Banking | RBI
Clerical-cadre recruitment for the central bank through a Preliminary and a Main examination, followed by a qualifying language proficiency test and no interview.
Reserve Bank of India Recruitment of Assistants is conducted by Reserve Bank of India. Selection runs through 3 stages: Preliminary Examination, Main Examination, Language Proficiency Test.
| Event | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Notification release RBI advertises Assistant posts when Regional Offices report vacancies, so this does not run on as fixed an annual calendar as the IBPS cycles. | To be announced | Not announced |
| Online registration window Usually open for about three weeks from the advertisement date. | To be announced | Not announced |
| Preliminary examination | To be announced | Not announced |
| Main examination Usually held a few weeks after the Preliminary result. | To be announced | Not announced |
| Language Proficiency Test Held after the Main examination result, at the Regional Office applied for. | To be announced | Not announced |
| Final result | To be announced | Not announced |
A bachelor's degree in any discipline with at least 50% marks in aggregate, or an equivalent grade.
The 50% aggregate requirement is relaxed to a pass for SC, ST and PwBD candidates. Knowledge of word processing on a computer is required. Candidates must also be proficient in the official language of the state or union territory in which the Regional Office they apply to is located.
20 to 28 years as on the cut-off date stated in the official advertisement.
A candidate must be one of the following:
| Category | Fee |
|---|---|
| General, OBC and EWS Application fee and intimation charges, plus applicable taxes. Non-refundable. | ₹450 |
| SC, ST, PwBD and ex-servicemen Intimation charges only, plus applicable taxes. Non-refundable. | ₹50 |
Fees have been stable across recent cycles but are the kind of detail a notification can revise. Confirm on the official notification before paying.
Stage by stage structure with question counts, marks, timing and the marking scheme.
| Section | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 30 | 30 | 20 min |
| Numerical Ability | 35 | 35 | 20 min |
| Reasoning Ability | 35 | 35 | 20 min |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 1 hr |
Duration: 1 hr|Negative marking: 1/4 mark per wrong answer
| Section | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reasoning | 40 | 40 | 30 min |
| English Language | 40 | 40 | 30 min |
| Numerical Ability | 40 | 40 | 30 min |
| General Awareness | 40 | 40 | 25 min |
| Computer Knowledge | 40 | 40 | 20 min |
| Total | 200 | 200 | 2 hr 15 min |
Duration: 2 hr 15 min|Negative marking: 1/4 mark per wrong answer
Duration: Varies|Negative marking: None
Open the RBI opportunities portal
RBI advertises on its dedicated opportunities site. Open the Assistant advertisement and read the Regional Office list before registering.
Choose your Regional Office
You apply to one office and must be proficient in the official language of that state. Vacancy counts differ considerably between offices.
Register and upload your documents
Complete registration, then upload photograph, signature, left thumb impression and handwritten declaration to the specified dimensions.
Declare your degree percentage accurately
The 50% aggregate requirement is verified against your mark-sheets, so compute the aggregate the way the advertisement defines it.
Pay the fee and save the receipt
Pay online, then download the e-receipt and application printout.
RBI states indicative starting pay and gross emoluments in each advertisement. RBI Assistant compensation has generally compared favourably with public sector bank clerical pay, but confirm the current figures from the advertisement.
No. Selection is by the Main examination, followed by a qualifying Language Proficiency Test. The Main examination therefore decides the merit list on its own.
Yes, at least 50% in your bachelor's degree, relaxed to a pass for SC, ST and PwBD candidates. IBPS and SBI clerical recruitment have no such threshold, so this is a common cause of rejection for candidates moving across from those exams.
RBI's Main paper has five sections of 40 marks each, all weighted equally, taken in 135 minutes. IBPS Clerk has four sections with Reasoning weighted at 60 marks, taken in 160 minutes. RBI also adds a Computer Knowledge section as a full 40-mark paper rather than folding it into Reasoning.
You are tested in the official language of the state where your Regional Office is located. It is qualifying rather than scored, but failing it cancels your candidature even after a strong Main examination performance.
No. One office per cycle, and your posting is at that office. Compare vacancy counts across offices before deciding, since a small office can carry a much higher cut-off.
Last verified 28 July 2026(today, by editorial)
Not yet confirmed for this cycle: the schedule, the vacancy count, basic pay, gross pay, in-hand pay and the application fee. Where we have a figure from previous cycles we show it and label it as expected; where we do not, the page says "to be announced". Check the official source below before you rely on any of it.
Official sources
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