RBI Grade B Syllabus: Phase 1 and Phase 2
Every Phase 1 section and all three Phase 2 papers, with the marks each one carries.
The RBI Grade B syllabus for the General stream covers two written phases. Phase 1 is a single objective paper with four sections: General Awareness, Reasoning Ability, English Language and Quantitative Aptitude. Phase 2 has three papers: Economic & Social Issues, English (Writing Skills) and Finance & Management.
The two phases reward different preparation. Phase 1 is a broad aptitude screen where General Awareness alone carries 80 of the 200 marks. Phase 2 is a subject exam, and its topics, not the aptitude ones, are what decide selection. This page lists every topic area in both; for how the marks and merit work, see the exam pattern page.
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Phase 1 Sections at a Glance
One objective paper, four sections. General Awareness dominates the weightage.
General Awareness
Questions
80
Marks
80
Reasoning Ability
Questions
60
Marks
60
English Language
Questions
30
Marks
30
Quantitative Aptitude
Questions
30
Marks
30
| Section | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| General Awareness | 80 | 80 |
| Reasoning Ability | 60 | 60 |
| English Language | 30 | 30 |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 30 | 30 |
General Awareness Syllabus
The heaviest Phase 1 section, and the one closest to RBI's own work:
- check_circleCurrent affairs, with a tilt toward economy, banking and finance
- check_circleRBI and monetary policy
- check_circleGovernment schemes
- check_circleBanking and financial awareness
- check_circleStatic GK, awards and appointments
Reasoning Ability Syllabus
- check_circlePuzzles and seating arrangement
- check_circleSyllogism
- check_circleCoding-decoding
- check_circleBlood relations and directions
- check_circleInput-output
- check_circleInequality
- check_circleData sufficiency
- check_circleCritical and analytical reasoning
English Language Syllabus
- check_circleReading comprehension
- check_circleCloze test
- check_circleError spotting and grammar
- check_circlePara jumbles
- check_circleSentence improvement
- check_circleVocabulary
Real Phase 1 sections, scored like the exam. No signup.
Quantitative Aptitude Syllabus
- check_circleData interpretation
- check_circleNumber series
- check_circleSimplification and approximation
- check_circleArithmetic: percentage, ratio, time-speed-distance, profit and loss, SI/CI
- check_circleQuadratic equations
- check_circleProbability and permutations-combinations
Phase 2: Finance & Management Syllabus
The second half-objective, half-descriptive 100-mark paper:
- check_circleFinancial system: regulators, markets, instruments
- check_circleSEBI, RBI, banks and NBFCs
- check_circleRisk management and Basel norms
- check_circleDerivatives and FEMA basics
- check_circleCorporate governance and financial inclusion
- check_circleManagement: motivation, leadership, communication, ethics, HRD
Phase 2: English (Writing Skills)
The third Phase 2 paper has no topic list to memorise. It is a fully descriptive, typed paper testing essay writing, precis, comprehension and business correspondence. What it rewards is practised writing under time pressure, which is why the preparation page treats it as a habit to build, not a syllabus to cover.
DEPR and DSIM Have Their Own Papers
This page covers the General (DR) stream, which carried 66 of the 94 vacancies in the 2024 cycle. The DEPR (economic research) and DSIM (statistics) streams replace the subject papers with economics and statistics papers respectively, and have separate eligibility. Check the current RBI notification for their detailed syllabi.
RBI Grade B Syllabus FAQs
What are the four sections in RBI Grade B Phase 1?expand_more
General Awareness (80 marks), Reasoning Ability (60 marks), English Language (30 marks) and Quantitative Aptitude (30 marks), for a total of 200 marks in one objective paper.
What does RBI Grade B Phase 2 cover?expand_more
Three papers of 100 marks each: Economic & Social Issues, English (Writing Skills) and Finance & Management. ESI and Finance & Management are half objective and half descriptive; English is fully descriptive.
Which Phase 1 section carries the most marks?expand_more
General Awareness, with 80 of the 200 marks. Its syllabus leans toward economy, banking and finance current affairs, which also feeds directly into the Phase 2 ESI paper.
Is the syllabus the same for all three streams?expand_more
No. The General (DR) stream follows the syllabus on this page. DEPR and DSIM candidates sit stream-specific papers in economics and statistics, published in RBI's notification for each cycle.
Next steps
- Exam Patternarrow_forward
- Phase 2 Papersarrow_forward
- Books & Study Materialarrow_forward
- Preparationarrow_forward
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