RBI Grade B Phase 2 Booklist 2027

RBI Grade B is a very competitive examination for candidates every year for the handful of seats released.

The ones who make it to phase 2 need to be careful in choosing the right sources for preparation.
Phase 2 consists of three papers, Paper 1 is Economics and Social Issues, Paper 2 is English and Paper 3 is Finance and Management.

All these subjects require students to learn the fundamental concepts and supplement them with current affairs; therefore, it is very important for aspirants to choose the right books, which will help them in building these static concepts.

In this article we have given a list of RBI Grade B mains books, which we believe are good for preparation. Candidates can choose a book for each subject with newspaper reading and a current affairs magazine for ideal preparation

Best RBI Grade B ESI books

Below we have listed the names of books that you can refer to while preparing the ESI subject:

• Indian Economy by Nitin Singhania
• Indian Economy (Performance and Policies) by Uma Kapila
• Social Problems in India by Ram Ahuja
• Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh
• Public Finance by Andley and Sundaram
• Indian Polity by M Laxmikant
• Macroeconomics by N. Gregory Mankiv
• Growth and Development by Devraj Ray
• An introduction to Economics by A W Stonier and DC Hauge 
  

Best RBI Grade B Finance books

You can choose any one of the books listed below for your finance preparation:

• Indian Financial System by Bharati V. Pathak
• Fundamentals of Financial Management by Prasanna Chandra
• Analysis of Financial Statements (only ratios) by T.S.Grewal
• Indian Financial System by MY Khan
• NCERT 11th and 12th class ( for Accountancy part)
• Indian Economy and Indian Financial System by JAIIB exam by Macmillan publication
• Financial Management by IM Pandey
• Fundamentals of financial management by RP Rustagi
• Monetary Theory and Public Policy by Kenneth Kurihara
• International Business by Hill and Jain 
• Economic Growth and Development by Mayer and Baldwin 

Best RBI Grade B Management Books

We have listed the various management books that are good for RBI Grade B preparation:

• Organization Theory and Behaviour by T. N.Chhabra & B.P.Singh
• Principles & Practice of Management by T. N.Chhabra
• Organizational Behaviour by Stephen Robbins
• Business Ethics and Corporate Governance by BN Ghosh
• Principles and Practices of Management by LM Prasad
• Organization Behaviour by LM Prasad
• Human Resources Management by TN Chabbra
• Human Resource Management by CB Gupta
• Corporate Governance by ICSI material
• Business Ethics – An Indian Perspective by A.C. Fernando

Best RBI Grade B English Books

For descriptive writing practice and learning core grammar rules, you can refer to the following books:

• Descriptive English by S.P. Bakshi and Richa Sharma
• High School English Grammar and Composition by Wren and Martin
  
• It is advised to candidates to regularly read editorials from newspapers such as The Indian Express and also to follow business and economy current affairs through newspapers like Business Standard or Livemint. It will bring awareness around the content that you can use and also give you an idea on how to summarize your answers.

RBI Grade B Phase 2 Current Affairs Sources

• Economic Survey – You can refer to the official pdf, which can be downloaded from the India Budget Portal managed by the Ministry of Finance, or you can refer to the summary pdf of any RBI Grade B coaching class.

• Union Budget – The official document can be downloaded from the India Budget Portal managed by the Ministry of Finance or you can refer to any coaching class’s pdf where they have mentioned the details relevant to the RBI Grade B exam.
• Government schemes – For this students can either google individual ministries and make notes of the government schemes or they can refer to any coaching class’s material which they trust.
• Reports related to economic policies and data – Candidates should be updated on the Periodic Labour Force Survey date, inflation trends, FDI inflows etc.
• International reports – Candidates should read reports released by international bodies like the World Bank, WTO, UNDP and IMF. The reports released by them like the Global Financial Stability Report, Human Development report etc.
• Economic and social sector developments – The candidate should pay attention to various indexes released by national and international bodies. They should also learn the various government schemes related to economic development
• Social and environmental news – Our government is diligently working towards environmental goals therefore aspirants should be aware about the latest happenings in this domain. They should learn the government schemes, India’s renewable and net-zero energy targets, collaborations/loans with international organisations etc. 

RBI Grade B Finance Current Affairs Sources

• RBI monetary policy – RBI released the monetary policy rates every 3 months, candidates can either refer to the RBI website for the latest rates or can refer to any current affair pdf as they are usually covered in the ‘Banking’ or ‘Finance’ section
• Banking developments – For all the news related to the developments in the banking sector it is ideal for the aspirant to cover it by reading a newspaper like the Business Standard or Livemint and also following a current affairs magazine.
• RBI reports – The reports relevant to this exam are the RBI Annual Report, the Financial Stability Report (FSR), and the RBI Monthly Bulletin which can be downloaded from the ‘Publications tab’ of the RBI website. If you want a summarized version with details relevant to the examination then you can refer to any coaching class’s material that you find sufficient. 
• RBI circulars – The circulars of RBI can be read through the RBI website everyday or candidates can follow any current affairs magazine online which will directly summarize the relevant information for them.
• Financial sector regulators – Aspirants should also keep an eye on the major announcements by other regulators, ie, SEBI, IFSCA,IRDAI and PFRDA
• Financial inclusion – The aspirant should pay close attention to indexes such as the RBI Financial Inclusion Index, digital innovations for financial inclusion, international reports talking about financial inclusion and the government schemes for financial inclusion.
• Digital payments and fintech – Aspirants should keep themselves updated on the latest happenings in UPI, CBDC etc and also regulations related to the fintech sector.

How to study RBI Grade B Phase 2 books?

Candidates can follow the tips below to utilize the books effectively for Phase 2 preparation:

• Firstly, you should read the Phase 2 syllabus of this exam carefully and thoroughly.
• It is important to map the syllabus to the contents of the book and stick to the syllabus while reading the books.
• You can either underline important concepts or, if time permits make short notes of the static concepts and you can supplement these notes with the current data, making them useful for descriptive writing as well.
• It is a good idea to link the static concepts with the current affairs and the statistical data you learn in the reports, as this will immensely help in writing the descriptive answers.
• You should also be referring to the PYQs to find out the topics you need to focus on and also to practice the concepts you have learned.

Common Mistakes While Choosing the RBI Grade B Phase 2 Book

• It is best if you are able to find one book for each subject or at most two for a mix and match with the syllabus. You should not get stuck with multiple books, as it results in confusion and wastage of time.
• You should make sure to get the latest edition of the book and not the old one, as a lot of information gets updated in the new edition. Also, you should be supplementing the books with the current affairs data.
• Please do not make the mistake of ignoring current affairs; make sure to cover all the current affairs separately through an online magazine. Books will mainly be used for learning concepts.
• Some students do not refer to PYQs while they are at the start of their preparation journey. PYQs help in getting an understanding of the type of questions asked in the exam and also help in selecting the right resource.
• Candidates should not make the mistake of delaying descriptive writing practice. It is ideal to start with it 3 months prior to the exam.
• Candidates should keep a good portion of their preparation time for revision as well. Especially revising the current affairs is very important because there are multiple parts of current affairs which you need to remember in detail, like banking and finance current affairs, reports, RBI circulars, etc.