Syllabus & Recommended Books for SEBI Grade A/B Officer

SEBI has come up notification of Grade A officer recruitment. In this article, we will discuss on the detailed syllabus and recommended books and online resources for covering SEBI exam syllabus on your own.

SEBI Grade A syllabus and recommended books

SEBI is conducting recruitment for following profiles in Grade A category.

General Profile
Legal
IT
Engineering (Civil and Electrical)

SEBI Grade A exam is divided into 2 papers + 1 interview. Paper 1 (prelims) is the same for all profiles. Paper 2 (mains) is different for all profiles.

SEBI Grade A Phase 1 syllabus and recommended books

Sebi Grade A paper 1 has 4 subjects

Quantitative Aptitude
Reasoning
English
General Awareness
Securities Market

Quantitative Aptitude

Quantitative aptitude for SEBI Grade A has same syllabus, question pattern and difficulty level, as asked in SSC/PO exams. Students are advised to refer any standard quantitative aptitude books like RS Aggrawal for SEBI Grade A.

Reasoning

Reasoning for SEBI Grade A has same syllabus, question pattern and difficulty level, as asked in SSC/PO exams. Students are advised to refer any standard reasoning books like RS Aggarwal for SEBI Grade A.

English

In English exam, you will see questions from reading comprehension, grammar and vocabulary parts. Its syllabus is also same that of SSC/PO exams.

General Awareness

Students are advised to thoroughly prepare current affairs for last 1 year. A student can read through yearly or half-yearly books from Manorama or likewise publication. There will be some portion of static GK also. NCERT books are recommended for covering static portion for SEBI Grade A exam.

Securities Market

This subject is divided into 2 parts

Applications of finance like capital market, bond market, exchange rate. Students are advised to read the basics of finance and economics. NCERT books (class 11 and 12) can be used for covering the economics part, whereas entry-level finance books like Prasanna Chandra can be read for covering finance portion.
Working of SEBI. Students are advised to read the basics of business law and company law (SS Gulshan), Basics of securities markets, SEBI policies.

Securities markets (Finance and economics fundamentals)

Indian Financial system – introduction – structure – finance commission – financial administration – receipts of the Government – Expenditures of the Government.
Capital markets – primary market – instruments – legal issues and regulations – secondary market – stock exchanges – brokers – trading in stock exchanges – forward trading – stock index – depositories – regulations
Bond Market- Money market, G.sec Market, Corporate bond market, Bond valuation, Duration, sensitivity, risk
Foreign Exchange market – exchange control – fixation of exchange rate – exchange control in India – FEMA – foreign exchange transactions of commercial banks in India – currency convertibility – currency forwards, futures and options – trading in foreign exchange market – the relationship between money market and foreign exchange market.
Commodity market, commodity trading, and exchanges
International capital markets – instruments – Guidelines – foreign investment in India and its regulations.

Securities Law

The relationship between Company Law and securities law
Basic concepts related to securities law, like capital, public offer and securities
Historical Background of securities law
SEBI as a Market regulator, Powers and Functions of SEBI, Quasi legislative powers, executive powers and quasi-judicial powers
Regulating the intermediaries and Stock exchanges, Meaning and Type of securities, Securities Contract, Corporatization, Demutualization and regulation of stock exchange, Listing Agreement, Dematerlisation and Rematerlisation
Rights and duties of Depository (NSDL AND CSDL), Depository Participant, Issuer and beneficiary
Unpublished Price Sensitive Information(UPSI), Insider as a connected person, Insider as the person having access to UPSI, Trading on the basis of UPSI
Mergers Amalgamation and takeovers, Types and legal processes during takeover, Substantial Acquisitions, Exemptions by law, Exemption BY SEBI
Public offer and disclosure requirements
Unfair Trade Practices in the securities market, Securities Market offences, Prohibition of Insider Trading
SEBI ICDR Regulations
Public Offer requirements
Role of SEBI as a Regulator
Securities Appellate Tribunal
Role of Courts in enforcing securities regulations

SEBI Grade A Phase 2 syllabus and recommended books

Syllabus for SEBI Phase 2 exam is different for each of the profiles.

