The syllabus below is copied from para 12.1 of the detailed Centralised Employment Notice CEN RPF 02/2024, published by the Railway Recruitment Boards on 14 April 2024 for Constable (Executive) in the Railway Protection Force and Railway Protection Special Force. This is the newest RPF Constable notice: the RRB portal showed no later one when we checked on 13 November 2026. The topic lists are the notice's own. The groupings and notes marked "our note" are our reading for planning, not RRB's.
Syllabus at a glance
| Section | Marks | Share of the paper (arithmetic) |
|---|---|---|
| Arithmetic | 35 | about 29% |
| General Intelligence and Reasoning | 35 | about 29% |
| General Awareness | 50 | about 42% |
| Total | 120 |
The paper has 120 questions in 90 minutes, 1 mark each, with 1/3 mark deducted for each wrong answer. Marking, pass percentages and the physical standards are on the exam pattern page.
Level of questions. The notice says: the standard of examination will be Class 10 (Matric) level. It also says questions will be objective type with multiple choice answers and "are likely to cover" the topics below. Each of the three lists ends with "etc.", so none is a closed list.
What is not in the paper. The notice lists no English, Hindi or other language section, no computer section and no separate science section. The CBT is displayed in the language you opted for and in English, but language itself is not tested as a subject in the notice.
Arithmetic (35 marks)
In the notice's words, questions on: Number System, Whole Numbers, Decimals and Fractions and relationship between numbers, fundamental arithmetical operations, Percentages, Ratio and Proportion, Averages, Interest, Profit and Loss, Discount, Use of Tables and Graphs, Mensuration, Time and Distance, "etc."
Grouped for planning:
- Number work: number system, whole numbers, decimals and fractions, relationship between numbers, fundamental arithmetical operations.
- Percentage family: percentages, profit and loss, discount, interest.
- Ratio family: ratio and proportion, averages.
- Speed: time and distance.
- Shapes: mensuration.
- Data: use of tables and graphs.
Our notes:
- The section is named Arithmetic, not Mathematics. Algebra, geometry and trigonometry are not named in this list, unlike the Mathematics lists of some other railway notices. The "etc." means a question from outside the named topics is possible, but the named topics are the official core.
- Time and Work is not named either, though Time and Distance is. We would still treat it as a natural neighbour of the named topics and practise it after the named ones are secure. That is our judgement, not the notice.
- "Interest" is printed without saying simple or compound. Prepare both.
- "Use of Tables and Graphs" is data reading at Class 10 level: reading a table, a bar chart or a pie chart and doing percentage or ratio work on it.
- Percentages feed four named topics (profit and loss, discount, interest, and most table and graph questions), so it is the best first chapter.
General Intelligence and Reasoning (35 marks)
In the notice's words, questions on: Analogies, Similarities and Differences, Spatial Visualization, Spatial Orientation, Problem Solving Analysis, Judgement, Decision Making, Visual Memory, Discriminating Observation, Relationship Concepts, Arithmetical Reasoning, Verbal and Figure Classification, Arithmetic Number Series, Non-verbal Series, Coding and Decoding, Statement-Conclusion, Syllogistic Reasoning, "etc."
Grouped for planning:
- Verbal patterns: analogies, similarities and differences, verbal classification, arithmetic number series, coding and decoding.
- Figure-based: spatial visualization, spatial orientation, visual memory, discriminating observation, figure classification, non-verbal series.
- Logic: statement-conclusion, syllogistic reasoning, judgement, decision making, problem solving analysis.
- Relations and numbers: relationship concepts, arithmetical reasoning.
Our notes:
- This list names several figure-based items outright (spatial visualization and orientation, figure classification, non-verbal series, visual memory). Do not prepare only verbal reasoning. Practise figure questions on a screen, because that is how the CBT shows them.
- Seating arrangements and puzzles are not named. "Problem solving analysis" and the closing "etc." leave room for them, so keep them for after the named topics.
