RRB Group D Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Eligibility

Computer Based Test: 90 minutes

120 minutes for candidates with a benchmark disability who are eligible for a scribe.

• One third of a mark is deducted for each wrong answer. Nothing is deducted for an unanswered question.
• Minimum qualifying percentage: 40% for UR and EWS, 30% for OBC, SC and ST.
• Questions are set in English, Hindi and a number of regional languages.

Reasoning is the largest section. Science (25) outweighs General Awareness (20), the reverse of NTPC.

Physical Efficiency Test: qualifying

The PET earns no marks and there is no second attempt at either component. Candidates with a benchmark disability are exempt and go directly to the medical examination.

General Intelligence & Reasoning

Analogies, alphabetical and number series, coding and decoding, mathematical operations, relationships, syllogism, jumbling, Venn diagrams, data interpretation and sufficiency, conclusions and decision making, similarities and differences, analytical reasoning, classification, directions, statement and arguments, statement and assumptions.

General Science

Physics, chemistry and life sciences to class 10 level: motion, force and work, light and sound, electricity and magnetism, matter and its states, atoms and molecules, acids bases and salts, metals and non-metals, carbon compounds, cell biology, life processes, control and coordination, reproduction, heredity and evolution, and natural resources.

Mathematics

Number system, BODMAS, decimals and fractions, LCM and HCF, ratio and proportion, percentage, mensuration, time and work, time and distance, simple and compound interest, profit and loss, algebra, geometry and trigonometry, elementary statistics, square roots, age calculations, calendar and clock, and pipes and cisterns.

General Awareness & Current Affairs

Current affairs in science and technology, sports, culture, personalities, economics, politics and other subjects of importance.

Educational qualification

Class 10 pass, or an ITI certificate from an institution recognised by NCVT or SCVT, or an equivalent, or a National Apprenticeship Certificate granted by NCVT.

Age

The age band has been revised between recent cycles, so check it, and the date it is reckoned on, in the notification for your cycle. The usual relaxations apply: 5 years for SC and ST, 3 years for OBC, 10 years for PwBD, and the prescribed relaxation for ex-servicemen.

Physical fitness

The PET standards are under Exam Pattern. Medical fitness standards differ by post, and safety-category posts carry the stricter visual requirements.

1. Computer Based Test: 100 marks, 90 minutes. Candidates are shortlisted for the PET on merit, typically at about three times the vacancies.
2. Physical Efficiency Test: qualifying, pass-or-fail, one chance at each component.
3. Document verification.
4. Medical examination to the standard for the post.

The merit list comes from the CBT. The PET does not add marks; it only removes candidates.

Every post in the notice starts at Level 1 of the 7th CPC matrix. Dearness, house rent and transport allowances are added and vary with posting, and some posts carry running or field allowances.

The posts differ in the work, not the pay. Annexure A of the CEN lists the qualification and medical standard for each.

You only get the refund if you sit the first CBT, less bank charges. Skip the paper and you lose the whole fee.

Economically Backward Class (EBC) is not OBC or EWS. It needs an EBC certificate in the CEN's format, a BPL card, an Izzat MST or another central government poverty certificate. An OBC or EWS certificate won't do.

One board, one application. More than one application, to one board or several, gets all of them rejected and can debar you from future CENs. You can't change the board, or the details in the Create an Account form, afterwards.

Corrections are allowed after the closing date, within a set window, on a non-refundable modification fee each time. If a correction moves you out of a concessional category, you also pay the fee difference.

A diploma or degree in engineering is not accepted in place of ITI or a Course Completed Act Apprenticeship unless a post says otherwise, and a graduate Act apprentice doesn't count either. You must hold the qualification on the closing date, so don't apply while awaiting a result.

The employer is Indian Railways, Ministry of Railways. The 21 Railway Recruitment Boards and the Railway Recruitment Cells run the process, and you are appointed to a Railway zone according to the vacancy table and your preferences.

Vacancies are listed board by board and zone by zone in Annexure B of the CEN, across the mechanical, electrical, engineering, signal and telecommunication, traffic and stores departments.

PET shortlisting is board-wise, at three times that board's community-wise vacancies, so the board you pick is the field you compete in. You can't change it later.

There are 21 Railway Recruitment Boards: Ahmedabad, Ajmer, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Bilaspur, Chandigarh, Chennai, Gorakhpur, Guwahati, Jammu, Kolkata, Malda, Mumbai, Muzaffarpur, Patna, Prayagraj, Ranchi, Secunderabad, Siliguri and Thiruvananthapuram. Your candidature stays with the one you apply to.

