RBI Grade B 2027 Nationality & Number of Attempts

RBI is a prestigious organization, and working there as an RBI Grade B is one of the most sought after jobs in the government sector in our country.

While applying for the RBI Grade B exam, there are a number of things that a candidate needs to go through to ensure that they are eligible for the exam.

One of such criteria is the nationality of the aspirant. Anyone who is applying for this examination needs to make sure that they fulfill the RBI Grade B citizenship requirement according to the latest notification.

All Indian citizens are eligible to apply, but certain other categories can also apply subject to Government of India rules. 

The criteria related to this are what we will be discussing below.

In addition to nationality, candidates should also be aware about the RBI Grade B attempt limit, ie, the number of times a candidate can give this exam.

Along with knowing the age limit, the attempt limit also plays a major role in how a candidate should be approaching this examination. These two factors are very important in determining eligibility for this exam; hence, we will be discussing it below in this article too.

RBI Grade B Nationality Criteria 2027

According to the latest RBI notification, the citizens of the following countries are eligible to apply for this exam:

1. Citizen of India 
2. Subject of Nepal
3. Subject of Bhutan
4. Tibetan Refugee who came over to India before 1st January, 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India
5. Person of Indian Origin (PIO) who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia and Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India

Nationality Certification of Eligibility Requirement

• Who needs an eligibility certificate?

A candidate who is a subject of Nepal or a subject of Bhutan, a Tibetan refugee, or a Person of Indian Origin (PIO) will need an eligibility certificate.

• Who is the issuing authority of the certificate?

The Government of India is the issuing authority for this certificate.

• When is it verified?

A candidate in whose case a certificate of eligibility is necessary may be admitted to the examination, but the offer of appointment may be given only after the necessary eligibility certificate is issued to the candidate by the Government of India.

RBI Grade B Number of Attempts

The RBI Grade B examination has criteria regarding the number of attempts that can be given by a candidate for the Grade B examination.

The attempt limit differs by category; hence, candidates are advised to go through the rules of RBI relating to the number of attempts that an aspirant has for the exam.

The attempt limit becomes even more important when combined with the age limit criteria.

RBI Grade B Category-wise Number of Attempts

The number of attempts for a candidate differs by the category they belong to; below we have provided in detail the limits for various categories.

• General category – Maximum attempts for candidates belonging to the general category are 6 attempts.
• EWS category – The maximum number of attempts for candidates belonging to the EWS category is 6 attempts.
• OBC category – There is no limit on the number of attempts that can be given by an OBC category candidate
• SC category – The limit on the number of attempts is relaxed for SC candidates, and they can give as many attempts as they want.
• ST category – The number of attempts that can be given by ST candidates has no limit.
• PwBD – The number of attempts for PwBD candidates is unlimited, ie, they can give attempts till they reach to the age limit.

Candidates belonging to either the SC, ST, or OBC category, who are also covered under Ex-servicemen or PwBD, are granted cumulative age relaxation according to the RBI Grade B 2027 notification. For a detailed explanation, aspirants can check out our age limit eligibility article.

RBI Grade B Attempts 2027: What counts as an attempt?

Candidates should note that only filling the form does not count as an attempt. They need to appear for the prelims exam.

• An attempt is only counted when, post-form filling, the candidate at least sits for the Phase 1 exam of RBI Grade B, ie, if a candidate is giving the prelims exam, it will be counted as an attempt.
• Candidates should note that for some government exams, sitting in prelims is not counted, but qualifying and giving the Phase 2 exam is what constitutes an attempt; but for the RBI Grade B examination, giving the Phase 1 examination is counted as an attempt.
• Thus, if the candidate qualifies for phase 1 of Grade B and sits for phase 2 and then the interview, subject to qualifying the previous phases in a single exam cycle, it will all be counted as a single attempt.

Therefore, those candidates who have a limited number of attempts should be careful about this criteria.

Does the RBI age limit affect the number of attempts?

As we had discussed in the introduction, the age limit in combination with the number of attempts plays an important role in determining how many times an aspirant can give the RBI Grade B exam.

Hence, yes, the age limit plays a role in the number of attempts available to a candidate. The RBI Grade B maximum attempts mainly need to be considered by the UR and EWS candidates since, for SC/ST/OBC/PwBD, there is no restriction on the number of attempts.

For example, if a candidate is at the age of 28 while giving their first attempt, then realistically they can only give 2 more attempts.

However, if a candidate is giving their first attempt at the age of 25, then they can give 5 more attempts till the age of 30, subject to the notification’s cutoff date.

Common mistakes candidates made

• Confusing UPSC or IBPS rules with RBI’s rules relating to the number of attempts
• Some candidates tend to ignore the age limit criteria or are not aware about the cutoff date according to which age limit is decided.
• Aspirants should not assume that all categories have the same attempt limit, they should specifically check for their category.
• Misunderstanding what counts as an attempt is very common. As we have mentioned earlier, sitting for phase 1 counts as an attempt; only filling out the form and not appearing for phase 1 is not counted as an attempt.