General Profile syllabus and recommended books

Paper 1: Securities Market

Securities market paper judges candidate’ knowledge on the core of SEBI – securities markets, different instruments in the securities market, company laws, etc. Students are expected to read through company law books (as mentioned earlier) and securities market books from NISM. Don’t miss out recent famous cases, policies changes involving SEBI (last 1 year).

Regulating the intermediaries and Stock exchanges, Meaning and Type of securities, Securities Contract, Corporatization, Demutualization and regulation of stock exchange, Listing Agreement.
SEBI regulated entities: Stock-broking, Depositories, Depository Participants, Registrars and Transfer Agents, Merchant Bankers, Custodians, Debenture Trustees, Stock Exchanges, Clearing Corporations, Credit Rating Agencies, Alternative Investment Funds, Bankers to Issues, Investment Advisors etc.
Stock Broking: equity, derivative, commodity
Merchant banking services: capital issue management – pricing of the issue -marketing of issues.
Mutual funds: Indian History, Role, legal structure, Types of schemes and main features, Real estate MFs and Reits, InVits, Distribution of financial products and investment advice: issues, concerns, and regulatory requirements
Commodity market: commodity trading and commodity exchanges
Historical Background of securities law
Basic concepts of securities law: capital, public offer, and securities
Relationship between Company Law and securities law
Rights and duties of Depository (NSDL AND CSDL): Depository Participant, Issuer and beneficiary
Unpublished Price Sensitive Information(UPSI): Insider as a connected person, Insider as the person having access to UPSI, Trading on the basis of UPSI
Foreign Portfolio Investors: Their role, nature of investments in Indian Market, their impact on Indian Markets
Collective Investment Schemes: regulatory framework, main issues/ concerns, role of SEBI and other agencies

General Paper 3

Economic and Social Issues:

Economics and social issues portion of SEBI Grade A is similar to many other exams like RBI Grade B, Nabard etc.

Read More: how to prepare ESI for SEBI grade a.

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
Privatization
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
Urbanization and Migration
Gender Issues
Social Justice: Positive Discrimination in favor of the underprivileged
Social Movements
Indian Political System
Human Development
Social Sectors in India, Health and Education

Finance and Management:

Finance and Management syllabus is same that of RBI Grade B and other exams.

(I) Finance:

(a) Financial System:

Money Market, Capital Market
Reserve Bank of India- functions and conduct of monetary policy, Banking System in India, Financial Institutions – SIDBI, EXIM, NABARD, NHB, etc.
SEBI – functions and role
Prevention of Money Laundering
Know Your Client Framework

(b) Financial Markets Primary and Secondary Markets (Forex, Money, Bond, Equity, etc.), functions, instruments, recent developments.

(c) General Topics:

Risk Management in the Financial Sector
Basics of Derivatives: Forward, Futures, and Swap
Changing Landscape of Financial sector
Recent Developments in the Financial Sector, Portfolio Investment, Public Sector Reforms, Disinvestments
Financial Inclusion- use of technology
Alternate source of finance, private and social cost-benefit, Public-Private Partnership
Corporate Governance in Financial Sector, role of e-governance in addressing the issues of corruption and inefficiency in the government sector.
The Union Budget – Direct and Indirect taxes; Non-tax sources of Revenue, GST, Thirteenth Finance Commission and 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.

(II) 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; Performance Appraisal – Potential appraisal and development – Feedback and Performance Counselling – 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.

SPECIALIZED profiles – Paper 2

Financial Sector (Legal / Information Technology / Engineering Streams)

Financial sector covers the basics of finance. You are expected to know basics like corporate finance, risk management, regulators etc. You can read Financial Management by P.Chandra.

