Introduction
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is one of the most respected and prestigious institutions in the country. It plays a key role in regulating India’s financial system and ensuring the economy runs smoothly and grows sustainably.
A job at the RBI isn’t just a career — it’s an opportunity to grow both personally and professionally, and to make a meaningful contribution to the nation’s economic development.
Now, when it comes to cracking the RBI Grade B exam, understanding the basics is non-negotiable. The syllabus is vast, and without a proper game plan, it’s easy to get lost. The first step? Get familiar with the exam pattern and syllabus. Think of it as a map — without it, you might end up studying topics that rarely show up in the exam, while missing the ones that matter most.
Understanding the exam pattern helps you know what kind of questions to expect, how the marks are distributed, how much time you’ll get, and which sections are most important. This helps you prepare smarter and approach each part of the paper with confidence.
So, before you dive into your books, take time to understand the syllabus. It will guide your preparation, help you avoid surprises, and boost your chances of clearing the exam.
Now that we’ve covered why the syllabus and pattern are so important, let’s take a closer look at the RBI Grade B exam structure and syllabus in the next section!
RBI Grade B 2025 Exam Pattern (Phase-Wise)
Although the official RBI Grade B 2025 notification is still awaited, it’s expected that the exam pattern will remain similar to previous years. So, if you’re planning to appear for this prestigious exam, knowing how it’s structured is essential to prepare smartly.
The RBI Grade B Exam is conducted in three main stages – Phase 1, Phase 2, and the Interview round. Here’s a breakdown:
Phase 1 – Preliminary Exam
- Type of Questions: Multiple-choice (objective) questions
- Sections: 4 sections – General Awareness, English Language, Quantitative Aptitude, and Reasoning
- Total Questions: 200
- Total Marks: 200
- Duration: 120 minutes (2 hours)
- Note: There is a sectional cutoff, which means you need to score minimum marks in each section to qualify.
Phase 2 – Mains Exam
- Type of Questions: A mix of objective and descriptive questions
- Papers: 3 papers –
- Economic & Social Issues (ESI)
- English (Writing Skills)
- Finance & Management (FM)
- Total Marks: 300
- Total Time: 330 minutes (5 hours and 30 minutes)
- Each paper is timed individually.
Interview – Final Stage
- Nature of Questions: Mostly personal and situation-based, covering your academic background, views on current affairs, knowledge about RBI, etc.
- Total Marks: 75
- Weightage in Final Selection: 20%
Final Selection is based on marks scored in Phase 2 + Interview.
Understanding this pattern will help you plan better and focus your preparation smartly across all stages.
The initial two phases – Prelims (Phase 1) and Mains Exam (Phase 2) are computer-based written exams.
RBI Grade B Exam Pattern – Phase 1 (Subjects, Questions & Marks)
Phase 1 is the first hurdle in your journey to becoming an RBI Grade B Officer, and clearing it is necessary to move on to the next stage of the selection process.
This stage tests your knowledge and aptitude in four key subjects:
- English Language
- Numerical Aptitude (Quantitative Aptitude)
- Reasoning Ability
- General Awareness
Here’s everything you need to know about the Phase 1 exam:
Key Highlights:
- Total Questions: 200
- Total Marks: 200
- Time Limit: You’ll have 120 minutes (2 hours) to complete the exam
- Mode of Exam: It’s an online test (Computer-Based Test)
Marking Scheme:
- +1 mark for every correct answer
- -0.25 marks for each incorrect answer (negative marking applies)
Cut-off Criteria:
To qualify for Phase 2, you must:
- Clear the sectional cut-offs (minimum marks in each subject), and
- Meet the overall cut-off (minimum total marks)
Understanding this structure will help you prepare more effectively and avoid surprises on exam day!
Make sure you meet the sectional cutoff as well as the overall cutoff to move forward.
| Sr. No. | Name of the Tests (Objective) | No. of Questions | Maximum Marks | Total Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English Language | 30 | 30 | 25 minutes |
| 2 | Numerical Ability | 30 | 30 | 25 minutes |
| 3 | Reasoning Ability | 60 | 60 | 45 minutes |
| 4 | General Awareness | 80 | 80 | 25 minutes |
| Total | 200 | 200 | 120 minutes |
RBI Grade B Exam Pattern – Phase 2 (Subjects, Questions & Marks)
Phase 2 is the second and most crucial stage of the RBI Grade B selection process. The marks you score here play a major role in deciding whether you qualify for the final interview round.
This phase includes three papers:
- Economic and Social Issues (ESI)
- Finance and Management (FM)
- English (Writing Skills)
The first two papers include both objective and descriptive questions, while the English paper is fully descriptive, focusing on your writing abilities.
