Explore the official syllabus and examination structure for RBI Officers in Grade ‘B’ (DR) — General Cadre, Panel Year 2025. The syllabus and examination details on this page are based on the official Reserve Bank of India Services Board notification and Appendix-II.
Phase-I is a single objective paper of 200 marks. It contains General Awareness, English Language, Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning. The official notification provides a total time of 120 minutes, with separate time allotted to each test.
Phase-I • Objective • Part of 200 Marks
Phase-I • Objective • Part of 200 Marks
Phase-I • Objective • Part of 200 Marks
Phase-I • Objective • Part of 200 Marks
The official Appendix-II specifies General Awareness as one of the four tests in the Phase-I objective paper. The notification states that Phase-I contains General Awareness, English Language, Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning, with a total time of 120 minutes and separate timing for each test. A detailed chapter-wise syllabus is not published in Appendix-II for this Phase-I test; the detailed syllabus provided in the notification is for Phase-II.
The official Appendix-II specifies English Language as one of the four Phase-I tests. The notification does not publish a chapter-wise list of English Language topics for Phase-I. No outside coaching chapter list has been added here.
The official Appendix-II specifies Quantitative Aptitude as one of the four Phase-I tests. The notification does not publish a chapter-wise list of Quantitative Aptitude topics for Phase-I.
The official Appendix-II specifies Reasoning as one of the four Phase-I tests. The notification does not publish a chapter-wise Reasoning syllabus for Phase-I.
Shortlisted candidates appear for three papers: Economic and Social Issues, English (Writing Skills), and General Finance and Management. Phase-II carries 300 marks.
100 Marks • 120 Minutes • Objective + Descriptive
100 Marks • 90 Minutes • Descriptive
Part of Paper-III • Objective + Descriptive
Part of Paper-III • Objective + Descriptive
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; changes in Industrial and Labour Policy; Monetary and Fiscal Policy since reforms of 1991; priorities and recommendations of Economic Survey and Union Budget; Indian Money and Financial Markets and their linkages with the economy; role of Indian banks and Reserve Bank in the development process; Public Finance; Political Economy; Industrial Developments in India; Indian Agriculture; Services sector in India.
Globalization: Opening up of the Indian Economy; Balance of Payments; Export-Import Policy; International Economic Institutions including IMF and World Bank; WTO; Regional Economic Co-operation; International Economic Issues.
Social Structure in India: Multiculturalism; Demographic Trends; Urbanisation and Migration; Gender Issues; Social Justice.
The official notification states that the English paper is framed to assess writing skills including expression and understanding of the topic. The paper is descriptive and is to be typed with the help of the keyboard. It carries 100 marks and has a duration of 90 minutes.
Financial System: Structure and Functions of Financial Institutions; Functions of Reserve Bank of India; Banking System in India — Structure and Developments; Financial Institutions such as SIDBI, EXIM Bank, NABARD, NHB and NaBFID; recent developments in the global financial system and their impact on the Indian financial system; role of Information Technology in Banking and Finance; Non-Banking System; Developments in Digital Payments.
Financial Markets: Primary and Secondary Markets including Forex, Money, Bond and Equity markets; functions, instruments and recent developments.
General Topics: Financial Risk Management; Basics of Derivatives; Global financial markets and International Banking — broad trends and latest developments; Financial Inclusion; alternate sources of finance; private and social cost-benefit; Public-Private Partnership; Corporate Governance in Banking Sector; Union Budget — concepts, approach and broad trends; Basics of Accounting and Financial Statements including Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss, Cash Flow Statements and Ratio Analysis; Inflation — definition, trends, estimates, consequences and remedies, WPI-CPI components and trends, and balancing inflation and growth through monetary and fiscal policies.
Fundamentals of Management & Organizational Behaviour: Introduction to management; evolution of management thought: Scientific, Administrative, Human Relations and Systems approach; management functions; managerial roles; Nudge theory; meaning and concept of organizational behaviour.
Personality and Perception: Personality; factors affecting personality; Big Five model; reinforcement; perception and perceptual errors.
Motivation: Concept and importance; Maslow's Need Theory; Alderfer's ERG Theory; McClelland's Theory of Needs; Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory; Adams' Equity Theory; Vroom's Expectancy Theory.
Leadership and Emotional Intelligence: Trait, Behavioural, Contingency, Charismatic, Transactional and Transformational leadership theories; Emotional Intelligence — concept, importance and dimensions.
Interpersonal Relationships and Conflict: Transactional Analysis; Johari Window; conflict — concept, sources, types and management.
Organizational Change and Development: Organizational change; Kurt Lewin Theory of Change; Organizational Development; strategies for change; planned change theories including Lewin's Change Model, Action Research Model and Positive Model.
Ethics and Corporate Governance: Meaning of ethics; why ethical problems occur in business; Utilitarianism; Rights and Duties; Justice and Fairness; Ethics of Care; Virtue Ethics; Teleological theories; Egoism; Relativism; moral issues in business; ethical principles; organization structure and ethics; role of Board of Directors; ethics programmes; Code of Ethics; Code of Conduct; Corporate Governance factors and mechanisms.
