views. It is advisable for the candidate to refer only to the standard texts as there is plethora of management books. The following books are established classics and can be relied upon to crack this portion easily. The candidate usually has to attempt 2 questions out of 4.

1. Principles of Management – Koontz and O’Donnell

2. Organizational Behavior: Stephen P.Robbins

The results for this stage are declared within 2 months of the examination.

Tips for Interview:

RBI’s panel has traditionally been parsimonious when it comes to awarding marks in interview. High scores are an aberration as even the successful candidates don’t score much above 30. However, interview is conducted in a very cordial manner and the questions are related to the candidate’s background. Banking terms related questions and being asked to comment on recent relevant financial developments is highly probable. No special preparation is required except reading newspapers to be in touch of current issues. But, if you are not comfortable with Economics and Financial terminology (Like CRR, SLR, NPA, etc.) then skimming through the Indian Economy Pratiyogita Darpan Extra Issue Series will be a good investment. Remain confident even if you have to face some unexpected questions. Interview is essentially a personality test as the knowledge has already been tested at written stage.

The interviews are conducted over a period of 6-8 weeks in different cities. The results are declared in 7-10 days of last interview. Usually the entire process extends to 11-12 months (from the date of recruitment advertisement to final results of the interview).

For questions related to salary and prospects, it best to quote from the RBI’s advertisement:

“SERVICE CONDITIONS / CAREER PROSPECTS:

(i)    Pay Scale:

Selected Candidates will draw a starting basic pay of Rs.21,000/- p.m. in the scale of Rs.21000-1000-30000-EB-1000-32000-1100-36400 applicable to Officers in Grade B and they will also be eligible for Dearness Allowance, Local allowance, House Rent Allowance, Family Allowance as per rules in force from time to time. At present, initial monthly Gross emoluments to direct recruit Grade B Officers are approximately Rs.38,853/-.

(ii)    Perquisites:

Bank’s accommodation subject to availability, reimbursement of expenses for maintenance of vehicle for official purpose, newspaper, telephone charges, book grant, allowance for furnishing of residence, etc. as per eligibility. Free dispensary facility besides reimbursement of medical expenses for OPD treatment/hospitalization as per eligibility. Interest free festival advance, Leave Fare Concession (once in two years for self, spouse and eligible dependents). Loans and Advances at concessional rates of interest for Housing, Car, Education, Consumer Articles, Personal Computer, etc. The posts also carry benefits of Provident Fund, Pension and Gratuity. Total pay and allowances along with admissible perquisites attached to the post considering market value of housing in Mumbai work out at the minimum of Rs10.00 lakhs p.a. (approx.) on a cost to the Bank basis.

NOTE: For candidates possessing very high academic or professional qualification/ experience of significant value to the Bank, the Bank may, at its sole discretion, consider granting up to four advance increments. The Board, at the sole discretion, will consider requests for higher emoluments on account of higher qualification/special experience of value to the Bank at the interview stage only. Such information may be furnished in the Bio-data form in the appropriate column. The number of maximum increments will be 4. The Board/Bank will not entertain any request received after the interview.”

“If there is inequality in the society, people have incentive to move up the ladder through aspirations of being at higher position. Hence, they work harder resulting into economic growth. Rich have higher propensity to save which feeds into higher investment leading to higher economic growth”

India can probably stand out as a good example of this probable economic phenomenon, albeit through a different economic logic.

According to one of the most cited reports of the Government of India, 83.6 crore Indians earn less than Rs.20 a day. Around 86% of our population is employed in unorganized sector which due to its nature often does not come under the ambit of various government policies. Most of these individuals having meagre earning work in making Biddi, Embroidery, cutting the extras in rubber equipments, working with screws etc. These industries are an ideal example of perfect competition. Due to poor conditions of millions of Indian households, a large population is willing to work at extremely low prices (Rs.5 for 2-3 hours, indicative). Moreover, this willingness is ‘exploited’ by the institutional setup of near perfect competition. Minimum wage laws become extraneous due to the informal nature of these sectors. The sectors linked to it are firms that provide them with the raw materials and they sell these products in the market, earning good (if not huge) profits.

