RBI Exam Pattern: RBI Grade B & RBI Assistant

Every year RBI (Reserve Bank of India) conducts exams to recruit candidates for Grade B officers and other allied posts. Recently, the RBI Grade B 2022 exam and RBI Assistant 2022 exam were successfully conducted by the RBI. 

The RBI exam patterns for all of the exams conducted by the RBI are set by the RBI itself. Before starting with the preparation phase, it is very important to learn about the individual exam patterns.

RBI Exam paper pattern for the upcoming posts of RBI Assistant and RBI Grade B Officer have been discussed in detail in this chapter.

To know more about RBI Exams conducted every year visit the linked article.

RBI Grade-B Exam Pattern

Along with the official notification of the Grade B test, RBI also releases the Grade B Syllabus and Exam Pattern. A formal notification for the recruitment of RBI Grade B Officers under the DSIM, DR, and DEPR departments would be made soon by the Reserve Bank of India for the upcoming 2023 session. The recruitment of RBI Grade-B officers takes place in the following stages:

• Phase-I online Examination (Objective type)
• Phase-II online examination
• Interview

One of the largest exams conducted in the banking sector, the RBI exam pattern for the Grade B Officer post has not changed in the past few years. It is expected that the RBI exam pattern 2023 will also be the same as that of the RBI Exam Pattern 2022. The first step of a fruitful preparation for this exam is to become familiar with RBI Paper Pattern. So, here’s an insight into each one of the two phases mentioned above.

To know more about the upcoming Bank Exams, visit the linked article.

RBI Grade-B Exam Pattern of DR (General): Phase – I:

As per the RBI exam paper pattern, the RBI Grade-B Phase-I exam consists of four sections in total. A detailed breakdown of the RBI exam pattern is given below:

Important Points to Remember:

• The RBI Grade B Officer 2022 preliminary examination is an online test with a total of four sections.
• The Preliminary Exam has a total of 120 minutes to be completed, with 200 total marks distributed across all sections.
• Each sectional test will have its own sectional timing, and more information will be included in a handout that will be distributed along with the admit card.
• Candidates must obtain the required minimum scores both individually and overall for each test.
• Each correct response will earn the candidates 1 mark.
• There is a negative marking in this phase of the exam, 0.25 marks of the total marks will be deducted for each wrong answer. There will be no negative marking if the question is not attempted.
• The normalisation method will be used to normalise the marks before determining the RBI Grade B Cutoff.

Candidates must visit RBI Grade B Notification for all the details.

English language, general awareness, quantitative aptitude, and reasoning ability will all be tested in the RBI Grade B preliminary exam. The syllabus for Phase I of the exam is given below:

Solve the free RBI grade B mock test series at the linked article.

RBI Grade B Exam Pattern of DR (General): Phase – II

After qualifying for the first stage of the exam, the candidates will have to appear for Phase II. The questions asked in this phase will be both objective and subjective in nature. All questions except those asked in the English Language section can be viewed in both English and Hindi. The detailed breakdown of Phase- II of the exam pattern is given below:

Important Points to Remember

• The Phase-II exam will be conducted in different shifts. Candidates must show up for every shift.
• Candidates must show up for every shift.
• For each shift, a unique admit card will be issued.
• Only the candidates who have been shortlisted based on Phase I results and the Board’s set cut-off will be allowed to take the Phase II online examination.
• For RBI Grade B Officers in Gr B (DR)-General, the mains (Phase-II) exam consists of three papers (Paper-I, Paper-II, and Paper-III).
• The RBI Grade B Main test carries a maximum score of 300.
• While no marks will be deducted for a question that is not attempted, there will be a deduction of 0.25 marks for each wrong answer that is given by the candidate.

Economic & Social Issues, Finance, and Management will be the three sections of the RBI Grade B Mains Exam. To know more about the RBI Grade B Syllabus, visit the linked article.

