RBI Grade B Phase 2 strategy

Phase 2 decides most of your final score: 300 of 375 marks. It asks you to understand economic and financial issues and write about them clearly, on a keyboard, against the clock. Candidates who clear Phase 1 comfortably sometimes stall here, not because they know less, but because they have read a great deal and written very little.

The three papers

In ESI and F&M, the objective section is reported as ten 1-mark and twenty 2-mark questions, with negative marking. The descriptive section asks for two answers of 15 marks and two of 10, with reported word limits of about 600 and 400 words. If you answer more than four, only the first four are reported to be evaluated.

Budgeting 90 minutes of typed answers

Fifty marks in 90 minutes is 1.8 minutes per mark. Split by marks:

At a typing speed of 30 words a minute, 22 minutes of typing is at most about 660 words; in practice, with pauses to think, you will type far fewer. So treat the word limit as a ceiling, not a target. A well-organised 350-word answer that finishes on time beats a 600-word answer that leaves the fourth question blank.

What a good descriptive answer contains

1. A direct opening. Define the concept or state the issue in one or two sentences.
2. Structure. Short paragraphs or clear points: causes, effects, measures; or pros, cons, way forward. Use subheadings if the answer is long.
3. Current relevance. A recent policy, report or development, stated accurately.
4. Balance. More than one side where the question invites it.
5. A short conclusion. A practical way forward, in two or three sentences.

Worked skeleton: an ESI question

Question (10 marks): Examine the causes of food inflation in India and suggest measures to contain it.

• Opening: Food inflation is the rise in the prices of food items in the consumer basket. Food carries a large weight in India's Consumer Price Index, so it drives headline inflation and hurts poorer households most.
• Causes: supply shocks from uneven monsoons and heatwaves; perishables such as vegetables with limited storage; supply-chain and wastage losses; rising input costs; global prices for items such as edible oils.
• Current relevance: a recent episode of vegetable or pulse price spikes, and how monetary policy statements have discussed food prices. Describe it in words if you are unsure of the figures.
• Measures: cold chains and storage; better market access; crop diversification and climate-resilient varieties; timely trade measures; buffer stocks; and monetary policy watching for second-round effects on core inflation.
• Conclusion: food inflation is largely a supply problem, so the lasting fixes are on the supply side; monetary policy's role is to keep expectations anchored.

Worked skeleton: an F&M question

Question (15 marks): What is the capital adequacy ratio? Why do regulators insist on it, and how has the Basel framework shaped it?

• Opening: The capital adequacy ratio compares a bank's capital with its risk-weighted assets. It shows how much loss the bank can absorb before depositors are at risk.
• Why regulators insist: protecting depositors; limiting excessive risk-taking; stability of the system; confidence.
• Basel framework: Basel I (credit risk), Basel II (three pillars: minimum capital, supervisory review, market discipline), Basel III (better-quality capital, capital buffers, leverage and liquidity ratios) after the 2008 crisis.
• India: the RBI's capital requirements for banks are stricter than the Basel minimum. Mention recent supervisory emphasis only if you are sure.
• Conclusion: capital is a buffer, not a guarantee; it works together with supervision and governance.

The Basel guide and the ESI answer-writing guide have more.

Using data carefully

Examiners value current facts, but a wrong number weakens an answer. Use figures only if you are sure of them and their source: the Economic Survey, the Union Budget, the RBI Annual Report or a monetary policy statement. When unsure, describe the trend in words, such as "has risen steadily" or "remains above the target", rather than inventing a figure. The guide to reports and sources explains what to take from each document.

The objective half

The objective sections carry 100 of the 300 marks. Twenty 2-mark questions in 30 minutes means careful reading matters more than speed. Prepare them with:

• one-page notes of definitions and current facts for each topic;
• weekly objective quizzes on ESI and F&M;
• the same negative-marking discipline as Phase 1: attempt when you can eliminate options.

Typing

Answers are typed. You need a comfortable speed (around 30 words a minute is a sensible target) and accuracy without spell-check. Practise typing answers, not just writing them by hand, on a plain editor with spell-check switched off. The typed answers guide has drills.

A plan after Phase 1

The gap between Phase 1 and Phase 2 is short and varies by cycle, so compress this plan if needed. Many candidates begin typed answer writing months before Phase 1 for exactly this reason.

Common mistakes

• Reading widely but never writing. Understanding shows only when you write.
• Answers full of facts but without structure. The examiner should see your points at a glance.
• Ignoring the objective parts, which carry half the marks in ESI and F&M.
• Spending 40 minutes on the first answer and rushing the last.
• Leaving typing practice to the last week.

Try it now

1. Set a timer for 18 minutes and type an answer to the ESI question above. Count your words.
2. Compare it with the skeleton. Did you open directly, give causes and measures, and conclude?
3. Repeat with the F&M question in 27 minutes.
4. Note one change for next time, such as a shorter opening or a clearer list of measures.