Railway Pharmacist

The Railway Pharmacist exam is the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) recruitment for Pharmacist (Entry Grade) posts in the Indian Railways health service. For this cycle it runs under CEN 05/2026, the Centralised Employment Notification for Paramedical Categories, which covers nine paramedical posts. The pharmacist post carries 118 vacancies across the RRBs and is filled through a single computer-based test (CBT), followed by document verification and a medical examination.

This page gives you the current cycle in one place: key dates, vacancies, eligibility, fee, exam pattern, syllabus outline, selection process and preparation advice. Facts come from the official CEN 05/2026 notification. Where a detail could not be confirmed from an official document, it is marked as such.

Table of Contents

• Railway Pharmacist Exam

• Important Dates

• Vacancy Details

• Eligibility in Brief

• Application Fee

• Exam Pattern

• Syllabus Summary

• Selection Process

• Pay and Career

• How to Prepare

• Cut-off Reference

Railway Pharmacist Exam

Important Dates

The application window has closed, so this cycle is now about correcting the form where allowed and preparing for the CBT. Dates can change. Track the official RRB websites and your registered email and phone number for the exam city slip and admit card.

Vacancy Details

The notification lists 118 vacancies for Pharmacist (Entry Grade) across all RRBs. The split between individual RRBs is given in the vacancy annexure of the official notification, and the number can be revised by the railways. Treat the total as indicative until the final figure is confirmed. Because merit is prepared RRB-wise, the vacancy count of the RRB you chose directly affects how competitive your region is.

Eligibility in Brief

Educational qualification

Candidates need a Bachelor of Pharmacy (Allopathic) from a Central or State Government recognised university or institute, or a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D) from a recognised university or institute. In both cases, registration as a Pharmacist under the Pharmacy Act, 1948 is required. Reports on the notification indicate that the qualification must be held by the application closing date and that final-year candidates awaiting results are not eligible. The Diploma in Pharmacy (D.Pharm), which was accepted in the previous cycle, is not mentioned for this cycle in the sources we could check, so confirm this in the notification annexure before relying on it.

Age limit

The age limit is 20 to 35 years as on 1 January 2027. Candidates must not be born after 1 January 2007. The upper age limit is relaxed by 5 years for SC/ST candidates and 3 years for OBC-NCL candidates, with other relaxations listed in the notification. Details are on the eligibility page.

Application Fee

The fee is payable online only, through internet banking, debit or credit card, or UPI. Each modification to a submitted application carries a non-refundable fee of Rs. 250.

Exam Pattern

The Railway Pharmacist exam is a single-stage CBT. The paper has 100 multiple-choice questions for 100 marks, to be solved in 90 minutes. Candidates eligible for a scribe get 120 minutes. Each question has four options with one correct answer, and one-third of a mark is deducted for every wrong answer.

The notification describes this split as indicative, so the actual paper may vary slightly. Seventy percent of the paper tests your pharmacy knowledge, which is why technical subjects decide most results. Older pages may still show a different pattern from previous paramedical cycles, so follow the official notification.

Syllabus Summary

The notification places the Professional Ability syllabus in an annexure, and the detailed topic list should be checked there. In practice, the technical section draws from the B.Pharm curriculum, and the other three sections test everyday general knowledge, basic arithmetic and reasoning, and science up to school level.

Selection Process

1. Computer-based test: Candidates are ranked on CBT marks within each RRB. Minimum qualifying marks are 40% for UR/EWS, 30% for OBC-NCL and SC, and 25% for ST.

2. Document verification: Candidates are shortlisted RRB-wise, in the ratio of the vacancies called.

3. Medical examination: Conducted at the time of document verification against the C2 medical standard.

4. Empanelment: Based on CBT merit, subject to successful verification and medical fitness.

When two candidates have equal marks, the older candidate is ranked higher.

Pay and Career

The post is placed at Level 5 of the 7th Pay Commission matrix with an initial pay of Rs. 29,200, as stated in the notification. Allowances such as dearness allowance and house rent allowance are paid on top of this as per rules, and the in-hand salary varies with the posting city. Pharmacists work in railway hospitals, health units and dispensaries, and can move up through departmental promotions.

How to Prepare

With 70 of 100 marks coming from pharmacy, build your plan around the technical syllabus first.

• Weeks 1 to 6, core pharmacy: Revise pharmaceutics, pharmacology, pharmacognosy and medicinal chemistry from your degree notes, then add pharmacy practice and jurisprudence.

• Alongside, general sections: Spend 30 to 40 minutes daily on current affairs, arithmetic and school-level science. These 30 marks decide close results.

• Weeks 7 to 9, topic tests: Attempt subject-wise tests and note every wrong answer in an error log.

• Final weeks, full mocks: Take full-length 90-minute tests, review the same day, and revise the error log.

Cut-off Reference

RRBs release the result and cut-off region-wise, and figures differ between RRBs and categories. There is no single national cut-off. Treat past figures as a benchmark only and aim for a clear margin above them rather than a bare pass.

For notification, application status and announcements, always rely on the official sites: RRB official website and RRB application portal.