RBI Grade B and RBI Assistant 2026: Exam Pattern, Syllabus, Eligibility, Dates and Preparation

RBI exams at a glance

The Reserve Bank of India recruits directly and not through IBPS. Officers in Grade 'B' are recruited by the Reserve Bank of India Services Board; Assistants are recruited by the Bank itself. The facts on this page are as per the Grade 'B' (DR) advertisement RBISB/DA/01/2026-27 of 29 April 2026 (Panel Year 2026) and its Phase-I and Phase-II information handouts, the Assistant (Panel Year 2025) advertisement of 16 February 2026, and the later notices on the RBI website.

Selection process

RBI Grade B (DR) – General

1. Online application on the RBI website, from 29 April to 20 May 2026 (6 PM). No certificates are uploaded; eligibility is checked only at the interview stage.
2. Phase-I. One online objective paper of 200 marks in 120 minutes, with four separately timed tests. A candidate must score the minimum marks in each test and in aggregate. The Board shortlists for Phase-II on aggregate marks, with a cut-off fixed in relation to the vacancies.
3. Phase-II. Three online papers on one day, in two shifts: Paper-I Economic and Social Issues, Paper-II English (Writing Skills) and Paper-III General Finance and Management. Descriptive answers are typed on the keyboard. The interview shortlist is drawn on the aggregate of the three papers.
4. Personality Assessment. Shortlisted candidates complete an online assessment before the interview. It carries no marks and is not part of the final selection.
5. Interview of 75 marks, in Hindi or English as the candidate opts. Original documents are verified on the day.
6. Final merit on Phase-II marks plus interview marks, 375 in all, with grace marks as applicable under the rules. Phase-I marks are not added.

RBI Assistant

1. Online application for one recruiting office only, with an exam centre chosen in a State under that office. For Panel Year 2025 the window opened on 16 February 2026 and was extended to 10 March 2026.
2. Preliminary Examination. Three objective tests, 100 marks, 60 minutes. About 10 times the vacancies in each category are shortlisted for the Main on aggregate marks.
3. Main Examination. Five objective tests, 200 marks, 135 minutes. A candidate must qualify in each test separately. About twice the vacancies are called for the LPT, in order of Main aggregate marks.
4. Language Proficiency Test in the official or local language of the State concerned, at the Bank's Regional Office. It is mandatory and nobody is exempted. A candidate not proficient in the language is disqualified.
5. Final selection in the order of merit in the online examination, subject to qualifying the LPT, medical fitness and verification of documents.

In both exams, scores of different sessions are equated and then normalised by the equipercentile method. Calculators are not allowed in the examination hall.

Exam pattern

Grade B (DR) – General: Phase-I

Each test has its own timer. Every question has five options. All tests except English Language are set in Hindi and English. For each wrong answer, one-fourth of the marks of that question is deducted; the penalty applies only to answers marked wrong.

Grade B (DR) – General: Phase-II

In the objective parts, some questions carry 2 marks and some 1 mark. One-fourth of the marks of a question is deducted for a wrong answer. In each descriptive part, a candidate answers two questions of 15 marks and two of 10 marks. The word limit is 600 words for a 15-mark answer and 400 words for a 10-mark answer. The objective part closes after 30 minutes and the descriptive part opens on its own. Answers can be typed in Hindi on the Inscript or Remington (GAIL) keyboard layout. Paper-III is held in the morning shift; Paper-I and Paper-II follow in the afternoon without a break.

Assistant: Preliminary Examination

Assistant: Main Examination

Every test except English is offered in English, Hindi and the languages listed for the recruiting office, for example Marathi and Konkani for Mumbai and Tamil for Chennai. For each wrong answer in the Prelims and the Main, one-fourth of the marks of the question is deducted.

General Awareness and Economic and Social Issues syllabus

The Grade B advertisement prints a syllabus for Phase-II only. For Paper-I, Economic and Social Issues, it lists four areas.

• Growth and Development: measurement of growth, national income and per capita income; poverty alleviation and employment generation in India; sustainable development and environmental issues.
• Indian Economy: economic history of India; industrial and labour policy, monetary and fiscal policy since the reforms of 1991; priorities and recommendations of the Economic Survey and the Union Budget; Indian money and financial markets; the role of Indian banks and the Reserve Bank in development; public finance; political economy; industry, agriculture and the services sector.
• Globalization: opening up of the Indian economy; balance of payments; export-import policy; the IMF, the World Bank and the WTO; regional economic co-operation; international economic issues.
• Social Structure in India: multiculturalism, demographic trends, urbanisation and migration, gender issues and social justice.

Paper-III, General Finance and Management, overlaps with banking awareness. Its financial system part covers the functions of the RBI, the banking system, SIDBI, EXIM Bank, NABARD, NHB and NaBFID, the non-banking system and digital payments. Its general topics include financial inclusion, the Union Budget, and inflation measured by WPI and CPI. The indicative reading list in the advertisement includes the Economic Survey, the RBI Annual Report and the Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India.

