IBPS RRB Exam Pattern 2025: Marking Scheme & Duration

IBPS RRB Exam Pattern 2025: The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection prescribes the IBPS RRB exam pattern. Aspirants preparing for the IBPS RRB exam must thoroughly understand the exam pattern. It will help them understand the question paper structure. Furthermore, they can also learn more about the number of questions, number of sections, marking scheme, and more.

*Steps to practice exam questions are mentioned below in this article.

The IBPS RRB Prelims exam consists of two subjects, i.e., Reasoning and Numerical Ability/ Quantitative Aptitude. In comparison, Mains consists of four sections, i.e., Reasoning, Computer Knowledge, English/ Hindi Language, and Numerical Ability/ Quantitative Aptitude. In this article, we have provided all the relevant details related to the IBPS RRB paper pattern, including the sections, marking scheme, and time duration. So, read on to find out more!

IBPS RRB Exam Pattern & Selection Procedure

Before getting into the details of IBPS RRB Exam Pattern and Selection Process, let’s have an overview of the exam.

IBPS RRB Selection Procedure

IBPS RRB is conducted for the recruitment of the following posts:

• IBPS RRB Office Assistant (Multipurpose)
• IBPS RRB Officer Scale 1 (Assistant Manager)
• IBPS RRB Officer Scale 2 (Manager) – General Banking Officer
• IBPS RRB Officer Scale 2 (Manager) – Specialist Cadre
• IBPS RRB Officer Scale 3

The selection of IBPS RRB Office Assistant (Multipurpose) involves the following two stages:

• 1st Stage: IBPS RRB Preliminary Exam
• 2nd Stage: IBPS RRB Main Exam

For the selection of IBPS RRB Officer Scale 1, there are three stages:

• 1st Stage: IBPS RRB Preliminary Exam
• 2nd Stage: IBPS RRB Main Exam
• 3rd Stage: Interview

Lastly, the selection of IBPS RRB Officer Scale 2 & 3 involves two stages:

• 1st Stage I: IBPS RRB Single Level Online Examination
• 2nd Stage: Interview

Practice IBPS RRB Exam Questions

Practice unlimited IBPS RRB exam questions at Embibe and boost your confidence to face the examination. Candidates can follow the below-mentioned steps to take the practice test series:

• 1st Step: Visit Embibe’s official website, i.e., embibe.com.
• 2nd Step: Use your mobile number/email to log in.
• 3rd Step: Select your Goal as ‘Banking’ under the Government Job section.
• 4th Step: Click Next and select ‘IBPS RRB Office Assistant Mains/ IBPS RRB Officer Scale 1 Mains’.
• 5th Step: Click Next and select your preferred language.
• 6th Step: Once done, you can practice questions and take mock tests.

IBPS RRB Office Assistant Exam Pattern

Let’s have a detailed understanding of the IBPS RRB exam pattern for Office assistants:

IBPS RRB Office Assistant Mains Paper Pattern

Check the exam pattern for Prelims below:

Keep in mind the following points:

• Every question carries 1 mark.
• All questions are of objective nature (Multiple Choice Questions).
• The total time duration of the exam is 45 minutes.
• The exam will be bilingual, i.e. questions will be available in both English and Hindi.
• There is a negative marking of 1/4th mark for every incorrect answer.

Candidates who successfully clear both the sectional cutoff marks and overall cutoff marks will be eligible to appear for the Main exam.

IBPS RRB Office Assistant Mains Paper Pattern

The different sections of the IBPS RRB Office Assistant Mains exam, the number of questions in each section, and the marking scheme are tabulated below:

Note the following points:

• The total time duration of the exam is 2 hours.
• All questions are of objective nature.
• Except for the English/Hindi Language section, all other sections will be available in both English and Hindi.
• 1/4th of the mark allotted to a question will be deducted for every incorrect answer.

Candidates must secure the minimum qualifying marks of each section as well as the overall cutoff marks in order to clear this stage. Final selection of Office Assistant (Multipurpose) for provisional allotment will be based on merit, i.e. the marks secured by the candidate in the Main exam.

IBPS RRB Officer Scale 1 Exam Pattern

As mentioned above, the Online Examination for IBPS RRB Officer Scale-1 has two stages, namely, Prelims and Mains. Let us look into the detailed IBPS RRB exam pattern for each of these stages.

IBPS RRB Officer Scale 1 Prelims Paper Pattern

The different sections, the number of questions in each section, and the marking scheme of IBPS RRB Prelims for Officer Scale 1 are tabulated below:

Note the following points:

• Every question carries 1 mark each.
• All questions are objective (MCQ-based) in nature.
• The total time duration of the exam is 45 minutes.
• The exam will be bilingual, i.e. questions will be available in both English and Hindi.
• There is a negative marking of 1/4th mark for every incorrect answer.

