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[RBI] Strategy for Grade B Ofcer exam phase-1 & phase-2 by RBI-Topper
Manojkumar with his marksheet & cutoff
Posted ByMrunalOn 18/07/2016 @ 9:20 am In IBPS | 156 Comments

About the author

My clamour for RBI Grade B ofcer:
General thoughts:
Ice breaker and general approach:
Newspaper and how to read it:
Mrunal.orgs role in preparation:
Topic wise approach:
Phase I
Phase II
Economic and Social Issues:
English(Writing skills):
Finance and Management:
Other sources to be read:
Interview:
My Marksheet for RBI Grade B exam
Conclusion:

About the author

Name

Manojkumar.E

Age

24 years

Hometown

Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu

% in 10th: 91.45%

Education

% in 12th: 95.75% (200/200 in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology)

% in U.G: 85.6%

College
Work experience

Qualication: Electronics & Communication engineering

College: College of Engineering Guindy(CEG), Chennai (Anna universitys main campus)
Senior Business analyst in Mu Sigma Business Solutions Bangalore (Oct 2012- May 2014)
Assistant in RBI Chennai (Jan 2016-Present)

Previous attempts This was my rst attempt in RBI ofcers exam.

Tamil Movies

Cricket, cooking and watching tamil movies

My clamour for RBI Grade B ofcer:

Friends, RBI has released notication for Grade B Ofcers exam Batch 2016. Click me to apply. In this regard, I
wish to share some insights from my experience.

Myself Manojkumar- like many of you, Im a small town boy aspiring for bigger things in life. Like most of the
aspirants do, I entered into the fray of competitive examinations by starting preparation for UPSC civil services
examination. Economics as an important and contemporary subject was very new to me as I did not have even a
little of exposure about the subject in school/college. Everything was new and interesting and more importantly it
made me think more as the subject is more dynamic and mathematical. Two months into the preparation and I
came to know about RBIs Grade B ofcer examination. One of my friend told me at that point of time that his
sister had appeared for the exam an year back and was awarded a very low score in the interview (probably single
digit mark). From there on, I made up my mind that this post is something that is almost unreachable and might
not even suit me as I am a minnow in this subject. Very limited number of seats(around 100 every year) added
assault to injury. I continued with my preparation for CSE but there was still a great craving about this exam and
post. I used to take a look at previous year question papers of Grade B post which did no good to me but only
aggravated my fears. I could not even get the simplest of doubts cleared and this exam seemed to be a nightmare.
That is where I came across mrunal.org which is almost a game changer for economics and its basics. A friend of
mine gave several PDFs from mrunal.org which explained things in a very simple manner that I not only got clarity
of basics but also developed a liking and love towards the subject. The fear that crept into my mind had also
subsided. After knowing the role of RBI in nation building, I got a feeling that it can give me strength, satisfaction
and respect that a civil servant gets. The scope of service is also very high as the central bank has become a
major player in a world of volatile economy. That is when I decided that I would jump into Grade B exam
preparation

General thoughts:
Preparation has to be two pronged: one for phase 1 and other one for phase 2. It is wise to approach the exam
topic by topic rather than going book by book. Reading precise and staying up to the point is essential as the exam
is objective. At the same time, it is also required to get the conceptual clarity (if not in depth, at least a basic

clarity) as some questions did test the concept clarity. Moreover, English writing skills and interview requires a fair
understanding of concepts. Books suggested and reference books given by RBI board are too big to cover. It is
only by sticking to the syllabus that we can try conquering it to the best of our satisfaction. It is better to start the
preparation with phase 2 and then move on to phase 1 with one or 1.5 months before the exam.

Ice breaker and general approach:

As this exam is a blend of banking, nance and economics, it is better to build the base before jumping into the
syllabus. Complex issues like those in the economic survey can be easier with a good understanding of concepts.
To start with, Indian economy key concepts by Shankar Ganesh is a very good book as it explains things in a
simple (simpler than NCERT) and lucid manner that anyone can understand. 10 chapters and a very small book, so
it always keeps you in the groove so that you feel condent once you complete the book. Chapters involving
capital markets might look slightly complex but repeated readings can make it look easy. Crux here is to get a feel
of what economics is and how it is very much important in the current context of nation building. And moreover, it
covers basics of many topics in our syllabus such as WTO, Banking, National income, Budget, etc. It is better to
institutionalise the terms by taking up discussions or taking mock vivas among friends. NCERT reading from 9th to
12th is advisable depending upon the availability of time. One can ignore theorotical economic sections like money
multiplier and all the complex graphs which would automatically fall under Economics optional in Paper-III.
Glancing enough can do a world of good. Our base can be further strengthened by reading PDFs in mrunal.org
which is in a dialogue format (funny as well as understandable). Doing all this will make you a person who is no
longer a beginner in economics. It would provide oil for your mind engine when you jump on to contemporary
issues

