RBI Grade B Eligibility 2026: Age Limit, Qualification and Attempts

Age limit

For the 2026 cycle, age was reckoned as on 1 April 2026. That reference date moves with each advertisement, so never calculate from an old one.

Further relaxation applies to PwBD candidates, ex-servicemen, and — a clause specific to RBI — candidates with research or teaching experience in the relevant field, and those who have served in RBI itself. The exact years are set out in the advertisement.

Note that the upper limit of 30 is unusually generous for the General category when read with the attempt limit of six: most candidates get their full run of attempts, which is not true of every exam at this level.

Educational qualification

Read the percentage clause in the live advertisement carefully. RBI has in recent cycles specified minimum marks not only in the degree but at earlier levels of schooling for the General stream, and it accepts a postgraduate qualification in place of the graduation percentage in defined circumstances. These clauses change wording between cycles and they disqualify more applicants than anything else in the advertisement. The percentage is computed as the aggregate the university awards — not your best year, and not a rounded figure.

DEPR and DSIM are different exams

People treat the three posts as one exam with a shared paper. They are not. General, DEPR and DSIM sit on different days, and from Phase 1 onwards DEPR and DSIM have their own subject papers — Economics for DEPR, Statistics for DSIM — in place of the General stream’s structure. If you hold the Master’s degree they ask for, the specialist posts are usually the better bet: 10 posts each against 40, but a far smaller and more self-selecting applicant pool.

Number of attempts

An attempt is counted when you appear for Phase 1. Applying and not appearing does not consume one, but the rule as written in the advertisement is what governs — read it before you skip a cycle casually.

This is the clause that should shape your planning. Six attempts against an age window that opens at 21 and closes at 30 means most General candidates can write this exam every year they are eligible, so a first attempt used as a real attempt — not a “trial” — is worth more here than in exams that cap you harder.

Nationality

Indian citizen, or a subject of Nepal or Bhutan, or a Tibetan refugee or person of Indian origin in the categories the advertisement lists. Candidates in the latter groups need an eligibility certificate from the Government of India.

Where applications actually fail

• The percentage, misread or misrounded. 59.6% is not 60%. RBI does not round up, and the marksheet aggregate is what counts.
• Age computed from the exam date instead of the reference date printed in the advertisement.
• Final-year candidates. The degree must be complete by the date the advertisement specifies; check the clause rather than assuming.
• OBC certificate without a current non-creamy-layer clause in the prescribed format.
• Choosing General when you qualify for DEPR or DSIM — four times the posts, but many times the competition.
• Documents at the wrong size or format. Prepare photograph, signature, thumb impression and handwritten declaration before you open the form.

Next

• Notification, dates and the 60-post split
• Cut off, year by year
• How each stage is declared
• All RBI Grade B material