This page lists what the Railway Recruitment Boards say will be tested in the Level 1 (Group D) computer-based test. It follows the question-type and syllabus paragraph in two official notices: CEN 08/2024 (published 22 January 2025, 32,438 vacancies) and CEN 09/2025 (published 31 January 2026, 22,195 vacancies). The paragraph is word for word the same in both. We have not added topics the notices do not name. Where we add a study note, it is marked as ours.
Syllabus at a glance
| Subject | Questions (indicative) | What the notice says |
|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 25 | A list of arithmetic, algebra, geometry and statistics topics (below) |
| General Intelligence and Reasoning | 30 | A list of verbal and analytical reasoning topics (below) |
| General Science | 25 | Physics, Chemistry and Life Sciences of 10th standard level (CBSE) |
| General Awareness on current affairs | 20 | Science and Technology, Sports, Culture, Personalities, Economics, Politics and any other subject of importance |
| Total | 100 | One paper, 90 minutes |
The notice says the section-wise split "is only indicative and there may be some variation in the actual question paper". It also says the topics listed are "illustrative and not necessarily exhaustive". Marks, timing and negative marking are on the exam pattern page.
Mathematics
The notice lists these topics, which we have grouped by area:
- Number work: number system, BODMAS, decimals, fractions, LCM, HCF, square root.
- Arithmetic: ratio and proportion, percentages, time and work, time and distance, simple and compound interest, profit and loss, age calculations.
- Everyday applications: calendar and clock, pipes and cistern.
- Algebra, geometry and trigonometry: named as three areas, without a sub-topic list.
- Mensuration.
- Elementary statistics.
The notice ends the list with "etc.", so other school-level topics can appear. Our study note: the list is almost entirely Class 8 to Class 10 arithmetic. Averages and mixtures are not named, but they sit inside ratio, percentage and statistics, so do not skip them. Elementary statistics most plausibly means mean, median, mode and reading simple tables and graphs, though the notice does not define it.
General Intelligence and Reasoning
The notice names these areas:
- Analogies.
- Alphabetical and number series.
- Coding and decoding.
- Mathematical operations.
- Relationships (the notice names the word; blood-relation questions are the usual form, which is our reading).
- Syllogism.
- Jumbling.
- Venn diagrams.
- Data interpretation and sufficiency.
- Conclusions and decision making.
- Similarities and differences.
- Analytical reasoning.
- Classification.
- Directions.
- Statement, arguments and assumptions.
Reasoning has the largest share of questions in the indicative split (30 of 100), so it is the single biggest block. Our study note: most of these topics are pattern recognition, and speed comes from volume. A 15-topic list is long, but series, coding, analogy and classification questions tend to be the quick ones to bank.
General Science
The notice says the syllabus "shall cover Physics, Chemistry and Life Sciences of 10th standard level (CBSE)". That is the whole description. There is no chapter list.
- What the notice does not say: it does not say NCERT, and it does not split the 25 questions between Physics, Chemistry and Life Sciences.
- Our study note: the Class 9 and 10 science textbooks are the natural starting point for a Class 10 level syllabus. Read them for concepts, then practise questions, because the exam asks short factual and application questions rather than long answers. Treat "10th standard level" as the depth the notice promises.
General Awareness on current affairs
The notice names the fields: current affairs in Science and Technology, Sports, Culture, Personalities, Economics, Politics, "and any other subject of importance". It does not give a static GK list (history, geography, polity chapters). The word used is current affairs.
Our study note: the 20-question block is small, but the notice does not set a time window for "current". Build a daily habit rather than a last-month cram, and spend the most time on the fields that are named: science and technology news, sports results, awards and personalities. Daily Dangal is a free daily quiz that suits this habit.
Physical Efficiency Test standards
PET is not a syllabus, but the notices set fixed standards, and passing is mandatory. They are qualifying only: the notice calls PET "qualifying in nature".
| Male candidates | Female candidates | |
|---|---|---|
| Weight carry | 35 kg for 100 metres in 2 minutes, in one chance, without putting the weight down | 20 kg for 100 metres in 2 minutes, in one chance, without putting the weight down |
| Run | 1,000 metres in 4 minutes 15 seconds, in one chance | 1,000 metres in 5 minutes 40 seconds, in one chance |
- The two tests are taken in order. Candidates carry the weight first. If you fail the weight carry, you are eliminated at that stage. The run follows after a recovery gap.
- The weight is a sand bag without a handle, lifted from a bench or platform at around waist height. You may carry it in whatever manner you want, but you may not drop it on the ground.
- Persons with Benchmark Disabilities are exempted from PET. Ex-servicemen and Course Completed Act Apprentices are also exempted.
- Relaxed standards equivalent to the female standards apply to transgender candidates.
- A pregnant female candidate has to declare her status on reporting. The notice describes how her empanelment is held in abeyance and her vacancy kept reserved.
Our study note: the run and the carry use different muscles. Practise the 100-metre carry as its own drill, with the time limit, and not only as part of general fitness.
How to use this syllabus
- Tick it off by subject. The paper is a single 90-minute test with no sectional timers mentioned in the notice, so a weak subject costs as much as a strong one gains.
- Weight your effort by the split, then adjust for your own scores. Reasoning (30) and Mathematics (25) together are 55 of 100 questions.
- Test each topic as you finish it. Pareeksha's topic-wise practice is organised by topic (Pro). A free 10-question mini-mock is available to try the format. Full mocks and previous-year papers are Pro.
- Start PET preparation alongside the CBT. PET is mandatory and comes after the CBT result, and the notices say its dates are announced later through the RRC websites. Starting early is our advice, not a notice requirement. See the exam pattern page for the stage order.
- Re-read the notice for each cycle. The syllabus paragraph can change. Check the "as on" date of this page and the official notice linked above before a new cycle.
For a Hindi-medium plan, see our Hindi guide to the Group D syllabus and PET.
What this page does not have
- No chapter-wise or topic-wise weightage. The notices do not publish one, and we do not estimate it.
- No previous-paper analysis, and no reproduced questions.
- No post-specific syllabus. The notices list only four stages: CBT, PET, document verification and medical examination.
Related: Exam pattern and marking · Cut-offs · Preparation strategy