RBI Grade B FM Preparation 2025, Important Topics, Strategy & Tips

RBI Grade B FM Preparation Strategy: How to prepare for FM is a common question in the minds of most aspirants. The good news is that FM (Finance and Management) is not as unpredictable and tough as ESI and English in the RBI Grade B exam. With a proper strategy and syllabus knowledge, you can easily make it the most scoring one as seen in past year marks’ trends of qualified candidates. This paper constitutes 100 out of 300 marks in the RBI Grade B paper 2. A good preparation strategy will help you achieve almost 70 to 75 marks. In this post, we’ll break down this approach for you.

What Is FM in RBI Grade B?

FM, or Finance and Management is an objective and descriptive type paper in phase 2 of the RBI Grade B exam. It tests your knowledge of financial systems, management concepts, and financial markets through both MCQs and long, descriptive writing. There are 30 objective questions and six descriptive questions in this paper worth 100 marks. You get 120 minutes to solve the FM paper, with 30 minutes for the MCQs and 90 minutes for descriptive questions.

Target Score for RBI Grade B Finance & Management

Here, we will discuss what should be the ideal RBI Grade B FM Target Score. We will also know how much marks should be target in objective, descriptive & total.

Subject	Objective	Descriptive	Total
Finance	15+ Marks	15+ Marks	30-35 Marks
Management	20+ Marks	20+ Marks	40-45 Marks

FM Syllabus for RBI Grade B

In this section, we have provided the complete RBI Grade B Syllabus for FM. Check out the table below:

FM Syllabus for RBI Grade B

Financial System  Structure and Functions of Financial Institutions, Functions of the Reserve Bank of India, Banking System in India – Structure and Developments, Financial Institutions – SIDBI, EXIM Bank, NABARD, NHB, NaBFID, etc, Recent Developments in Global Financial System and its Impact on Indian Financial System, Role of Information Technology in Banking and Finance Non-Banking System, Developments in Digital Payments

Financial Markets Primary and Secondary Markets (Forex, Money, Bond, Equity, etc.), functions, instruments, and recent developments.

General Topics  Financial Risk Mgt, Basics of Derivatives, Global financial markets & International Banking – broad trends & latest developments, Financial Inclusion, Alternate source of finance, private & social cost-benefit, Public Private Partnership, Corporate Governance in Banking Sector, The Union Budget – Concepts, approach, & broad trends, Basics of Accounting & Financial Statements – Balance Sheet, Profit, & Loss, Cash Flow Statements, Ratio Analysis (such as Debt to Equity, Debtor Days, Creditor Days, Inventory Turnover, Return on Assets, Return on Equity, etc.), Inflation: Definition, trends, estimates, consequences, & remedies (control): WPI- CPI – components & trends; striking a balance between inflation and growth through monetary & fiscal policies.

Management Fundamentals of Management & Organizational Behavior & Ethics at the Workplace and Corporate Governance in detail.

RBI Grade B FM Preparation – Complete Strategy

In order to cover the syllabus of FM, you need to be smart and have to do a selective reading of important topics. Most importantly read up on only those topics that are most likely to appear in the examination. Here is the complete strategy of Finance and Management for RBI Grade B.

I. Analyze & Solve PYPs & Sample Papers

While the previous year’s question papers will give you an idea about the difficulty level of the questions and exam pattern, the RBI sample paper might provide you hints on what topics might appear in the exam. You can download the RBI Grade B PYQ PDF and easily find out whether your preparation is going in the right direction or not.
For example, in 2021, the questions in the FM paper were a blend of finance and current affairs. In 2024, the questions were more on yojanas. Similarly, in 2021, 2022, and 2023, numerical were not a part of the exam as opposed to the years before them.
So, identifying this pattern helps you determine the focus areas of study. This is why you must not forget to attempt the previous year question papers and view their analysis after each topic.

II. Determine the Important Topics

After analyzing the previous year question papers, you can find out the relevant topics to study for FM. As per the past years’ analysis of F&M papers, we have concluded that these are the most important chapters from the Finance & Management syllabus:

Most Important Chapters for Finance

• Financial Regulatory Bodies
• Banking System in India
• Reforms in the Banking & Finance Sector
• Impact of the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-08
• Primary & Secondary Markets
• Risk Management in the Banking Sector
• Basics of Derivatives
• Alternate sources of Finance
• Inflation

Note: While reading the news/current affairs, make sure you keep these chapters in mind so that you can map the news to the syllabus. This will help you answer the finance objective questions as well as descriptive ones.