Neither advertisement prints a syllabus for General Awareness, in Grade B Phase-I or in the Assistant Main. GK24 guidance, not an official syllabus: expect current affairs of the months before the exam, with weight on the RBI's monetary policy and regulation, government schemes, the Budget and the Economic Survey, banking and financial terms, international institutions, and static facts such as the heads and headquarters of bodies.

How GK24 maps to this: the daily current affairs cover RBI, banking, economy and scheme news; the GK notes cover the Indian economy and static GK topic by topic; the quizzes and previous-year questions test both.

Eligibility and age limit

Grade B (DR) – General, as on 1 April 2026

• Nationality: a citizen of India; or a subject of Nepal or Bhutan, a Tibetan refugee who came before 1 January 1962, or a person of Indian origin who migrated from the countries listed, with a certificate of eligibility.
• Education: graduation in any discipline, or an equivalent technical or professional qualification, with at least 60% marks; or post-graduation with at least 55%, in the aggregate of all semesters or years. SC, ST and PwBD applicants need 50% in graduation or a pass in post-graduation, if the posts are reserved for them.
• Age: 21 to 30 years, that is, born not earlier than 2 April 1996 and not later than 1 April 2005.
• Attempts: General and EWS candidates who have already appeared six times in Phase-I for this post cannot apply. There is no such limit for SC, ST, OBC and PwBD candidates if the posts are reserved for them.

The upper age limit is relaxed by 5 years for SC and ST and 3 years for OBC, if the posts are reserved for them. PwBD candidates get 10 years (GEN/EWS), 13 years (OBC) or 15 years (SC/ST). The upper limit is 32 years with an M.Phil. and 34 with a Ph.D. Experience as an officer in a scheduled commercial bank, a public sector insurer, an all-India financial institution or the RBI adds the completed years, up to 3, but not beyond 33 years. The advertisement encourages candidates with no prior experience to apply.

Assistant, as on 1 February 2026

• Education: a bachelor's degree in any discipline with at least 50% marks in aggregate (pass class for SC, ST and PwBD), and knowledge of word processing on a PC. Ex-servicemen may instead have passed matriculation with at least 15 years of defence service.
• Language: the candidate must read, write, speak and understand the language of the State, or of any State, under the recruiting office.
• Age: 20 to 28 years, that is, born between 2 February 1998 and 1 February 2006, both days included.

The upper age limit is relaxed to 33 years for SC and ST and 31 years for OBC. PwBD candidates get 10, 13 or 15 years by category. Widows, divorced women and women judicially separated who have not remarried can apply up to 35 years (40 for SC and ST). RBI work experience adds up to 3 years. Relaxations cannot be combined.

Important dates

No RBI exam date on or after 4 November 2026 has been announced, so this page gives no next exam date. The Grade 'B' (DR) General Cadre Panel Year 2026 recruitment is over: the RBI Services Board declared its final result on 15 October 2026, and the recommended candidates must post five filled copies of the attestation form to the Board within two weeks of the result; the scorecard and cut-off marks for the General Cadre are now displayed on www.rbi.org.in. The Services Board has since declared the final results of the DEPR and DSIM cadres of the same advertisement as well; its DSIM final result notice gives that cadre's Phase-I, Phase-II and interviews as held up to 29 October 2026. Shortlisted Assistant candidates must send their forms and certificates to the Regional Office they applied for within ten days of the result. The RBI has not announced its next Grade B or Assistant advertisement. Admit cards and call letters are only downloaded from the RBI website or sent by e-mail; nothing is sent by post.

How to prepare General Awareness and ESI for RBI

General Awareness is the largest test in Grade B Phase-I: 80 questions in 25 minutes, under 19 seconds a question. In Phase-II, Economic and Social Issues and General Finance and Management make up 200 of the 300 marks, and Phase-II carries 300 of the 375 marks in the final merit.

1. Read GK24's daily current affairs every day. Keep separate notes on RBI monetary policy and regulation, government schemes, reports and indices, and appointments. Cover at least the six months before your exam.
2. Build the base with GK24's GK notes on the Indian economy, banking, financial institutions, the Budget and inflation, and revise each note twice.
3. Read the documents the advertisement names. Make one-page summaries of the Economic Survey, the Union Budget, the RBI Annual Report and the Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India. They serve both the objective and the descriptive parts of ESI.
4. Practise typed answers. Write 400-word and 600-word answers against the clock, because Phase-II answers are typed, in English or in Hindi.
5. Take timed GK24 quizzes. Aim for 40 questions in about 12 minutes to match Grade B Phase-I speed. Leave what you do not know, because a wrong answer costs one-fourth of its marks.
6. Solve previous-year questions on GK24 to learn the level of detail asked on the economy and banking.

Posts and pay

Both posts get House Rent Allowance of 15% of pay when the Bank does not provide accommodation. Grade B officers also get Special, Grade, Dearness, Local Compensatory, Special Grade and Learning Allowances. The Bank may grant up to four advance increments to a Grade B candidate with very high qualifications or experience. Grade B officers join on probation for two years, which the Bank may extend up to four. Both posts come under the New Pension Scheme (NPS), with gratuity.