From our research
What this interview looks like
RBI Grade B selection has three stages: Phase I (qualifying), Phase II of 300 marks, and an interview of 75 marks, so final merit is out of 375 and the interview is 20 per cent of it, as per the latest advertisement. A psychometric test is held before the interview and is not counted in the score. The board typically has four to five members: a retired or serving RBI Executive Director or Chief General Manager in the chair, two or three senior RBI officers, and an external expert, often an economist or academic. Interviews run 20 to 40 minutes and may be taken in Hindi or English. The board starts from your biodata and your graduation or post-graduation subject, moves to RBI's functions, the latest monetary policy and inflation data, banking regulation and financial stability, and then to current economic developments; DEPR and DSIM candidates are pushed much deeper into economics and statistics respectively, including their dissertation or research work. The ExamPilot mock compresses this to fifteen minutes with the same arc: biodata and motivation, a demanding economics and regulation round with an RBI-level member, two regulatory or departmental situations, and a short close on posting and career.
How it is weighted
Interview 75 marks, as per the latest advertisement. Final merit is Phase II (300) plus interview (75), so the interview is 20 per cent of 375. The psychometric test is not scored. Candidates are shortlisted for interview at roughly three to four times the vacancies.
Who this is for
Graduates with at least 60 per cent marks (50 per cent for SC, ST and PwBD) or a post-graduate degree with 55 per cent, who have cleared Phase I and Phase II (Economic and Social Issues, English, Finance and Management) and the psychometric test. Age is typically 21 to 30 years on the reference date, with relaxation for reserved categories and for candidates holding an M.Phil or Ph.D.
The panel focuses on
- Biodata, graduation subject and why a central bank, probed one claim at a time
- Monetary policy at depth: inflation targeting, MPC, transmission, liquidity management
- Banking regulation and financial stability: NPA, capital, PCA, Financial Stability Report
- Payment systems, fintech and CBDC and the regulatory questions they raise
- Latest data: CPI, GDP, fiscal deficit, forex reserves, with the reasoning behind the numbers
- Situations a Grade B officer faces in regulation, supervision and public interface
Step 1
Pick your subject
The expert on the panel probes these areas at the level of this post. Optional here; you can choose during setup.
Step 2
Choose how you want to be interviewed
1:1 interview
One interviewer runs every round and adapts the focus as you go. Lower pressure; ideal for a first attempt.
Shri Arvind Raghunathan
Hiring manager
Panel interview · 3 members
Most realisticEach member leads their own round and hands over to the next. They hear each other, so a weak answer will be revisited.
Shri Arvind Raghunathan
Hiring manager
Ms. Neha Kulkarni
HR member
Mr. Vikram Malhotra
Hiring manager
What to expect
4 rounds · 15 minutes
An IBPS or SBI style board of senior bankers compressed into 15 minutes: introduction and background with the HR member, banking and financial awareness with a senior banker who also probes the candidate's own degree or specialisation, two branch situations on customers, fraud and targets, and a closing on mobility and long-term intent. The real board sits three to five members for 15 to 20 minutes, mixes Hindi and English freely, and scores out of 100 with a qualifying minimum.
- Round 1
Introduction & background
· 3:00Put the candidate at ease, understand their education, work and any gaps, and hear a credible reason for choosing banking after their degree.
Ms. Neha Kulkarni2–3 questionsup to 1 follow-up each - Round 2
Banking & finance awareness
· 5:00Test working knowledge of banking and current financial developments, and connect the candidate's own degree or specialisation to the work of a bank.
Shri Arvind Raghunathan3–4 questionsup to 1 follow-up each - Round 3
Branch situations
· 4:00Assess customer handling, ethics under target pressure, and judgement on fraud and compliance in a branch setting.
Shri Arvind Raghunathan2–2 questionsup to 1 follow-up each - Round 4
Motivation & closing
· 3:00Check willingness for rural posting and transfers, long-term intent in banking, and close politely without revealing any assessment.
Ms. Neha Kulkarni2–2 questions
Sample questions
RBI Gr B General interview questions
Questions panels commonly ask in the RBI Gr B General interview, with what a strong answer covers. Practise them aloud with the AI panel.
- Monetary policy
Under flexible inflation targeting, the RBI targets CPI inflation within a tolerance band. Why CPI and not WPI, and what happens if inflation stays outside the band for three consecutive quarters?
What a strong answer covers
CPI reflects the prices households actually pay, including food and services, so it anchors expectations better than WPI. If inflation stays outside the band for three consecutive quarters, the RBI must report to the government with reasons, remedial actions and the expected time to return. Avoid confusing the target with the repo rate.
- Transmission
The RBI cuts the repo rate, but a borrower says his loan rate has barely changed. Explain why transmission can be slow and what the external benchmark system changed.
What a strong answer covers
Transmission depends on banks' cost of funds, deposit rates, liquidity and the share of loans on older benchmarks like MCLR. Loans linked to an external benchmark such as the repo reprice at least once a quarter, speeding transmission. Avoid saying all loans change immediately or ignoring the deposit side.
