RRB NTPC Exam Pattern 2025 (New Format): Check CBT 1, 2, CBAT & Typing Test

The duration of the test is 90 minutes (120 minutes is given to PwBD candidates). The CBT 2 exam is conducted for the qualified candidates of CBT 1 exam. RRB NTPC exam pattern for the second stage CBT is such that it is divided into three sections-General Questions Awareness, Mathematics, and General Intelligence and Reasoning. The test carries a total of 120 questions. 

The exam is held for 90 minutes (120 minutes for PwBD candidates accompanied by scribe). Questions in the exam are asked from General Awareness, Mathematics and General Intelligence and Reasoning. The total marks allotted to the test are 100.

The first stage CBT of RRB NTPC comprises questions from General Awareness, Mathematics, and General Intelligence and Reasoning. The test paper carries a total of 100 objective-type multiple-choice questions. The first stage CBT is qualifying in nature. The test carries 100 marks. The exam is held for 90 minutes (120 minutes for PwBD candidates accompanied by scribe). The structure of RRB NTPC exam pattern for CBT 1 is given below.

Sections	Number of questions
General Awareness	40
Mathematics	30
General Intelligence and Reasoning	30
Total	100

RRB NTPC syllabus for different subjects is given below:

• Mathematics: Data Interpretation, Profit, Loss & Discount, Speed, Time & Distance, Simple and Compound Interest, Geometry, Time and Work, Percentage, etc. 
• Reasoning: Alphabet series, Number series, Coding-Decoding, Venn Diagram, Syllogism, etc.
• General Awareness: Current Affairs Static GK, Polity and Constitution, History, Geography, Art and Culture, etc.

 

 

 

RRB NTPC syllabus for Reasoning include questions from verbal and non-verbal Reasoning. The board prescribes RRB NTPC syllabus to evaluate the analytical, critical and logical reasoning skills of candidates applying for various non-technical posts. It also helps in evaluating the problem-solving ability and decision-making skills of candidates. Candidates who are well-versed in Reasoning inorder to score high marks in this section. For RRB NTPC General Intelligence and Reasoning section, candidates need to prepare Coding and Decoding, Analytical Reasoning, Data Sufficiency, Decision Making, Puzzle, etc. This section carries 30 questions in CBT 1 and 35 in CBT 2. Candidates should practice mock tests and previous years’ question papers to ace this section.

For General Knowledge section of RRB NTPC you need to cover Current Events of National and International Importance, Indian Literature, History, Polity, Geography, Economics, etc. The weightage given to this section in CBT 1 is 40 and in CBT 2 is 50. For RRB NTPC General Science and General Awareness, you can refer to the Lucent General Science and Lucent GK books. For General Science, you can also clear your concepts from high school Science books. RRB NTPC syllabus for General Knowledge is given below:

• Current Events of National and International Importance
• Games and Sports
• Art and Culture of India
• Indian Literature
• Monuments and Places of India
• General Science and Life Science (up to 10th CBSE) General Science and Life Science (up to 10th CBSE)
• History of India and Freedom Struggle
• Physical, Social and Economic Geography of India and World
• Indian Polity and Governance- constitution and political system
• General Scientific and Technological Developments including Space and Nuclear Program of India
• UN and Other important World Organizations
• Environmental Issues Concerning India and World at Large
• Basics of Computers and Computer Applications
• Common Abbreviations
• Transport Systems in India
• Indian Economy
• Famous Personalities of India and World
• Flagship Government Programs
• Flora and Fauna of India
• Important Government and Public Sector Organizations of India etc

Typing Skill Test (TST) is required for the following posts:

Junior Clerk cum Typist

Accounts Clerk cum Typist

Junior Time Keeper

Senior Clerk cum Typist

Senior Time Keeper

Junior Account Assistant cum Typist

The tips and tricks to prepare for RRB NTPC exam are given below: a) Understand the exam pattern and syllabus b) Practice the previous years' question papers to know the type of questions asked in the exam/li&get; c) Solve mock tests to improve speed and accuracy d) Identify the strengths and weakness and work towards improving the weaker areas/li&get; e) Refer to a good book and clear the concepts of each topic Questions asked in the RRB NTPC exam are generally of the school level. Candidates can brush up on the topics prescribed for Science subjects from the NCERT books of Classes 7 to 10. The books that candidates can refer to for RRB NTPC exam are given below: Mathematics Quantitative Aptitude by RS Aggarwal Fast Track by Rajesh Verma NCERT Maths from Grade 6 to Grade 11 Magical Books on Quicker Maths by M Tyra Advance Maths by Rakesh Yadav General Intelligence and Reasoning Analytical Reasoning by MK Pandey Test of Reasoning by Edgar Thorpe A Modern Approach to Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning by RS Aggarwal New Approach to Reasoning Verbal, Non-Verbal and Analytical by BS Sijwali and Indus Sijwali Lucents General Intelligence and Reasoning General Knowledge Lucents General Knowledge Manorama Yearbook.

CBAT is conducted for the post of Traffic Assistant and Station Master posts. There is no negative marking in this test and is qualifying in nature. Candidates must secure 42 marks in each test battery (for all categories). 

The distribution of questions in the RRB NTPC CBT 2 exam is given below.

Sections	No. of Questions
Mathematics	35
General Intelligence and Reasoning	35
General Awareness	50
Total	120

Candidates requires a minimum T-score of 42 marks to qualify this test. Candidates are given different test batteries consisting of five to six tests as per the posts. There is no negative marking in CBAT. It is important to qualify in this test.

To prepare for RRB NTPC exam, it is ideal that candidates must begin their preparation one year or six months before the exam. Before beginning with the preparation, candidates must be thorough with the exam pattern. Going through the exam pattern, candidates can know the marking scheme, exam duration, number of sections, etc.

The overall difficulty level of RRB NTPC CBT 1 exam was moderate to difficult. Maximum questions in the General Awareness section were asked from Computers. The General Awareness section carried questions from topics such as Women premiere league, Percentage of GDP on research and development, the Relation of Geographical features, etc. The GK section was difficult compared to other sections.

Yes, there is a negative marking in RRB NTPC exam. 1/3 of the marks are deducted for wrong answers. For the correct answer, candidates score one mark. The total marks of the exam are calculated based on the number of correct and incorrect answers. The question paper of RRB NTPC is framed in 15 languages-Hindi, English Urdu, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipur, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu.

The revised RRB NTPC exam pattern for graduate posts is given below.

Name of the post	Level in 7th CPC	1st stage CBT	2ndstage CBT	Skill Test requirement
Goods Train Manager	5	Common for all Posts	Common for all posts	-
Senior Clerk cum Typist	5			Typing Skill Test
Junior Account Assistant cum Typist	5			Typing Skill Test
Chief Commercial cum Ticket Supervisor	6			-
Station Master	6			Computer Based Aptitude Test

Yes, there is normalisation of marks in RRB NTPC exam. According to the normalisation process, the marks obtained in the exam are calculated on the basis of an average score of the top one percent of the candidates considering all shifts. The marks are calculated up to five decimal places. RRB NTPC exam is conducted in various stages, such as first stage CBT, second stage CBT, Typing Skill Test/Computer Based Aptitude Test (CBAT) (as applicable), and Document Verification/Medical Examination.

Candidates should be able to type 30 words per minute (WPM) in English or 25 WPM in Hindi on Computer. Candidates are not allowed to use editing tools and spell check facilities. Candidates are required to type at least 300 words in English or 250 words in Hindi. The exam session consists of three parts-Typing practice for one minute to warm up & familiarize with key board, Break of 30 seconds and Typing Test for 10 minutes which will be taken for evaluation.