Communication: Steps in communication process; communication channels; oral versus written communication; verbal versus non-verbal communication; upward, downward and lateral communication; barriers to communication; role of Information Technology.
The following structure is taken from Appendix-II of the official RBI Grade B (DR) General notification for Panel Year 2025.
| Stage | Test / Paper | Questions | Marks | Time | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase-I | General Awareness | Not specified in Appendix-II | 200 Total | 120 Minutes Total | Objective |
| Phase-I | English Language | Not specified in Appendix-II | Objective | ||
| Phase-I | Quantitative Aptitude | Not specified in Appendix-II | Objective | ||
| Phase-I | Reasoning | Not specified in Appendix-II | Objective | ||
| Phase-I Total | — | 200 | 120 Minutes | Objective | |
| Phase-II | Paper-I: Economic and Social Issues | 30 Objective + 6 Descriptive* | 100 | 120 Minutes | 50% Objective + 50% Descriptive |
| Phase-II | Paper-II: English (Writing Skills) | 3 | 100 | 90 Minutes | Descriptive |
| Phase-II | Paper-III: General Finance and Management | 30 Objective + 6 Descriptive* | 100 | 120 Minutes | 50% Objective + 50% Descriptive |
| Phase-II Total | — | 300 | 330 Minutes | — | |
| Interview | — | 75 | — | Interview | |
* For Paper-I and Paper-III, the official notification states that 30 questions carrying 50 marks are objective. Six descriptive questions are asked, of which candidates must attempt four: two questions of 15 marks each and two questions of 10 marks each. If more than four descriptive questions are answered, the first four are evaluated.
Selection for Grade B General is conducted through Phase-I, Phase-II and Interview.
One objective paper containing General Awareness, English Language, Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning, with 120 minutes total time.
Economic and Social Issues, English Writing Skills, and General Finance and Management together carry 300 marks.
Candidates shortlisted from Phase-II are called for an Interview carrying 75 marks.
The English test/paper is conducted in English. The Phase-II English Writing Skills paper is specifically an English writing assessment.
The official notification states that all question papers in both phases, except the test of English, are set bilingually in Hindi and English.
Phase-II Paper-I and Paper-III descriptive answers are typed with the help of the keyboard. Hindi typing may use Inscript or Remington (GAIL) keyboard layouts.
The official notification provides a three-stage selection process for the Grade B General stream.
Candidates appear in the single 200-mark objective Phase-I paper. Candidates satisfying the prescribed test-wise and aggregate requirements are shortlisted for Phase-II.
Shortlisted candidates appear in Economic and Social Issues, English Writing Skills, and General Finance and Management.
Candidates sufficiently high in Phase-II aggregate marks are shortlisted for the Interview, which carries 75 marks.
Final selection is based on Phase-II examination marks and Interview marks, along with grace marks as applicable under the rules.
The official Appendix-II specifies four Phase-I tests: General Awareness, English Language, Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning. The Phase-I paper carries 200 marks and has a total duration of 120 minutes, with separate time allotted to each test.
Phase-I is a single objective paper carrying 200 marks. The official Appendix-II does not specify the individual marks or number of questions for each of the four tests.
Phase-II consists of Economic and Social Issues, English (Writing Skills), and General Finance and Management.
Phase-II carries a total of 300 marks: 100 marks each for Paper-I, Paper-II and Paper-III.
The official syllabus covers Growth and Development, Indian Economy, Globalization, and Social Structure in India, including the detailed subtopics specified in Appendix-II.
The Finance syllabus covers the Financial System, Financial Markets, Financial Risk Management, Derivatives, Global financial markets and International Banking, Financial Inclusion, alternate sources of finance, Corporate Governance in Banking Sector, Union Budget, Accounting and Financial Statements, and Inflation.
The Management syllabus includes Management and Organizational Behaviour, personality, perception, motivation, leadership, emotional intelligence, interpersonal relationships, conflict, organizational change and development, ethics, corporate governance and communication.
Paper-II is English (Writing Skills). The official notification states that the paper assesses writing skills including expression and understanding of the topic. It is descriptive and is typed using a keyboard.
The Interview carries 75 marks.
The official notification states that all question papers in both phases, except the test of English, are set bilingually in Hindi and English.
No detailed chapter-wise Phase-I list is provided in Appendix-II. The notification identifies the four tests and their overall structure. The detailed syllabus published in Appendix-II is for Phase-II.
Yes. Candidates are shortlisted for Interview based on the aggregate marks obtained in Phase-II. The Interview carries 75 marks.
The information provided on this page has been prepared for educational purposes based on the official RBI Services Board Advt. No. RBISB/DA/03/2025-26 for Direct Recruitment to Officers in Grade ‘B’ (DR) — General/DEPR/DSIM, Panel Year 2025. The Grade B General examination structure and detailed Phase-II syllabus follow Appendix-II of the official notification. The page deliberately does not invent test-wise Phase-I marks, question counts or chapter lists where the notification does not specify them. Candidates should always verify subsequent changes and updates through the latest official RBI notification, Information Handout and RBI website.