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Short answer
The SEBI Grade A IT Officer exam is a three-stage recruitment for the Assistant Manager post in the Information Technology stream at the Securities and Exchange Board of India. Phase 1 is an online screening test; Phase 2 decides your merit; the interview follows.
Phase 1 Paper 2 (IT stream, 100 marks, 40 minutes) tests nine topics: Database Concepts (10), SQL Queries (10), Programming Concepts in Java/C/C++ (30), Data Analytics Languages Python/R (10), Algorithms (10), Networking (10), Information & Cyber Security (10), Data Warehousing (5) and Shell Programming (5).
Phase 2 Paper 2 for the IT stream is a 210-minute coding test of 100 marks, written in C++, Java or Python. Its weightage is Data Structures (40), Algorithms (30), Object Oriented Programming (20) and String Manipulation (10). Phase 1 marks are used only for shortlisting; the final merit list comes from Phase 2 at 85% and the interview at 15%.
The practical implication: roughly 130 of the 200 technical marks are programming. Theory revision alone will get you through Phase 1 and then stop you dead at Phase 2. Memory-based recall from candidates who sat the Mains confirms it — data structures and algorithms account for roughly 55% of remembered questions and object oriented programming another 25%. Work through the 100+ solved SEBI IT Officer PYQs, then see what is inside the programme.
Last reviewed 3 August 2026 by Piyush Wairale, M.Tech (IIT Madras). Weightages are indicative, as stated in the SEBI syllabus annexure. Always cross-check the current official notification at sebi.gov.in before applying.
Stage 01 — the shape of the exam
Three stages, two of which are technical. Read the third column carefully — it explains where your marks actually come from, which is not where most candidates spend their time.
| Stage | Papers & format | Marks & duration | Counts towards merit? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 Online screening |
Paper 1: General Awareness (incl. securities market), English, Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning Paper 2: IT stream technical MCQs |
100 · 60 min 100 · 40 min |
No — shortlisting only |
| Phase 2 Main examination |
Paper 1: English (descriptive) — drafting, précis, essay Paper 2: Coding test in C++, Java or Python |
100 · 60 min · wt 1/3 100 · 210 min · wt 2/3 |
Yes — 85% of final |
| Interview Phase 3 |
Personality, domain depth, communication. English or Hindi, candidate's choice. | 15 marks equivalent | Yes — 15% of final |
NEGATIVE MARKING
One-fourth of the marks assigned to a question is deducted for each wrong objective answer — 0.25 for a 1-mark question. Blind guessing costs more than it pays.
PHASE 1 CUT-OFFS
Typically 30% in Paper 1, 40% in Paper 2 and 40% aggregate. Paper 2 carries the higher bar, so your technical paper is the one that decides whether you advance.
MEDIUM & MODE
All papers are online. Objective papers are bilingual, English and Hindi. The English descriptive paper and the coding test are in English only.
Stage 02 — the official syllabus
Reproduced topic-for-topic from the SEBI syllabus annexure. One hundred marks in forty minutes — well under a minute per question, which is why recall speed matters here as much as depth. Confirm the exact question count for your cycle in the official notification.
| # | Topic | Concepts covered | Weightage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Database Concepts | ER-model. Relational model: relational algebra, tuple calculus. Integrity constraints, normal forms. File organization, indexing (e.g. B and B+ trees). Transactions and concurrency control. | 10 |
| 2 | SQL Queries | Select, view, truncate, delete, update, alter, inner join, different types of outer joins, use of aggregate functions, union, intersection, except, IN and EXIST clauses, nested queries. | 10 |
| 3 | Programming Concepts (Java / C / C++) | Program control (iteration, recursion, functions), scope of variables, binding of variables and functions, parameter passing, functional and logic programming, OOPS concepts, inheritance, class and object, constructors, functions, exception handling. | 30 |
| 4 | Data Analytics Languages (Python / R) | Regex, slicing, data reshaping, dataframes, dictionaries and sets, file management, classes and functions, data mining, lists, importing and exporting data, charts and graphs. | 10 |
| 5 | Algorithms for Problem Solving | Tree and graph traversals, connected components, spanning trees, shortest paths; hashing, sorting, searching; design techniques (greedy, dynamic programming, divide-and-conquer). | 10 |
| 6 | Networking Concepts | ISO/OSI stack, LAN technologies (Ethernet, Token Ring), TCP/UDP, IP, basic concepts of switches, gateways and routers, application layer protocols (DNS, SMTP, POP, FTP, HTTP), firewalls. | 10 |
| 7 | Information & Cyber Security Concepts | Cyber attacks, software development security, network security, authentication, CIA — confidentiality, integrity and availability, network audit, systems audit. | 10 |
| 8 | Data Warehousing | Data extraction, data cleaning, data transformation, data loading, metadata, data cube, data mart, data models. | 5 |
| 9 | Shell Programming | Shell scripting basics, shell variables, shell script arguments, if statement, loop, return, basic UNIX commands. | 5 |
| Total | 100 | ||
* Weightages are indicative, as noted in the official SEBI syllabus.