Marking Scheme:
- Negative Marking:
- There is a penalty of 0.25 marks for every wrong answer in the objective sections
- No negative marking for descriptive answers
Cut-off Criteria:
- You must clear sectional cut-offs in each paper (ESI, FM, and English)
- You also need to meet the overall cut-off marks across all three papers to be eligible for the Interview stage
Note: The cut-offs vary every year based on the performance of candidates and difficulty level of the exam.
Understanding this format will help you plan your preparation better and know exactly what to expect on exam day!
| Paper | No. of Questions | Time Duration | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1: Economic and Social Issues | Objective – 30 Questions Descriptive – 6 Questions (attempt 4) | Objective – 30 minutes Descriptive – 90 minutes | Objective – 50 Descriptive – 50 |
| Paper 2: English (Writing Skills) | Descriptive – 3 Questions (Precis, RCs, Essay) | 90 minutes | 100 |
| Paper 3: Finance and Management | Objective – 30 Questions Descriptive – 6 Questions (attempt 4) | Objective – 30 minutes Descriptive – 90 minutes | Objective – 50 Descriptive – 50 |
Note:
- For both Economic & Social Issues and Finance & Management, the RBI Grade B exam pattern states that there will be 30 questions and 50 marks for Objective questions (some questions carrying 2 marks each and some carrying 1 mark each).
- For descriptive answers, candidates will be required to attempt only 4 questions (2 of 15 marks each and 2 of 10 marks each).
- In case, candidate answers more than 4 questions in descriptive, the first 4 shall be evaluated.
RBI Grade B Interview
RBI Grade B Interview is the third and final stage of the exam process. You will be called for the interview only after you clear both Phase 1 and Phase 2 exams.
- Minimum Cut-offs:
Only those candidates who clear the minimum marks required in each section and overall score will be invited for the interview. - Total Marks for Interview:
The interview is of 75 marks and it has 20% weightage in the final selection process. - Language Choice:
You can choose to give your interview in either Hindi or English, depending on what you’re comfortable with. - Interview Panel:
The interview is conducted by a panel of 5 senior RBI officers. They ask questions based on your personal information, education background, RBI-related knowledge, and current national and international events.
Psychometric Test for RBI Grade B
Before appearing for the interview, candidates will need to take a Personality Assessment test arranged by RBI. This test is only for understanding your personality and does not carry any marks.
- Mode:
The test is done online and can be taken from your home. - Options of Language:
You can choose to take the test in English or 9 other Indian languages. - Number of Questions:
The test includes around 100 to 120 questions to assess your behavior and personality. - Marks:
No marks are given for this test, and it does not affect your final result. - Time Limit:
The test usually takes about 15 to 20 minutes. Although there’s no fixed time limit, the system tracks your time, and it is recorded in your final report.
To appear for the RBI Grade B Interview, candidates need to download their call letter. It will be sent to the email ID of those who have passed the Phase 2 exam.
RBI Grade B 2025 Final Selection
The final selection for RBI Grade B 2025 is done by adding the marks you score in Phase 2 and the Interview. If any grace marks apply as per the rules, they will also be considered.
To boost your chances of getting selected as an RBI Grade B Officer, you need to do well in both Phase 2 and the Interview.
The final list of selected candidates will be published on the RBI’s official website, usually 3 to 4 weeks after the interviews are over.
RBI Grade B Syllabus 2025
If you are planning to prepare for RBI Grade B 2025, since the notification for the same is not out yet, you can lay hold of the latest syllabus provided as per the last year notification.
The RBI Grade B Exam is conducted in three phases – Phase 1, Phase 2 and the Interview.
The Phase 1 syllabus consists of 4 sections. Whereas the Phase 2 syllabus comprises 3 papers.
There are three streams made available by the RBI for candidates to choose any one from these. These streams are as follows:
- General Stream
- DEPR or “Department of Economic & Policy Research” stream
- DSIM or “Department of Statistics and Information Management” stream.
Now the majority of the aspirants opt for the General stream. As for the DEPR and DSIM streams, they are opted for by the candidates specializing in Economics and Statistics, respectively.
RBI Grade B Officer Syllabus Phase 1 (Prelims)
The Phase 1 Syllabus for RBI Grade B 2025 includes 4 sections: General Awareness, English Language, Quantitative Aptitude, and Reasoning Ability.
Each of these sections holds equal importance in clearing your examination.
