RRB NTPC | 2026
RRB NTPC CBT 2 (Graduate) 2026: topic weightage and difficulty analysis
120 questions across 3 sections. Overall difficulty: moderate.
The Railway Recruitment Boards held the graduate-level CBT 2 under CEN 06/2025 on 10 July 2026, and the provisional answer key and response sheets were published from 15 July with an objection window that ran to 22 July 2026. The section structure below (50 General Awareness, 35 Mathematics and 35 General Intelligence and Reasoning for 120 questions in 90 minutes, with one mark for a correct answer and one third deducted for a wrong one) is from the official notification and is the same in every shift. The topic-level counts are our own compilation from candidate reports across shifts, not official data, and no question text is reproduced here. Scores are normalised across shifts, so treat this as the reliable shape of the paper rather than a record of one sitting.
Where the questions came from
Sorted by weightage, so the topics worth the most preparation time are at the top of each section.
General Awareness
General Awareness
A realistic target for a strong candidate: 35 to 40 attempts. This is our own guidance, not an official figure.
| Topic | Questions | Share of the section |
|---|---|---|
| Current affairs Sports, awards, appointments, schemes and railway news from roughly the previous year. Widely reported as the part that separated candidates this cycle. | 24%12 Moderate | |
| General science Physics, chemistry and biology at roughly class ten level. Chemistry tends to be the most direct and the most rewarding to revise. | 24%12 Moderate | |
| Indian polity and constitution Fundamental rights, constitutional bodies, articles and amendments. | 12%6 Moderate | |
| Indian history and freedom struggle | 12%6 Moderate | |
| Geography of India and the world | 12%6 Easy | |
| Indian economy | 8%4 Moderate | |
| Static general knowledge and railway awareness Railway-specific static questions such as zones, headquarters and important firsts recur and are worth memorising. | 8%4 Moderate |
Mathematics
Mathematics
A realistic target for a strong candidate: 26 to 30 attempts. This is our own guidance, not an official figure.
| Topic | Questions | Share of the section |
|---|---|---|
| Arithmetic: percentage, profit and loss, ratio and average The most predictable block in the section and the one to secure first, though several questions were calculation-heavy this cycle. | 29%10 Moderate | |
| Time, speed, distance and time and work Trains-based speed and distance questions appear more often here than in banking papers. | 14%5 Moderate | |
| Number system, simplification, LCM and HCF | 14%5 Easy | |
| Algebra, geometry and trigonometry Class ten level. Basic trigonometric identities and simple coordinate geometry recur. | 14%5 Moderate | |
| Data interpretation and statistics Usually a small pie chart or bar graph, lighter than in banking exams. | 11%4 Easy | |
| Simple and compound interest | 9%3 Easy | |
| Mensuration | 9%3 Moderate |
General Intelligence and Reasoning
General Intelligence & Reasoning
A realistic target for a strong candidate: 28 to 32 attempts. This is our own guidance, not an official figure.
| Topic | Questions | Share of the section |
|---|---|---|
| Puzzles, seating arrangement and blood relations Considerably simpler than the equivalent banking questions, typically two or three variables at most. | 20%7 Moderate | |
| Analogies and classification | 17%6 Easy | |
| Series: number, alphabet and figure | 11%4 Easy | |
| Coding and decoding | 11%4 Easy | |
| Syllogism and Venn diagrams | 11%4 Easy | |
| Statement based conclusions and decision making | 11%4 Moderate | |
| Mathematical operations | 9%3 Easy | |
| Direction sense | 9%3 Easy |
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What this means for your preparation
Candidates read the paper as easy to moderate overall, with Reasoning the most scoring section, Mathematics manageable but calculation-heavy, and General Awareness the hardest and most decisive part. Total attempts in the 90 to 100 range with good accuracy were common.
General Awareness is fifty of the hundred and twenty questions, the largest section by far, and it is where CBT 2 results are decided. A running note of the previous year's current affairs is worth as much here as any static revision.
Mathematics is dominated by arithmetic, so calculation speed converts directly into marks. Trains-based time, speed and distance questions recur and are worth drilling specifically.
The penalty is one third of a mark for a wrong answer, gentler than the banking quarter, so with two options eliminated a guess is worth taking.
There is no sectional timing in CBT 2. The full ninety minutes can be spent wherever it earns the most, so plan to give General Awareness and Mathematics the time and treat Reasoning as the quick, high-accuracy section.
Scores are normalised across shifts, so your raw score is not your final score. A harder shift is adjusted for, and there is no benefit in guessing which shift is easier.
Unlike CBT 1, CBT 2 marks count towards the final merit list, alongside the typing skill test or computer-based aptitude test where applicable and document verification.
The paper is offered in several languages. Choose the medium you read fastest in rather than the one you think looks better.
See the real paper, officially
- RRB centralised application portal
Your question paper, recorded responses and the provisional answer key are published here after each stage, along with the objection window. Objections carry a small per-question fee that is refunded if upheld.
- RRB Chandigarh notice board
Each regional Railway Recruitment Board also publishes the notice, the answer key link and the normalised results for its own region. Use the board you applied to.
- Indian Railways official website
Links to every regional RRB, useful for finding your board's site.
Common questions
- Can I download the RRB NTPC Computer Based Test 2 (Graduate) 2026 question paper?
- Not from this site. In India an exam question paper is a copyright work owned by the conducting body, and reproducing it commercially is infringement. What you can do is view your own paper and responses through the official portal during the objection window after the exam, and the links to do that are on this page.
- Are these topic counts exact?
- No, and we would rather say so. The exam runs across multiple shifts with a different paper in each, and the conducting body does not publish a topic-wise breakdown. The section structure, marks and timing are official. The topic counts are our compilation from candidate reports and describe the typical shape of the paper.
- How should I use a weightage analysis?
- To decide what to study next and what to skip. If one block is a third of a section, practising it has several times the payoff of a topic that carries two questions. It also tells you which questions to leave in the exam itself, which matters more than most candidates think.