Most pages on the RBI Assistant syllabus open with a long list of topics. The Reserve Bank's own advertisement does not. For Panel Year 2025 (advertised on 16 February 2026, the newest cycle as of 13 November 2026) it gives the names of the tests, the number of questions, the marks and the time, and nothing more. It adds that "other detailed information regarding the examination will be given in an Information Handout" that candidates download with the call letter.
So this page is in two parts. The first part is what RBI has officially said. The second part is a working topic list, which is ours and is labelled that way. Please keep the two apart in your head.
Syllabus at a glance (official)
| Stage | Tests | Who takes it |
|---|---|---|
| Preliminary Examination | English Language, Numerical Ability, Reasoning Ability | All candidates |
| Main Examination | Reasoning, English Language, Numerical Ability, General Awareness, Computer Knowledge | Candidates shortlisted from Prelims |
| Language Proficiency Test | Official or local language of the recruiting office's state | Candidates provisionally shortlisted from Mains |
| Test | Prelims questions | Mains questions |
|---|---|---|
| English Language | 30 | 40 |
| Numerical Ability | 35 | 40 |
| Reasoning | 35 | 40 |
| General Awareness | not in Prelims | 40 |
| Computer Knowledge | not in Prelims | 40 |
| Total | 100 | 200 |
Every question carries one mark, and one-fourth of a mark is deducted for a wrong answer. Timings and qualifying rules are on the exam pattern page.
Three other things in the advertisement shape what you should study:
- Language of the paper. Apart from the Test of English Language, the tests are available in English, Hindi and certain other languages named in Appendix-II.
- Word processing. The educational qualification asks for "knowledge of word processing on PC". The advertisement sets no separate test for it, but it tells you the kind of computer knowledge the Bank expects.
- Local language. You should be able to read, write, speak and understand the language of the state under your recruiting office. This is tested at the end, in the Language Proficiency Test.
Why there are no official previous-year papers
RBI's Prelims result notice for Panel Year 2025 says the entire recruitment process is outsourced to an external examination body, and that "as per its policy, the said body does not provide question papers to client organization". RBI therefore says it cannot provide the papers under RTI either. The application link in the advertisement points to the IBPS portal, and the advertisement says scores are equated across sessions "following IBPS' standard practice".
Two practical consequences, in our words:
- Any "RBI Assistant previous-year paper" you find is memory-based, rebuilt from what candidates recalled. Treat such papers as practice material, not as a record.
- Since there is no official paper and no official topic list, the test names and marks above are the only firm ground. Build your plan on them.
Working topic list (ours, not RBI's)
The lists below are what we use to organise practice for an aptitude exam with these test names at graduate level. They are not from the advertisement. RBI can ask anything that fairly falls under a test's name. Use the lists to make sure you have no blind spot, not as a boundary.
Numerical Ability (Prelims 35 marks, Mains 40 marks)
- Calculation: simplification and approximation, BODMAS, fractions and decimals, squares, cubes and roots, surds and indices.
- Number series: missing-term and wrong-term series.
- Arithmetic: percentage, ratio and proportion, average, ages, profit and loss, discount, simple and compound interest, time and work, pipes and cisterns, time, speed and distance, boats and streams, trains, mixtures and alligation, partnership.
- Data interpretation: tables, bar graphs, line graphs, pie charts and caselets, mostly built on percentages, ratios and averages.
- Other areas: quadratic equations and comparison of roots, basic mensuration, simple probability, permutation and combination.
In Prelims the pace is about 34 seconds a question, so the fast, calculation-heavy areas matter most. See preparation strategy.
Reasoning (Prelims 35 marks, Mains 40 marks)
- Arrangements and puzzles: linear and circular seating, floor, box and scheduling puzzles, with one or two variables.
- Verbal reasoning: syllogism, inequalities (direct and coded), coding and decoding, blood relations, direction and distance, order and ranking.
- Series: alphabet, number and alphanumeric series, word formation.
- Mains additions (our expectation): longer puzzles, input and output, data sufficiency, and statement-based questions such as assumptions, conclusions and course of action.
