Hello Students,
We have receiving lot of queries regarding eligibility criteria and a particular degree requirement for RBI Grade b exam.
Some of these queries are listed below
- Is it necessary to be from IIT or IIM to crack the RBI Grade B? I am a BTech and have an MBA in finance, but not from the two listed above.
- Is it necessary to be from IIT or IIM to crack the RBI Grade B? I am a BTech and have an MBA in finance, but not from the two listed above.
- Is an MA in economics degree helpful for RBI grade B officer exam?
- Would a CA’s knowledge be helpful for a Grade B officer in RBI, as managing the government’s accounts and RBI’S accounts is part of the job of the officer?
Before take these queries, one by one, let us be clear of the syllabus and eligibility criteria for RBI Grade B officer.
RBI Grade B syllabus
Phase 1:
- General Awareness – 80 marks
- Reasoning – 60 marks
- Quantitative Aptitude = 30 marks
- English – 30 marks
Phase 2:
- Economics and Social Issues- 100 marks
- Finance and Management- 100 marks
- English – 100 marks
Interview– 50 marks
See Also: Detailed syllabus of RBI Grade B
Eligibility criteria for RBI Grade B exam
“A minimum of 60% marks (50% in case of SC/ST/PWD) or an equivalent grade in Bachelor’s degree as well as in 12th (or Diploma or equivalent) and 10th Standard examinations”
As you can see from eligibility criteria, all graduates are eligible to appear for RBI Grade B exam. There is no extra advantage of being a degree holder from IIT, IIM, NIT, etc.
We have tried to give benefits of each degree with respect to different exam stages.
See complete information on: RBI Grade B eligibility criteria
Impact of a particular degree/course in RBI Grade B
General Awareness
General awareness in RBI Grade B exam consists of mix of current affairs and GK. Distribution of questions is heavily skewed towards current affairs side, approximately 70-75% paper is from last 3-6 months current affairs events.
See detailed preparation strategy for General Awareness (GA) section of RBI Grade B
Who will have extra advantage in General Awareness Paper?
General Awareness subject is asked in almost all of the competitive exams. So, candidates who are preparing for General Awareness and current affairs (like UPSC aspirant, SBI/IBPS aspirants, SSC aspirants) will have an added advantage in this paper. Candidates who have good academic records (starting from lower grades) will have general better GK ability. But nonetheless, this course is not a part of any curriculum and hence no degree will have any impact on this course.
Quantitative Aptitude
Quantitative Aptitude (QA) in RBI Grade B exam, is a test of mathematical ability and the syllabus is generally till class 10 level. Students are asked questions on different topics, which require more of logical inference rather than hard calculation.
See also: Detailed preparation strategy for Quantitative Aptitude(QA) section of RBI Grade B
Who will have extra advantage in Quantitative Aptitude paper?
Quantitative Aptitude subject is asked in almost all recruitment as well as college admission tests. Candidates who have previously prepared for CAT or other management entrance exams will have an extra advantage in Quantitative Aptitude paper. This is because, though there is big overlap in syllabus of RBI Grade B and CAT, level of RBI Grade B is much easier than that of CAT exam standard.
Students should also keep in mind that preparing for Banking/SSC aptitude is different than preparing for RBI Grade b quantitative aptitude paper.
Also students, who were generally good in mathematics in their academics, will have advantage in quantitative aptitude section.
Reasoning
Reasoning paper in RBI Grade B exam, is a test of logical reasoning, puzzles and getting logical explanation from given dataset.
See detailed preparation strategy for reasoning section of RBI Grade B
Who will have extra advantage in reasoning paper?
Reasoning is asked in all recruitment and college admission tests in India. Candidates who have cracked CAT or any other management entrance exams will have an advantage in Reasoning paper. There is an overlap in reasoning syllabus and DI section of CAT, although level of CAT exam is tougher. Students who have prepared well for reasoning exams in other Banking/SSC exams will do better, as reasoning exam is generally at par with other recruitment tests in term of difficulty level.
English(Phase 1)
English paper in RBI Grade B phase 1, is a test of general English and reading comprehension.
See also: Detailed preparation strategy for English section of RBI Grade B
Who will have extra advantage in English paper?
It has been observed that students who are from English medium or convent school will have added advantage in English paper from others. Students who have taken English in their graduation/post-graduation will also have strong English. Further, students who have appeared in competitive exams like CAT (and other MBA entrance test), GMAT, Ielts will have stronger English base and will do better than other candidates in RBI Grade B English exam.
English Phase (2)
English paper in RBI Grade B phase 2 is a test of student ability to convey his thoughts on topics of importance and reading comprehension. Students are judged based on essay and precis of any given topic. Most of the essay topics are of national/international significance in economics like NPA and Insolvency law, Rural distress etc.
Students who are currently preparing for UPSC or any other PCS exams will have a broader picture of any given topics in mind, these group of people generally score better than other candidates. Students who have a strong base in general awareness topic will also score better than other candidates.
Economics and Social Issues
Economics and Social issues(ESI) paper in RBI Grade B consists of basic economics fundamentals and latest economics news and events in India and abroad.
See also: Detailed preparation strategy for Economics and Social issues of RBI Grade B
Who will have extra advantage in ESI paper
Students having economics in their graduation degree like MA (Economics) or Economics major from any institutes (IIM and others) will have an added advantage in ESI paper. Furthermore, students who are appearing in competitive exams like UPSC or state PCS where economics is part of course will also have an extra advantage in this course
Finance and Management
Finance and management paper in RBI Grade B consists of different concepts and applications of respective subjects.
See also: Detailed preparation strategy of Finance and Management exam in RBI Grade B
Who will have extra advantage in Finance and Management
Students having MBA degree (from IIM and other institutes) will have the advantage in this section. They have done most of the part of this subject during their studies. Chartered accountant(CA) will have advantage in accountancy part of the paper which has significant weightage. Candidates who are currently working in bank will have a slightly better knowledge of banking subject of finance subject.
Conclusion
We have seen that although all graduates are eligible to sit for RBI Grade B, some group of candidates will be in slightly better position in some of the subject. IIT degree holder will have better command in phase 1 quantitative aptitude and reasoning, CAT qualified MBA holder will be in better position in phase 1 subjects (except GA) and in phase 2 subjects like ESI and FM. Chartered accountant and MA(Economics) will also have advantage in their respective field.
But all of these candidates will have to clear both phases and sit for an interview. In interview, candidates are judged based on this understanding on his general economics and his past academics.
What if you don’t have any of these degrees?
As said earlier, all of the graduates all eligible to sit for RBI Grade B exam. For people, who are just starting their preparation, they can refer to following videos for understanding detailed syllabus and required books
Xamnation.com is offering online coaching program for RBI Grade B. We are helping students with online live classes, study material and test series. Do visit these links for checking our learning resources
Online live classes for rbi grade b
Online study material and test series for rbi grade b
For free material on rbi grade b, please visit
All the Best