RBI grade B syllabus and exam pattern for the general post

The three steps to an RBI grade B post

The General stream follows the route below. The DEPR (economic research) and DSIM (statistics) streams have their own subject papers, covered briefly further down.

1. Phase I: one objective paper with four timed sections. It only screens; the score is dropped once Phase II begins.
2. Phase II: three papers. Their combined marks, with the interview, build your merit.
3. Interview: 75 marks, conducted by the Bank.

Final selection is based on Phase II plus interview marks. Check the notification for minimum marks fixed for each paper and the aggregate, as these are set by the Bank for each cycle.

RBI grade B prelims exam pattern (Phase I)

Each part has its own clock and its own minimum score. Awareness gives you 80 marks in only 25 minutes, so you either know the answer or you move on. Wrong answers lose a quarter mark.

RBI grade B mains exam pattern (Phase II)

In recent cycles Papers I and III have each been split half objective and half descriptive, with the objective part (about 30 minutes) answered before the typed descriptive part (about 90 minutes); Paper II has run for about 90 minutes. Paper II asks for essay writing, precis and reading comprehension type answers. The exact time per paper and per part, and the number of questions, are fixed in each notification, so take them from there.

Phase I syllabus in detail

General Awareness

Current affairs of the months before the exam with a strong economy and banking tilt: RBI policy decisions, financial sector news, government schemes, budget measures, international bodies, awards and appointments, and static facts on banking.

Reasoning

High level puzzles and seating, input and output, syllogism, inequality, coding, blood relations, direction, data sufficiency and logical reasoning such as assumptions and conclusions.

English Language

Passages with questions, cloze tests, error detection, sentence rearrangement, fillers and vocabulary in context.

Quantitative Aptitude

Data interpretation sets, number series, quadratic equations, simplification and the arithmetic chapters: percentages, ratio, interest, profit and loss, work rates, trains and boats, mixtures and probability.

RBI grade B mains syllabus paper by paper

Paper I: Economic and Social Issues

• Growth and development: measuring growth, poverty and employment, sustainable development, inflation and its control
• Indian economy: fiscal and monetary policy, banking reforms, public finance
• Globalisation: balance of payments, exchange rates, international institutions, trade
• Social structure in India: demography, urbanisation, social justice, inclusive policies

Paper II: English (Writing Skills)

Essay on an economic, social or current theme, precis writing, and answering questions on a passage. Grammar and clear structure count as much as ideas.

Paper III: Finance and Management

• Finance: the financial system, financial markets, risk management, derivatives basics, alternate sources of finance, corporate governance, the role of RBI and SEBI, recent developments in the financial sector
• Management: theories of management, leadership, motivation, communication, human resource development, ethics at the workplace, change management

DEPR and DSIM streams in brief

The research streams do not take the General Phase I paper. In the latest notification, DEPR candidates wrote an economics paper and an English paper in Phase I, then descriptive economics papers in Phase II. DSIM candidates wrote one statistics paper in Phase I and took a descriptive statistics paper and an English paper in Phase II. Each asks for postgraduate study in its own field. Because these details shift between cycles, read the stream wise pattern in the notification before you prepare. Eligibility rules for all three streams are set out on our RBI grade B eligibility page.

How to divide your time between the phases

Phase I and Phase II are usually only a few weeks apart, so you cannot start Phase II from zero after the first result. A practical split is to spend about 60 percent of your early months on Phase II reading and 40 percent on Phase I practice, then reverse it in the final six weeks before Phase I.

For syllabus of RBI grade B Paper I and Paper III, use the RBI annual report, monetary policy statements, the Union Budget and the Economic Survey as your core reading for ESI and finance. For management, a standard university level principles of management textbook covers most of the list.

RBI grade B syllabus in Hindi

आरबीआई ग्रेड बी (डीआर जनरल) की लिखित परीक्षा के दो फेज हैं। चरण एक में सामान्य जागरूकता, रीजनिंग, अंग्रेजी और मात्रात्मक योग्यता के 200 वस्तुनिष्ठ प्रश्न 120 मिनट में होते हैं, और नेगेटिव मार्किंग लागू है। दूसरे चरण में तीन पेपर हैं: आर्थिक और सामाजिक मुद्दे, अंग्रेजी लेखन और वित्त व प्रबंधन, हर पेपर 100 अंक का। इसके बाद 75 अंकों का इंटरव्यू होता है। अंतिम चयन दूसरे चरण और इंटरव्यू के अंकों से तय होता है।