RBI Grade B ESI Preparation 2023, Get Free ESI Study Material

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Economic & Social Issues (ESI) is an important section of the RBI Grade B Phase II Examination. It tests a candidate’s knowledge of the Economic & Social concepts (static knowledge) and the various issues related to national economic & social issues (current affairs). In the following article, we have provided the exam pattern, syllabus, resources, and some tips on how to approach the Economic & Social Issues section for your preparation. Below is the RBI Grade B Phase 2 Exam Pattern:

Name of Paper	Type of Paper	Time (Minutes)	Number of questions	Marks
Paper-I: Economic and Social Issues	50% Objective Type 50% Descriptive Type, answers to be typed with the help of the keyboard. Candidates opting to type the answers in Hindi may type with the help of either: (i) Inscript or (ii) Remington (GAIL) keyboards layout.	30 90 Total 120	@	50 50 Total 100
Paper II: English (Writing Skills)	Descriptive, to be typed with the help of the keyboard	90	3	100
Paper-III: General Finance and Management	50% Objective Type 50% Descriptive Type, answers to be typed with the help of the keyboard. Candidates opting to type the answers in Hindi may type with the help of either: (i) Inscript or (ii) Remington (GAIL) keyboards layout.	120	@	50 50 Total 100

Economic & Social Issues Preparation [ESI]

Going through the sample paper released by RBI will give you a fairly good idea of the kind of questions asked in the examination. This will also help you understand how deep you need to go into the topics while preparing. The type of questions asked in the ESI section can be broadly classified as:

i. Static: Conceptual questions that test basic knowledge of different concepts of macroeconomics like national income, the repo rate, bank rate, fiscal deficit, revenue deficit, budget, inflation, banking sector in India, etc.

ii. Dynamic: Questions based on current affairs related to Economic & Social issues.

Most Important Chapters for ESI

Introduction to Economics
Measurement of Growth
Poverty Alleviation and Employment Generation
Sustainable Development & Environmental Issues
Money & Inflation
Role of Economic Planning
Economic Reforms
Industrial Policy & Labour Policy
Monetary Policy & Fiscal Policy
Introduction to Financial Market
Balance of Payments
Foreign Trade Policy
International Economic Institutions
Regional Economic Cooperation
Demographic Trends
Urbanization & Migration
Social Justice
Social Movements
Indian Political System
Human Development
Health & Education

Concept Building Series for ESI for RBI Grade B

I. Resources for ESI Preparation

After a thorough analysis of last year’s RBI Grade B question paper, we found that most of the questions asked in the Economic & Social Issues section were from the following sources:

Economic Survey of India
Budget Summary
Concept Based Books or Notes
NCERT Basic Knowledge
Newspapers (Current events, factual in nature)
Press Information Bureau

Most of the questions were based on facts, figures, numbers, and percentages, that are required to be remembered. Therefore, based on last year’s question paper we concluded that the following are the three most important sources:

The Hindu Newspaper
The Economic Survey of India
Union budget

However, since the RBI Grade B Exam is unpredictable, you need to go beyond these above-mentioned sources. The above-mentioned sources contain the topics and a brief description of those topics.

Attempt RBI Grade B Phase 2 Mock Test

II. ESI Preparation Tips

» General Tips

1. Brush up on your basic concepts.

2. Current Affairs would dominate here.

3. Know the latest development related to the topics given in the syllabus.

4. Descriptive Questions can be of three types: Completely static, Static + Current Affairs + Completely Current Affairs Based, or Opinion Based.

100 Free RBI Grade B Phase 2 Descriptive Tests

» Important Chapters for the Objective Paper?

You might expect objective questions from the following topics:

Get thorough with the basic concepts (fundamentals).

Cover these basic chapters of ESI & FM like
Measurement of Growth – Various Indicators like GDP, GNP, NNP, National Income, etc.
What is Monetary and Fiscal Policy?
Various tools are used by RBI (as part of Monetary policy) and the Government as part of Fiscal Policy.
Balance of Payments
Industrial & Labour Policy
Sustainable Development
Indian Political System (important articles)

>> Previous Years Questions asked in Phase 2 (ESI)

According to the CS Gender 3000 in 2019: the changing face of Companies report, what is the percentage increase in India’s female representation on boards over the past 5 years in the year 2019? – Reports/Policies/Indices.
Which of the following organization has submitted a master plan of $300 m for logistics infrastructure development in Kolkata? – Allocations – Industrial Policy
What is India’s Life Expectancy according to the National Health Profile 2019? – Reports/Policies/Indices – Health.
Which of the following organization releases the World Economic Outlook report? – Reports/Policies/Indices.
As per the UN’s Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index report, India has lifted how many people out of poverty between 2005/6 and 2015/16? – Reports/Policies/Indices.
SEQI was developed by which of the following organization? Reports/Policies/Indices – Education.
Share of exports of products related to India’s MSME during the year 2018-19 stood at? – Allocations – Industrial Policy.
According to SECC, how much percentage of rural households are landless and derive a major part of their income from manual casual labour? – SECC.
The Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum marking its 50th anniversary will be held in which of the following places? – Summits/Conferences – Regional Economic Co-operation/International Financial Institutions.

Key Takeaways from Previous Years’ Questions

Current Affairs linked to the chapters given in the syllabus is asked.

Few questions are very simple (like Phase 1 level) and some questions go one step deeper.

RBI Gr. B Ph 2 Memory-Based Questions

» Important Chapters for the Descriptive Paper

You might expect some descriptive questions from the following topics:

Poverty Alleviation
Employment Generation
Changes in Industrial Policy & Labour Policy
Monetary & Fiscal Policy
Priorities & recommendations of Economic Survey& Union Budget.
Indian Agriculture
Export & Import Policy
Human Development
Social Sectors in India
Health & Education

III. Approach for Economic & Social Issues (ESI) Descriptive Paper

Step 01: Get a grip on all imp. concepts. List them down and make sure to understand each one.

Step 02: Expect questions related to Current Affairs, so track all the important events, reports, schemes, and policies and have key points ready for these. Coverage: Last 6-8 months.

Step 03: Make a list of imp. points mentioned in the Union Budget and Economic Survey. Note the points such that you can use them for any type of questions asked from these two sources.

Step 04: For opinion-based questions which would mostly be asked from the Social Issues section, you need to justify the stand you take. Do not spend time preparing points for these. You can use a few data points noted down while studying current affairs for these answers.

Step 05: Practice at least 12-15 answers before you go for the examination.

Do not let the length of the above-mentioned list of preparation resources intimidate you. You do not have to read them cover to cover, as that is going to take plenty of time. You need to be smart and selective in your preparation and be selective about reading.

The Mock Tests are created by exam toppers and experts who have extensive knowledge about the exam, its pattern, and syllabus. Taking RBI Grade B Mock Tests will:

Familiarize yourself with the pattern, nature, and difficulty level of the exam
Help you figure out exactly what you need to focus on for the exam from your study material so you can be smart & selective and save time
Determine your speed & accuracy
Identify your strengths & weaknesses

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Saloni Singhal

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