RBI Grade B Syllabus 2026: Phase 1, Phase 2, DEPR and DSIM

The RBI Grade B syllabus is wide, but it is also very predictable once you see how it is organised. Phase I tests speed in four familiar sections: Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude, English and General Awareness. Phase II tests depth in Economic and Social Issues (ESI), Finance and Management (FM) and descriptive English. The DEPR and DSIM streams replace most of this with subject papers in economics and statistics.

This guide lays out the complete RBI Grade B syllabus for all three streams, explains which topics carry the most weight, and gives a practical plan to cover it. The syllabus below follows the pattern used in the 2026 cycle; always check the latest notification on RBI's recruitment portal before you start.

RBI Grade B Syllabus at a Glance

RBI Grade B Phase I Syllabus (DR General)

Reasoning Ability

Reasoning carries 60 marks, the highest after General Awareness, and has the longest sectional time (45 minutes). Most questions come from puzzles and arrangements.

• Seating arrangement (linear, circular, square) and floor/box puzzles

• Syllogism and inequalities

• Coding-decoding and alphanumeric series

• Blood relations, direction sense and ranking

• Input-output

• Data sufficiency

• Statement and assumption, course of action, cause and effect, conclusions

Quantitative Aptitude

• Data interpretation (tables, bar graphs, pie charts, caselets)

• Simplification and approximation

• Number series and quadratic equations

• Quantity comparison

• Arithmetic: percentage, ratio and proportion, profit and loss, simple and compound interest, averages, ages, partnership, mixtures

• Time and work, pipes and cisterns, time-speed-distance, boats and trains

• Mensuration, probability, permutations and combinations

English Language

• Reading comprehension

• Error spotting and sentence improvement

• Cloze test and fillers

• Para jumbles and sentence rearrangement

• Vocabulary: synonyms, antonyms, phrasal verbs and word usage

General Awareness

General Awareness is the single biggest section, with 80 marks in just 25 minutes. Most questions are based on current affairs, so preparation must be continuous.

Current affairs (the larger share):

• Banking and financial news, including RBI and SEBI decisions and circulars

• Economy: GDP data, inflation, budget, fiscal and monetary policy

• Government schemes and reports

• National and international events, summits and organisations

• Appointments, awards, sports, defence and science and technology

Static GK (a smaller share):

• Banks, headquarters and taglines

• Important days, national parks and sanctuaries

• Countries, capitals and currencies

• Constitutional and regulatory bodies

RBI Grade B Phase II Syllabus (DR General)

Phase II decides your rank, so its syllabus needs the deepest preparation.

Paper I: Economic and Social Issues (ESI)

Growth and Development

• Measurement of growth: national income and per capita income

• Poverty alleviation and employment generation in India

• Sustainable development and environmental issues

Indian Economy

• Economic history of India

• Changes in industrial and labour policy

• Monetary and fiscal policy

• Priorities of recent Union Budgets and the Economic Survey

• Indian money and financial markets and their links with the economy

• Role of RBI in the economy

Globalisation

• Opening up of the Indian economy

• Balance of payments and export-import policy

• International economic institutions: IMF, World Bank, WTO

• Regional economic cooperation

Social Structure in India

• Multiculturalism and demographic trends

• Urbanisation and migration

• Gender issues and the social justice framework

• Positive discrimination in favour of underprivileged groups

• Social movements, the Indian political system and human development

Paper II: English (Writing Skills)

This paper tests how clearly you can write, not how many facts you know.

• Essay: Choose one topic, usually on economy, society, technology or current affairs.

• Précis: Summarise a passage to about one-third of its length.

• Reading comprehension: Answer short questions from a passage in your own words.

Paper III: Finance and Management (FM)

Finance

• Financial system: structure and functions of financial institutions, regulators such as RBI, SEBI, IRDAI and PFRDA, and development banks such as NABARD, SIDBI and EXIM Bank

• Banking system: commercial, co-operative and regional rural banks, NBFCs and payment systems (UPI, NEFT, RTGS, CBDC)

• Financial markets: money, debt, equity, forex and derivatives markets; primary and secondary markets

• Risk management in banking; Basel norms

• Financial inclusion and fintech

• Alternate sources of finance: venture capital, private equity, REITs and InvITs

• Corporate governance in banks

• Inflation, its measurement and control

• Basic concepts of accounting and financial statements

Management

• Fundamentals of management: evolution of management thought, functions and roles of managers

• Planning, organising, decision-making and organisational structure

• Leadership: theories, styles and leadership in organisations

• Motivation: theories and applications

• Communication: types, barriers and effective communication

• Human resource development and performance appraisal

• Change management and organisational behaviour

• Ethics and corporate governance

How Phase I and Phase II Topics Connect

Several topics appear in both phases, which makes combined preparation efficient:

• Banking and economy current affairs feed General Awareness in Phase I and the objective parts of ESI and FM in Phase II.