Most Important Chapters for Management

• General Management
• Leadership
• Communication
• Corporate Governance
• Organizational Behavior
• Organizational Change
• Emotional Intelligence
• Interpersonal Relationship
• Nudge Theory
• Ethics at Workplace

III. Focus More on Conceptual Understanding

Many topics in the Management part of the FM syllabus are generic. These include topics like communication, leadership, intelligence, conflict, corporate governance, ethics, and the like. They are majorly theoretical but you may find it difficult to differentiate between theories. As a result, your ability to understand and solve questions related to them will decrease.
The solution to this issue is to give greater emphasis to conceptual understanding. Do not simply cram the theories and principles. Instead, try to determine their real world application so you can solve questions with confidence.

IV. Prepare Static Parts in FM to Score Higher

Most questions in the FM section come from static come from static portion and GK. So, your preparation strategy should revolve more around studying static FM than current. Here’s a list of important static topics for FM.

• Important Financial institutions
• Functions of RBI
• Primary and secondary markets – Equity, Debt, and Bonds
• Fiscal policy
• Derivatives
• International bodies like the UN and UNICEF
• Risk management
• Cash flow
• Balance sheet and statement of income

V. Using the Right Preparation Material

There is no point in sitting and trying to figure out what topics might appear in the exam and what might not, because, the syllabus of RBI Grade B Finance & Management is vast and RBI is known to be unpredictable and might include topics, that aren’t directly mentioned in the syllabus, in the exam. Therefore, it makes sense to use preparation material created by experts and exam toppers after thorough research and analysis for your preparation.

Download RBI Grade B Phase 2 Trend Analysis & Preparation Roadmap

VI. Taking Mock Tests

RBI Grade B Mock tests for FM created by industry experts & exam toppers after extensive research and analysis. They not only help you determine the topics that you should prepare for the RBI Grade B exam but also:

• Help you identify your strengths & weakness
• Determine your speed & accuracy
• Give you an in-depth analysis of your performance

VII. Pick the Right Books and Sources

Refer to a few but reliable sources that contain the core of the topics you need to prepare for. This way, you read less, but you read the most important stuff. Here are the books that should be a part of your RBI Grade B FM preparation strategy for 2025:

• Indian Economy by Puri and Misra
• Principles and Practice of Management by L.M Prasad
• Organizational Behaviour by L.M Prasad
• Business Ethics & Corporate Governance by BN Ghosh
• NCERT – Business Studies – Part II
• Read RBI bulletins

TIP: For current affairs, instead of reading newspapers, read a roundup of current affairs from current affairs capsules. Also, refer to the FAQ section of Financial Institutions like NABARD, SIDBI, etc. for static information.

VIII. Finance and Management Approach for Descriptive Paper

Check out the approach for Finance and Management Descriptive Paper:

Step 1: Start with the Management section. The desc. ques. from this section would be static in nature. Be thorough with the concepts.
Step 2: While reading each chapter, note down key words for each chapter (as part of various theories/concepts).
Step 3: For the Finance section, make a list of current affairs-related topics (in news lately) and static topics and write down keywords for each one.
Step 4: While writing the answers, make sure you are building your answers around these keywords.  
Step 5: Practice at least 12-15 answers before you go for the examination

Check out Approach to RBI Grade B FM Descriptive Paper

RBI Grade B FM Preparation – Some General Tips

• We recommend you start your exam by attempting all the moderate and easy level questions with great accuracy first, without wasting too much time on tough questions, and then move on to the tougher questions. If you attempt all moderate and easy level questions with great accuracy, and a few tough questions, you have a good chance of clearing phase 2.
• Management is a scoring section and easier compared to the Finance part since it is static and doesn’t involve current affairs or numbers. Try to capitalize on this and score maximum marks in the Management section.
• A lot of questions in the exam will be direct, i.e., ‘Factual’ in nature. Therefore you must memorize facts, figures, percentages and numbers for Finance (Repo rate, policy dates, interest, SLR, CRR, etc.) and names of people (thinkers, inventors, etc.), years, etc. for the Management part.

RBI Grade B Finance & Management Preparation – FAQs

Important Ebooks for Regulatory Exams

Download some important ebooks for all regulatory exams. These ebooks are free of cost and are created by experts for the aspirants.

• RBI February Monetary Policy
• 100+ Important Economic and Finance Terms
• 120+ Management MCQs
• Important MSME Schemes
• Atal Innovation Mission
• UPI: Revolutionizing Digital Payments
• RBI New Governor: Key Challenges
• Poverty Alleviation
• National Mission on Natural Farming
• Jalvahak Scheme
• Prime Minister Internship Scheme
• Smile Program
• Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme
• SEBI New Measures for SME
• Svamitva Scheme
• PM Surya Ghar Muft BijlI Yojana
• India State of Forest Report
• Agri Clinics and Agri Business Centres (ACABC) Scheme
• Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India

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