So how does the trade-off work in India? Being a highly unequal nation, we have large population surviving in abject poverty. Since they lack skills and opportunities to earn a decent living, they work in an extremely competitive market resulting into low cost for the firms they are linked to. This further implies that the firms have a good stick to capture higher surplus and hence earn good profits. There comes the Economic growth we all are proud of! High inequality in India may thus tend to result into further increasing inequality combined with economic growth (atleast in short run. Like the recent literature points out, inequality can potentially hamper economic growth in long term). Certainly, the two combined do not point out to any ‘Development’ (Ignoring the debate on ‘trickle down effect’).

P.S: This article is not at all an exhaustive one. Just a reflection on the institutional setup in India.

Why it makes little rationale to have a girl child? (assuming that the family is poor, though the reasoning that follows can be for well-off families as well)
1. In absence of any future security, son is a best bet, the runner of the family’s baton, who takes family’s name ahead. What about a daughter? She belongs to her husband’s house, her stay at her parents’ home is only transitory. She takes his name; she takes his family and forgets her roots.
2.Dowry!! Yes, it still exists (in huge proportion!) in India. Thus, expenses on a girl child in her upbringing + marriage expenses come out to be quite huge. Returns? Apart from probable emotional bonding, since a girl does not usually work, there are no returns that follow.

I am bewildered that there are girls who think that the tradition of being part of her husband’s family is somehow exciting. Following traditions has become ‘fashionable’. Ignoring the set of girls that might not have had absolutely any exposure to the ‘new’ ideas, even the educated mass does not question such role accorded to women. They are happy following the traditions, being absorbed in their husband’s family, visiting her parents some days in a year. Why would parents not think of having a son rather? Atleast, a son would take care of his parents monetarily.

These days, there is a tendency to have small family. I am afraid that this might as well do more harm by selective abortion in order to have a son.

I am not able to put my thoughts in a crystal clear format and moreover dynamics might be different in a family with different income and socio-economic characteristics. But the basic thought is as follows: given our society, our beliefs about the role of a man and a woman, a woman has to essentially get absorbed in her husband’s family. On the other hand, a man has to earn the bread and take care of the family that includes his parents as well. Why can’t women think of taking care of their family including her parents as well? Why she (has to) loose(s) her identity and abandon(s) her past, her upbringing and her responsibility towards her parents. Why can’t she be an asset to her parents?

To all those who think that things are changing, women are more educated now etc. etc., please ask yourself how many women you know who would not forget their identity after marriage, an identity that includes concern for themselves and a responsibility and care for the past. Probably, the pressure to act according to the rules of the society is too much to think of acting against them..

If you are interested in this discussion, please do read the comments. And I will appreciate if you could share your views as well..:)

1. Part B (Maths): Starting with Part B first. Frankly, never having seen its paper, we only have limited knowledge of the same. This is for people who have done Bachelors in Mathematics. It contains theoretical (fairly advanced) question relating to Functions, Matrices, Metric Spaces, Real Analysis etc etc. (This is not a comprehensive list of what all is covered). This section itself contains two sections. One section is for Objective type questions and the other is descriptive type (there is usually choice given for the descriptive type questions). There is negative marking for the objective type questions section.

People should not opt for the mathematics part until and unless they are very confident on theoretical Maths. Even people who have done engineering usually attempt the economics part.

1. Part A (Economics): This option is recommended for people from Economics, Statistics, Engineering and others fields.  The subjects that students are expected to be well versed with are: Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Statistics (and some Econometrics which came by surprise in the last 2009-10 paper) and Mathematics. Although there is no subject-wise allocation for marks, but past trends show that all the four subjects get equal weight age in the paper.

