RBI Grade B
Recruits Grade B officers — the central bank's flagship direct-entry officer post — in the General stream and the specialist Department of Economic and Policy Research (DEPR) and Department of Statistics and Information Management (DSIM) streams.
Eligibility
For the General stream: a bachelor's degree with at least 60% marks (50% for SC/ST/PwBD). Age 21-30 years, relaxed to 32 for candidates with an M.Phil. and 34 for a Ph.D., plus standard category relaxations. General-category candidates have a maximum of 6 attempts at Phase I. DEPR/DSIM streams need a master's in economics or statistics respectively.
Age limit: 21-30 years (up to 32 with M.Phil., 34 with Ph.D.; category relaxations extra)
Exam pattern
Three phases, online. Phase I (General): 200 questions, 200 marks, 120 minutes — General Awareness (80), Reasoning (60), English (30), Quantitative Aptitude (30), with sectional and overall cut-offs and 0.25 negative marking. Phase II: three 100-mark papers — Economic & Social Issues (half objective, half descriptive), English (fully descriptive, typed) and Finance & Management (half objective, half descriptive). Interview carries 75 marks; final merit is Phase II plus interview. DEPR/DSIM have subject-specific descriptive papers instead.
Syllabus at a glance
Phase I General Awareness leans heavily on current economic and banking affairs. Phase II Economic & Social Issues spans growth, poverty, inflation, globalisation and social justice; Finance & Management covers the financial system, RBI's functions, risk management, derivatives, monetary policy and management theory including leadership and motivation. Answers in descriptive sections must cite current data, budgets and RBI publications.
Upcoming dates
| Event | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Interviews (2026 cycle) | Aug-Sep 2026 (underway) | confirmed |
| Final result | Sep-Oct 2026 | expected |
| Next cycle notification | Apr 2027 | expected |
Expected dates follow the usual calendar; confirm on the official notification before planning.
Free prep material
Standard books
- Indian Economy — Ramesh Singh (McGraw Hill)
- The Indian Financial System — Bharati V. Pathak (Pearson)
- Essentials of Management — Harold Koontz & Heinz Weihrich
- Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations — R.S. Aggarwal
- A Modern Approach to Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning — R.S. Aggarwal
- Word Power Made Easy — Norman Lewis
How toppers play it
- Phase I is won or lost on the 80-mark General Awareness section — six months of economy-focused current affairs, RBI actions and reports matter more than aptitude speed.
- Prepare Phase I and Phase II together from day one; the gap between them is only weeks and Phase II alone (plus interview) decides final merit.
- For descriptive ESI and Finance & Management, practise typed answers enriched with current data — quote the Economic Survey, Union Budget and RBI Annual Report.
- Read RBI's own publications (monetary policy statements, Financial Stability Report, speeches) — questions are routinely lifted from them.
- Track your attempts: general-category candidates get only 6 shots at Phase I, and with about 60 seats a serious, complete preparation cycle beats repeated casual attempts.