RBI Grade B 2027: Exam Pattern, Syllabus, Expected Dates, 6-Month Plan and All Notes in One Place

RBI Grade B (Officer in Grade B, DR General) is the most sought-after banking regulator job in India. The 2026 cycle is over, so serious preparation for 2027 starts now. This page gives the pattern, plan and every note you need, all in one place.

Dates for 2027 are expected, based on the 2026 cycle. We will update this page when RBI releases the notification.

Expected timeline (2027)

Stage	2026 cycle (actual)	2027 (expected, not official)
Notification	29 April 2026	April–May 2027
Application window	29 April – 20 May 2026	About 3 weeks after notification
Phase 1	13–14 June 2026	June 2027
Phase 2	25–26 July 2026	July 2027
Interview	September–October 2026 (approx)	September–October 2027

2026 cycle: 60 officer vacancies across General, DEPR and DSIM streams.

Eligibility and pay

Point	Detail
Age	21–30 years (relaxation for SC/ST, OBC, PwBD as per rules)
General stream	Graduation with 60% (50% SC/ST/PwBD) or post-graduation with 55%
Attempts	Limited number of attempts (6 for General category, approx)
Pay	Gross monthly salary of more than ₹1.5 lakh (approx); RBI accommodation and perks extra

Exam pattern

Phase 1 (qualifying)

Section	Questions	Marks	Time
General Awareness	80	80	25 min
Reasoning	60	60	45 min
Quantitative Aptitude	30	30	25 min
English	30	30	25 min
Total	200	200	120 min

• Sectional and overall cut-offs; negative marking of one-fourth.

Phase 2 (counts for merit)

Paper	Objective	Descriptive	Total
Paper I: Economic & Social Issues (ESI)	30 Qs, 50 marks, 30 min	4 of 6 questions, 50 marks, 90 min	100
Paper II: English (Writing Skills)	–	Essay, precis, comprehension; 100 marks, 90 min	100
Paper III: Finance & Management (FM)	30 Qs, 50 marks, 30 min	4 of 6 questions, 50 marks, 90 min	100

Interview

• 75 marks; final merit is out of 375 (Phase 2: 300 + Interview: 75).

Your notes, paper by paper

Paper I: Economic & Social Issues

Topic	Read
Growth, GDP, inflation, budget, Finance Commission	Indian economy basics
External sector, BoP, rupee, forex reserves	External sector explained
Employment, poverty, inequality	Employment and poverty in India
Budget 2026-27	Union Budget 2026-27 summary
Economic Survey	Economic Survey 2025-26 summary
Schemes and social sector	Government schemes A to Z, Financial inclusion schemes
Global indices	India’s rank in global indices 2026

Paper III: Finance & Management

Topic	Read
RBI and monetary policy	RBI functions, MPC explained, Policy rates
Banking regulation	BR Act sections, Basel III, NPA norms, PSL
Financial markets	Money market, Capital market, NBFCs, Insurance
Recovery laws	SARFAESI, IBC, DRT, DICGC
Corporate finance	NPV, IRR, WACC basics
Management	Management theories
Payments	UPI, NEFT, RTGS, IMPS

Phase 1 GA

• Daily current affairs and the monthly RBI & SEBI policy digest
• Banking Awareness hub and Static GK hub
• RBI Grade B Phase 1 GA mock (50 questions)

6-month study plan (November 2026 to May 2027)

Month	Focus
November	ESI basics: economy, inflation, budget; read 1 economy article daily
December	FM: RBI, banking regulation, financial markets; start answer writing (2 a week)
January	ESI social issues (employment, poverty, health, education); Management theories
February	Budget 2027-28 and Economic Survey 2026-27 (released end-January/1 February 2027)
March	Phase 1 sectional practice (reasoning, quant); GA of the last 6 months
April–May	Full mocks (Phase 1 + Phase 2 descriptive); revise notes; essay practice

Tips:

• Phase 2 decides selection. Start descriptive answer writing early: 150–200 words, with data and a diagram where possible.
• Keep a data notebook: GDP, inflation, CAD, fiscal deficit, unemployment, ranks.
• The Budget and Economic Survey released in February 2027 will be the most important ESI source for 2027.

Related reading

• RBI Grade B Phase 2: how to prepare ESI and FM
• RBI Grade B vs NABARD Grade A
• SEBI Grade A 2027 guide

Pattern and dates are as per the 2026 notification as reported. Always check rbi.org.in / opportunities.rbi.org.in for the official notification.