• RBI and SEBI regulations are asked as facts in Phase I and as concepts or analysis in Phase II.

• Government schemes and budget measures appear in GA, ESI and FM.

• Reading comprehension skills help in Phase I English and in the Phase II English writing paper.

Studying these overlapping areas once, with notes that serve both phases, saves valuable time.

RBI Grade B DEPR Syllabus

DEPR candidates are tested mainly on economics.

Expect questions that test theory and its use in policy, for example monetary policy transmission, inflation targeting and fiscal rules.

RBI Grade B DSIM Syllabus

DSIM candidates are tested mainly on statistics and data science.

• Probability, probability distributions and sampling theory

• Linear models and economic statistics

• Statistical inference: estimation, hypothesis testing and non-parametric tests

• Stochastic processes

• Multivariate analysis

• Econometrics and time series analysis

• Optimisation and statistical computing

• Data science, artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques

• Database and data warehouse management

DSIM also has a descriptive English paper, so writing practice matters for this stream too.

RBI Grade B Interview

The interview has no fixed syllabus, but questions usually come from:

• Your educational background, work experience and hobbies

• RBI's functions, recent monetary policy decisions and regulatory actions

• Current economic and banking issues

• Situational and ethical questions

• For DEPR and DSIM, your subject specialisation

Topic Priority Table

How Phase II Questions Are Asked

Knowing the syllabus is not enough; you also need to know how RBI tests it.

• Objective questions in ESI and FM often test recent data and facts, such as a figure from the Economic Survey, a new RBI regulation or a recent scheme. Some are 2-mark questions that need a short calculation or a concept applied to a situation.

• Descriptive questions usually ask you to explain, analyse or evaluate. For example, a question may ask how a policy change affects inflation, or what challenges a new scheme faces and how to address them.

• Management questions often ask you to apply a theory, such as a motivation or leadership model, to a workplace situation.

• English writing rewards clear structure, correct grammar and staying within the word limit, more than complex vocabulary.

A Sample Weekly Study Plan

Keep 45 to 60 minutes every day for current affairs, and adjust the plan as the exam gets closer by adding more mocks.

Common Mistakes With the RBI Grade B Syllabus

• Starting Phase II after Phase I: The gap is too short to cover ESI and FM from scratch.

• Reading only static GK: Most GA questions come from current affairs.

• Ignoring Management: It forms a real part of the FM paper and is easy to score with focused preparation.

• Only reading, not writing: Descriptive marks depend on practice in typing structured answers.

Where to Study the Syllabus From

• General Awareness and current affairs: Daily news, RBI press releases, PIB releases and monthly compilations.

• ESI: Economic Survey, Union Budget highlights, NCERT economics basics and government reports.

• Finance: RBI publications such as the Annual Report, Monetary Policy Report and Financial Stability Report, plus SEBI updates.

• Management: A standard introductory management and organisational behaviour textbook.

• English writing: Editorials for ideas, plus regular timed essay and précis practice.

How to Prepare the RBI Grade B Syllabus

• Plan both phases together: The gap between Phase I and Phase II is only a few weeks, so start ESI and FM before Phase I.

• Keep current affairs running daily: GA and Phase II both depend on it.

• Practise speed for Phase I: Take sectional tests to fit Reasoning into 45 minutes and GA into 25.

• Write, don't just read: Type short answers for ESI and FM to build speed for the descriptive sections.

• Revise with short notes: Make one-page notes for each ESI and FM topic with data points and examples.

• Use previous year papers: Memory-based papers show the depth and style of questions.

The RBI Grade B syllabus rewards steady, planned preparation. Treat Phase I as a speed test built on Reasoning, Quant, English and current affairs, and Phase II as a depth test in ESI, FM and writing. If you are in the DEPR or DSIM stream, focus on your subject papers and your English writing. Keep the official syllabus as your checklist and test yourself regularly against it.