This part contains two sections both containing Objective type questions from all subjects:

1. Twenty questions of 1mark each (20marks)
2. Forty questions of 2marks each (80marks)

There is negative marking of 1/3marks for the 1mark questions and 2/3marks for 2marks questions.

Since all the questions are objective type, the options that are given in the exam are fairly well researched. Teachers are aware of the common mistakes that students commit and therefore, if you commit a mistake in a question, chances are that the wrong option will be present among the four options. There is very little scope for answering by elimination.

Overall, it is not a very lengthy paper. If students allot time judiciously, then there is enough time to attempt all questions easily.

One mark questions do not take that much time but as mentioned above the options are fairly tricky and until and unless you are crystal clear with your concepts, you are bound to make mistakes. Two-markers are lengthy, might require more time. Models generally will have few two-markers to be attempted with them testing different aspects of the same.

“A little knowledge is a dangerous thing” holds true for this exam in particular because  students think they know some question, attempt it wrong and because of the negative marking lose a lot of marks. So, guess work is absolutely not encouraged.

A note on notations: Probably the thing that will scare you if you have a first look at the entrance paper is the extensive use of symbols. Most students from non-maths background are not well versed with the meaning of these symbols. Some common ones are: ?, ?, ?, ? etc.  Such mathematical notation is fairly easy once you know it but can pose problems if you don’t know it. They are extensively used in Microeconomics and Mathematics questions.

Mathematics:

Probably the most scariest and feared section in the paper. The primary references for the same are Fundamental Methods of Mathematical Economics by A. Chiang and Further Mathematics for Economic Analysis by Sydsaeter and Hammond. Students need to be well versed with functions, calculus, logic etc. (Integration and trigonometry can be de-emphasized). Frankly, I don’t think any amount of hard-work can assure that you will be able to attempt the questions that come in the entrance. So, if you are not strong in Maths, recommendation would be that you focus on Micro, Macro and Stats instead.

However, differentiation and differential calculus are extensively used in Macroeconomics and if you are clear with those concepts that 70-80% of your Macro questions are done automatically! (more on this has been covered in the Macroeconomics section) of this post.

Statistics and Econometrics:

Go through DU BA Economics syllabus for Statistics and follow up all the readings. You can refer to Mathematical Statistics by SC Gupta and VK Kapoor for the probability section. For Econometrics, you may refer to Essentials of Econometrics by Gujarati, first 11 chapters. Last year, there were 3-4 questions from Econometrics. So, if you do not wish to take chances, you may decide to do it as well.

Macroeconomics:

First of all, get hold of DU syllabus of Macroeconomics 2nd year and go through all the readings referred. This shall form the basis of the questions asked in the entrance. The entrance will surely have a set of questions on a macroeconomic model. For e.g., the most elementary question can be giving demand and supply sides of the economy in goods and money market respectively and finding the equilibrium output level and rate of interest. This can be supplemented by a question on what will happen if there is an exogenous increase in investment. The basic point to grasp is that one has to be very clear with the concepts because it is then only that you can solve it in mathematical framework. Get hold of Macroeconomics by William Branson. This book deals the subject in the way asked in DSE entrance. Since you will have 4-5 questions linked to the same model, it is necessary that you get the first one right or else it will spill over to all the other questions and hence the negative marking.  While solving the question in the entrance, do it on a fresh page (the extra sheet at the back) and do it very cautiously. DSE professors know where students tend to make mistakes and it is highly likely that the wrong answer that you might be getting is there in one of the options! And as already mentioned, negative marking can ruin your chances to clear the entrance.

Besides having clear concepts, you will also be required to have good mathematical skills, essentially involving differentiation.  Differentiation makes solving these models a lot easier and direct. You will be able to appreciate this when you try out the past year papers. Again, solving the past year question papers is extremely important here. The concepts involved are very much similar to that studied in DU UG but the application part is very different. What you might have studied at UG level is necessary but not at all sufficient to solve the questions asked in Macroeconomics section of DSE entrance.