Let’s break down each section individually. Here are the key topics covered in each:
| English Syllabus | Quantitative Aptitude Syllabus | Reasoning Syllabus | General Awareness Syllabus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | Number System (including HCF & LCM) | Analogy | National |
| Cloze Test | Simplification & Approximation | Classification | Government Schemes |
| Para Jumble | Number Series | Alphabet Test | State |
| Phrase usage/replacement | Quadratic Equations | Coding-Decoding | Agriculture & Farmer Welfare |
| Error Detection | Percentage | Input-Output | Defence |
| Word Swap | Ratio & Proportion | Inequalities | MOUs |
| Match the Sentences | Average | Blood Relations | International Affairs |
| Sentence Rearrangement | Problems on Ages | Direction & Distance | Reports & Indices |
| Fill in the Blanks | Partnership | Order & Ranking | Banking & Economy |
| Mixture & Alligation | Seating Arrangement | GDP | |
| Profit, Loss & Discount | Puzzles | Budget & Economic Survey | |
| Simple & Compound Interest | Syllogism | Appointments | |
| Time & Work (incl. Pipes & Cisterns) | Data Sufficiency | Important Days | |
| Time, Speed & Distance (incl. Boats & Streams) | Statement & Assumption | Awards | |
| Data Interpretation | Statement & Argument | Sports | |
| Mensuration | Statement & Conclusion | Books / Obituary / Disasters | |
| Statement & Inference | Static GK / Miscellaneous | ||
| Statement & Course of Action | |||
| Cause & Effect | |||
| Miscellaneous Topics |
RBI Grade B Officer Syllabus Phase 2 (Mains)
The Phase 2 Syllabus for RBI Grade B 2025 is structured into 3 papers: Economic & Social Issues (ESI), English Descriptive and Finance & Management (FM).
Paper-I: Economic and Social Issues (ESI) Syllabus
- Growth and Development, Measurement of growth: National Income and per capita income
- Poverty Alleviation and Employment Generation in India
- Sustainable Development and Environmental issues
- Economic Reforms in India, Industrial and Labour Policy, Monetary and Fiscal Policy, Privatization, Role of Economic Planning
- Globalization, Opening up of the Indian Economy, Balance of Payments, Export-Import Policy
- International Economic Institutions, IMF and World Bank, WTO, Regional Economic Co-operation
- Social Structure in India, Multiculturalism, Demographic Trends, Urbanization and Migration, Gender Issues
- Social Justice: Positive Discrimination in favor of the underprivileged, Social Movements
Paper-II: English Descriptive (Writing Skills) Syllabus
The English Descriptive paper will be designed to test the writing skills of candidates including expression and understanding of the topic.
You are asked to write an Essay and Precis in this paper and also solve a few questions based on a given comprehension.
To provide some examples of the kind of essays that are asked in the English paper, here are some of the topics that were asked in the 2025 RBI Grade B phase 2 English paper:
- Future of BPO industries in India
- Importance of Creative thinking in business.
- An ounce of prevention is a pound worth of cure.
- Pros & Cons of teaching Computer Language/Coding to school Students.
Paper-III: Finance Syllabus
RBI Grade B Phase 2 Paper 3 is the Finance & Management (FM) paper. To simplify, I have provided the Finance and Management Details separately. The key topics from the Finance syllabus are listed below:
(a) Financial System
- Structure and Functions of Financial Institutions
- Functions of Reserve Bank of India
- Banking System in India – Structure and Developments, Financial Institutions – SIDBI, EXIM Bank, NABARD, NHB, NaBFID etc.
- Recent Developments in Global Financial System and its impact on Indian Financial System
- Role of Information Technology in Banking and Finance
- Non-Banking System
- Developments in Digital Payment
(b) Financial Markets
Primary and Secondary Markets (Forex, Money, Bond, Equity, etc.)- functions, instruments, recent developments.
(c) General Topics Syllabus
- Risk Management in Banking Sector
- Basics of Derivatives
- Global financial markets and International Banking – broad trends and latest developments.
- Financial Inclusion
- Alternate source of finance, private and social cost-benefit, Public-Private Partnership
- Corporate Governance in Banking Sector, the role of e-governance in addressing issues of corruption and inefficiency in the government sector.
- The Union Budget – Concepts, approach, and broad trends
- Basics of Accounting and Financial Statements – Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss, Cash Flow Statements, Ratio Analysis (such as Debt to Equity, Debtor Days, Creditor Days, Inventory Turnover, Return on Assets, Return on Equity, etc.)
- Inflation: Definition, trends, estimates, consequences, and remedies (control): WPI, CPI – components and trends; striking a balance between inflation and growth through monetary and fiscal policies.