Regulatory framework – RBI.
Non-banking financial companies – functions- RBI regulated: Leasing & Hire Purchase Companies, Gold Loan Companies, Retail Financing Companies, Chit Funds, Nidhis etc., Micro-Finance Institutions, Credit Information Bureaus.
Monetary Policies, REPO, reverse REPO, Fiscal deficit
Lease financing, hire purchase finance, consumer credit.
Pension Products, Ponzi Schemes.
Insurance services Life Insurance, General Insurance, Health Insurance. Lines of Business: Pure Term, Endowment, Pension, Bundled products. Reinsurance. Insurance broking, Bancassurance.
Capital markets – primary market – instruments – secondary market – stock exchanges – brokers – trading in stock exchanges – forward trading – stock index – depositories – regulations

Paper 3

Legal Stream

Constitution of India
Law of Contracts – Indian Contracts Act, 1872, Specific Relief Act, 1963
Company Law – Companies Act, 2013
Criminal Law – Indian Penal Code, 1860 along with the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
Jurisprudence
Law of evidence – Indian Evidence Act, 1872, The Oaths Act, 1969
Administrative law
Law of Torts – reference to the Consumer Protection Act, 1986
Property law – Transfer of Property Act, 1882, Indian Easements Act, 1882
Arbitration and Conciliation – The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996
Taxation – important features of the Income Tax Act.
Law of Trusts – Indian Trusts Act, 1882 and the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act
Important Latin terms and maxims
Interpretation of statues

Information Technology Stream:

Concepts on databases
Programming in Java/ C++/ VB/ SQL
Data Warehousing/ Analytical tool (SAS, R, SAP, Oracle/ Microsoft BI)
Networking Concepts (LAN/ WAN etc.)
Information and Cyber Security/ IT Security/ Network Audit/ IT Act
Knowledge on Servers/ Storage

Questions may be related to: 1. Core Java 1.7 2. Java Spring Framework 3.0 3. Hibernate Framework 3.0 4. SOAP Web Service Development 5. Jquery, JSP, HTML 6. Mobile Apps Development 7. BPM Workflow 8. Dashboards and Business Intelligence Reports 9. Database Administration Oracle/ DB2 10. PL/SQL

Engineering Stream

Civil Engineering

Building Materials: Stone, Lime, Glass, Plastics, Steel, FRP, Ceramics, Aluminium, Fly Ash, Basic Admixtures, Timber, Bricks and Aggregates: Classification, properties and selection criteria; Cement: Types, Composition, Properties, Uses, Specifications and various Tests; Lime & Cement Mortars and Concrete: Properties and various Tests; Design of Concrete Mixes: Proportioning of aggregates and methods of mix design.
Solid Mechanics: Elastic constants, Stress, plane stress, Strains, plane strain, Mohr’s circle of stress and strain, Elastic theories of failure, Principal Stresses, Bending, Shear and Torsion.
Structural Analysis: Basics of strength of materials, Types of stresses and strains, Bending moments and shear force, concept of bending and shear stresses; Analysis of determinate and indeterminate structures; Trusses, beams, plane frames; Rolling loads, Influence Lines, Unit load method & other methods; Free and Forced vibrations of single degree and multi-degree freedom system; Suspended Cables; Concepts and use of Computer Aided Design.
Design of Steel Structures: Principles of Working Stress methods, Design of tension and compression members, Design of beams and beam-column connections, built-up sections, Girders, Industrial roofs, Principles of Ultimate load design.
Design of Concrete and Masonry Structures: Limit state design for bending, shear, axial compression and combined forces; Design of beams, Slabs, Lintels, Foundations, Retaining walls, Tanks, Staircases; Principles of pre-stressed concrete design including materials and methods; Earthquake resistant design of structures; Design of Masonry Structure.
Construction Practice, Planning and Management: Construction – Planning, Equipment, Site investigation and Management including Estimation with latest project management tools and network analysis for different Types of works; Analysis of Rates of various types of works; Tendering Process and Contract Management, Quality Control, Productivity, Operation Cost; Land acquisition; Labour safety and welfare.
The flow of Fluids: Hydraulic Machines and Hydro Power:
Fluid Mechanics, Open Channel Flow, Pipe Flow: Fluid properties; Dimensional Analysis and Modelling; Fluid dynamics including flow kinematics and measurements; Flow net; Viscosity, Boundary layer and control, Drag, Lift, Principles in open channel flow, Flow controls. Hydraulic jump; Surges; Pipe networks.
Hydraulic Machines and Hydropower: Various pumps, Air vessels, Hydraulic turbines – types, classifications & performance parameters; Powerhouse – classification and layout, storage, poundage, control of supply.
Hydrology and Water Resources Engineering: Hydrological cycle, Groundwater hydrology, Well hydrology and related data analysis; Streams and their gauging; River morphology; Flood, drought and their management; Capacity of Reservoirs. Water Resources Engineering: Multipurpose uses of Water, River basins and their potential; Irrigation systems, water demand assessment; Resources – storages and their yields; Waterlogging, canal and drainage design, Gravity dams, falls, weirs, Energy dissipaters, barrage Distribution works, Cross drainage works and head-works and their design; Concepts in canal design, construction & maintenance; River training, measurement and analysis of rainfall.
Environmental Engineering:

