The Reserve Bank of India, as the premium financial regulatory body in the country, controls the flow of the economy in the overall country. The central bank maintains the supply of Indian currency and credit, lending and supporting banks as required. It supervises all banks, non-banking finance companies, and other financial institutions.

To do this efficiently, the RBI employs a large segment of cadre officers, assistants, and more with considerable financial acumen. One of these positions is that of an RBI Grade B officer. These officers are the primary workforce for the bank that takes care of its daily operations, maintains the cash inflow and order. They also act as liaisons with other banks in the country. In this article, we will cover the RBI Grade B Officer Exam.

RBI Grade B Officer Roles & Responsibilities

Specifically, RBI Grade B officers are responsible for maintaining:

i) India's financial stability

ii) Issuing new currency and maintaining circulation

iii) Managing government accounts

To do these tasks, the RBI organizes these selected officers in three streams - General Cadre, officers for the Department of Economic and Policy Research and the Department of Statistics and Information Management. 

As compared to other banking recruitment drives, the exercise to find the right-fit officers for the RBI is a specialized one, seeking to fill limited vacancies. While the general cadre requires a graduate with 60% marks, the two departments look for post-graduates, holding degrees in economics and finance or statistics. 

RBI Grade B vacancies and salary structure

As discussed earlier, the RBI Grade B officer's role requires a lot of finesse and seriousness. That's why the recruitment exercise opens each year to a limited set of vacancies. For instance, the current RBI Grade B 2019-2020 exam had announced 630 positions. 

For those who're able to clear the recruitment exercise, it is a financially lucrative position. The salary structure for the position has a basic pay of Rs 35,150 per month, with added allowances. In total, they stand to make as much as Rs 75,831 per month as a starting salary. The allowance they receive includes a family and grade allowance, alongside HRA, DA, and local allowances. They can also avail loans at lower rates than bank rates. They can also rise, with time to managerial positions and be Deputy governors as well.  

RBI Grade B Officer Exam Date

The official exam dates for the RBI Grade B exam 2020 have not been announced so far. However, here is a look at the tentative calendar for this year's exams:

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RBI Grade B Application Process:

To apply for the RBI Grade B officer, you need to know the eligibility criteria for this position as well as the application process. The eligibility criteria here rests on how you hold against the parameters for nationality, age and educational qualifications. 

Nationality-wise, the Reserve Bank welcomes Indian citizens as well as subjects from Nepal and Bhutan. Pre-1962 Tibetan refugees and people of Indian origin from Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, East African countries of Kenya, the United Republic of Tanzania (formerly Tanganyika and Zanzibar), Uganda, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia and Vietnam, has the intention to settle in India can apply.

Age-wise, RBI grade B officers are recruited from candidates between 21 to 30 years in age. There are, however, age relaxations for candidates from underprivileged socio-economic backgrounds. Here are the age limit relaxations for them -

i) SC/ST candidates - Relaxation of 5 years

ii) OBC candidates - Relaxation of 3 years

iii) Physically disabled candidates - Relaxation of 10 years

If you belong to more than one such category, the relaxation limits can be clubbed. For example, Physically disabled candidates from SC/ST groups can get a total relaxation of 15 years.

Education-wise, RBI grade B officers are students who've scored a minimum of 60% marks through their educational years (Class X, XII and graduation). Depending on the post applied for, the bank looks for candidates with specific educational backgrounds -

i) RBI Grade B (General) - 

Bachelor's degree with 60% marks (a 10% relaxation for SC/ST/disabled candidates).

ii) RBI Grade B (DEPR) - 

Master's degree in Economics / Econometrics / Quantitative Economics / Mathematical Economics / Integrated Economics Course/ Finance with 55% marks or equivalent grade

OR 

PGDM / MBA in Finance with 55% marks or equivalent grade

OR 

Master's Degree in Economics with 55% marks or equivalent grade

iii) RBI Grade B (DSIM) - 

A Master's Degree in Statistics/ Mathematical Statistics/ Mathematical Economics/ Econometrics/ Statistics & Informatics 

OR

Master's Degree in Mathematics with a minimum 55% marks (or equivalent grade + one year PG diploma in statistics

OR

M.Stat degree from Indian Statistical Institute with a minimum 55% marks

OR 

PG Diploma in Business Analytics from ISI Kolkata, IIT Kharagpur or IIM Calcutta.

The application process, meanwhile, requires candidates to go to the official website and fill the application form online.

