Exam Pattern
NIACL AO Exam Pattern
New India Assurance Co. Ltd: Administrative Officer (Generalist), Scale I
The NIACL AO exam pattern below is checked stage by stage, so one stage cannot inherit another stage's scoring rules.
Prelims
Official Recruitment of 550 Administrative Officers 2025 pattern| Questions | 100 |
| Total marks | 100 |
| Duration | 60 minutes |
| Negative marking | 0.25 per wrong answer |
| Sections | English Language, Reasoning Ability, Quantitative Aptitude |
| Test | Qs | Marks | Min |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 30 | 30 | 20 |
| Reasoning Ability | 35 | 35 | 20 |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 35 | 35 | 20 |
Timing: 20 minutes per section.
Candidates must clear the qualifying cutoff in each section. Prelims is used only to shortlist roughly 15 times the number of vacancies for the Main Examination; Prelims marks do not carry forward into the final merit list, which is decided by the Main Examination objective score plus the interview.
Official source · checked 6 August 2026The NIACL AO Prelims exam pattern is 100 questions carrying 100 marks, to be answered in 60 minutes. That works out to about 36 seconds per question on average, before any time spent reading instructions or revisiting marked answers. The 3 sections are English Language, Reasoning Ability and Quantitative Aptitude. All 3 sections are separately timed, so time saved in one cannot be carried into another. You cannot bank minutes by rushing an easy section.
NIACL AO Prelims marking scheme
- Each correct answer is worth 1 mark.
- A wrong answer deducts 0.25 marks; an unattempted question scores zero.
- A guess therefore breaks even at 20% accuracy: above that it gains you marks on average, below it loses them. A blind guess between four options is right 25% of the time, which is already above that line, so an educated guess is clearly worth making rather than leaving the question blank.
- Worked example: attempt 80 of the 100 questions and get 60 right and 20 wrong, and you score 55 out of 100.
Practising against the same clock is the point of a mock test: at 36 seconds a question, the difference between a good score and an average one is usually pacing rather than knowledge. Attempt a free NIACL AO mock test to see where your time actually goes.
Mains
Official Recruitment of 550 Administrative Officers 2025 pattern| Questions | 200 |
| Total marks | 200 |
| Duration | 150 minutes |
| Negative marking | 0.25 per wrong answer |
| Sections | Reasoning, English Language, General Awareness, Quantitative Aptitude |
| Test | Qs | Marks | Min |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reasoning | 50 | 50 | 40 |
| English Language | 50 | 50 | 40 |
| General Awareness | 50 | 50 | 30 |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 50 | 50 | 40 |
Timing: 40/40/30/40 minutes across the four sections respectively (sectional lock).
This mock covers the Objective Test only (2.5 hours, sectional lock). The Main Examination also includes a separate 30-minute Descriptive Test (Letter Writing and Essay, 30 marks) which is not multiple-choice and is excluded here; candidates must qualify it, but it is not counted for shortlisting or final selection. Final selection is based on the consolidated Main Examination objective score plus interview marks; Prelims marks are not part of the final merit list.
Official source · checked 6 August 2026The NIACL AO Mains exam pattern is 200 questions carrying 200 marks, to be answered in 150 minutes. That works out to about 45 seconds per question on average, before any time spent reading instructions or revisiting marked answers. The 4 sections are Reasoning, English Language, General Awareness and Quantitative Aptitude. All 4 sections are separately timed, so time saved in one cannot be carried into another. You cannot bank minutes by rushing an easy section.
NIACL AO Mains marking scheme
- Each correct answer is worth 1 mark.
- A wrong answer deducts 0.25 marks; an unattempted question scores zero.
- A guess therefore breaks even at 20% accuracy: above that it gains you marks on average, below it loses them. A blind guess between four options is right 25% of the time, which is already above that line, so an educated guess is clearly worth making rather than leaving the question blank.
- Worked example: attempt 160 of the 200 questions and get 120 right and 40 wrong, and you score 110 out of 200.
Practising against the same clock is the point of a mock test: at 45 seconds a question, the difference between a good score and an average one is usually pacing rather than knowledge. Attempt a free NIACL AO mock test to see where your time actually goes.
NIACL AO exam pattern: frequently asked questions
Is there negative marking in NIACL AO?
NIACL AO Prelims deducts 0.25 marks for a wrong answer; NIACL AO Mains deducts 0.25 marks for a wrong answer. An unattempted question always scores zero, so the choice is only ever between guessing and leaving it blank.
How many questions are there in NIACL AO?
NIACL AO Prelims has 100 questions, NIACL AO Mains has 200 questions. That leaves about 36 seconds per question in NIACL AO Prelims and 45 seconds per question in NIACL AO Mains.
What are the total marks in NIACL AO?
NIACL AO Prelims is out of 100 marks, NIACL AO Mains is out of 200 marks.
How long is the NIACL AO exam?
NIACL AO Prelims runs for 60 minutes, NIACL AO Mains runs for 150 minutes.
Does NIACL AO have a sectional time limit?
Yes. NIACL AO Prelims times its sections separately, NIACL AO Mains times its sections separately, so time left over in one section cannot be spent on another. Plan a per-section budget before you sit it.
How many stages does NIACL AO have?
This site covers 2 objective stages: Prelims, Mains. Each stage is checked against the official notification separately, because scoring rules routinely differ between stages of the same exam.