RBI Grade B Phase 2: ESI, English and Finance & Management
All 300 merit-deciding marks live in these three papers. Here is what each one actually tests.
RBI Grade B Phase 2 has three papers of 100 marks each: Economic & Social Issues, English (Writing Skills) and Finance & Management. Together they contribute all 300 written marks of the final merit calculation; Phase 1, however well you score it, contributes none.
ESI and Finance & Management share an unusual format. Each is half objective, 30 on-screen MCQs for 50 marks, and half descriptive, 6 typed answers for 50 marks, in 120 minutes. That split means every topic has to be prepared two ways: precisely enough to pick the right option, and fluently enough to write a structured answer on it. The breakdown below takes the main topic areas through both angles.
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ESI Topics: The Objective and Descriptive Angle
The Economic & Social Issues paper draws on these areas:
Growth and development, poverty and unemployment
India's development record and its persistent gaps.
Phase I: MCQ angle
Definitions, committee names, indicator-style facts and scheme details asked as single-answer MCQs.
Phase II: descriptive angle
Analytical answers linking a development problem to policy responses, with a clear position and structure.
Indian economy and reforms (LPG)
The liberalisation era and the reform trajectory since.
Phase I: MCQ angle
Sequence and attribution questions: which reform, which period, which body.
Phase II: descriptive angle
Essay-style assessment of a reform area, its outcomes and what remains undone.
Globalisation, WTO and international institutions
How India engages the global economic order.
Phase I: MCQ angle
Institution mandates, membership and mechanism questions.
Phase II: descriptive angle
Arguments on trade, capital flows or institutional reform, grounded in India's position.
Social structure, education, health, urbanisation
The social side of the paper's title.
Phase I: MCQ angle
Programme and policy detail recall.
Phase II: descriptive angle
Cause-and-consequence writing on a social challenge and the policy levers against it.
Inclusive and sustainable development
The framing RBI itself uses for much of its developmental work.
Phase I: MCQ angle
Terminology and initiative-level facts.
Phase II: descriptive angle
Balanced answers weighing growth against inclusion or sustainability with concrete examples.
Finance & Management Topics: Both Angles
Financial system: regulators, markets, instruments
The paper's backbone: who regulates what, and how markets fit together.
Phase I: MCQ angle
Regulator jurisdiction, instrument features and market-structure facts.
Phase II: descriptive angle
Explaining how a part of the financial system works and where its risks sit.
SEBI, RBI, banks and NBFCs
The institutions and their supervisory relationships.
Phase I: MCQ angle
Function-matching and regulatory-perimeter questions.
Phase II: descriptive angle
Discursive answers on regulation, supervision gaps or institutional design.
Risk management and Basel norms
How banks measure and hold capital against risk.
Phase I: MCQ angle
Ratio definitions, pillar structure and norm-level specifics.
Phase II: descriptive angle
Explaining a risk framework and evaluating its fit for Indian banks.
Derivatives and FEMA basics
Instruments and the law governing cross-border flows.
Phase I: MCQ angle
Payoff, terminology and provision recall.
Phase II: descriptive angle
Use-case answers: what an instrument hedges, or what FEMA permits and restricts.
Corporate governance and financial inclusion
Two recurring policy themes.
Phase I: MCQ angle
Committee, code and scheme detail.
Phase II: descriptive angle
Evaluative writing on governance failures or inclusion initiatives.
Management: motivation, leadership, communication, ethics, HRD
The management half of the paper's name.
Phase I: MCQ angle
Theory-and-theorist matching, model components.
Phase II: descriptive angle
Applying a management concept to a workplace or organisational scenario.
ESI and finance questions in exam format. No signup.
The English (Writing Skills) Paper
Paper 2 is 90 minutes, 100 marks, fully descriptive and typed: essay, precis, comprehension and business correspondence. It has no factual syllabus to revise, which tempts candidates to leave it unprepared. That is a mistake with a third of Phase 2's marks. Typing structured prose at speed is a trained skill, and the training is simply doing it, weekly, against the clock.
Why the Descriptive Half Separates Ranks
The objective halves of ESI and Finance & Management reward the same preparation everyone does. The descriptive halves, 100 marks across the two papers plus 100 in English, reward structured writing that most candidates practise late or never. That is where merit-list positions move.
RBI Grade B Phase 2 FAQs
How are marks split in the ESI and Finance & Management papers?expand_more
Each paper is 100 marks: 30 objective questions worth 50 marks plus 6 descriptive questions worth 50 marks, in 120 minutes.
Is RBI Grade B Phase 2 typed or handwritten?expand_more
The descriptive components are typed on screen, including the fully descriptive English paper.
How much of the final merit comes from Phase 2?expand_more
300 of 375 marks. The remaining 75 come from the interview; Phase 1 marks are not counted at all.
Next steps
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Test the Phase 1 screen first, then build Phase 2 depth.