- "Relationship concepts" is usually read as blood relations, and "arithmetical reasoning" as short word problems solved by logic rather than by long calculation. That reading is ours.
- Reasoning carries the same 35 marks as Arithmetic. For many candidates its questions are quicker per mark, which matters in a paper that allows 45 seconds a question on average.
General Awareness (50 marks)
The notice says questions will be aimed at testing the candidate's general awareness of the environment around him or her and its application to society, and at testing knowledge of current events and "such matters of everyday observation and experience as may be expected of any educated person". It adds that the test will also include questions relating to: Indian History, Art and Culture, Geography, Economics, General Polity, Indian Constitution, Sports, General Science, "etc."
Grouped for planning (the area names are the notice's; the detail after each colon is our reading of what a Class 10 level paper would draw on):
- Current events: national and international news of the months before the exam.
- History, art and culture: Indian history, and art and culture.
- Geography: the notice says only "Geography".
- Polity and Constitution: general polity and the Indian Constitution, named as two items.
- Economics: basic terms and the Indian economy at school level.
- General Science: physics, chemistry and biology of everyday observation.
- Sports.
Our notes:
- At 50 marks this is the largest section, about 42% of the paper. A candidate who is strong in Arithmetic and Reasoning but weak here is giving up the biggest block.
- General Science sits inside this section. The notice does not give it a separate count or a class limit; it says only that the paper is of Class 10 standard. School science textbooks up to Class 10 are therefore a sensible boundary, which is our inference.
- The notice does not say how many months of current affairs are covered, and it does not name railway-specific or RPF-specific general knowledge as a topic. We do not assume either.
- Static areas (history, geography, polity, science) can be finished once and revised. Current events cannot, so they need a short daily slot instead of a one-time reading.
The physical stage has standards, not a syllabus
After the CBT come the Physical Efficiency Test and Physical Measurement Test. They are qualifying, carry no marks and have fixed standards: for men a 1,600 metre run in 5 minutes 45 seconds, a 14 ft long jump and a 4 ft high jump; for women an 800 metre run in 3 minutes 40 seconds, a 9 ft long jump and a 3 ft high jump. Height and chest standards and the rules on chances are on the exam pattern page. We mention them here because preparation for them has to run alongside the syllabus, not after it.
How to use this syllabus
- Print the three lists and tick topics off. The lists are short. A candidate can cover every named topic, which is not true of every exam.
- Give General Awareness time in proportion to its marks. It is 50 of 120. Arithmetic and Reasoning are 35 each. This split is the notice's; the advice to follow it is ours.
- Start Arithmetic with percentages and ratio. Most of the other named topics are built on them.
- Include figure reasoning from the first week. It is named in the notice and it improves only with repeated exposure.
- Keep everything at Class 10 level. The notice sets that standard. Harder material costs time that the paper does not reward.
- Test each topic as you finish it. Pareeksha's topic-wise practice is organised by topic (Pro). The 10-question mini-mock is free and lets you try the format. Full mocks and previous-year papers are Pro.
- Re-check the notice when a new one appears. Compare this page's "as on" date with the official CEN. A new CEN can change marks or topics.
A quick comparison of the three lists
| Arithmetic | Reasoning | General Awareness | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marks | 35 | 35 | 50 |
| Named topics in the notice | 14 | 17 | 8 areas plus current events |
| Ends with "etc." | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Needs daily upkeep | Practice | Practice | Current events |
The topic counts in this table are our count of the items in the notice's lists. They are not question counts and say nothing about weightage inside a section.
What this page does not have
- Topic-wise or chapter-wise weightage. The notice gives only the three section totals, and we do not estimate anything finer.
- A chapter list for General Science, history or any other General Awareness area. The notice names the areas only.
- The number of months of current affairs asked. The notice does not state it.
- The syllabus of a future cycle. No newer RPF Constable notice existed on the RRB portal on 13 November 2026.
- A comparison with older RPF Constable notices. We read only CEN RPF 02/2024 for this page.
Related: Exam pattern and marking · Cut-offs · Preparation strategy