Newspaper and how to read it:

As this exam is a test of banking/economic knowledge, there is a common misperception that one needs to study
newspapers like Mint, Financial express, Economic Times, etc. But this is not the case here. I am not discouraging
you to follow the above mentioned newspapers. But it is always better to channelize the resources available to get
the best utility out of it. It is more than enough to stick with THE HINDU. The rst paper of the syllabus reads
Economic and Social issues. Issues is the key word here signaling that the contemporary part needs to be given
more importance than the static basic parts. Also hardcore nancial and economic dailies cover topic in a way
that might not connect the dots between economic issues and the underlying socio economic factors for the
same. Questions were even asked from Polity in Paper-I of phase 2. Further General awareness section in Paper-1
requires a general newspaper to be read rather than an economic newspaper. So, be choosy in reading
newspapers that you can afford to as time is not a luxury. You could be a regular newspaper reader or a new
comer. But make sure that you follow newspaper regularly as it would provide you the following things:
Good understanding and correlation of topics in the current socio economic scenario
Fodder for essay in Paper-1 of phase 2
The condence to face the interview
General awareness section of phase 1
English section of phase 1
Current affairs in paper 1 of phase 1
It is good to keep the syllabus by heart while reading the newspaper. That will tell us what is to be covered and
what is to be ignored. I am providing you here with examples of what to read and what not to

To be read:
1) GDP growth accelerates to 7.9% in the nal quarter
2) World Bank announces a new criteria for calculating poverty line
3) 1.44 lakh crores of Education cess collected remains unutilized
4) 25% of children below 5 years of year underweight
5) Jats demand reservation
Not to be read:
1)L&T plans to invest Rs. 6000 crore in the coming quarter
2)Modi govt. not pro poor: Rahul
3)Egypt ight shot down

Mrunal.orgs role in preparation:

I am not writing this to praise mrunal.org but truth has to be said. IF there could be any resource that in this world
can help you for preparing RBI Grade B, it could be none other than mrunal.orgs videos on how to approach
economics for UPSC. It perfectly suits for Grade B preparation also and in fact looks tailor made for the same. In
2015, there were about 70 videos under 7 topics. I saw all the videos once and institutionalized them by utilizing
the PPTs provided. I almost read it around 5 to 6 times and made sure that nothing is missed from Economic
Survey/Budget. The videos are a nice craftwork of Economic survey, Budget and current affairs intertwined for the
current socio economic scenario. Best thing is that it is available for free to everyone. People who are from nonhindi states might face slight issues in following the lecture but the pictures and graphics in PPTs would make it
easier. Completing this and repeated revisions of the same will denitely provide an edge in paper 1 and paper 3 of
phase 2

Topic wise approach:

Phase I:
Section

Source

General awareness The Hindu, daytodaygk.com monthly PDFs ,mrunal.org

English

The Hindu

Quants

TIME CAT materials

Logical reasoning TIME CAT materials

Test series: www.careerpower.in I also got good reviews about oliveboard test series. Decide the section wise
order even while taking up mocks and stick on to this. My order is as follows: General awareness, English, Quants,
Logical reasoning. First two sections would take only 30-40 minutes and you would have covered 110 questions.
Scoring high in General awareness is very important as Quants and Logical reasoning sections are really tough to
get through where clearing the sectional cut offs should be the aim.