- Financial stability
What does the Financial Stability Report tell us, and which one indicator from it would you watch most closely for banks?
What a strong answer covers
The half-yearly report assesses risks to the financial system, banks' asset quality, capital adequacy, stress tests and interconnectedness. A good answer picks an indicator such as gross NPA ratio, capital adequacy or stress-test results and explains why. Avoid confusing it with the monetary policy statement or quoting figures you are unsure of.
- Banking regulation
Explain the Prompt Corrective Action framework and whether you think it helps or hurts weak banks.
What a strong answer covers
PCA is triggered by thresholds on capital, asset quality and leverage, imposing restrictions such as on dividends, branch expansion and risky lending until the bank recovers. Balanced view: prevents deterioration and protects depositors, but can restrict credit growth. Avoid calling it a punishment or getting triggers wrong.
- CBDC
Suppose a shopkeeper asks whether the RBI's e-rupee is just another wallet like the UPI apps he already uses. How would you answer, and what risks would the central bank itself weigh?
What a strong answer covers
The e-rupee is a direct liability of the RBI, while bank deposits are liabilities of commercial banks moved through UPI. Risks include disintermediation of bank deposits, privacy, cyber security and operational resilience. Avoid calling it a cryptocurrency or saying it replaces UPI.
- Supervision
As a Grade B officer in the Department of Supervision, you find that a bank has been classifying stressed loans as standard by repeatedly restructuring them. What would you do?
What a strong answer covers
Recognises evergreening, verifies with loan-level data, reports the divergence, directs reclassification and higher provisioning, flags governance failures, and recommends supervisory action. Avoid accepting the bank's explanation without evidence or acting outside the supervisory process.
- Biodata
Your graduation is in History. How would you use it in a central bank?
What a strong answer covers
Uses historical perspective on financial crises, institutions and policy, such as the 1991 balance of payments crisis or global episodes, plus research and writing skills. Shows that diverse backgrounds add value. Avoid apologising for the degree or claiming it has no relevance.
- Liquidity management
Explain the role of the standing deposit facility and the marginal standing facility in the liquidity adjustment framework.
What a strong answer covers
SDF lets banks park surplus funds with the RBI without collateral and forms the floor of the corridor; MSF lets banks borrow overnight against securities and forms the ceiling, with the repo rate in between. Avoid wrong roles or outdated descriptions of reverse repo as the floor.
- External sector
A rise in global interest rates leads to capital outflows and the rupee weakens sharply. What tools can the RBI use, and what are the trade-offs?
What a strong answer covers
Forex intervention from reserves to smooth volatility, liquidity operations to offset the rupee drain, measures to encourage inflows such as easing deposit or debt-investment norms, and interest-rate policy as a last line. Trade-offs: inflation through imports, growth, and reserve adequacy. Avoid saying the RBI defends a fixed exchange rate level.
Reading is not rehearsing. Answer these out loud to an AI RBI Gr B General panel that follows up like the real one.
Practise these questionsMeet the panel
Your AI interviewers
Distinct personas, voices and questioning styles, briefed on this post.
Shri Arvind Raghunathan
ChairHiring manager
Chief General Manager (Retd.), Reserve Bank of India; former RBI interview board member
Quiet, precise, economist's patience; rewards reasoning over recall.
Male voice · 3 languages
Ms. Neha Kulkarni
HR member
HR business partner, IT services
Friendly, efficient, detail-checking.
Female voice · 4 languages
Mr. Vikram Malhotra
Hiring manager
Engineering manager / Regional manager (hiring manager)
Direct, outcome-focused, fair but demanding.
Male voice · 2 languages
Languages
Answer in the language you think in
The panel asks in your chosen language. Switch mid-answer if you like.
- English
- Hinglish (Hindi + English)Hinglish
How scoring works
A report you can act on
Every round is scored on the rubric
Each interviewer scores only the criteria their round covers. Weights add up to your overall score out of 100.
Only what you actually said counts
Feedback quotes your own answers. Rounds you skip show as “Not assessed” rather than a zero.
Communication is always measured
Fluency, clarity, confidence and structure are tracked across the whole interview, in any language.
Pass mark, then a plan
You see the pass mark for this interview, your gaps, and the courses that close them fastest.
Scored on
- Banking & financial awareness30%
RBI and monetary policy tools, deposit and credit products, NPA and provisioning basics, priority sector, digital banking and payments, recent developments described accurately; for SO, depth in the specialisation applied to a bank.
- Customer & branch situational judgement25%
Handles an angry customer, a suspected fraud or mule account, target pressure and mis-selling temptation with the right sequence: safety and compliance first, customer dignity, escalation to the branch manager, no shortcuts.
- Communication & presence25%
Clear, courteous and concise in English or Hindi; explains a banking idea in plain language a customer would follow; does not bluff when unsure.
- Fit, motivation & mobility20%
Credible reason for banking after this degree, honest about gaps and other attempts, genuinely willing for rural and semi-urban postings and transfers, realistic picture of a probationary officer's first two years.
Pass mark 60 / 100 · Bank PO / SO / RRB officer interview panel
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