- FinTech
Paper-III: Management Syllabus
(a) Fundamentals of Management & Organizational Behaviour
- Introduction to management:
- Evolution of management thought: Scientific, Administrative, Human Relations and Systems approach to management;
- Management functions and Managerial roles;
- Nudge theory
- Meaning & concept of organizational behaviour:
- Personality: meaning, factors affecting personality, Big five model of personality; concept of reinforcement;
- Perception: concept, perceptual errors.
- Motivation: Concept, importance, Content theories (Maslow’s need theory, Alderfers’ ERG theory, McCllelands’ theory of needs, Herzberg’s two factor theory) & Process theories (Adams equity theory, Vrooms expectancy theory).
- Leadership:
- Concept, Theories (Trait, Behavioural, Contingency, Charismatic, Transactional and Transformational Leadership);
- Emotional Intelligence: Concept, Importance, Dimensions.
- Analysis of Interpersonal Relationship: Transactional Analysis, Johari Window;
- Conflict: Concept, Sources, Types, Management of Conflict;
- Organizational Change: Concept, Kurt Lewin Theory of Change;
- Organizational Development (OD): Organizational Change, Strategies for Change, Theories of Planned Change (Lewin’s change model, Action research model, Positive model).
(b) Ethics at the Workplace & Corporate Governance
- Ethics:
- Meaning of ethics, why ethical problems occur in business.
- Theories of ethics: Utilitarianism: weighing social cost and benefits, Rights and duties, Justice and fairness, ethics of care, integrating utility, rights, justice and caring,
- An alternative to moral principles: virtue ethics, teleological theories, egoism theory, relativism theory,
- Moral issues in business: Ethics in Compliance, Finance, Human Resources, Marketing, etc.
- Ethical Principles in Business: introduction, Organization Structure and Ethics, Role of Board of Directors, Best Practices in Ethics Programme, Code of Ethics, Code of Conduct, etc.
- Corporate Governance:
- Factors affecting Corporate Governance;
- Mechanisms of Corporate Governance
- Communication:
- Steps in the Communication Process;
- Communication Channels;
- Oral versus Written Communication;
- Verbal versus non-verbal Communication;
- upward, downward and lateral communication;
- Barriers to Communication,
- Role of Information Technology.
RBI Grade B Officer DEPR Syllabus:
The syllabus for the DEPR stream is set according to the role of the DEPR Cadre officers of RBI, which is to take care of the economic policies and analysis aspect of the RBI.
The RBI Grade B officer DEPR syllabus is as follows:
- Papers on Economics would be of the standard that is concurrent with those of Master’s Degree examination in Economics of any Central University in India.
- The English paper shall be set in a way so as to assess your writing skills including expression and understanding of a topic.
List of suggested study material for the same:
RBI publications like:
- Annual Reports
- Monetary Policy Report.
- Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India.
- Financial Stability Report.
- Economic Survey published by the Government of India of the past 2 years.
RBI Grade B Officer DSIM Syllabus:
The syllabus for the DSIM stream is set according to the role of the DSIM Cadre officers of RBI, which is to take care of the collection, compilation, and Statistical analysis & interpretation of all data related to banking, corporates, and the external sector among a host of other things.
The RBI Grade B officer DSIM syllabus is as follows
- Paper 1: Questions covering Probability: Probability Definition, Large and small sample theory, Analysis of Variance, Estimation, Standard distribution, Testing of Hypotheses, Estimation, Multivariate analysis, Stochastic Processes.
- Paper 2: Questions covering (i) Statistical Inference: Estimation, Testing of hypothesis and Non-parametric Test, (ii) Linear Models and Economic Statistics, (iii) Probability and Sampling, (iv) Stochastic Processes, (v) Multivariate analysis and (vi) Numerical Analysis and Basic Computer Techniques. Sufficient choices will be given for candidates to attempt the required number of questions from any three or more of the above six groups.
- Paper 3: The English paper shall be set in a way so as to assess your writing skills including expression and understanding of a topic.
With that, we come to the end of the section of the RBI Grade B syllabus.
Conclusion
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Once you have that clarity, you’ll study with purpose, plan effectively. It’s the foundation on which your entire preparation strategy should be built.
So, don’t skip this step. Take time, go through the syllabus in detail, analyze previous years’ papers, and create a roadmap that aligns with what the exam actually demands.
With the right direction and consistent effort, cracking the RBI Grade B exam is definitely within your reach.
With a structured plan, daily discipline, and the right resources, you can master and move one step closer to your dream job at RBI Grade B.
You’ve got this — let’s make it happen!
