RBI Grade B Phase-I Mock Test (Panel Year 2025)

Exam Overview & Participating Organizations

Full Name of Exam and Conducting Body The official name of the examination is the Direct Recruitment for the Posts of Officers in Grade 'B' (Direct Recruit-DR) (On Probation-OP) (General/DEPR/DSIM) Cadres - Panel Year 2025. The exam is conducted by the Reserve Bank of India Services Board (RBISB).

Total Vacancies and Participating Organizations The sole participating organization is the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). There is a total of 120 vacancies distributed across three specific cadres:

• Officers in Grade 'B' (DR) - General Cadre: 83 vacancies.
• Officers in Grade 'B' (DR) - DEPR Cadre: 17 vacancies.
• Officers in Grade 'B' (DR) - DSIM Cadre: 20 vacancies.

Important Dates (Tentative or Exact)

• Online Registration and Payment of Fees/Intimation Charges: Opening date is September 10, 2025, and the closing date is September 30, 2025, till 06:00 PM.
• Edit/Modification Window: The edit window for modifying the application form opens after the closing date and will remain active for exactly 2 days.
• Phase-I (Prelims) Examination General Cadre: October 18, 2025.
• Phase-I (Prelims) Examination DEPR and DSIM Cadres: October 19, 2025.
• Phase-II (Mains) Examination General Cadre: December 06, 2025.
• Phase-II (Mains) Examination DEPR and DSIM Cadres: December 07, 2025.
• Interview and Provisional Allotment: The dates for the Interview phase are not pre-scheduled but will be communicated to shortlisted candidates via the Interview Call Letter sent to their registered email IDs.

Detailed Eligibility Criteria

Educational Qualification

• General Cadre: Candidates must possess Graduation in any discipline or an equivalent technical/professional qualification with a minimum of 60% marks (50% for SC/ST/PwBD applicants). Alternatively, Post-Graduation with a minimum of 55% marks (pass marks for SC/ST/PwBD applicants) in aggregate of all semesters/years.
• DEPR Cadre: An MA/MSc in Economics or Finance (or highly specific allied fields like Econometrics, Quantitative Finance, etc., where Economics or Finance is the principal constituent making up half or more of the syllabus) with a minimum of 55% marks or equivalent grade (50% for SC/ST/PwBD).
• DSIM Cadre: Master's Degree with 55% marks (50% for SC/ST/PwBD) in Statistics, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, or related fields, OR a 4-year Bachelor's degree with 60% marks (50% for SC/ST/PwBD) in similar specific domains.

Percentage Calculation Rules: The percentage of marks is calculated as an aggregate over the entire duration of the course. If a University awards Aggregate Grade Points (CGPA/OGPA/CPI) on a 10-point scale without defining a conversion criteria, the normalization rules are strictly: 6.75 equals 60%, 6.25 equals 55%, and 5.75 equals 50%. Grade points on scales other than 10 will be normalized out of 10. No specific rules for ignoring fractions are mentioned.

Age Limit & Cutoff Dates Candidates must be between 21 years and 30 years of age as of the cutoff date, which is September 01, 2025. The applicant must have been born not earlier than September 02, 1995, and not later than September 01, 2004. Candidates possessing M.Phil. and Ph.D. qualifications have an upper age limit of 32 and 34 years respectively.

Age Relaxation

• SC/ST: Up to 5 years.
• OBC: Up to 3 years.
• PwBD: Up to 10 years for Gen/EWS, 15 years for SC/ST, and 13 years for OBC.
• Ex-Servicemen (including ECOs/SSCOs): Up to 5 years, provided they have rendered at least 5 years of military service and were not dismissed for misconduct.
• Work Experience: Candidates with experience as an officer in Scheduled Commercial Banks, Public Sector Insurance Companies, All India Financial Institutions (AIFI), or RBI get relaxation equal to completed years of experience up to a maximum of 3 years (probationary periods are not reckoned).

Cumulative Relaxation Rules: Cumulative age relaxation under multiple categories is strictly prohibited, with the sole exception of SC/ST/OBC candidates who also qualify as Ex-servicemen or PwBD.

Nationality/Citizenship Eligible candidates must be one of the following: a citizen of India, a subject of Nepal, a subject of Bhutan, a Tibetan refugee who entered India before January 1, 1962, to permanently settle, or a person of Indian origin who migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, East African countries (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia), and Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling. Non-citizens require a certificate of eligibility issued by the Government of India.