For the one markers, you should know about different curves in Keynesian and Classical Economics. Also, be clear with Solow model. Questions in Macroeconomics section are quite scoring. So spend good time over getting the concepts right and then applying them in solving the models given in the past years.

Books to be referred:

1. Macroeconomics by Dornbusch and Fisher
2. Macroeconomic Theory and Policy by William Branson
3. Macroeconomics, Schaum Series (little elementary)
4. Macroeconomics by Oliver Blanchard
5. Macroeconomics by Mankiw

You may go through these books and decide for yourself which one is good for which topic. Schaum series Macroeconomics is a little elementary and if you are content with the other books then you may skip this one.

Microeconomics

Again, quite a scoring section if you have the concepts right. Start with Intermediate Microeconomics (7th edition) by Hal Varian and complement it by doing exercises from Varian Workbook. Both are necessary to get the concepts clear. Microeconomics section in DSE would not ask you to do simple maximization, infact the question might appear to be very simple to you but it will have certain relatively tougher concept being tested. Thus, most of the times, it will be asking you about complement, substitutes, quasilinear etc. preferences. Except chapter 11, 13, 17 in Intermediate Microeconomics all other chapters are to be done.

For market structure, follow chapters from Pindyck. We found them better explained there than in Varian. Make sure that you follow up these concepts by practicing questions in Workbook. You may also go through the following website and browse different topics in Microeconomics, their lecture notes and assignments.

http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Economics/index.htm

If you are short on time, then just go through the solved assignments.

While doing questions in Varian workbook, you might find them easy as Varian has beautifully written it in a story format. Remember that DSE entrance will not ask you the question in the same format. It will put forth the framework and ask you the last part of question as given in the workbook. Thus, it is necessary that you constantly ask yourself why you are following the procedure outlined through different parts in a question in the workbook and where you are headed.

For the General Equilibrium part, again, the question will not have simple concave utility functions. You have to get hold of how to solve for substitutes, complements and quasilinear preferences. As in macroeconomics section, Geneq section has many questions built in the same framework. Practice them well from the workbook and the past years. Having clear concepts of Consumer theory is essential to get on with General Equilibrium and it is perceived to be the toughest section in DSE. However, if you have the fundas right, General Equilibrium becomes the most interesting section in Microeconomics.

Cut off: We think that the cut-off would usually be around 50.

For queries regarding eligibility, syllabus etc., please see DSE website here.

Please note that the comments are approved before being posted on the website so please don’t post your comments multiple times. Questions that have been already answered in the blog or in the comments will not be approved.

Preparation for this entrance is similar to the MA Economics degree offered by School of Social Studies. If i recall correctly, last year they had 8 questions out of which one had to answer 5. Keep the strategy for this same except that you need to write the answers in coherent manner. Note that the entrance for this course has subjective questions. On addition to the recommended topics for course at SSS (previous entry), go through 3rd year “International Economics” book by Paul Krugman. HO theorem, Specific factor model etc. are required to be done.

Last year, there was a question on money multiplier derivation. So, it is also suggested that you go through the basics of Money, Central bank instruments (CRR, SLR etc.) to control money supply.

Keep the answers terse and be clear with basics. For information regarding eligibility criteria, see here.

For any query/comments regarding MA Economics offered by SIS, post your comments on this blog entry. For queries in other entrances (JNU,ISI,DSE), put your comments in the respective blog entry. Please note that the comments are approved before being posted on the website so please don’t post your comments multiple times. Questions that have been already answered in the blog or in the comments will not be approved.

1. http://www.indiasummary.com/2010/02/19/general-knowledge-questions-with-answers-for-january-2010-current-affairs-questions-2010/

2. http://www.competitionmaster.com/category.aspx?ID=6c95efd4-997a-430a-b1fb-e438640cb80a

3.http://www.knowledgebase-script.com/demo/article-574.html

For those who are giving entrances that ask questions related to Indian Economics may also go through Economics edition of Pratiyogita Darpan. It has material on all the areas concerning Indian Economy.

