RBI Grade B Officer (General / DEPR / DSIM) Exam Pattern 2026

The full RBI Grade B Officer (General / DEPR / DSIM) exam pattern for 2026 — 6 stages, with the sections, question count, marks, duration and negative marking for each, as set by Reserve Bank of India Services Board. Then take a free RBI Grade B Officer (General / DEPR / DSIM) mock in the real pattern below.

Phase I — Preliminary Examination (General DR only; DEPR and DSIM have a separate Phase I structure described below)

Mode: Online objective test at RBI/IBPS test centres across India
Sections: General Awareness (80 Q, 80 marks, 25 min) · English Language (30 Q, 30 marks, 25 min) · Quantitative Aptitude (30 Q, 30 marks, 25 min) · Reasoning (60 Q, 60 marks, 45 min)
Questions: 200 multiple-choice questions
Marks: 200 marks total
Duration: 2 hours total (sectional timing strictly enforced)
Negative marking: 0.25 marks deducted per wrong answer; no deduction for unattempted items

Phase I is purely a SCREENING test for Grade B General. Sectional cutoffs apply individually to each of the four sections AND an overall category cutoff applies. Approximately 4-6x the notified Grade B General vacancy is shortlisted for Phase II. Phase I marks do NOT carry forward into the final merit list.

Phase I — DEPR / DSIM (qualifying — different from General DR Phase I)

Mode: Online objective test (DEPR Paper I) or online + descriptive (DSIM) at RBI/IBPS test centres
Sections: DEPR Phase I (Paper I): Objective Economics — 100 Q, 100 marks, 120 min. DSIM Phase I (Paper I): Objective Statistics — 100 Q, 100 marks, 120 min.
Questions: 100 multiple-choice questions per Phase I paper
Marks: 100 marks per Phase I paper
Duration: 2 hours per paper
Negative marking: 0.25 marks deducted per wrong objective answer; no deduction for unattempted items

DEPR Phase I tests PG-level Economics depth (microeconomic theory, macroeconomic theory, Indian economy, growth & development, public economics, international economics, monetary economics). DSIM Phase I tests PG-level Statistics depth (probability theory, statistical inference, sampling, regression, multivariate analysis, time-series analysis, stochastic processes). Phase I is qualifying-only for both streams — Phase II decides merit.

Phase II — Main Examination (General DR — three papers, merit-deciding)

Mode: Online; Papers I and III are objective + descriptive (typed in the test window); Paper II is fully descriptive (typed)
Sections: Paper I: Economic and Social Issues (ESI) — 30 objective Q (50 marks, 30 min) + 6 descriptive Q (50 marks, 90 min), total 100 marks. Paper II: English (Writing Skills) — fully descriptive, essay + précis + comprehension-based analytical writing, total 100 marks, 90 min. Paper III: Finance and Management (F&M) — 30 objective Q (50 marks, 30 min) + 6 descriptive Q (50 marks, 90 min), total 100 marks.
Questions: Mix of objective + descriptive across three papers
Marks: 300 marks total across the three Phase II papers (100 marks per paper)
Duration: 2 hours per paper (Papers I and III); 1 hour 30 minutes for Paper II
Negative marking: 0.25 marks deducted per wrong objective answer in Papers I and III; descriptive is evaluated subjectively

Each paper has an individual minimum qualifying mark requirement AND an aggregate cutoff applies across all three papers. Phase II marks DO carry forward into the final merit list. Phase II + Interview together determine final merit (no Phase I weight).

Phase II — Main Examination (DEPR — three papers, merit-deciding)

Mode: Online; Paper I is objective; Papers II and III are fully descriptive (typed)
Sections: Paper I: Economics — Objective (100 Q, 100 marks, 120 min). Paper II: Economics — Descriptive Paper I (covering microeconomics, macroeconomics, international economics, public economics — 100 marks, 180 min). Paper III: Economics — Descriptive Paper II (covering Indian economy, growth & development, monetary economics, banking & finance — 100 marks, 180 min). English is a separate qualifying descriptive paper (100 marks, 90 min, qualifying-only — not counted in merit).
Questions: Mix of objective + descriptive across three papers + a qualifying English paper
Marks: 300 marks counted in merit (Paper I + Paper II + Paper III) + qualifying English
Duration: 2 hours for Paper I; 3 hours for each of Paper II and Paper III; 1.5 hours for English (qualifying)
Negative marking: 0.25 marks deducted per wrong objective answer in Paper I; descriptive evaluated subjectively

DEPR Phase II demands PG-level Economics analytical writing — derivations, model interpretations, real-world application of monetary and fiscal theory, and policy critique. The descriptive papers reward depth, structure, mathematical rigour where applicable, and clear policy reasoning.

Phase II — Main Examination (DSIM — three papers, merit-deciding)

Mode: Online; Paper I is objective; Papers II and III are fully descriptive (typed)
Sections: Paper I: Statistics — Objective (100 Q, 100 marks, 120 min). Paper II: Statistics — Descriptive Paper I (covering probability theory, statistical inference, sampling theory, design of experiments — 100 marks, 180 min). Paper III: Statistics — Descriptive Paper II (covering regression, multivariate analysis, time-series analysis, stochastic processes, econometric methods — 100 marks, 180 min). English is a separate qualifying descriptive paper (100 marks, 90 min, qualifying-only — not counted in merit).
Questions: Mix of objective + descriptive across three papers + a qualifying English paper
Marks: 300 marks counted in merit (Paper I + Paper II + Paper III) + qualifying English
Duration: 2 hours for Paper I; 3 hours for each of Paper II and Paper III; 1.5 hours for English (qualifying)
Negative marking: 0.25 marks deducted per wrong objective answer in Paper I; descriptive evaluated subjectively

DSIM Phase II is the most quantitatively demanding tier in Indian banking recruitment — derivations from first principles, full proofs for theorems in inference and sampling, and applied numerical problems in time-series and regression. Use of statistical software (R, SAS, SPSS) is NOT required during the exam but is part of the role.

Interview (all three streams — 75 marks, merit-deciding)

Mode: Offline at RBI Mumbai or designated centres
Sections: Panel interview with senior RBI officers and external experts. Covers Phase II subject depth in detail, recent monetary policy decisions, current banking and financial-system issues, the candidate's academic and professional background, and policy reasoning.
Questions: Not applicable — structured interview
Marks: 75 marks
Duration: Approximately 25-45 minutes per candidate
Negative marking: Not applicable

Final merit = Phase II marks (out of 300) + Interview (out of 75), totalling 375. Phase I marks do NOT contribute. The interview carries 20% of the final merit weight (75/375) and is widely regarded as the deciding stage for candidates separated by 5-10 marks in Phase II. RBI Interview panels probe stream-specific theoretical depth and policy reasoning more rigorously than any other banking exam.

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