That is not where you sit the paper. Centres depend on logistics, you may have to travel to another city or state, and date, centre or shift changes are not allowed.

The PET is held separately, at venues the board arranges after the CBT result.

Dates from CEN 09/2025, Level 1 posts:

Four corrigenda followed between January and March 2026, and another notice in August 2026. The boards post amendments on their sites instead of reissuing the CEN.

Each of the 21 boards publishes its own vacancy table and schedule under the same CEN number, so your board's site is the one to watch. All of them are linked from rrb.indianrailways.gov.in.

Download the e-call letter from your board's website, along with the city and date intimation and, if you are entitled to one, a travel authority, which can't be issued later. Shortlists are also sent by SMS and email, so keep both live.

• Don't bring a pen or pencil. One is provided.
• No electronics: phones, watches, earphones, Bluetooth devices, health bands, calculators. No books, paper, pouches, scales, writing pads, belts, handbags, caps or purses.
• No henna on your hands. It blocks the biometric capture, and a failure there means disqualification and debarment.

CBTs held over several shifts are normalised, and the normalised mark decides shortlisting and merit.

The final merit list is the CBT score alone, against your zone and post preferences. The PET, document verification and medical only remove candidates.

The CEN keeps the option of a second-stage CBT open. If it is used, the first CBT becomes qualifying only.

Tentative answer keys and response sheets are published after the CBT on the board websites, with a paid objection window. Download yours while it is up.

No cut-off is announced in advance. The CBT qualifying minimums are 40% for UR and EWS and 30% for OBC, SC and ST (see Exam Pattern). ST is 30% here but 25% in the ALP notice, so don't carry the figure across. For PwBD candidates the minimum may be relaxed by 2 marks if there is a shortage against their reserved vacancies.

The real cut-off comes from PET shortlisting at three times each board's community-wise vacancies, so it differs by board and community. Boards publish their shortlists on their own sites, linked from rrb.indianrailways.gov.in.

1. Train for the PET while you study. It is pass-or-fail with one chance and no category relaxation, and it is the stage that ends otherwise successful attempts. Carrying 35 kg for 100 metres is not something to discover on the day.
2. Reasoning is the biggest section at 30 of 100 questions, and it is the most improvable with practice.
3. General Science is class 10 level. NCERT textbooks for classes 9 and 10 cover it better than any guidebook.
4. Mind the one-third penalty against a 40% bar. Three wrong answers cancel a right one, and undisciplined guessing is what pushes candidates below the qualifying percentage.
5. Do not reuse an NTPC plan. Group D weights Science at 25 and General Awareness at 20; NTPC weights General Awareness at 40.
6. Take the mock test the boards put up on their websites before the CBT, to get used to the interface.

No previous year papers are available. The Railway Recruitment Boards do not publish them, so every "RRB Group D previous year paper" is a reconstruction from candidates' memory with an unofficial answer key.

What is official: the syllabus in CEN 09/2025, the FAQ document the boards publish with most CENs, and the answer key with your response sheet after the CBT, all on rrb.indianrailways.gov.in.

RRB Chandigarh (carries the common notification and links to every board): rrbcdg.gov.in

Railway Recruitment Boards: rrb.indianrailways.gov.in

CEN 09/2025 (PDF): CEN 09/2025

Indian Railways: indianrailways.gov.in

How many stages does RRB Group D have?

Four: one Computer Based Test, then a Physical Efficiency Test, document verification and a medical examination. There is no second written stage.

Is the Physical Efficiency Test scored?

No. It is qualifying, pass-or-fail, with one chance at each component and no relaxation by category. Candidates with a benchmark disability are exempt.

What are the PET standards?

Male candidates carry 35 kg for 100 metres in 2 minutes and run 1,000 metres in 4 minutes 15 seconds. Female candidates carry 20 kg for 100 metres in 2 minutes and run 1,000 metres in 5 minutes 40 seconds.

What are the minimum qualifying marks in the CBT?

40% for UR and EWS, and 30% for OBC, SC and ST.

How much is deducted for a wrong answer?

One third of a mark. Unanswered questions carry no penalty.

What qualification do I need?

Class 10 pass, or an ITI certificate from an NCVT or SCVT recognised institution, or an equivalent, or a National Apprenticeship Certificate granted by NCVT.

Which section carries the most questions?

General Intelligence & Reasoning, at 30 of 100. General Science follows at 25, then Mathematics at 25 and General Awareness at 20.