All the best!

SSS (MA Economics)

To crack JNU entrance, solving past years is extremely important. They essentially have the same trend of questions being followed over years. If you are preparing for ISI and DSE entrances, clearing JNU may not be that challenging. SSS entrance tests on basics and do not really focus on any sophisticated problems like ISI and DSE. Last year SSS entrance had objective as well as subjective questions.

Mathematics and Statistics part may be done from past years only. They have questions on probability, index numbers, Correlation, Mean, Variance, Coefficient of Variation, quantiles and other such topics from basic statistics (be clear with the properties of all the topics). My suggestion will be to go through DU Economics first year course on Statistical Methods for Economics.  In mathematics, cover topics like AP, GP, HP, Compound Interest, finding maxima and minima, basics about functions like finding inverse of a function, go through the properties of logarithmic and exponential functions etc.

For Microeconomics, utility maximisation, cost functions and various market setups (perfect competition, monopoly, oligopoly) shall be done properly (I fathom that one of the favourite question of JNU is to find equilibrium in perfectly competitive market given a cost function). Know the basics like what is Production Possibility frontier, what happens to MC or AC or some utility function at optimum, price elasticity of demand etc.

NIA used to be one of the favourite topics of SSS. But, last year they did not ask as many questions on NIA as earlier which was quite surprising! However, to be on safe side, go through the basics of NIA from 12^th class NCERT. Do first few chapters of NIA from Dornbusch and Fischer. They are necessary. You can also go through NIA chapter in International Economics by Paul Krugman. They usually ask atleast one question on National Income identity. Also know what appreciation, depreciation and terms of trade like terms are. Questions on IS-LM (goods market equilibrium and money market equilibrium), money multiplier are equally expected.

Lastly, for the social awareness questions, you need to know what poverty line in India is (they may ask what is the poverty ration suggested by Tendulkar Committee!), trend in labour share in different sectors, sex ratio, Five year plans etc. I believe for this section, it is important to be updated with current affairs through newspapers. Last year they had asked to write an essay as well. Financial crisis and Lewis model were one of the five topics on which the student could write on. This time as well they may give topics like Financial Inclusion, Keynesian Economics, something related to New Economic Policy etc.

An entry on MA Economics with specialization in World Economy offered by SIS shall follow!

P.S: Past year papers can be obtained directly from JNU while applying for the course. They are also available at DSE photocopy shop.

For information regarding eligibility criteria, syllabus etc., see here.

For any query/comments regarding MA Economics offered by SSS, post your comments on this blog entry. For queries in other entrances (JNU:SIS,ISI,DSE), put your comments in the respective blog entry. Please note that the comments are approved before being posted on the website so please don’t post your comments multiple times. Questions that have been already answered in the blog or in the comments will not be approved.

• Paper 1: Focuses on Mathematics and Statistics
• Paper 2: Focuses on Microeconomics and Macroeconomics

Paper 1: The first step in preparing for any entrance is to go through the past year papers (you can access it from http://www.isid.ac.in/~pu/academics.html). For this section of ISI entrance, you may realize that ISI focuses on 11^th and 12^th class mathematics. Therefore, the first step in going about this section is to brush up on your school level concepts. I would further recommend readers to take up some Engineering entrance preparation book and solve questions from there. Do not go to IIT level questions, just focus on AIEEE kind of questions. Students may also see the past years of BSc Math entrance conducted by ISI. An excellent reference book is “TEST OF MATHEMATICS AT THE 10+2 LEVEL” published by Affiliated East-West Press Pvt. Limited. It is a collection of past 20yrs B.Stat Entrance questions which are very similar to the ones asked in MSQE entrance.

The key to clearing this section is having the concepts clear and focusing on solving as many types of questions as possible.

