Before appearing for any exam, we must first................

 Before appearing for any exam, we must first understand what it demands. Each exam is unique and hence asks for a specialized approach. Same goes for RBI Grade B exam. The exam is quite straightforward but seats being so less ( Seats in Generalist UR category were a mere 64 in 2018) makes the exam one of the toughest in India. Also by cracking it you get a opportunity of working in the Central Bank of the nation. That itself is a strong motivating factor.

 

The path of education can be so beautiful

 I am 29 years old from Rural Odisha, India. Here is my story of life, which may inspire you. You will not feel regret after reading it.

I come from a very poor background and lower class in society. People generally didn’t give that much attention to my family and parents. We are three brothers, and my parents live in a small village in Odisha. I started my schooling in 1998. When I was conscious and knew about the world, I realized that my father does labour work. My mother was a housewife.

Let me tell you about my father. My father is the elder child of my grandparents. At that time, due to family pressure and poverty, he could not attend school. Near my village is a railway station colony where 20 families stay. During those days (1995- 2000s), my father used to supply water to those families for their daily use as there was no water supply. He used to wake up at 4 a.m. He used to supply water from a tube well in two buckets. He used to lift the weight with the help of a bamboo lathi. He used to get 4 to 5000 rupees per month. In those 5000 rupees, our family used to maintain. Later on, the Railway colony was connected to the 24*7 water supply. Eventually, my father lost that work and started working as a laborer on a railway track. I must say that was tough because you have to work hard in sun all days and you must realize how much the temperature will be near the railway track. Do you know how much he used to get per day? It was 120 rupees. This work continued till 2013 when he got to experience, and the contractor engaged him as a supervisor on the site to maintain the labor force. Today he earns 400 rupees per day which are around 12000 per month.

Let me tell you about my mom. Her life is pathetic and spent in struggle. She lost her mom early, so she didn’t get a chance to study higher; she attended till class 10th. She got posted as an Assistant Anganwadi worker in an interior village which is 5 km away from my home. She used to walk ten km to attend to her regular duty. Later on, my mom cleared the 10th exam in open schooling and became an Anganwadi teacher in 2015. She used to earn 3-5000 rupees per month.

(My mom, cousin sister and Dad in 2020)

When I was a child, my mom used to prepare garlands for buses. The buses passing near my village used to buy them for morning puja. I used to sell flower garlands to the public buses standing on the road, and I used to get 40-50 rupees daily. These earnings were used to maintain our daily vegetables and groceries.

Let me tell you about my home. It was a Kacha house with straws on the roof and no electricity. During the rainy season, leaks in the top made it hard to sleep. The rooms were small and congested. But one thing I must say is that we never felt sad and bad about my home. It was heaven for me, one of the best places where I feel good and comfortable. As we didn’t had electricity, we studied a major part of education in the lamp.

( My home before 2020)

There were few officers in the railway colony who used to give their childrens' old clothes, which were like new clothes for us. We were happy to wear them. We used to get new clothes only in Durga puja. My father used to provide the same garments (color and design) for my brothers and me.

Let me tell now my journey from this setup. I started my schooling at a local govt school in vernacular medium. I completed my schooling at the local govt school itself. During my childhood, my parents were not educated but encouraged me to participate in different extracurricular activities. They sent us to private tution as well. I have more than 50 winning certificates from various competitions like essay, debate, quiz , painting , monoacting etc. I got an award during the Independence Day celebration as the best student in my high school days, which recognized my parents in the entire Grampanchayt. The event's chief guest, CDMO (Chief District Medical Officer), impressed on me, and he had gifted books, stationaries and two pairs of uniforms at that time which was like blessing and motivational factor for me.

After my School few months I had worked as sales man in a medicine store and during college days I used to do data entry works as part time work.

I was selected for the science stream in a good college, but due to family financial conditions, I choosed Humanities as subject and I have completed my Graduation in Economics Honors and secured first class with distinction. I was the first person in my family to be a graduate.

During my college days, my leadership quality evolved, and I was elected as General Secretary. In 2013, I had an opportunity to share the dais with the Governor of Odisha at annual function in my college. That was a proud moment for me.

( with His Excellency Former Governor and Education Minister of Odisha in 2012)

Later on, I completed my B.Ed. Degree from Regional Institute of Education Bhubaneswar Under NCERT, New Delhi in 2015. I have completed my Masters's degree in Applied Economics from Pondicherry Central University in 2017.

Now I am going to finish my PhD in Economics at the National Institute of Technology Karnataka Surathkal next month. I am doing research on farmers behavior towards adoption of new technology of Climate Smart Agriculture and its impact on their Income and welfare. I do research and also have given training to more than 500 tribal farmers to upgrade themselves to do sustainable agriculture practises.

( My Research and Trainning activities with the Rural Traibal Farmers of Odisha in 2022)

My career has been first class throughout except in class 10th (2nd division).

This month I have been selected as an Assistant Professor in Economics through Odisha Public Service Commission. My parents are thrilled to see their kid as a Group A Officer in the Odisha government. My villagers and my district people are proud of my parents and me.

My brothers are also struggled a lot. They have followed my path to do something remarkable in life.