Credit History/CIBIL & NOC There is no mention of mandatory CIBIL score requirements in the document. However, all candidates working in Government Sector, Public Sector Undertakings, Banks, or Financial Institutions must submit an undertaking that they have informed their Head of Office in writing before applying. They are strictly required to bring proper discharge certificates or No Objection Certificates (NOC) from their employer without any lien at the time of joining.

Exhaustive Reservation Rules (EWS & PwBD)

EWS (Economically Weaker Sections) Income limits require the candidate's family to have a gross annual income below Rs. 8 lakh for the financial year.

Asset Disqualifiers: EWS candidates are strictly disqualified if their family owns or possesses any of the following assets:

• 5 acres of agricultural land and above.
• Residential flat of 1000 sq. ft. and above.
• Residential plot of 100 sq. yards and above in notified municipalities.
• Residential plot of 200 sq. yards and above in areas other than the notified municipalities.

PwBD (Persons with Benchmark Disabilities) The eligible functional disability categories are:

• (a) Blindness (B) and Low Vision (LV).
• (b) Deaf and Hard of Hearing (HH).
• (c) Locomotor disability, including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims, and muscular dystrophy.
• (d) Autism, intellectual disability, specific learning disability, and mental illness.
• (e) Multiple disabilities encompassing clauses (a) to (d).

Scribe and Compensatory Time Rules:

• Scribe assistance is unconditionally permitted for candidates with blindness, locomotor disability (Both arms only), and cerebral palsy upon providing a valid disability certificate.
• For other specified disabilities, a scribe is allowed only upon the production of a specific medical certificate from a Chief Medical Officer/Civil Surgeon affirming a functional limitation in writing.
• Scribe Qualification Exception: The scribe's educational qualification must specifically be a minimum of "two academic years below" and a maximum of "three academic years below" the minimum qualification required for the exam. Scribes cannot be candidates for the same examination process.
• Compensatory Time: Eligible candidates will receive a compensatory time of 20 minutes for every hour of the examination, regardless of whether they actually use a scribe or not.

Selection Process & Cut-off Rules

Stages of Selection The selection process comprises three distinct stages: Phase-I Online Examination, Phase-II Online/Written Examination, and the Interview phase.

Cut-offs and Normalization Rules

• Sectional and Overall Cut-offs: For Phase-I, candidates are required to secure minimum marks separately for each test section as well as achieve a minimum aggregate cut-off score.
• Normalization: Because examinations may take place over multiple shifts, the "corrected-scores" obtained by candidates across different sessions will be strictly normalized using the equipercentile method to adjust for differences in the difficulty level of test batteries.
• Tie-Breaker Rules: Exact tie-breaker methodologies are not explicitly defined in the provided official notification excerpts.

Exam Pattern & Syllabus

Phase-I & Phase-II Exam Pattern (General Cadre)

Phase-I (Prelims): Comprises a single objective-type paper worth 200 marks, consisting of General Awareness, English Language, Quantitative Aptitude, and Reasoning. Total duration is 120 minutes, with separate time limits specifically allotted for each individual section.

Phase-II (Mains):

Descriptive Questions Specification: For Paper-I and Paper-III, 6 descriptive questions will be asked, and candidates must answer only 4 questions (two worth 15 marks each and two worth 10 marks each).

Negative Marking Penalty The provided notification explicitly states that the Board would analyze responses to detect abnormal similarities (anti-cheating), but the exact penalty fraction for wrong or blank answers is not explicitly specified in the excerpts.

Exhaustive Syllabus (Phase-II General)

• Economic and Social Issues: Measurement of growth, Poverty Alleviation, Sustainable Development, Economic History of India, Monetary and Fiscal Policy, Priorities of Economic Survey/Union Budget, Financial Markets linkages, Globalization, Balance of Payments, WTO, IMF, Demographic Trends, Urbanisation, and Gender Issues.
• Finance: Structure of Financial Institutions, Functions of RBI, Alternate sources of finance, Public-Private Partnerships, Corporate Governance, Inflation components (WPI-CPI), Basics of Derivatives, and Basics of Accounting (Balance Sheet, P&L, Cash Flow, Ratio Analysis including Debt to Equity, Inventory Turnover, etc.).
• Management: Evolution of management thought, Big five model of personality, Motivation theories (Maslow, Alderfer, McClelland, Herzberg, Vroom, Adams), Leadership theories (Transactional, Transformational), Kurt Lewin Theory of Change, Nudge theory, Johari Window, Ethics at Workplace, and Communication channels and barriers.