English Language (Prelims 30 marks, Mains 40 marks)
- Reading comprehension: passages with fact, inference, vocabulary and tone questions.
- Grammar in use: error spotting, sentence improvement, phrase replacement, fill in the blanks.
- Vocabulary: cloze test, word usage, synonyms and antonyms in context, idioms.
- Sentence order and logic: para jumbles, sentence rearrangement, connectors, odd sentence out.
The Test of English Language is the one test that is not translated, so it is in English for every candidate.
General Awareness (Mains only, 40 marks)
The advertisement says only "Test of General Awareness". For an exam that recruits for the central bank, we organise this test into four parts:
- Current affairs: national and international events, appointments, awards, sports, government schemes, summits and reports. We revise the last six months before the Main Examination; that window is our choice, not an RBI rule.
- Banking and financial awareness: the Reserve Bank and its functions, monetary policy terms, types of banks and accounts, payment systems, financial inclusion schemes, regulators, and common banking abbreviations.
- Economy basics: inflation, GDP, the Union Budget, taxes, and terms in the news.
- Static general knowledge: capitals and currencies, important days, national parks, headquarters of organisations, books and authors.
Computer Knowledge (Mains only, 40 marks)
Again the advertisement gives only the test's name. Our working list:
- Fundamentals: hardware and software, input, output and storage devices, memory, generations and types of computers.
- Operating systems and files: basic functions, file management, common shortcuts.
- Office tools: word processing, spreadsheets and presentations. The advertisement's own eligibility line asks for knowledge of word processing.
- Networks and the internet: LAN and WAN, protocols, browsers, email, web terms.
- Security: viruses and malware, firewalls, safe passwords, digital payments safety.
- Basics of databases and number systems, plus common abbreviations.
This test gives 40 questions in 20 minutes, which is 30 seconds a question (arithmetic). It rewards recall, so short and frequent revision works better than long reading sessions.
Language Proficiency Test (official)
The LPT is held in the official or local language of the state concerned. Appendix-I of the advertisement lists the languages office by office: for example Gujarati for Ahmedabad, Kannada for Bengaluru, Tamil for Chennai, Telugu for Hyderabad, Marathi or Konkani for Mumbai, Bengali or Nepali for Kolkata, Malayalam for Thiruvananthapuram, and Hindi for Bhopal, Jaipur, Kanpur & Lucknow and New Delhi. The full table for all 17 offices is on the exam pattern page.
The advertisement gives no syllabus for the LPT. It says a candidate "not proficient" in the language is disqualified and that no exemption is given. If the language is one you studied at school or speak at home, you need little separate preparation. If it is not, the honest reading of the advertisement is that you should apply to an office whose language you know.
How to use this syllabus
- Start from the marks, not the lists. Prelims is three tests and 100 marks. Reasoning and Numerical Ability are 70 of them. See the exam pattern.
- Prepare Prelims and Mains together for the three shared tests. Reasoning, English and Numerical Ability appear in both stages, and the order of merit comes from Mains.
- Begin General Awareness and Computer Knowledge early. They are 80 of 200 marks in Mains and cannot be built in the weeks between the two stages.
- Test each topic as you finish it. Pareeksha's topic-wise practice is organised by topic. A 10-question mini-mock is free to try the format, and so is the Daily Dangal quiz. Full mocks and topic practice are Pro.
- Re-check when a new advertisement appears. RBI can change the scheme from one panel year to the next. Compare this page's "as on" date with the latest notice on opportunities.rbi.org.in.
What this page does not have
- An official topic-wise syllabus. RBI's advertisement does not contain one, and we have not invented one. The topic lists above are our working lists.
- The Information Handout issued with the call letter. We did not open it, so its sample questions and instructions are not reproduced.
- The list of exam languages in Appendix-II of the advertisement.
- Official previous-year papers. RBI says they are not provided.
- Topic-wise weightage. Without official papers, any count of "questions per topic" is a recollection, so we do not print one.
Related: Exam pattern and marking · Cut-offs · Preparation strategy