For Statistics, I would recommend SC Gupta and V.K.Kapoor’s book on Mathematical Statistics. This book has many questions on Probability and they are of the level asked in ISI entrance.

Paper 2: Microeconomics shall be studied from Intermediate Economics by Hal Varian and some concepts from Pindyck and Rubenfield. After getting hold of the concepts, make sure that you do the relevant chapters from Workbook, Varian. The questions that are asked in ISI entrance again target on the basics. So keep your concepts clear and for that practice as many practical questions as you can. Do not waste time in mugging up some formula. ISI focuses on how well you understand concepts and not on how well you can mug up.

If you have completed the Workbook and pretty confident about it then I would suggest you to do questions from MIT open courseware.

http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Economics/index.htm

Just look at different microeconomic courses and see which ones ask concepts that you have done from Varian and Pindyck & Rubenfield. You may go through the lecture notes as well, they are good. I would suggest you to focus on solved assignments than go through the unsolved ones. And to have a stronger grip on the concepts, do solve all the DSE past years question papers.

For Macroeconomics, again, concepts are very important. Go through Dornbusch and Fischer for the same. Mankiw Macroeconomics is good as well. Last year, ISI had asked a question on macroeconomic modeling. If you have time, you may go through ‘Macroeconomic Theory and Policy’ by William Branson for the same. It will help you in DSE preparation as well. Moreover, try the macroeconomics questions from DSE past years. The question that was asked in ISI last year was somewhat similar to the kind of macroeconomics questions asked in DSE. Another recommended, albeit a little elementary, is Schaum series Macroeconomics. I found the growth models done well in it. You may complement Growth models from Mankiw with Schaum series one. A question on growth model (essentially Solow) is quite likely.

Cut off: I believe the cut-off in maths n stats section could have been around 22-23/30. Actually, it depends on the difficulty level of the paper. If you see 2008 paper, this section was quite easy and hence the cut-off would have been higher. For Micro, Macro section, my suggestion would be to target to attempt 80% of the questions.

For more information on ISI, see here. Details on eligibility criteria, syllabus etc. can be found here

Note: For students who did their graduation from non-DU college shall take up DU syllabus of Microeconomics and Macroeconomics taught in 2nd year (can access at http://econdse.org/ba09.pdf)

If anyone has any query about ISI MSQE entrance , you may leave a comment on this entry. For queries in other entrances (JNU,DSE), put your comments in the respective blog entry. Please note that the comments are approved before being posted on the website so please don’t post your comments multiple times. Questions that have been already answered in the blog or in the comments will not be approved.

Much of the budget focused on creating schools, hospitals, museums (Rabindranath Museum at Howrah), sport academics, music academy (at Howrah), housing, crèches and hostels. I guess Mamata Banerjee has considered Railways as an institution of ‘inclusive’ economic growth than focusing on what Railways is actually expected to do, i.e., run trains efficiently, on time and have good connectivity all over the nation.

The budget did not address the issue of safety and security in the Rail network. The minister got away with saying that security is a state subject and hence did not announce anything to gear up the security level. Every year, numerous trains are introduced without working on improving the existing network. All of us are aware of the poor hygienic conditions in Railways (baring Western Railways). But no plan has been drawn to improve it. Several new projects like establishment of 6 bottling plants have been proposed to ‘improve’ passenger amenities/services!

Among some of the visionary goals, one is addition of 25,000kms of new lines in the next ten years. This is commendable given that since independence, we have added just 10,419 kms, an annual average of only 180kms! Let’s hope, like all other visions of Railways, this does not turn out to be a faux!

Mamata has announced to develop new business models in Railways. This is quite intriguing. She intends to provide room for domestic investment in Railways through PPP mode.

Over-all, Railway budget 2010-11 seemed to be quite dry, with no plan to really improve traveling in Indian Railways. It is good to have new plans, but it is important to have the old ones working efficiently first!