Water Supply Engineering: Sources, Estimation, quality standards and testing of water and their treatment; Rural, Institutional and industrial water supply; Physical, chemical and biological characteristics and sources of water, Pollutants in water and its effects, Estimation of water demand; Drinking water Standards, Water Treatment Plants, Water distribution networks.
Waste Water Engineering: Planning & design of domestic wastewater, sewage collection, and disposal; Plumbing Systems. Components and layout of sewerage system; Planning & design of Domestic Waste-water disposal system; Sludge management including treatment, disposal and re-use of treated effluents; Industrial waste waters and Effluent Treatment Plants including institutional and industrial sewage management.
Solid Waste Management: Sources & classification of solid wastes along with the planning & design of its management system; Disposal system, Beneficial aspects of wastes and Utilization by Civil Engineers.
Air, Noise pollution and Ecology: Concepts & general methodology.

Geotechnical Engineering and Foundation Engineering: (a) Geotechnical Engineering: Soil exploration – planning & methods, Properties of soil, classification, various tests and inter-relationships; Permeability & Seepage, Compressibility, consolidation and Shearing resistance, Earth pressure theories and stress distribution in soil; Properties and uses of geosynthetics.(b) Foundation Engineering: Types of foundations & selection criteria, bearing capacity, settlement analysis, design and testing of shallow & deep foundations; Slope stability analysis, Earthen embankments, Dams and Earth retaining structures: types, analysis and design, Principles of ground modifications.
Surveying and Geology: (a) Surveying: Classification of surveys, various methodologies, instruments & analysis of measurement of distances, elevation and directions; Field astronomy, Global Positioning System; Map preparation; Photogrammetry; Remote sensing concepts; Survey Layout for culverts, canals, bridges, road/railway alignment and buildings, Setting out of Curves. (b) Geology: Basic knowledge of Engineering geology & its application in projects.
Transportation Engineering: Highways – Planning & construction methodology, Alignment and geometric design; Traffic Surveys and Controls; Principles of Flexible and Rigid pavements design Tunneling – Alignment, methods of construction, disposal of muck, drainage, lighting and ventilation. Railways Systems – Terminology, Planning, designs and maintenance practices; track modernization. Harbors – Terminology, layouts and planning. Airports – Layout, planning & design.

