If you have just joined the banking Industry, you must have applied for JAIIB or if not yet, you’ll be applying soon. And one thing everyone wants to know is how to pass JAIIB in first attempt. The obvious reason for clearing JAIIB i.e., Junior Associate of Indian Institute of Bankers is to get an extra increment. So sooner you pass the JAIIB exam, earlier you get an extra increment. If you have joined as Scale – I Officer (P.O.), your initial basic salary would be Rs.36,000 and if you clear JAIIB, you get one increment and your basic salary increase by Rs.1490. So, if you miss it first time, your increment gets delayed by 6 months. That means loss of Rs.8,940+DA. So it becomes important to clear the JAIIB in first attempt itself.

JAIIB exam is held twice a year (June and December) and around 1.50 lacs candidates appear for the exam. Only 22-25% candidates are able to clear the exam each time. So, does it mean that JAIIB is difficult to crack? What should be the strategy to clear the JAIIB in first attempt itself? How one should prepare for JAIIB.

Passing marks for JAIIB:

Passing marks for JAIIB are 50% aggregate and 45% in each subject. If aggregate marks are less than 50% or marks in a particular paper are less than 45% but you score 50% or more in any subject, you do not qualify the exam but you need not give that particular paper in next attempt, in which you score 50% or more. The best part of JAIIB exam is that result of each paper is shown to you immediately after you submit your online exam.

Simple steps to prepare for the JAIIB exam

Take off the burden from your mind, you are required to score only 50%, which is not very difficult. And the good thing is that there is no negative marking.

Here is a simple step by step guide which will help the bankers to be prepared for JAIIB.

If you come from finance or commerce background and have studied B.Com, MBA (Finance) etc., it is relatively easy to crack the JAIIB. Because you would have studied atleast 60% of the topics covered in JAIIB. If you are not from commerce or finance background, you need to make little extra efforts.

1. Get the right Books

After registering for JAIIB, first thing you should do is to get the books for all three subjects. Best books available for JAIIB are by McMillan, which IIBF also suggest. These JAIIB Books are available on Amazon:

• Principles & practices of Banking
• Accounting and finance of bankers
• Legal & Regulatory Aspects of banking

These books might seem bulky but has covered the entire syllabus and has everything you need to know. The book is designed in a way that one can easily be prepared by just reading the definition and summary. The MCQs will give you a fair idea of the level of preparedness.

If you do not have enough time and you don’t want to study IIBF books, you can by the books for JAIIB by N S Toor, which are in Q&A format.

• Principles and Practices of Banking
• Accounting and finance of bankers
• Legal & Regulatory Aspects of banking

2. Know your syllabus

As a banker, it is likely that there will not be a lot of time left for studies after a hectic day of work. Hence it is best to start early. The idea is to plan for the syllabus and time them so that the level of preparedness is high. Knowing your syllabus will give the idea, how much time you need to prepare.

If you have been a commerce student, you’ll find the ‘Accounting and Finance for Bankers’ and some part of Legal & Regulatory Aspects of Banking’ you have already covered during your studies earlier. So 60% of your job is already done. You can mark these topics and focus on those topics which you have not studied earlier.

If you have been a science or arts student, everything is new for you and you need to prepare for everything.

3. Make a strategy for studying:

Yes, write down your syllabus and divide topics of each subject into 6 parts. Mark the dates against each part by which you’ll be reading that part. Give a reading to atleast 75% of the syllabus.

The best strategy is to start with the subject/topic you are comfortable with and then move to another topic and subject. Leave those topics which seems very difficult for your (this should not be more than 20%). Every subject should be touched on alternate days so as to cover everything side by side. The exam preparation should finish in terms of reading a week before the exam date. Then the week should be spent on focusing on the book whose exam is in the next week and not to touch the other subjects.

Dedicate an hour to study during morning or evening, whichever suits you. Believe it, you have the time, just skip those daily TV soaps or those Youtube videos. Dedicate atleast second and fourth Saturday for your studies.

4. Practice and attempt some mock tests for JAIIB

Another great step is to find out last year’s question papers. Prepare them all leaving one which will work as a model test before you actually face the exam. The idea is to practice a lot of question type compared to cramming. You can attempt Free Mock Tests for JAIIB here, which will give you an Idea how the actual exam is held. Attempting mock test help you practice the actual exam conditions.

5. On the actual test day

Choose the easy questions first as they will give you an estimate of the score. Then come back to the questions which were missed. Also, there is no negative marking, so attempt all questions. If you stuck in a question, leave that by marking and go ahead.

We hope this will help you out to pass the JAIIB in first attempt. If you have any queries/ suggestions, please write in comment box below.