Preliminary Examination: latest RDBS/Legal framework
| Test | Questions | Marks | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reasoning | 20 | 20 | Qualifying |
| English Language | 30 | 30 | Qualifying |
| Computer Knowledge | 20 | 20 | Qualifying |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 20 | 20 | Qualifying |
| Decision Making | 10 | 10 | Qualifying |
| General Awareness | 20 | 20 | Merit |
| ESI (Rural India focus) | 40 | 40 | Merit |
| ARD (Rural India emphasis) | 40 | 40 | Merit |
| Total | 200 | 200 | Composite 120 minutes |
Main: Generalist
| Paper | Format | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| General English | Descriptive; 3 questions | 100 | 90 minutes |
| ESI & ARD Paper II | Objective | 50 | 30 minutes |
| ESI & ARD Paper II | Descriptive; 4 attempted of 6 | 50 | 90 minutes |
Specialist and Legal
The latest notice keeps the General English descriptive paper and replaces Generalist Paper II with the relevant stream-specific Paper II. It provides objective and descriptive Paper II components for specialist and Legal candidates.
Negative marking and merit
The 2025 official notice states a one-fourth penalty for wrong answers in Phase I and Phase II. For RDBS/Legal, final selection and ranking use Main Examination and Interview performance together; the psychometric test is mandatory.