Exam Pattern
RBI Assistant Exam Pattern
Reserve Bank of India: Assistant
The RBI Assistant exam pattern below is checked stage by stage, so one stage cannot inherit another stage's scoring rules.
Prelims
Official Panel Year 2025 pattern| Questions | 100 |
| Total marks | 100 |
| Duration | 60 minutes |
| Negative marking | 0.25 per wrong answer |
| Sections | English Language, Numerical Ability, Reasoning Ability |
| Test | Qs | Marks | Min |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 30 | 30 | 20 |
| Numerical Ability | 35 | 35 | 20 |
| Reasoning Ability | 35 | 35 | 20 |
Timing: 20 minutes per section.
Candidates must clear both the sectional and overall cut-offs. Prelims marks are used only for shortlisting; the final merit list is decided by Mains.
Official source · checked 4 August 2026The RBI Assistant Prelims exam pattern is 100 questions carrying 100 marks, to be answered in 60 minutes. That works out to about 36 seconds per question on average, before any time spent reading instructions or revisiting marked answers. The 3 sections are English Language, Numerical Ability and Reasoning Ability. All 3 sections are separately timed, so time saved in one cannot be carried into another. You cannot bank minutes by rushing an easy section.
RBI Assistant Prelims marking scheme
- Each correct answer is worth 1 mark.
- A wrong answer deducts 0.25 marks; an unattempted question scores zero.
- A guess therefore breaks even at 20% accuracy: above that it gains you marks on average, below it loses them. A blind guess between four options is right 25% of the time, which is already above that line, so an educated guess is clearly worth making rather than leaving the question blank.
- Worked example: attempt 80 of the 100 questions and get 60 right and 20 wrong, and you score 55 out of 100.
Practising against the same clock is the point of a mock test: at 36 seconds a question, the difference between a good score and an average one is usually pacing rather than knowledge. Attempt a free RBI Assistant mock test to see where your time actually goes.
Mains
Review pendingConfirmed via multiple independent current secondary sources: Mains is 200 objective questions for 200 marks in 135 minutes, across English Language (40Q/40 marks/30 min), Numerical Ability (40Q/40 marks/30 min), Reasoning Ability (40Q/40 marks/30 min), Computer Knowledge (40Q/40 marks/20 min), and General Awareness (40Q/40 marks/25 min), a uniform 1 mark per question across every section, unlike the differential-marks Mains patterns seen elsewhere in this cluster. This site's Mains content covers English Language, Numerical Ability, Reasoning Ability, and Computer Knowledge only (160 of the 200 objective questions); General Awareness is not built, since it needs current, fact-checked content rather than internally-verifiable calculation or language skill. A qualifying, non-objective Language Proficiency Test in the candidate's local language follows Mains for shortlisted candidates and is not part of the merit score.
RBI Assistant exam pattern: frequently asked questions
Is there negative marking in RBI Assistant?
RBI Assistant deducts 0.25 marks for a wrong answer. An unattempted question always scores zero, so the choice is only ever between guessing and leaving it blank.
How many questions are there in RBI Assistant?
RBI Assistant has 100 questions. That leaves about 36 seconds per question in RBI Assistant.
What are the total marks in RBI Assistant?
RBI Assistant is out of 100 marks.
How long is the RBI Assistant exam?
RBI Assistant runs for 60 minutes.
Does RBI Assistant have a sectional time limit?
Yes. RBI Assistant times its sections separately, so time left over in one section cannot be spent on another. Plan a per-section budget before you sit it.