RBI Grade B
Recruits Grade B officers (Assistant Managers) for the Reserve Bank of India in the General stream, the Department of Economic and Policy Research (DEPR) and the Department of Statistics and Information Management (DSIM).
Eligibility
General stream: a bachelor's degree with at least 60% (50% for SC/ST/PwBD) or a postgraduate degree with 55%. DEPR requires a master's in economics or finance and DSIM a master's in statistics or related subjects. Age 21–30 years (higher for MPhil/PhD holders) with standard relaxations. General category candidates are limited to 6 attempts.
Age limit: 21–30 years (relaxation for MPhil/PhD and reserved categories)
Exam pattern
Three phases for the General stream. Phase I is an online objective test of 200 marks in 120 minutes with sectional timers: General Awareness (80), Reasoning (60), English (30) and Quantitative Aptitude (30), with sectional and overall cut-offs. Phase II has three papers of 100 marks each: Economic & Social Issues, English (writing skills, typed descriptive) and Finance & Management, combining objective and descriptive questions. Negative marking is 0.25 of the marks per wrong objective answer. Final merit combines Phase II and the interview.
Syllabus at a glance
Phase I covers current affairs and banking/financial awareness, reasoning puzzles, English comprehension and quantitative aptitude. Phase II covers Indian economy, growth and development, social structure, globalisation and government policy (Economic & Social Issues); financial system, markets, RBI functions and corporate governance, along with management, motivation, leadership and ethics (Finance & Management); and essay, précis and comprehension writing.
Upcoming dates
| Event | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RBI Grade B 2026 interviews and final result | Oct–Nov 2026 (expected) | expected |
| RBI Grade B 2027 notification and registration | Apr–May 2027 (expected) | expected |
| RBI Grade B 2027 Phase I | Jun 2027 (expected) | expected |
| RBI Grade B 2027 Phase II | Jul 2027 (expected) | expected |
| RBI Grade B 2027 interviews | Aug–Sep 2027 (expected) | expected |
Expected dates follow the usual calendar; confirm on the official notification before planning.
Free prep material
Standard books
- Indian Economy – Ramesh Singh
- Indian Economy – Datt & Sundharam (Gaurav Datt and Ashwani Mahajan)
- Financial Management: Theory and Practice – Prasanna Chandra
- Management – Stephen P. Robbins and Mary Coulter
- Analytical Reasoning – M.K. Pandey
- Word Power Made Easy – Norman Lewis
How toppers play it
- General Awareness carries 80 of 200 Phase I marks; build a 6–8 month current-affairs and RBI/banking-regulation note bank, as this section typically decides shortlisting.
- Phase I has strict sectional cut-offs; do not neglect Quant (30 marks), where a poor score can eliminate otherwise strong candidates.
- Start Phase II preparation alongside Phase I; the gap is only about six weeks, and Economic & Social Issues and Finance & Management need conceptual depth plus current examples.
- Practise typing structured descriptive answers (introduction, points with data, conclusion) within word limits; RBI marks descriptive answers on content and clarity.
- Read RBI's own documents (Monetary Policy Statement, Annual Report) – questions often paraphrase them directly.