RBI Grade B Previous Year Analysis: Recurring Topics and Study Priorities

Several previous-year analyses can leave you with plenty of topic lists but no clear revision order. Reported historical tables repeatedly feature puzzles and seating, DI and arithmetic, and reading comprehension. Recurrence identifies skills worth revisiting. For RBI Grade B (DR) General, chiefly Phase I, connect these patterns to your error log and a practical weekly allocation.

Read previous-year analysis to guide revision

Compare year, stage, shift where known, source and topic label. Group Phase I sets, Phase II descriptive papers and DEPR/DSIM material separately.

A miniature audit record could read:

2024 | Phase I | shift unspecified | publisher analysis | DI | reported topic

A repeated concept is stronger evidence than a familiar coaching label. Within wider Banking & Insurance preparation, this comparison habit helps organise revision around each exam’s selection pattern.

The recurring topic families to put on your revision shortlist

BankersAdda's historical topic analysis reports the following families across its 2021-2024 columns using publisher classifications, not official weightages. The skill column translates those reported topics into revision work.

Formats can change while the skill stays useful. A linear arrangement and a scheduling set both demand constraint handling; a chart and a caselet can both test percentages.

General Awareness needs separate preparation.

Turn a recurring quant topic into a transferable method

DI drill: Find Branch A's growth and its share of combined Year 2 deposits.

A's increase = 150 − 120 = 30 lakh.

A's growth = increase ÷ original deposits × 100 = 30/120 × 100 = 25%.

Combined Year 2 deposits = 150 + 100 = 250 lakh.

A's Year 2 share = 150/250 × 100 = 60%.

Growth uses A's earlier value as the denominator. Share uses the combined current value. Adding these percentages answers neither question.

Now change A to 200 → 220 and B to 100 → 180. A's growth = (220 − 200)/200 × 100 = 10%. Total Year 2 deposits = 220 + 180 = 400 lakh, so A's share = 220/400 × 100 = 55%. The transferable skill is choosing the base.

Practise reasoning constraints before chasing puzzle volume

Try this drill: Four presentations A, B, C and D occupy slots 1-4, one per slot. B is immediately after A. C is earlier than A. D is in slot 4. Find the order.

Reserve D's slot and treat A-B as an adjacent block. Check A's possible positions:

• A cannot be 1: C must precede it.

• A cannot be 3: B would need slot 4, occupied by D.

• A cannot be 4: B would need slot 5.

Therefore A = 2 and B = 3. The remaining slot gives C = 1. The unique order is C-A-B-D.

Recheck: B immediately follows A, C precedes A, and D occupies slot 4. Log a missed “immediately” as a translation error.

Keep reading and awareness work connected to understanding

Work through this inference exercise:

Digital payments increased in District X. The survey did not measure household income.

“Measured digital payments rose” is supported. “Household incomes rose” is unsupported. Plausible background knowledge cannot replace evidence in the passage.

For awareness revision, record the issuer, publication date, key term, mechanism and one implication. For example, pair a definition of inflation with an explanation of purchasing power. Explain the connection rather than copying a headline.

Use the RBI Grade B syllabus guide for a broader topic map.

Measure difficulty change through your own timed evidence

Compare two matched 10-question DI drills:

Attempt accuracy = 6/8 × 100 = 75% in both. Time per correct answer changes from 12/6 = 2 minutes to 16/6 ≈ 2.67 minutes.

Inspect pacing and calculations before drawing conclusions about exam difficulty. Record wrong-base, arithmetic, reading and question-selection errors separately. Use the phase-by-phase RBI Grade B preparation plan to turn that diagnosis into longer-term practice.

Allocate next week's hours using recurrence and your errors

Try this sample 12-hour allocation: 3 quant + 2 reasoning + 2 English + 3 awareness/economics/finance reading and writing + 2 timed practice and review = 12 hours.

If quant errors dominate, move one reading hour to quant: 4 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 12. If only 10 hours are available, reduce quant and reading by one hour each from the original plan: 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 10, retaining review time.

Analyse one past set and choose one repair drill. For shared fundamentals, the IBPS PO Prelims course for shared aptitude fundamentals offers optional English, quant and reasoning practice. It is IBPS PO preparation, not a complete RBI Grade B course covering awareness, ESI or Finance and Management.