Phase II
I am mentioning here the static areas to be covered under these topics. It is very essential to update the same
with contemporary areas in these topics from newspapers, Budget, Economic Survey, Yojana, Vision IAS current
affairs etc

Economic and Social Issues:

Topic

Source

Growth and Development, Measurement of

growth
Poverty alleviation and employment generation in
India
Economic reforms, Industrial and labour policy,
Privitization, Globalization

12th NCERT, Shankar Ganesh, Sanjeev Verma

Ramesh singh, Sanjeev verma, 11th NCERT
Sanjeev Verma, Wikipedia

BoP, Exim policy, IMF, WB, Regional economic

Most of them are dynamic. Wikipedia would help getting how

cooperation

these institutions were formed

Multicultarism, Demographic trends, Urbanization 11th Geography old NCERT Land and people, Latest census
and migration
data
Positive discrimination, Indian political system

Articles and special provisions in favor of backward and

scheduled classes

English(Writing skills):
An apple a day keeps the doctor away
An essay a week keeps the mark intact
Essay and Precise writing were the two questions asked in this paper with 50 marks each in both the questions.
The name is self-explanatory where in writing skills play a major role for scoring high in this paper. This is
something that comes with practice in writing. In order to improve writing in subsequent iterations, it is always
important to read quality content. And Essay topics would be mostly from current socio economic issues. So there
need not be a separate content that has to be read for this paper. It is all about putting the content in the right
format and structure. Practicing essays and getting it reviewed from a peer who is really good at content
pertaining to the topic and English language should be the key. Editorials in The Hindu which are very relevant to
current economic scenario can be agged, noted and revised for some good fodder and key stats. Economic
survey, Budget, Yojana articles can spice up your essay when mixed in right proportion. It is also important not to
take precise writing lightly. Taking help from online resources and practicing is a must. All these small things will
denitely pave way for a bigger thing-i.e. success

Finance and Management:

Topic

Source

Financial system

Mrunal, Shankar Ganesh

Financial Markets, Derivatives

NCFM materials(by Bombay Stock Exchange(BSE))

Recent developments in
Banking,Public sector

Economic survey, Current affairs from Vision IAS

reforms,Disinvestments
FRBMA

Ramesh Singh

Finance commission
recommendations, Ination

Mrunal.org, Rbi ofcial site, Shankar Ganesh

trends
Management

Questions were very basic and hence a basic understanding of all management

terms in the syllabus is more than enough. Online resources and Wikipedia
would help

Other sources to be read:

Yojana- This would provide an analytical understanding of current schemes and hence facts would become a
matter of simplicity once analytical thoughts are developed
Vision IAS current affairs- Contemporary affairs are the most sought in any competitive exam. This would provide
a monthly break up of current affairs and hence note making need not be done by us which would save a lot of
time
Daytodaygk.com- Monthly PDFs of current affairs (factual). This is mainly useful for General awareness section of
phase 1

Interview:
Not getting shortlisted in the nal stage after crossing phase 2 doesnt mean that you have solely lost it because
of a poor show in the interview. Most of them fall behind in phase 2 and even a better score in interview wont help.
So it is always better that phase 2 marks are sufciently above the cut off marks so that it would provide the
cushion even if something drastic happens in the interview. However it is best to approach the interview with an
open mind without speculating what we would get for the interview. The panel would be very friendly and tries to
bring the best in you. So it is very important not to panic to express what you try to convey. One has to really make
sure that one is 100% sure about the things mentioned in the bio data which was sought by RBI services board
before the interview. It is even ok to have a simple resume but overstating and not able to justify your stand will
bring curtains. It is even ok to say Dont know but making sure that the previous questions poor impact doesnt
get reected in the next one is very essential. This would put a test on your resilience and ability to perform under
adverse conditions. Mock interviews are a matter of discretion and even self-talks are enough if you are condent.
Create own questions and answer it as many times as you can. Throw up all the weird questions with respect to
your resume and get it answered before you step into the interview hall

My Marksheet for RBI Grade B exam

Phase 1:
Section

Marks/Total marks Cut off pertaining to my category

General awareness 54.75/80

16

English

20.75/30

Quants

13/30

Logical Reasoning 15.75/60

12

Total

78.5

104/200

Phase 2 and Interview:

Paper

Marks/Total marks Cut off pertaining to my category

Economic and Social issues 78/100

English

73/100

Finance and Management

71.25/100

Phase 2 total

222.25/300

182

Interview

40/50

Total

262.25/350

234.50

Conclusion:
At the end of the day, even after so much preparation there would be questions that looks unanswerable. What we
are doing here is to equip ourselves with all the weapons in our armory to make sure we win the battle even if we
lose some soldiers. Presence of mind and application on the exam day are also going to be vital as this is an
objective exam and hence elimination is the best way to go. Customize yourself by taking a good understanding of
your strengths and weaknesses. You could be a Civil Service aspirant or a Banking aspirant or solely a RBI
aspirant. Adjust accordingly and launch your preparation. All the Best!

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