- Reasoning
- Puzzles and seating arrangements, syllogism, inequality, blood relations, direction sense, order and ranking, coding-decoding, alphanumeric series, data sufficiency, input-output and statement-based reasoning. Weighted heavily in both stages.
- Numerical Ability / Quantitative Aptitude
- Simplification and approximation, number series, quadratic equations, data interpretation from tables and standard graphs, and arithmetic across percentage, ratio and proportion, average, profit and loss, interest, time and work, time speed and distance, mixture and alligation, partnership, probability and mensuration.
- General Awareness (mains only)
- Banking and financial awareness with particular attention to rural and agricultural banking, priority sector lending, NABARD and its role, cooperative banking, financial inclusion schemes, Reserve Bank functions, and current affairs of the preceding several months. The rural banking emphasis is real and distinguishes this paper from the mainstream banking awareness sections.
- English or Hindi Language (mains only)
- Reading comprehension, cloze test, para jumbles, error spotting, sentence improvement, fill in the blanks and vocabulary, in whichever of the two languages the candidate opts for. Choose on the basis of reading speed rather than perceived difficulty.
- Computer Knowledge (mains only)
- Computer fundamentals, hardware and software, operating systems, MS Office, internet and networking basics, database concepts, abbreviations and shortcut keys, and basic security awareness. A small, high-return section.
The absence of English from the preliminary stage has a strategic consequence worth naming. Candidates whose English is weak but whose quantitative and reasoning ability is strong are far better placed in IBPS RRB than in IBPS PO or Clerk, because the qualifying stage tests only their strengths. It is a genuinely different competitive landscape.
The rural and agricultural emphasis is the part of this syllabus most worth taking seriously, precisely because it is the part most candidates prepare from the wrong material. Regional Rural Banks exist to serve a rural and semi-urban mandate, and the paper reflects that: questions about crop loans, cooperative structures, priority sector norms and rural credit schemes appear with a consistency that a general banking compilation will not prepare you for.