RBI Grade B Syllabus 2022:-Download PDF Here

RBI Grade B Phase 2 Exam Pattern for DSIM

Candidates will be chosen for RBI Grade B (DR)-DSIM through an online/written exam and an interview. The RBI exam pattern details for DSIM is given below:

Important Points to Remember

• The Examination consists of 3 papers. Paper I will be an objective-type paper on statistics, and Papers II and III will be of the descriptive type.
• Candidates who get the minimum required aggregate score in Paper I will be chosen for Paper II or Paper III of the exam based on their performance in Paper I.
• Performance in Papers I, II and III as well as the interview will be used to determine the final selection. The interview round shall be of 75 marks.

Candidates can also refer to the detailed section-wise bank exam syllabus and prepare for the upcoming bank exams.

RBI Grade B Syllabus for DSIM

The syllabus details for RBI Grade are given below:

Candidates can check the latest notifications regarding the Government exams 2023 at the linked article.

RBI Grade B Exam Pattern of DEPR

Candidates will be chosen for RBI Grade B (DR)-DEPR through an online/written exam and an interview. The exam pattern for RBI Grade B DEPR is given below:

Important Points to Remember

• The Examination consists of 3 papers. Paper I is an objective-type paper (on economics), whereas Papers II and III are descriptive-type papers.
• Candidates who get the minimum required aggregate score in Paper I will be chosen for Paper II or Paper III of the test based on their performance in Paper I.
• Performance in Papers I, II, and III as well as the interview will be used to determine the final selection. The interview round shall be of 75 marks.

RBI Grade B Syllabus for DEPR

The syllabus for RBI Grade B (DR) DEPR is designed in accordance with the job description, which emphasises conducting economic analysis and research, contributing to policy formation, and compiling data pertaining to certain industries. The syllabus details for RBI Grade are given below:

Candidates preparing for the bank exams, will find the following information useful:

RBI Grade-B Interview Round

The last stage of the RBI Exam pattern for the post of Grade B Officer is the Interview stage. This will be the final stage of the RBI Grade-B officer recruitment process. This stage has one of the highest rejection rates compared to other stages, thus it is important for candidates to take this round as seriously as possible. 

• Based on an overall score from Phase II (Paper I + Paper II + Paper III), candidates will be chosen for the interview. 
• A maximum of 75 marks is awarded in this stage, which will determine the rankings in the final merit list. The candidates can choose either Hindi or English language for the interview round. 
• The minimum aggregate cut-off marks for being shortlisted for an Interview will be decided by the Board in relation to the number of vacancies. 
• Roll No. of the candidates shortlisted for interview will be published on the RBI website at the appropriate time and interview call letters will be sent on registered email ID.

Final Selection

• The candidate’s combined marks from the Phase II exam and the interview will be used to create the final selection/merit list of applicants for the RBI Grade B Exam.
• Therefore, the chances of being chosen to become a Grade B Officer will be better the higher the score in both the RBI Grade B Mains Exam and the Interview stage.
• Following the conclusion of the RBI Grade B Interviews, the list of final selected candidates will be posted on the official RBI website within two to three weeks.

To understand the RBI exam pattern for the Grade B officer post, candidates are advised to solve the RBI Grade B Previous Year paper for their reference.

Pre-Examination Training

For the Phase-I and Phase-II exams, the Bank will provide free online pre-examination training for candidates who fall under the SC/ST/OBC/PwBD categories. When filling out the online application form, candidates who wish to attend the training programme can declare their interest. Please be aware that completing the course does not provide the candidate with the right to be called for the exam or to be recruited into the Bank’s service.

The related links below will give information regarding the RBI Exams.

The list of shortlisted candidates will be uploaded on the official website and an invitation will also be sent to the selected candidates on the email ID’s, which they provided at the time of application.

RBI Assistant Exam

RBI Assistant Exam is conducted by the RBI to recruit candidates for the position of Assistants in its various branches. Before starting the preparation, it is very important to learn about the RBI Exam Pattern for the Assistant post. Since this exam is conducted on the national level, candidates from all over the country appear for the exam. 

The selection procedure for RBI Assistant will be conducted in three phases as mentioned below. Candidates must pass each round of the screening process in order to be considered for the position of Assistant in the banking industry.