Stage 03 — where the merit list is decided
This is the paper that separates SEBI from every other regulatory exam. You are not choosing options — you are writing, compiling and running code in C++, Java or Python for three and a half hours, and it carries two-thirds of a stage that itself is 85% of your final score. Candidates who treat Phase 2 as something to start after Phase 1 results almost always run out of runway.
| # | Topic | Concepts | Weightage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Data Structure | Array, linked list, stack, queue, binary tree, indexing, binary search tree, heap, hashing, matrix, JSON objects. | 40 |
| 2 | Algorithms | Sorting, searching, greedy algorithms, dynamic programming, backtracking, divide and conquer, pattern searching. | 30 |
| 3 | Object Oriented Programming | Abstraction, encapsulation, polymorphism, inheritance. | 20 |
| 4 | String Manipulation | Length, substring, regex, search. | 10 |
| Total | 100 | ||
Want to see the actual question style first?
We maintain a free bank of 100+ memory-based SEBI Grade A IT Officer Mains questions with verified answers, grouped topic-wise across sorting, searching, hashing, trees, graphs, OOP in C++/Java/Python, and DBMS. Read it before you plan your syllabus order — it is the closest public view of what this paper really asks.
Open the solved PYQ bank →Commit to one language early
C++ for STL depth and speed, Java for clean OOP and rich collections, Python for fastest writing and string work. Whichever you choose, learn its standard library cold — in a timed test, hand-rolling a hash map is lost marks.
Write a brute force first, always
Partial credit on a correct O(n²) beats zero on an unfinished O(n log n). Get something that compiles and passes sample cases, then optimise if time remains.
Practise edge cases mechanically
Empty input, single element, all duplicates, integer overflow, negative numbers. Hidden test cases are built from exactly these, and they are where most submissions quietly fail.
Budget the 210 minutes on paper
Read every problem in the first ten minutes, rank by confidence, then allocate. Do not let one hard dynamic programming problem eat ninety minutes that three easier ones needed.
Stage 04 — what actually got asked
SEBI does not publish its IT Officer question papers. What exists is memory-based recall from candidates who sat the Mains — and reconstructed carefully, it is the single most useful planning document an aspirant has. Here is what more than a hundred recalled questions show.
Sorting, searching, hashing, trees, graphs. More than half the paper.
C++ virtual functions, Java inheritance and interfaces, Python classes.
Recurrences, dynamic programming, backtracking, string matching.
B-tree indexing, JSON handling, representation trade-offs.
Indicative distribution reconstructed from memory-based recall — not an official SEBI weightage.
Attempt each one before you read the answer.
Worst-case time complexity of Quick Sort, and when does it occur?
✓ O(n²) — when the pivot is always the smallest or largest element.
Which algorithm uses the LPS array?
✓ KMP (Knuth–Morris–Pratt).
Maximum height of an AVL tree with 12 nodes?
✓ 4.
Planar graph with E = 30 and F = 20 — how many vertices?
✓ 12, by Euler's formula V − E + F = 2.
Why are range queries slow in a hash table?
✓ Order is not maintained, so a range query degrades to O(n).
Static method in base and derived class, called via a base reference — which runs?
✓ The parent's, since static methods are not overridden.
Java 8 keyword that lets an interface carry a concrete method?
✓ default.
Read the distribution as an instruction. If four-fifths of the recalled Mains paper is data structures, algorithms and OOP, then a study plan that spends its first month on networking and data warehousing is optimised for the wrong exam. Phase 1 rewards breadth; Phase 2, which carries your rank, rewards depth in exactly three areas.