1. Go to https://www.rbi.org.in/ and open the application form.
2. Add basic qualifications and upload documents, including photographs, signature and a handwritten declaration.
3. Verify details before submission.
4. Pay the application fee (Rs 800 for General candidates and Rs 400 for SC/ST/ PwBD candidates)

Note that candidates should also keep a check on the official RBI Grade B Officer Exam Notification. In case there are any errors on the application form, or if details do not match with your documents, you may not get an admit card for the first phase examination. Candidates can apply for a maximum of six attempts for this examination.

Preparing for RBI Grade B exam - Syllabus and Pattern:

The RBI Grade B exam is a tough recruitment exercise with a limited number of attempts. In fact, it's the toughest recruitment paper for the banking industry, at the same level as the IAS exam.

So, it's essential to keep your best foot forward for it. To do this, you need to know both the exam pattern as well as the syllabus in detail.

The exam pattern here is a series of three rounds - Phase I, Phase II and the personal interview. The three rounds assess the candidate on a surface level (reasoning, quantitative aptitude, language and general awareness) and their financial acumen (economics and financial management).

Broadly, the subjects covered in these phases are:

Phase I - General aptitude, Quantitative aptitude, English language and reasoning.

Phase II - Economic and social issues, English (writing), Finance and management

Note that the first round of this examination sees a composite paper on the four subjects, with a timed assessment. 

Here, we explore the detailed exam syllabus for the subjects in these two phases:

Take a look at the complete syllabus of RBI grade B Phase 1 & 2 below 

Phase- I Syllabus

Quantitative Aptitude 

1. Ratio & Proportion
2. Percentage 
3. Speed, Time, and Distance 
4. Permutation and Combination 
5. Data Interpretation
6. Stocks and Shares 
7. Quadratic Equations 
8. Number Series 
9. Profit and Loss
10. Mensuration
11. Average
12. Time and Work 
13. Mixture and Alligation 
14. Probability 
15. Simplification and Approximation 
16. Inequalities
17. Upstream and Downstream
18. Simple and Compound Interest 

Reasoning Ability 

1. Syllogism
2. Seating Arrangement
3. Linear Arrangement
4. Puzzle
5. Input-Output
6. Logical/Analytical Reasoning 
7. Data Sufficiency
8. Inequality
9. Coding-Decoding
10. Miscellaneous Questions

English Writing 

1. Cloze Test
2. Para jumbles 
3. Spotting Error 
4. Phrase Replacement / Error Spotting
5. Para Completion
6. Fill in the Blanks (Vocabulary)
7. Reading Comprehension

General Awareness

1. Banking & Financial
2. Economic News
3. Banking Terminology
4. Recent RBI News like Monetary policies, Important guidelines, etc
5. Financial & Economic News, Economics terms, etc
6. Current Affairs both national and international, sports, awards, summits & conferences, schemes, agreements & deals, etc
7. Static GK like Parks, Dam, Thermal Power Plants, Mountains, Temples, Stadiums, Airports, etc

Phase- II Syllabus 

Economic and Social Issues 

1. Growth and Development 
2. Social Structure in India 
3. Development in the financial sector 
4. Illiteracy
5. Rise in Inequality 
6. Human Resource Development
7. Regionalism and language conflicts 
8. Globalisations 
9. Employment Generation in India 
10. Monetary and Fiscal Policy 
11. Benefits of International Trade 
12. Insurance and Capital marketing 
13. Economic Reforms in India 
14. Corporate Governance
15. Sustainable Development 

Finance & Management 

1. Regulators of Banks and Financial Institutions
2. Reserve Bank of India- functions, and conduct monetary policy
3. Banking System in India
4. Structure and concerns
5. Financial Institutions-SIDBI, Exim Bank, NABARD, NHB, etc
6. Changing landscape of banking sector
7. Impact of the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-08 and the Indian response

English Writing 

The English paper evaluates aspirants based on their proficiency in English. Candidates should work on their basic grammar and vocabulary skills to ace this section.

Selection Process and Cut-offs:

The selection process for the RBI Grade B exams is a rigorous exercise and requires the candidates to clear the Phase I and Phase II examinations, to get called for the personal interview. The final selection depends on how confidently the candidate performs in the interview.

The cut-offs vary each year, depending on the number of vacancies and the overall performance of these assessments.

RBI Grade B Officer Exam date will be soon published on the official website of the RBI. Candidates are required to put in a sheer amount of hard work and dedication to clear this exam. It is one of the tops and respected job profiles so the level of the exam will be tough. However, candidates need not worry as this guide will help them get a clear idea of the exam.

Good luck to all the RBI Grade B Officer Exam aspirants!

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