One of the biggest and well-known insurance companies in India, NIACL (New India Assurance Company Limited) conducts AO Exam for generalist and specialist administrative officers. Thousands of aspirants compete for AO Exam, every year. Recently, NIACL released notification for 300 vacancies of Administrative Officers (Generalists).
Even though the Exam dates for NIACL AO Exam 2021 are not out yet, but you should cover the entire syllabus via a good preparation strategy, which is also the purpose of this article.
To make a perfect Exam preparation strategy, it is important to keep in mind the Exam pattern.
NIACL AO Exam Pattern
As per the NIACL, the selection process of a candidate is based on the four recruitment stages given below:
Preliminary Stage
This stage of the recruitment process consists of three sections, English language, quantitative aptitude, and reasoning ability. The exam is conducted in online mode, with objective-type questions carrying a total score of 100 Marks.
| Topics | No. of Questions | Marks | Duration |
| English Language | 30 | 30 | 20 minutes |
| Reasoning Ability | 35 | 35 | 20 minutes |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 35 | 35 | 20 minutes |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 60 minutes (1 hour) |
Mains Exam
The second stage of selection is the Mains Examination which is an objective test of 200 marks and a Descriptive Test of 30 marks. Both the Objective and Descriptive Tests are conducted in online mode and you need to pass both the tests separately to get qualified for the next round. The objective type paper has a duration of 2 hours, while the descriptive paper has a time limit of only 30 minutes. In it, you will face 200 multiple-choice questions and have to write two essays or a letter. The mode of exam of the descriptive test will only be English. There is also negative marking involved, as 1/4th of a Mark will be deducted for every wrong answer. The four sections of the mains exam are the English language, reasoning ability, quantitative aptitude, and general awareness. There are two Mains exams, one each for Generalist officers and Specialist officers with only a little difference between the two.
Mains for Generalists
| Topics | Marks | Duration |
| English Language (Objective) | 50 | 120 minutes |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 50 | |
| Reasoning Ability | 50 | |
| General Awareness | 50 | |
| English Language (Descriptive) | 30 | 30 minutes |
| Total | 230 | 150 minutes (2 hours 30 minutes) |
Mains for Specialists
| Topics | Marks | Duration |
| English Language (Objective) | 40 | 90 minutes |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 40 | |
| Reasoning Ability | 40 | |
| General Awareness | 40 | |
| Professional Knowledge | 40 | 30 minutes |
| English (Descriptive) | 30 | 30 minutes |
| Total | 230 | 150 minutes (2 hours 30 minutes) |
Interview & Final selection
After clearing all the above-mentioned stages, you would be called for an interview. Keep in mind, the weightage ratio of online exams and interviews is 80:20. The final selection process of the NIACL AO examination depends upon the combined marks of the mains exam and the interview stage.
Best Books for NIACL AO 2021 Exam
Here are some of the most important subject-wise books that you need to buy to propel your NIACL AO 2021 preparation:
English Language
- Competitive General English by Kiran Prakashan
- Perfect Competitive English by V.K. Sinha
- Objective General English by SP Bakshi
Reasoning Ability
- A New Approach to Reasoning- Verbal and Non-Verbal by B.S. Sijwali and Indu Sijwali
- Analytical Reasoning by M. K. Pandey
- Logical and Analytical Reasoning by A. K. Gupta
- Verbal and Non-verbal Reasoning by RS Agarwal
Quantitative Aptitude
- Quantitative Aptitude by RS Agarwal
- Fast Track Objective Arithmetic by Arihant Publication
- Fast Track Objective Arithmetic by Rajesh Sharma
- Mathematics Class 11th and 12th by RD Sharma
General Awareness
- General Knowledge by Arihant Publications
- General Physics by Rakesh Yadav
- General Knowledge by Binary Karn (Lucent Publications)
- General Science by Lucent (English)
NIACL AO 2021 Section-wise Preparation Tips
English Language Preparation
English Language section is part of both Prelims and Mains Exams. Prelims invite-only objective-type questions whereas Mains Exam entertains both the objective and descriptive questions.
objective-type questions
The objective-type questions invite questions from:
- Active and Passive Voice
- Reading Comprehension
- Articles
- Tenses, Subject-Verb Agreement
- Error-Spotting
- Sentence Correction
- Para Jumbles, etc.
Descriptive questions
Descriptive questions include an essay and a letter (formal or informal).
To score full marks in this section, you need to read the newspaper regularly, and practice writing within the word limit and revisit all the basics of English grammar.
Quantitative Aptitude Preparation
To master this section, you need to cover important topics like:
- Average
- Percentage
- Speed, Time and Distance
- Simplification and Approximation
- Time and Work
- Percentage and Probability
- Partnership
- Mensuration and Geometry,
- Trigonometry
- Profit and Loss
- Simple and Compound Interest, etc.
Besides, learning all the above topics, learn the basic concepts and the tables and formulas. Practice them via different types of questions.
General Awareness Preparation
General Awareness section invites questions from general knowledge, current affairs of national and international importance, and terms and concepts related to economy or finance, marketing, banking, and insurance. To cover these topics, you need to read newspapers (for general and financial news), magazines, and journals related to finance. You have to be fully aware of the latest news updates.
Reasoning Ability Preparation
To master this section, you need to cover all the important topics like:
- Coding-Decoding
- Syllogisms
- Direction and Distance
- Data Sufficiency
- Numeric/Alpha-numeric series
- Puzzles
- Seating Arrangement
- Accuracy and Speed
Practice all these topics every day without fail and make notes while solving and revisit those notes every day.
5 Points for a Perfect Preparation Strategy for NIACL AO Exam 2021
- Make sure you know the detailed syllabus and exam pattern before starting to prepare for the exam.
- Keep making short notes while covering the topics for smart revision later on. Solve previous years’ papers.
- Attempt regular Mock Tests and time your answers while solving previous year papers.
- Prepare every section as the exam has sectional cut-offs
- Leave questions in the exam that you’re unsure about. Keep in mind the negative marking for incorrect answers.
NIACL AO FAQs 2021
Q 1. What is the salary of NIACL AO?
Ans. The salary of NIACL AO is ₹ 32795-1610(14)-55335-1745(4)- 62315 and other admissible allowance as applicable.
Q2. How many vacancies are released under NIACL AO 2021 recruitment?
A total of 300 NIACL AO vacancies are disclosed under the NIACL AO 2021 recruitment notification.
Q3. What is the eligibility required to apply for NIACL AO 2021 exam?
The age of the candidate must in between 21-30 years, also he/she must hold a graduation degree with minimum of 60% marks in order to be eligible to apply for NIACL AO 2021 exam.
Q. Is NIACL AO a good job?
Yes, Administrative Officer is a respected as well as reputed job post in NIACL.
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