Reserve Bank of India has issued a notification to recruit around 322 officers through the popular RBI Grade B 2021 exam. It is the toughest exam if we compare this to other Bank exams. There are a lot of extra benefits RBI provides to the Grade B officers which makes it the most difficult Bank exam in India.
Although everything is possible by smart hard work and continuous preparation. To prepare for the RBI Grade B exam candidates must have an idea about the latest Exam Pattern.
RBI Grade B officers will be recruited for the three different departments and the exam pattern for all three departments will be different. Please check below the department details.
- Officers in Grade ‘B’ (DR) – General
- Officers in Grade ‘B’ (DR) – DEPR
- Officers in Grade ‘B’ (DR) – DSIM
Exam pattern will be different for different departments. Please have a look at the department-wise pattern.
A- RBI Grade B officers General:
Exam pattern for Grade B officers in the General department will be a three-step process.
- Phase I
- Phase II
- Interview
Phase I- Prelims Exam:
There are 4 sections in the Preliminary Examination. General Awareness, English Language, Quantitative Aptitude, and Reasoning. Please find the Phase I Preliminary Exam Pattern in the below table.
| Sr. No. | Subjects | Questions | Marks | Total Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | General Awareness | 80 | 80 | |
| 2 | Reasoning | 60 | 60 | |
| 3 | English Language | 30 | 30 | |
| 4 | Quantitative Aptitude | 30 | 30 | |
| Total | 200 | 200 | 2 Hours |
Important Points related to Phase I: Preliminary Examination:
- The preliminary examination will be an objective type of question paper where multiple answers will be given.
- There would be a total of 200 questions in the preliminary exam which should be attempted within 2 hours duration.
- each question carries 1 mark.
- The examination may be conducted in multiple shifts as mentioned on the Admit Card. Please check the shift timing on the Admit Card.
- Marks obtained in different shifts will be normalized by using the equipercentile method to get the candidate’s corrected score.
- The question paper will be available in both English and Hindi language (except the English Language test).
Note: There will be a fixed timing for each section. There will be a fixed cut-off for the individual tests as well as for all tests. Candidates will have to get minimum cut-off marks in order to qualify for the Main exam. Minimum cut-off marks will be decided by the exam conducting authority.
Phase II: Main Exam:
After clearing the Phase I examination candidates will be called for Phase II examination. There will be three papers in Main Exam. Paper I, Paper-II, Paper III. Please find below the Phase II (Main Exam) pattern in the below table.
| Sr. No. | Name of Paper | Type of Paper | Time | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paper-I: Economic and Social Issues | Objective Type | 90 | 100 |
| 2 | Paper II: English (Writing Skills) | Descriptive test on a computer, to be typed with the help of the keyboard | 90 | 100 |
| 3 | Paper-III: Finance and Management | Objective type | 90 | 100 |
Important points for Phase 2 exam:
- Only those candidates who successfully clear the minimum cut off marks set by the RBI will be allowed to appear for the Phase 2 exam.
- Paper 2 will be conducted in multiple shifts.
- Candidates will get a separate Admit Card for the Phase 2 exam. Please check the shift timing and venue written on the Admit Card.
- Question paper language will be Hindi and English both (except the English language test)
Phase III- Interview:
Candidates who cleared the Main exam and secured minimum cut off marks will be called for the final interview.
Important Points:
- For the Interview, round candidates will be shortlisted based on the total marks obtained in the Phase 2 exam.
- Interview carries 50 marks.
- Cut off for the interview will be decided by the RBI according to the available vacancies.
- Candidates will get a separate call letter for the Interiew.
- Candidates will get the option to choose the Interview language either Hindi or English.
B- RBI Grade B officers DEPR ( Department of Economic and Policy Research)
Selection in DEPR (Department of Economic and Policy Research) department will be based on online/written examination and personal interview.
- There will be three papers. Paper, I will be an objective type question paper in online mode. Questions will be based on economics.
- After clearing Paper I candidates will be called for Paper-II and Paper III. All papers will be conducted separately.
- There will be a separate cut off for each paper.
- Candidates who secured minimum cut off marks in Paper I, Paper-II, and Paper III will be called for a personal interview.
- The final selection will be based on the marks obtained in Paper I + Paper-II + Paper-III + Personal Interview.
| Sr. No. | Name of Paper | Duration | Maximum Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paper-I: Objective Type (on Economics) | 120 minutes | 100 |
| 2 | Paper-II: Descriptive Type (on Economics) (Question paper displayed on a computer, answers to be written on paper) | 180 minutes | 100 |
| 3 | Paper-III: English – Descriptive (To be typed with help of keyboard) | 90 minutes | 100 |
| Total | 300 |
C- RBI Grade B officers DSIM (Department of Statistics and Information Management) :
Selection for DSIM (Department of Statistics and Information Management) department will be done through online/written examination followed by a personal interview.
- There will be three papers in the written exam.
- Paper-I will be an objective type question paper based on Statistics and Paper-II will be a descriptive type question paper based on Statistics.
- All three papers will be held separately and information about exam timing will be updated to candidates along with the admit card.
- Candidates will have to get minimum cut off marks on each paper.
- Candidates who successfully cleared all three papers and secured minimum qualifying marks will be called for a Personal Interview.
- Final selection will be done on the overall performance in Paper I, Paper-II, Paper-III, and Personal Interview.
| Sr. No. | Name of Paper | Duration | Maximum Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paper-I: Objective Type (on Statistics) | 120 minutes | 100 |
| 2 | Paper-II: Descriptive Type (on Statistics) (Question paper displayed on a computer, answers to be written on paper) | 180 minutes | 100 |
| 3 | Paper-III English – Descriptive (To be typed with help of keyboard) | 90 minutes | 100 |
| Total | 300 |
Candidates can check the complete details about the RBI Grade B 2021 notification at the linked article.