The programme
One package, three components, sequenced in the order the syllabus weights them. Lectures build the concept, notes compress it for revision, and the test series proves whether it actually holds under a clock.
COMPONENT 01
100+ hours of recorded lectures, sequenced by official weightage rather than textbook order — so Programming Concepts gets the airtime its 30 marks deserve.
COMPONENT 02
Typeset, downloadable PDFs designed for the last three weeks before the exam, when you need a topic back in your head in twenty minutes.
COMPONENT 03
20+ tests that mirror the real interface and the real clock, including timed coding sets for Phase 2.
Live doubt sessions
Weekly, directly with Piyush.
Revision quizzes
Short weekly self-checks.
Strategy sessions
Question selection and pacing.
Pattern updates
Cloud, security and analytics refreshed each cycle.
Piyush breaks down the IT stream syllabus, the weightage traps and a realistic study sequence.
A working plan
Built for two to three focused hours on weekdays and a longer session on Sunday. The order is deliberate: coding practice starts in week one and never stops, because it is the one skill that cannot be crammed.
| Weeks | Primary focus | Daily coding habit |
|---|---|---|
| 1 – 4 | Programming Concepts (30 marks). OOPS, inheritance, constructors, exception handling, scope and binding, parameter passing, recursion. | Arrays, strings, two pointers — 2 problems a day. |
| 5 – 8 | Databases + SQL (20 marks). ER modelling, relational algebra, normal forms, B/B+ tree indexing, transactions, joins, nested queries. | Linked lists, stacks, queues, hashing. |
| 9 – 11 | Networking + Cyber Security (20 marks). OSI and TCP/IP stacks, IP addressing, routing devices, application protocols, CIA triad, audits, firewalls. | Trees, BST, heaps, graph traversals. |
| 12 – 13 | Algorithms, Python/R, Data Warehousing, Shell (30 marks). The high-return short topics — shell and warehousing are 10 marks for very little study time. | Greedy, DP, backtracking, divide and conquer. |
| 14 – 15 | Full-length mocks + error log. Two Phase 1 mocks a week, each followed by a review session twice as long as the test. | Weekly 210-minute timed coding simulation. |
| 16 | Revision only. LaTeX notes, quick-revision tables, formula and command sheets. No new topics. | Re-solve your ten hardest past problems from memory. |
Why this programme
| Parameter | Piyush Wairale — SEBI IT Stream |
|---|---|
| Content depth | IIT-standard conceptual treatment, not exam-guide summaries |
| Phase 2 coverage | A dedicated coding lab with 210-minute simulations — the part most courses skip entirely |
| Test series | 20+ mocks with topic-wise accuracy and time-per-question analytics |
| Notes format | LaTeX-typeset PDFs, offline-downloadable, revision-first layout |
| Mentor | M.Tech, IIT Madras; 20,000+ aspirants mentored across GATE, PSU and IT Officer exams |
| Support | Live mentorship plus an active Telegram discussion group for IT Officer aspirants |
Piyush Wairale holds an M.Tech from IIT Madras and is a former instructor on the IIT Madras BS Degree Programme. He is a Microsoft Learn Educator, AWS Academy Educator and NPTEL Educator, and was awarded the Vidarbha Ratna Puraskar 2026 as Best Data Science and AI Educator in Vidarbha. He teaches DBMS, data structures, algorithms, networks and cyber security to aspirants of GATE DA, SEBI Grade A, IBPS SO, SBI SO and PSU technical recruitment.
Questions aspirants actually ask
Course, LaTeX notes and the full test series in one package — including the coding lab for Phase 2 that most SEBI preparation quietly leaves out.
Enrol in the SEBI Grade A IT Stream ProgrammeNot ready yet? Start free with the 100+ solved SEBI IT Officer PYQs.
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SEBI IT Officer PYQ 2026 — 100+ solved questions
Memory-based Phase 2 Mains bank with verified answers.
SEBI Grade A IT Officer syllabus — detailed guide
Topic-wise breakdown with book recommendations.
SEBI Grade A exam pattern — all phases
Cut-offs, weightage and stream-wise durations.
All IT Officer & PSU courses
IBPS SO, SBI SO, BOB IT, CIL MT and GATE DA.