IFSCA Grade A 2025 – Descriptive English (Paper 1) – Student Experience & Expert Analysis

This post presents the complete Breakdown of a candidate’s Descriptive English performance in the IFSCA Grade A 2025 examination. It includes the student’s responses, section-wise experience, and Bank Whizz’s expert analysis for future aspirants.

1️⃣ Essay Section

Essay Topic: How rising income inequality can become a problem for urban areas?

Word Limit: 250 words

📝 Student’s Approach

The candidate adopted a structured Introduction–Body–Conclusion format and highlighted the following points:

  • Linked income inequality with global instability and SDG goals (Zero Poverty & Zero Hunger)
  • Mentioned World Bank Report on inequality
  • Explained India’s context using schemes such as PM Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana
  • Discussed rising cost of living, pressure on services, and migration from rural to urban areas
  • Highlighted disparities in access to health and education
  • Concluded with solutions emphasising inclusive growth and social-sector spending

⭐ Expert Evaluation

The essay is high scoring due to its clarity, relevance, and structured flow. The use of SDGs, World Bank insights, migration trends, and social-sector challenges shows maturity. Minor improvement is possible by sharpening the “urban-specific” angle, but overall, this falls in the 25–30/30 scoring band.

2️⃣ Precis Section

Precis Word Limit: 135 words

Precis Theme: Production of Green Hydrogen as a sustainable fuel

Title Chosen by Candidate: Green Hydrogen for Sustainable Development

The passage was technical but straightforward. The student captured the central idea, maintained compression, and ensured clarity. The title is appropriate and precise.

3️⃣ Reading Comprehension (RC)

Theme: Brain-Machine Interface (BMI) – Neuralink, neuroscience, and ethical implications

Source Identified by Candidates: An article from University of Chicago’s Triple Helix Magazine

The passage was labelled “insanely tough” by almost every aspirant. It involved complex neuroscience concepts and inferential questions. The candidate attempted all five questions with short, precise answers (20–35 words), which is the correct strategy for technical passages.

This section was the toughest part of the paper and will likely undergo normalised evaluation.

4️⃣ Overall Difficulty Analysis

  • Essay: Moderate
  • Precis: Moderate
  • RC: Difficult
  • Overall: Moderate (tilted towards difficult due to RC)

5️⃣ Model Essay (250 Words)

Topic: How Rising Income Inequality Can Become a Problem for Urban Areas

Income inequality has emerged as a major concern for rapidly urbanising societies. When economic gains are unevenly distributed, cities experience deep social and economic distortions. Globally, institutions such as the World Bank warn that widening inequality undermines social cohesion, weakens trust in public systems and slows progress towards Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG-1 (No Poverty) and SDG-10 (Reduced Inequalities).

In the Indian urban context, the impact is more visible and more complex. Rising inequality leads to stark differences in access to essential services such as housing, healthcare, education and clean mobility. While a section of the population benefits from high-growth sectors and premium services, a large migrant and low-income workforce struggles with high living costs, overcrowded localities, and limited access to quality public services. This imbalance not only reduces productivity but also fuels social tension and feelings of exclusion.

Migration from rural areas further intensifies pressure on cities. As low-income households move to urban centres seeking employment, they often end up in informal settlements with poor sanitation, insecure housing and unstable jobs. Inequality also affects urban governance—demand for high-end services rises, but essential public goods such as affordable housing, public transport and primary healthcare remain underfunded. Over time, this creates a dual city: one highly developed and the other marginalised.

Addressing rising inequality in urban areas requires targeted policies focused on inclusive growth—expanding social-sector spending, generating quality employment, improving affordable housing and strengthening social protection. Creating equal opportunities is essential for ensuring that Indian cities develop as engines of equitable and sustainable growth.

6️⃣ Final Remarks

The candidate’s performance in Essay and Precis is strong and exam-fit. Despite the tough RC, the overall attempt is clean and well within high-scoring range. This analysis should help future aspirants understand the pattern, expectations and ideal writing style for IFSCA Grade A Descriptive English.