5 Must-Know Reality Checks before you start RBI Grade B 2024 preparation

For RBI Grade B | 19th October 2023 – 10 mins read

“An admirable achievement is often a result of dedicated efforts, intuition, and willingness to work on one’s shortcomings”

– Manish Mishra

It is generally advised that before you begin working on any project or task, you must make sure to know every minute detail so that you are well – prepared to embark on that journey.

The same holds true for aspirants who are planning to prepare for a competitive exam like RBI Grade B. As lakhs of aspirants apply every year for this prestigious exam, many doubts are also often expressed by the candidates regarding the exam.

Well, this huge popularity comes at a price! Since the exam is not devoid of myths which is one of the primary reasons for confusion amongst the aspirants.

With the intentions to clear all the chaos and confusion surrounding the exam, in this blog, I am going to discuss at length, 5 reality checks you must know before you start your RBI Grade B exam preparation.

I am sure many aspirants will get a clearer picture of the exam as well as how should they strategize their preparation accordingly.

So, what are we waiting for? Let’s get started!

Fact No. 1: Minimum 6-8 months are required for thorough preparation

Well, gone are the days when candidates only required 3-4 months of preparation to crack this exam.

With each passing year, the difficulty level of the RBI Grade B exam is increasing. Starting with Phase 1, many able candidates are finding it tough to clear the first stage itself.

Subjects like Quant and Reasoning require intense practice which is not possible to cover within short span of 1-2 months and it becomes even more difficult if you are an aspirant with no history of preparation for these subjects.

To cover these two subjects, you need a minimum 3-4 months to be proficient enough to clear the cutoff.

Similarly in Phase 1, for General Awareness section, a total of 80 questions are asked for which you need to cover at least 6 months of current affairs containing facts and information in abundance!

Coming to the Phase 2, there are 3 papers – English descriptive, ESI and FM for which you first must cover the syllabus of ESI and FM and then begin to practice descriptive answer – writing.

Since the syllabus for FM & ESI is quite vast, it will take minimum time period of 3-4 months to cover all the topics under these subjects.

Apart from this, to ensure rigorous practice, you must give weekly tests and mock tests at a regular basis.

Therefore, for thorough and effective coverage of the entire syllabus, the candidates would require 6-8 months of preparation.

Fact No 2: Prior knowledge of Finance and Management is not essential

Talking about another myth, there is a strong perception that students from commerce background have an edge over others in the RBI exam as they possess prior knowledge of Finance and Management.

This is a common query which is often asked by candidates who hail from non- commerce background.

Let me tell you that this is not true at all. To support this statement, in the official notification of RBI Grade B exam, the subject is mentioned as General Finance and Management.

Well this implies that the candidates need to acquire only a basic understanding of Finance & Management subject and not an advanced level.

Since candidates from diverse education background can give this exam, therefore you need not possess prior knowledge of Finance and Management.

Having years of experience, I can vouch for the fact that with diligent preparation, a non – commerce student can match the level of a commerce student for RBI exam.

For this case, I strongly believe that your attitude and willingness to learn is what makes all the difference!

Fact No 3: Practicing answer- writing creates a huge impact!

After interacting with many students, I found that that aspirants find descriptive section to be challenging as it involves writing answers more elaborately.

Well, let me tell you that with adequate practice, one can learn to write precise answers in the exam.

To give you an example, RBI Grade B Topper Nidhi Yadav also expressed how she too initially found the descriptive section to be difficult.

However, that did not deter her as soon after realizing her shortcomings, she decided to work on her weak areas regarding the exam syllabus.

She diligently created a habit of practicing answer- writing which later helped her score great marks in the RBI Grade B exam.

Fact No 4: No preference for working or non- working candidates

It’s a common concern from many students regarding the final selection of the candidates, as it’s often emphasized that working professionals are given priority over non – working individuals.

Well, my dear friends let me tell you that there is no truth in this idea as RBI panelists give no priority to working or non- working candidates.

There are plenty examples in the past, where many working as well non- working aspirants have been selected as RBI Grade B officers!

The factors that are taken into consideration during the Interview are the knowledge, personality, confidence and analytical abilities of the candidate.

Therefore, the aspirants must focus on cultivating these qualities and not worry about the status of their professional lives.

Fact No 5: Working professionals can allocate sufficient prep time!

I had the opportunity to interact with various working professionals who often express their confusion as to how can they prepare for an exam like RBI Grade B as they only have limited time in hand to cover the mammoth syllabus.

So, my only advice to such queries is that since you have chosen this path, you have no other option but to light your own lamp.

What do I mean by that? Well, you must ensure to take out time from your busy schedule to focus on the exam, which is for at least 4-5 hours daily.

You must, therefore, prioritize your schedule accordingly and prepare for the exam by allocating time during early morning or in the evenings. You can also utilize your lunch breaks to revise the topics and ensure consistent retention.

Speaking from my experience, regularly studying for 4-5 hours for the period of 6 to 8 months is sufficient enough to cover the syllabus and to ensure thorough practice.

My advice to the aspirants

Lastly, if you don’t fall into the trap of believing in these misconceptions and have ample confidence in your abilities, you can definitely increase your chances of success.

Prepare thoroughly for 6 -8 months, ensure to cover the syllabus, do consistent revision and practice answer – writing  and I assure you that you are on your way to clear this prestigious exam!

Now that I have cleared the air regarding the exam- related doubts, the aspirants must focus on a holistic preparation strategy for the RBI Grade B exam.

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

With this, I hope that the detailed discussion in this blog will prepare you better and make you ready to turn your dreams into reality by helping you achieve success in this exam!