• Preliminary RBI Assistant Exam
• Main Exam for RBI Assistant
• Test of Language Proficiency

There is a set syllabus for each section that will be covered in the RBI Assistant preliminary and main exams. The main areas covered are:

• English Language
• Quantitative Aptitude and
• Reasoning

The three sections stated above are the ones that are frequently asked on both the preliminary exam and the main exam. In addition to the three sections already mentioned, the mains exam includes a section on general awareness and a section on computer knowledge. The candidates must clear the sectional cut-off as well as the overall cut-off for each phase of the examination, in order to get selected for further rounds of the RBI Assistant Exam. Here are the detailed exam patterns for both RBI Assistant preliminary and mains examinations.

Candidates can solve the RBI Assistant mock test, comprising 25 questions each from the three important sections of the RBI exam pattern: reasoning ability, quantitative aptitude and English language, at the linked article.

The RBI exam pattern for the post of Assistant has been discussed in detail below:

RBI Assistant Exam Pattern – Preliminary:

The table below gives a detailed breakdown of the preliminary exam pattern for RBI Assistant Exam

Important Points to Remember

• There will be three sections—English language, numerical ability, and reasoning ability—each with 100 questions.
• The tests will consist of objective questions.
• The RBI Assistant Prelims Exam is scheduled to last for 60 minutes (each section for 20 minutes).
• There will be no deduction for unanswered questions, however, there will be a negative marking of 0.25 marks for each incorrect response.
• All other sections, excluding the English Language, will be in Hindi and English.
• The Preliminary Examination is a qualifying examination, hence its scores will not be included in the merit list.

Related Links :

RBI Assistant Syllabus for Prelims:

The candidates can have an idea about the syllabus by looking at the following table.

RBI Assistant Exam Pattern – Mains:

The table below gives a detailed breakdown of the mains exam pattern for RBI Assistant Exam:

Important Points to Remember

• There will be 200 questions covering five sections: English language, Quantitative Aptitude, Computer Knowledge, General Awareness, and Reasoning Ability.
• The tests will consist of objective questions.
• The RBI Assistant Mains Exam lasts 135 minutes total. The timing for each section is listed below:
  • English language- 30 min
  • Quantitative Aptitude- 30 min
  • Computer Knowledge- 20 min
  • General Awareness- 20 min
  • Reasoning Ability- 30 min
• The negative marking will be of 0.25 which will be deducted for every wrong answer given by the candidate. There will be no deduction for unanswered questions.
• All other sections, with the exception of English Language, will be in Hindi and English.
• After passing the mains exam, candidates will be called for the language proficiency test, and the results will be used to create a merit list.

RBI Assistant Mains Exam Syllabus

The Candidates can get an idea about the syllabus in brief from the following table:

To know more about the RBI Assistant Syllabus, visit the linked article.

RBI Assistant Syllabus 2022:-Download PDF Here

To know more about the RBI Assistant Syllabus, visit the linked article.

Also, candidates can refer to the following links while preparing for the upcoming RBI exams 2021:

RBI Assistant Language Proficiency Test:

The final stage of the recruitment will be the Language Proficiency Test (LPT). The candidates who clear the mains exam will then have to appear for the LPT. This test is of a lot of importance as you may be required to interact with the public directly. 

• The LPT will be conducted in the Official/Local language of the preferred state as selected by the candidate. The candidate will not be considered if they are not fluent in the official or local language.
• Only those applicants who receive sufficiently high merit scores based on the combined scores of the main online examination will be invited to take the language proficiency test. 
• The Bank will determine this merit in proportion to the number of announced openings to be filled.

Following is a list of the local languages that will be examined in accordance with the official RBI Assistant notification:

Know more about the RBI exam pattern by solving the RBI Assistant previous year question paper.

Able guidance from the experts at BYJU’S can be extremely beneficial for the preparation of these exams Candidates must be consistent in their efforts and concentrate more on the objective at hand in order to pass the exam with relative ease.

Candidates can know about the latest RBI Assistant notification at the linked article.