My second brother cracked the Delhi university Law Entrance test 2022, and he is doing LLB from the prestigious law school of India, Faculty of LAW, Delhi University. My Youngest brother is doing a diploma in a Government College. I feel proud for my younger brothers as well.

(Assitant Professor Interview, June 2022)

One thing I must say is that my parents are God for me. Although they are not highly educated, their dedication to making us educated and successful is remarkable. They didn’t spend a single penny of their hard-earned money on themselves; all the money they earned was dedicated to my brothers and me. There are no savings, and there is no jewellery for my mom. In 2000s nobody had given attention and respect to my parents in the society. But in 2022 My parents are familiar faces for many not only in my village but also in block level. That is the power of Education and Investment on Education. Now they are getting respect from all which is the ultimate happiness for me.

In 2020 I constructed a home from PhD stipend and bought a scooter for them, which was my first gift for them.

One thing I feel sad and devastated about looking at them, they are getting older. They have spent their entire life to make our life beautiful. I want them in each birth of my life.

All these things motivates me to work hard and study. This is not the end I want to achieve more and more in life. Definitely we three brothers will make our parents proud.

Hope you liked my life story 😊 Thank You 🙏

-Purna Chandra Tanti Senior Research Fellow / Selected as An Assistant Professor

RBI Grade B

After making it to the list , I have realised that most of the candidates who have made it to the final list and especially the toppers have been working while they have prepared for the exam. So, it’s definitely possible to prepare for this exam while working.

First thing is that being a working candidate it is important that we restrict our resources of study since we do not have the luxury of time. So for any topic of the syllabus first make sure that you don’t refer to more than one resource. I have done the mistake of referring to many sources during my previous attempts and realised this.

Then, make sure that you fix your timing for study during the week days according to your office hours. My office timings is from 10 AM - 7.30 PM. I felt that studying after office hours didn’t work for me , so I used to take enough sleep after office hours and use my mornings to study . Quality attention of 2–3 hours every weekday will be quite enough [My timings were usually from 6AM- 9 AM.] Though I had tried to study in the night I understood that I was not able to focus more as I was tired after office hours. So try to fix your timing of study according to your office hours and your own comfort. It can be any 2–3 hours of the day where you feel you can focus more. Also make sure you have enough sleep of minimum 6 hours to keep you focused during study time.

When it comes to weekends it’s mere sacrifice. We must try to cover “ as much as possible “ during the weekends as we can make up for the shortfall of preparation during the weekdays.

Phase 1 : Since I already had my basics in Quants , Reasoning & English, I had focused more on General Awareness Part [which is of more weightage in the exam]. When the RBI notification was released in July 2018 , we had one month’s time for Prelims.

General Awareness : I had planned to study GK of 4 months and revise them. I utilized my lunch time[It was 45 minutes, I made sure to complete lunch early to devote time for GK] to make sure I completed atleast 10 days of GK during that time. This way I was able to complete one month’s GK in 3 weekdays. During the weekends I tried to complete the left out GK. In this way I was able to complete 4 months GK in 1 - 2 weeks time. Thereafter , I kept revising them again and again.

Quants , Reasoning & English : Since I had my basics here I had decided to take only Mocks to practice them. Weekends where the only time where I could do mocks as it takes 2 hours for each Phase 1 mock and atleast 30–40 minutes to review our performance. I had taken atleast 2 mocks every weekend so by the end of one month I had taken 10 mocks.

Since I had already failed thrice in Prelims I did not take any chance this time and took leave for 3 days + 2 days [Sat & Sun] before the actual exam. During this time, I kept revising my GK , took mocks and wherever felt I brushed up the basic formulas and shortcuts.

Don’t worry if you feel you do not have your basics in Quants , Reasoning & English. Now it’s April and even if someone starts now preparing for this Aptitude part , one can very well master the basics before the notification is out. Once your done with the Aptitude part you can start with the other sections.

Phase 2 :

Finance & Management : Since this portion was static and was totally new to me, I devoted most of my time during the one month (weekdays & weekends) and tried to complete the syllabus. Due to paucity of time I had to skip one topic in Management. But I feel my low marks in FM was due to skipping the entire topic. I would suggest others to start early and try to cover all the topics.

ESI : With respect to ESI, I had already completed my basics in Economics [Only from NCERT] , Reading HINDU Newspaper, Government Schemes and Budget before the notification was out. During the one month after notification , I did not give more time to this paper since I felt I had covered a bit already and focused more on FM.

Again for Phase 2, I had taken 5 days + 2 days [Sat & Sun] leave , which according to me was quite little time to revise and study left out topic. One advantage was that since I had less time I concentrated more and did not deviate as much as possible.

On the whole my preparation was made this way :

Before Notification : Reading Newspaper, Budget , Government Schemes , Basic of Aptitude & Economics NCERT.

After Notification : F&M , General Awareness and left out topics of ESI.

This is how I had prepared but every other working candidate might have different approach towards this exam. I would suggest candidates to take inputs from many sources and plan their preparation accordingly.

But it is definitely possible to clear this exam along with your work. Just that you have to put in little extra effort. Trust me , it’s worth the pain !

-Priyanka Ravi , Manager at RBI