Candidates must clear both the sectional cutoff as well as overall cutoff marks in order to be eligible to appear for the next stage (Main exam).

IBPS RRB Officer Scale 1 Mains Paper Pattern

The detailed IBPS RRB exam pattern for Mains (for Officer Scale 1) is as under:

Note the following points:

• The total time duration of the exam is 2 hours.
• The questions are of an objective type.
• Except for the English/Hindi Language section, all other sections will be available in both English and Hindi.
• 1/4th of the mark allotted to a question will be deducted for every incorrect answer.

Candidates must secure the minimum qualifying marks of each section as well as the overall cutoff marks in order to clear this stage and appear for the Interview.

IBPS RRB Exam Pattern For Officer Scale 2 (Manager)

As mentioned above, the selection process for IBPS RRB Officer Scale 2 comprises of a Single Level Online Examination followed by an Interview. The IBPS RRB paper pattern for the Single Level Examination is different for General Banking Officer and Specialist Cadre.

IBPS RRB Exam Pattern for General Banking Officer

The different sections of the exam along with the number of questions and marking scheme of each section are tabulated below:

Note the following points:

• The total time duration of the exam is 2 hours.
• Except for the English/Hindi Language section, all other sections will be available in both English and Hindi.
• The questions are of an objective type.
• 1/4th of the marks allotted to a question will be deducted for every incorrect answer.

IBPS RRB Exam Pattern for Specialist Cadre

The Specialist Cadres include IBPS RRB Officer Scale-II of the following categories:

• Agriculture Officer
• Marketing Officer
• Treasury Officer
• Law
• CA
• IT

The different sections of the exam along with the number of questions and marking scheme of each section are tabulated below:

Keep these points in mind:

• The total time duration of the exam is 2 hours and 30 minutes.
• The test of Professional Knowledge will be based on the category of IBPS RRB Officer scale II as opted for by the candidate.
• Except for the English/Hindi Language section, all other sections will be available in both English and Hindi.
• The questions are of objective type.
• 1/4th of the marks allotted to a question will be deducted for every incorrect answer.

For both Generalists and Specialist Cadres, candidates must clear both sectional and overall cutoff marks in order to appear for the Interview.

IBPS RRB Exam Pattern for Officer Scale III (Senior Manager)

The selection of IBPS RRB Officer Scale III (Senior Manager) also involves a single-level examination followed by an Interview. The exam pattern for the Online Examination is tabulated below:

Note the following points:

• The total time duration is 2 hours.
• The paper is of objective type with Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ).
• Except for the English/Hindi Language section, all other sections will be available in both English and Hindi.
• There is a penalty for wrong answers – 1/4th of the marks allotted to the question will be deducted for incorrect answers.

Candidates must secure the minimum qualifying marks for each section as well as the overall cutoff marks to qualify in the exam and appear for the Interview.

IBPS RRB Interview & Final Selection For Officer Scale I, II & III

For the posts of Officer Scale I, II, and III, an adequate number of candidates will be called for interviews. These numbers should not exceed three times the declared vacancies in every category which is subjected to availability.

The Interview will be conducted for a total of 100 marks. The final selection of candidates for provisional allotment for each of the posts will be done on the basis of combined marks secured by the candidates in Mains and Interview. Please note that 80% weightage is given to Mains and 20% weightage to Interview.

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FAQs on IBPS RRB Exam Pattern 2025

Here, we have enlisted some of the most important frequently asked questions related to IBPS RRB Exam Pattern 2025. Candidates must go through these questions and answers to clear out their doubts regarding the same subject.

Q. Is there any negative marking for the office assistant position?
A. Yes, 1/4th of marks allotted to that question will be deducted for every wrong answer.

Q. I have not cleared the sectional cutoff in one section; however, I have cleared the overall cutoff. Will I go to the next round?
A. No, candidates have to secure the sectional as well as an overall cut-off in order to go through the next round.

Q. Are the marks obtained in the prelims exam considered for calculating the final selection?
A. No, only the mains and interview scores will be considered for final selection.

Q. Can I crack the IBPS RRB PO and Clerk exam in the very first attempt?
A. Yes, you can crack IBPS RRB PO and Clerk exams on the first attempt. Refer to the updated syllabus and exam pattern, analyze the weightage of topics, give preference to the important topics, collect suitable materials for the exam, etc.

Q. Which area to focus more on IBPS RRB exam?
A. All sections are equally important in IBPS RRB exam. Candidates need to qualify in all the sections as there are sectional cutoff marks. However, candidates must focus more on the Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning sections. These two sections carry the maximum number of marks.

We hope this detailed article on IBPS RRB Exam Pattern 2025 helps you. If you have any queries regarding the exam, feel to check our app. We will be happy to help you out.

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