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Every head and every mark below is from the Reserve Bank of India Services Board — advertisement for Officers in Grade ‘B’ (DR), General (Advt. No. RBISB/DA/01/2026-27). Quoted text is labelled as the Board’s wording; everything else is our note.
Phase 1 does not count towards your rank. The Board builds the merit list by adding the marks secured in Phase 2 and the Interview, so Phase 1 marks never reach your rank.
| Stage | Marks | Counts for rank? |
|---|---|---|
| Phase I — the online screening test | 200 | No — qualifying only |
| Phase II — Papers I, II and III | 300 | Yes |
| Interview | 75 | Yes |
| Final merit — maximum | 375 | Yes |
A single objective paper of 200 questions and 200 marks in 120 minutes. The four tests are separately timed, so unused minutes in one do not carry into the next. The advertisement prints no topic list for Phase 1 — it names the tests, their marks and their timers, and nothing more.
| Test | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Awareness | 80 | 80 | 25 minutes |
| Reasoning | 60 | 60 | 45 minutes |
| English Language | 30 | 30 | 25 minutes |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 30 | 30 | 25 minutes |
| Total | 200 | 200 | 120 minutes |
General Awareness gives you 80 questions in 25 minutes — under 19 seconds each. No other section runs tighter than 45 seconds a question.
Three papers of 100 marks each. Papers I and III are half objective and half descriptive; Paper-II is descriptive throughout. All three are typed on the keyboard.
Half objective, half descriptive. 30 objective questions for 50 marks in 30 minutes, then 90 minutes for the descriptive half, also 50 marks.
Fully descriptive, three questions, typed on the keyboard. This is the one paper not set bilingually — it is in English only.
The same shape as Paper-I: 30 objective questions for 50 marks in 30 minutes, then 90 minutes of descriptive for the other 50.
In the descriptive halves of Papers I and III, six questions are asked and four are to be attempted — two of 15 marks and two of 10.
the Board’s own wording
English (Writing Skills) Descriptive Paper: The paper on English shall be framed in a manner to assess the writing skills including expression and understanding of the topic. The Paper may include Questions on essay writing, précis writing and comprehension etc. Candidates will have to type answers with the help of the keyboard of the computer.Four heads — Growth and Development, Indian Economy, Globalization, and Social Structure in India — each with the sub-topics the advertisement prints under it. Public finance is not a head of its own; it sits inside Indian Economy.
the Board’s own wording
Paper-I : Economic and Social Issues (ESI) — 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: 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 – 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 Justicethe Board’s own wording
Books: Indian Economy: 1. Uma Kapila (series of books) 2. Indian Economy: Misra & Puri (Latest Edition) 3. Growth and Development: Debraj Ray 4. Sociology: C.N. Shankar Rao 5. Public Finance - K K Andley and SundaramThis is the paper’s official name. Older material still calls it Finance and Management, or F&M — the same paper, an earlier name.
the Board’s own wording
a) Financial System b) Financial Markets c) General Topics d) Management — 1. Fundamentals of Management & Organizational Behaviour 2. Ethics at the Workplace and Corporate Governancethe Board’s own wording
Suggested Reference Material — Finance — • Monetary Theory and Public Policy – Kenneth Kurihara • Indian Economy – Mishra & Puri • Economic Growth and Development – Meier and Baldwin • Financial Management – Prasanna Chandra • Major financial newspapers • International Business by Hill and Jain • RBI Annual Report, Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India, Report on Currency and Finance etc. • Economic Survey • Material sourced from RBI websiteThe Board calls this list indicative only. Two titles often listed for this paper — Stonier & Hague, and Dutt & Sundaram — are not in the reading list the advertisement prints, and are not reproduced here.
One quarter of the marks assigned to a question is deducted for a wrong answer, on the objective questions in Phase 1 and in the objective halves of Papers I and III. Some Phase 2 objective questions carry 2 marks rather than 1, so the penalty scales with the question rather than being a flat quarter-mark. The penalty clause is printed under the objective papers only.
If you are preparing a General Studies exam alongside, our past papers are published question by question, with a worked explanation for every option.
Three stages. Phase 1 is a 200-mark online objective test of 200 questions in 120 minutes, with four separately timed sections. Phase 2 is three papers of 100 marks each — Economic and Social Issues, English (Writing Skills), and General Finance and Management — for 300 marks. The Interview carries 75. The Board prepares the merit list by adding the Phase 2 and Interview marks, plus grace marks where the rules allow — 375 at most.
No. Phase 1 only decides who sits Phase 2. The Board prepares the merit list by adding the marks secured in Phase 2 and the Interview, so a candidate who scrapes through Phase 1 and a candidate who tops it start Phase 2 level. Clear it efficiently and put your real hours into the three Phase 2 papers.
Yes. The four tests are separately timed: 25 minutes for General Awareness, 45 for Reasoning, 25 for English Language and 25 for Quantitative Aptitude. You cannot carry unused time from one section into another, so plan your attempts per section rather than across the paper.
General Awareness is the largest at 80 questions for 80 marks. Reasoning follows with 60 questions for 60 marks, and English Language and Quantitative Aptitude carry 30 questions for 30 marks each. That is 200 questions for 200 marks.
Yes, on the objective questions. One quarter of the marks assigned to a question is deducted for a wrong answer, in Phase 1 and in the objective halves of Phase 2 Papers I and III. Because some Phase 2 objective questions carry 2 marks rather than 1, the penalty scales with the question. The penalty clause is printed under the objective papers only.
The advertisement prints four heads: Growth and Development; Indian Economy; Globalization; and Social Structure in India. Each carries its own sub-topics in the advertisement — measurement of growth, the 1991 reforms, balance of payments, demographic trends and so on. Public finance is not a head of its own; it is listed inside Indian Economy.
Its official name is General Finance and Management, older material still says Finance and Management, or F&M. The advertisement gives it four lettered heads: Financial System, Financial Markets, General Topics, and Management — with Fundamentals of Management & Organizational Behaviour and Ethics at the Workplace and Corporate Governance listed under the last.
They are typed on the keyboard, not handwritten. Every paper in both phases is set bilingually in Hindi and English except the English test itself, and candidates typing in Hindi may use either the Inscript or the Remington (GAIL) keyboard layout. Paper-II, English (Writing Skills), is English only.
The Board prints a reading list and calls it indicative only. For Economic and Social Issues it names Uma Kapila, Misra & Puri, Debraj Ray for Growth and Development, C.N. Shankar Rao for Sociology, and K K Andley and Sundaram for Public Finance. For Finance it names Kenneth Kurihara, Meier and Baldwin, Prasanna Chandra, Hill and Jain, plus the RBI Annual Report, the Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India, the Economic Survey and the major financial newspapers.