Railway Pharmacist Syllabus 2026: Topic-wise Guide
The Railway Pharmacist syllabus covers four sections in one computer-based test: Professional Ability (pharmacy), General Awareness, Arithmetic with General Intelligence and Reasoning, and General Science. Seventy of the 100 questions come from pharmacy, so most of your preparation time belongs there.
The RRB notification for CEN 05/2026 names these sections and places the detailed Professional Ability syllabus in an annexure. This page turns that structure into a practical, topic-wise checklist, so you know what to study, in what order, and how to cover it in time.
Honesty note: Only the section structure is confirmed from the notification text we could check. The topic lists below combine the notification's subject headings with the standard B.Pharm curriculum and the usual pattern of questions in this exam. Use them as a working checklist, and compare them with the syllabus annexure of the official notification.
Table of Contents
Syllabus at a Glance
Section | Questions (indicative) | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
Professional Ability | 70 | 70 | 90 minutes for the whole paper |
General Awareness | 10 | 10 | Included |
Arithmetic, General Intelligence and Reasoning | 10 | 10 | Included |
General Science | 10 | 10 | Included |
Key Points to Know
One stage only: There is a single CBT, so there is no separate second-stage syllabus.
Split is indicative: The notification calls the 70, 10, 10, 10 distribution indicative, so keep every section in your plan.
No interview syllabus: After the CBT come document verification and a medical examination, which do not need a syllabus.
Check older pages: Older pages for previous paramedical drives may show different section names, so follow the current notification.
Professional Ability: Pharmacy Subjects
This section tests the knowledge of a registered pharmacist. Expect factual and application-based questions drawn from the degree syllabus.
Subject | Topics to cover | Start with |
|---|---|---|
Pharmaceutics | Dosage forms, tablets and capsules, sterile products, emulsions and suspensions, packaging, physical pharmacy | Dosage forms and formulation basics |
Pharmacology | General pharmacology, autonomic nervous system drugs, cardiovascular, CNS, antimicrobial, endocrine and chemotherapy drugs | Drug classification, mechanism and side effects |
Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry | Crude drugs, glycosides, alkaloids, volatile oils, plant constituents, adulteration | Classification of natural drugs |
Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry | Drug structure and activity, synthesis of important drugs, analytical methods, quality control | Structure-activity relationships |
Pharmaceutical Jurisprudence | Pharmacy Act, Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Rules, NDPS Act, schedules | Drugs and Cosmetics Act, schedules |
Pharmacy Practice and Pharmacovigilance | Dispensing, hospital and clinical pharmacy, drug interactions, adverse drug reactions, drug information | Hospital pharmacy and dispensing |
Biopharmaceutics and Pharmacokinetics | Absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, bioavailability | ADME concepts |
Microbiology, Biochemistry and Anatomy | Microorganisms, sterilisation, vitamins, enzymes, body systems | Sterilisation and basic physiology |
Reports on the notification mention a large number of pharmacy topics in the annexure, so there will be areas beyond this table. High-weight topics tend to be pharmacology, pharmaceutics and jurisprudence, because they connect directly to a pharmacist's daily work. Start there, then move to the lighter subjects.
General Awareness
This is a ten-question section, and a little daily reading is enough.
Current affairs: National and international events of the last 6 to 12 months, including health and science news.
Static general knowledge: Indian history, geography, polity and economy basics.
Railways and health: Basic facts about Indian Railways and national health schemes.
Sports and awards: Recent tournaments, winners and honours.
Arithmetic, General Intelligence and Reasoning
Area | Topics to cover | Start with |
|---|---|---|
Arithmetic | Number system, percentages, ratio and proportion, profit and loss, time and work, time and distance, simple and compound interest, mensuration | Percentages and ratio |
Reasoning | Analogies, number and letter series, coding-decoding, classification, syllogism, directions, simple data interpretation | Series and analogies |
Pharmacy students also use ratio and percentage in dose and strength calculations, so this section is easier to revise than it looks.
General Science
General Science is tested at school level, up to Class 10 according to reports on the notification. Cover physics (motion, force, light, electricity), chemistry (acids, bases, salts, metals, carbon compounds) and life science (cell, nutrition, diseases, human body, plants). Most of it is already familiar from your degree, so a short revision of school NCERT books works well.
Overlap With Your Degree
Area | In your degree | In this exam | How to plan |
|---|---|---|---|
Chemistry and biology basics | Covered in depth | General Science, school level | Quick revision only |
Dose calculations | Pharmaceutics and practice | Arithmetic | Practise both together |
Pharmacology and chemistry | Core subjects | Professional Ability | Main study time |
How to Cover the Syllabus
Weeks 1 to 4: Revise pharmacology, pharmaceutics and jurisprudence from your own notes. Add 30 minutes daily of current affairs.
Weeks 5 to 7: Cover pharmacognosy, chemistry, pharmacy practice and pharmacokinetics. Start arithmetic and reasoning practice for 40 minutes daily.
Weeks 8 to 9: Attempt subject-wise tests and revise school-level science. Log every mistake.
Final weeks: Take full-length tests, analyse them the same day, and revise the error log.
Before you finalise your plan, read the syllabus annexure in the notification on the official RRB website.
Frequently Asked Questions
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