The Interview Phase & Final Merit

The Interview carries a total of 75 marks. Before appearing for the interview, candidates must undergo a non-scored Personality Assessment. The final merit list is prepared by aggregating the marks secured by candidates in the Phase-II examination and the Interview (along with any applicable grace marks). A specific mathematical weightage ratio (like 80:20) is not listed; the marks are directly added.

Application Fee, Salary & Probation

Application Fees

• SC/ST/PwBD: Rs. 100/- plus 18% GST (Intimation charges only).
• GEN/OBC/EWS: Rs. 850/- plus 18% GST (Application fee + Intimation charges).
• Staff: Nil.

Salary and Allowances

• Basic Pay: The starting basic pay is Rs. 78,450/- per month on the scale of 78450 - 4050(9) - 114900 - EB - 4050(2) - 123000 - 4650(4) - 141600 (a 16-year progression).
• Allowances: Includes Special Allowance, Grade Allowance, Dearness Allowance, Local Compensatory Allowance, Learning Allowance, and a House Rent Allowance (15% of basic pay if Bank accommodation is not provided). The initial gross monthly emoluments without HRA sit at approximately Rs. 1,50,374/-. Up to four advance increments may be granted at the Interview stage for very high academic or professional qualifications.
• Probation Details: Initial appointment features a probation period of two years, which the Bank can extend up to a maximum period of four years at its discretion.

Pre-Examination Training (PET)

• Who is eligible: SC, ST, OBC, and PwBD candidates applying for Officers in Grade 'B' (DR) - General are eligible.
• Mode of Training: The training is completely free of cost and will be conducted entirely in an online mode.
• Conditions: Candidates must apply separately by email to the Regional Director/General Manager by September 30, 2025. Participating in PET confers no right to be called for the Examination or secured recruitment.

Identity Verification & Biometric Capture Rules

Valid ID Proofs Allowed Candidates must produce an original and a photocopy of: PAN Card, Passport, Driving Licence, Voter's Card, Bank Passbook with photograph, Photo ID issued by a Gazetted Officer/People's Representative on official letterhead, valid recent College/University ID, e-Aadhar card, Aadhar card with a photograph, Employee ID, or Bar Council ID.

Strictly Banned IDs Ration cards and Learner's Driving Licenses will strictly not be considered as valid Identity proof.

Rules for Name Changes Female candidates who have changed their name post-marriage, or anyone with a name mismatch, are permitted to appear only if they produce the original Gazette Notification, their original marriage certificate, or an affidavit in original, alongside a photocopy.

Biometric Rules Explicit technical rules regarding which specific finger is captured, or exceptions regarding washed, moist, or injured fingers are not specified in the official notification provided.

Document Upload Specifications (Exhaustive Technical Details)

• Photograph: Must be a recent color passport-size picture (4.5cm x 3.5cm) against a light-colored (preferably white) background. Dimensions should be 200 x 230 pixels, file size strictly between 20kb and 50kb in JPG/JPEG format. Live photo capture via webcam or mobile QR code is also mandatory.
• Signature: Must be signed on white paper with Black Ink pen. Dimensions preferred are 140 x 60 pixels, and file size strictly between 10kb and 20kb. Critical Disqualifier: Signatures written entirely in CAPITAL LETTERS will be rejected.
• Left Thumb Impression: Must be pressed on white paper using Black or Blue ink. File size strictly between 20kb and 50kb. If the candidate lacks a left thumb, they may use the right thumb.
• Hand-written Declaration: Must be written in English on white paper using Black ink. File size must be between 50kb and 100kb. Visually Impaired candidates unable to write may get the text typed and apply their left thumb impression below it. Critical Disqualifier: Declarations written in CAPITAL LETTERS will be rejected.

Misconduct, Banned Items & Legal Acts

Banned Items in the Exam Hall The use or possession of mobile phones (even in switched-off mode), pagers, electronic equipment, programmable devices, storage media (like pen drives), smart watches, cameras, bluetooth devices, or physical calculators is strictly banned.

Legal Acts Mentioned The notification specifically governs disability rules under "The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPwD Act, 2016)".

Misconduct & Consequences Candidates will be subject to disciplinary action if found guilty of: obtaining support via illegal gratification, applying pressure, blackmailing, impersonation, submitting fabricated documents, obtaining copies of question papers through improper means, influencing examiners, using a scribe when ineligible, or writing obscene matter/sketches in scripts.

Consequences of Unfair Means: Repercussions include immediate disqualification, permanent or specified period debarment from RBI examinations, employment dismissal if already serving in the Bank, and potential criminal prosecution.