5 Essential Reality Checks to Know for RBI Grade B 2024

For RBI Grade B | 29th January 2024 – 15 mins read

“Success is often on the other side of the fear. Willingness to go beyond your fears is what will help you tap into your full potential and become what you always aimed for.”

– Manish Mishra

I am sure that while growing up, we all heard about the importance of overcoming our inner fears to reach the destination we truly desired.

But how many of us are willing to work on our limitations and not let our fears rule our minds?

To impart inspiration, I would like to narrate a real-life anecdote, which is to say that no matter how big your failure might be, you can always rise above your fears and achieve what you have always aspired to.

This is the story of a little boy hailing from the small village of Rameshwaram, located in Tamil Nadu, with big dreams in his eyes.

His passion was to become a fighter pilot, and he had absolute clarity regarding his vision.

Despite living in absolute poverty and performing odd jobs right from his childhood, he did not let go of his dream of joining the prestigious defense services of the country.

While growing up, he was intensely passionate about subjects like physics and mathematics and completed his graduation in aeronautical engineering.

However, regardless of the efforts and dedication shown towards his ambition, he fell short of becoming a fighter pilot by just a few marks, as he was placed 10th as a qualifier out of a total of 9 seats that were available in the IAF.

But the story doesn’t end just yet.

This young man is none other than the former president of India, also known as the “missile man,” Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.

What makes this story so interesting and inspiring is that despite the heartbreaking failure, he still harbored his dream of flying a fighter jet.

After becoming the President of the country and then Supreme Commander, he expressed his desire to learn flying to the Chief of Air Staff. After training under him for 6 months, he flew a twinjet multirole fighter jet called the Sukhoi Su-30 MKI.

The purpose of narrating this short story was to remind you that we all encounter challenges in our everyday lives, especially in our pursuit of becoming a greater version of ourselves. But the fear of failure often poses a major obstacle to the realization of our dreams.

As a mentor myself, I interact with many students who express to me their fears while preparing for a competitive exam like RBI Grade B. But should that stop you from continuing your exam preparation? Absolutely not!

While there are many misconceptions and fears that are attached to this exam, I am going to address them by providing you with ways to use Topper’s insights on how to overcome them and realize your potential!

So, what are you waiting for? Let us begin!

Reality Check No. 01: Having a non-commerce background

To begin with, one of the prominent questions that I am often asked by my students is whether having graduated in commerce is essential to cracking this exam.

Well, the answer to this question lies in the RBI Grade B syllabus.

As the syllabus for this exam consists of subjects like QRE, Economic and Social Issues (ESI), and Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD), it becomes obvious that having a commerce background is not a prerequisite to clearing this exam.

Covering subjects like Finance and Management requires a basic understanding of the topics and not an advanced one, as the exam syllabus clearly states General Finance & Management.

Keeping this in mind, the candidates can be well-assured that their subject of graduation will be the least cause of concern during their preparation.

Reality Check No. 02: Extensive Coverage of Current Affairs

A major reason for apprehension among candidates preparing for this exam is the vast nature of current affairs.

Now, current affairs play a major role in exam preparation since they carry 40% weightage in the Phase 1 exam and also form a huge portion of the ESI objective section of the Phase 2 exam.

In fact, I will not be surprised if the aspirants dedicate more time to covering current affairs than other sections like QRE or FM.

The solution to this problem is to make current affairs a part of your life. To give you an example, RBI Grade B Topper Nidhi Yadav revealed during her interaction that she would utilize her short breaks to revise current affairs during traveling, lunch, and dinner time.

In light of this, I advise aspirants to cover at least 6–8 months of current affairs from reliable sources like PIB 247, RIB 247, and Spotlight.

Reality Check No. 03: Tackling Descriptive Answer-Writing

Another factor for concern amongst aspirants is writing descriptive answers in the Phase 2 examination.

In the initial phase of their preparation, many students get nervous regarding their answer-writing skills and often ask me for tips on how to present good answers in the exam.

Well, the most effective tip that I suggest to them is to begin answer-writing practice, irrespective of the stage of exam preparation.

The reason for fear of answer writing can be attributed to the unrealistic expectations of the aspirants while presenting answers.

For this, I suggest aspirants start writing answers even if the content is poor in quality. As you progress in your preparation, the answers will improve accordingly.

Also, going through the answers objectively or seeking feedback on your answers will help identify the areas that require improvement.

Reality Check No. 04: Competition with the UPSC students

One of the common misconceptions that is attached to this exam is that UPSC aspirants have an edge over others in their exam preparation.

However, that is not true at all, as preparation for UPSC is different from that of RBI Grade B based on a few factors.

The current affairs covered for the RBI Grade B are different from the UPSC CSE, as the CA section for the RBI Grade is based heavily on government schemes. Also, the subject of Finance and Management is not included in the UPSC syllabus.

While the UPSC aspirants possess command over the answer-writing practice, with adequate practice, you will eventually match up to them or even surpass them.

Reality Check No. 05: Limited number of vacancies

For lakhs of candidates who apply for the RBI Grade B exam, a total of 200 vacancies are released, which is another factor that causes perplexity and fear among aspirants.

However, the aspirants should keep in mind that they need only one vacancy out of these 200 to be selected as RBI Grade B officers.

Hence, the aspirants must direct all their focus to preparing diligently for this exam and proceed with the aim of attaining just one vacancy and not care about the rest.

Advice to the aspirants

Apart from giving your best efforts, having a healthy sense of self-confidence is extremely important while preparing for the exam.

I strongly suggest you not let these fears override your rational mind and inculcate these solutions to strengthen your RBI Grade B preparation.

Following these tips, along with ensuring regular revision, will help you not just enhance your preparation but also build your self-confidence!

Now that I have resolved all your fears and doubts regarding the exam, I hope this will help you prepare for the RBI Grade B exam.

 

For many able candidates, cracking this exam not only provides an opportunity to work in one of the country’s apex banks but also significantly contributes to the economic development of the nation.

 

With this, I trust that this detailed discussion in this blog will boost your confidence to go beyond your fears and prepare your best!

 

And remember that, not just for clearing an exam but in life too, hope is the best thing you can have to rise above all the challenges that come your way! I wish you all the best in your exam preparation.