Engineering Stream – Electrical Engineering

Electrical Materials: Electrical Engineering Materials, crystal structures and defects, ceramic materials, insulating materials, magnetic materials – basics, properties and applications; ferrities, ferromagnetic materials and components; basics of solid state physics, conductors; Photo-conductivity; Basics of Nanomaterials and Superconductors.
Electric Circuits and Fields: Circuit elements, network graph, KCL, KVL, Node and Mesh analysis, ideal current and voltage sources, Thevenin’s, Norton’s, Superposition and Maximum Power Transfer theorems, transient response of DC and AC networks, Sinusoidal steady-state analysis, basic filter concepts, two-port networks, three phase circuits, Magnetically coupled circuits, Gauss Theorem, electric field and potential due to point, line, plane and spherical charge distributions, Ampere’s and Biot-Savart’s laws; inductance, dielectrics, capacitance; Maxwell’s equations
Electrical and Electronic Measurements: Principles of measurement, accuracy, precision and standards; Bridges and potentiometers; moving coil, moving iron, dynamometer and induction type instruments, measurement of voltage, current, power, energy and power factor, instrument transformers, digital voltmeters and multi-meters, phase, time and frequency measurement, Q-meters, oscilloscopes, potentiometric recorders, error analysis, Basics of sensors, Transducers, basics of data acquisition systems.
Computer Fundamentals: Number systems, Boolean algebra, arithmetic functions, Basic Architecture, Central Processing Unit, I/O and Memory Organisation; peripheral devices, data representation and programming, basics of Operating system and networking, virtual memory, file systems; Elements of programming languages, typical examples.
Basic Electronics Engineering: Basics of Semiconductor diodes and transistors and characteristics, Junction and field effect transistors (BJT, FET and MOSFETS), different types of transistor amplifiers, equivalent circuits and frequency response; oscillators and other circuits, feedback amplifiers.
Analog and Digital Electronics: Operational amplifiers – characteristics and applications, combinational and sequential logic circuits, multiplexers, multi-vibrators, sample and hold circuits, A/D and D/A converters, basics of filter circuits and applications, simple active filters; Microprocessor basics- interfaces and applications, basics of linear integrated circuits; Analog communication basics, Modulation and demodulation, noise and bandwidth, transmitters and receivers, signal to noise ratio, digital communication basics, sampling, quantizing, coding, frequency and time domain multiplexing, power line carrier communication systems.
Systems and Signal Processing: Representation of continuous and discrete-time signals, shifting and scaling operations, linear, time-invariant and causal systems, Fourier series representation of continuous periodic signals, sampling theorem, Fourier and Laplace transforms, Z transforms, Discrete Fourier transform, FFT, linear convolution, discrete cosine transform, FIR filter, IIR filter, bilinear transformation.
Control Systems: Principles of feedback, transfer function, block diagrams and signal flow graphs, steady-state errors, transforms and their applications; Routh-Hurwitz criterion, Nyquist techniques, Bode plots, root loci, lag, lead and lead-lag compensation, stability analysis, transient and frequency response analysis, state space model, state transition matrix, controllability and observability, linear state variable feedback, PID and industrial controllers.
Electrical Machines: Single phase transformers, three phase transformers – connections, parallel operation, auto-transformer, energy conversion principles, DC machines – types, windings, generator characteristics, armature reaction and commutation, starting and speed control of motors, Induction motors – principles, types, performance characteristics, starting and speed control, Synchronous machines – performance, regulation, parallel operation of generators, motor starting, characteristics and applications, servo and stepper motors.
Power Systems: Basic power generation concepts, steam, gas and water turbines, transmission line models and performance, cable performance, insulation, corona and radio interference, power factor correction, symmetrical components, fault analysis, principles of protection systems, basics of solid state relays and digital protection; Circuit breakers, Radial and ring-main distribution systems, Matrix representation of power systems, load flow analysis, voltage control and economic operation, System stability concepts, Swing curves and equal area criterion. HVDC transmission and FACTS concepts, Concepts of power system dynamics, distributed generation, solar and wind power, smart grid concepts, environmental implications, fundamentals of power economics.
Power Electronics and Drives: Semiconductor power diodes, transistors, thyristors, triacs, GTOs, MOSFETs and IGBTs – static characteristics and principles of operation, triggering circuits, phase control rectifiers, bridge converters – fully controlled and half controlled, principles of choppers and inverters, basic concepts of adjustable speed dc and ac drives, DC-DC switched mode converters, DCAC switched mode converters, resonant converters, high frequency inductors and transformers, power supplies

Conclusion

In this article, we have shared complete details of syllabus and recommended books for different subjects in SEBI Grade A exam.

Syllabus and Recommended Books for SEBI Grade A/B Officer