Group B Promotion CBT — Conducting Agency & Paper Pattern — Rules & Guidance

Group B promotion exams in the organised-service departments are held as a single Centralized Computer Based Test (CBT), under Railway Board letter E(GP)2022/2/4 dated 28.06.2022 and its later supplements. This article covers the two things candidates most often ask about: who runs the CBT, and what the paper looks like.

1. Who conducts the CBT

Until the 2024 rounds, the Centralized CBT was conducted by DG/NAIR, Vadodara. By Railway Board letter dated 03.04.2025, RRB/Ajmer was nominated to conduct it in place of NAIR from the 2025-26 cycle. Medical examination and viva-voce remain with the respective Zonal Railway or Production Unit, which also issues the final panel after receiving the result.

Conducting agency: DG/NAIR, Vadodara earlier; RRB/Ajmer from 2025-26.
Candidate login: HRMS ID and date of birth (YYYYMMDD) on the NAIR portal; HRMS ID and an OTP sent to the HRMS-linked mobile number on the RRB/Ajmer portal.
Question paper, response sheet and answer key: now on the RRB/Ajmer portal (rrbajmer.gov.in).
Medical, viva-voce and final panel: unchanged, still with the Zonal Railway / Production Unit.

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Practical point

Make sure the mobile number linked to your HRMS ID is current. Under RRB/Ajmer the login OTP goes to that number.

2. Paper pattern

30% LDCE (all departments except Accounts): one paper, 150 marks, 175 questions of which 150 are to be attempted, 3 hours. Qualifying marks are 90. Each correct answer earns 1 mark and each wrong answer costs one-third of a mark.

Technical / professional subject: 80 marks, 85 questions (includes 5 optional).
General Knowledge, including optional Official Language questions: 40 marks, 55 questions (15 marks of optional Official Language questions).
Establishment & Financial Rules: 30 marks, 35 questions (includes 5 optional).
Total: 150 marks, 175 questions (attempt 150).

70% Selection (all departments except Accounts): 100 marks in 2 hours, with qualifying marks of 60. It has 70 marks for the professional subject (including 10 marks of optional Official Language questions) and 30 marks for Establishment & Financial Rules.

Accounts (AFA) has its own pattern: 175 marks across 175 questions, attempt any 150, with a professional subject of seven 15-mark units.

The optional Official Language questions are not compulsory. The syllabus itself is the earlier LDCE syllabus, with the old Paper-I and Paper-II topics amalgamated for the single CBT.

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Check the current notice

This is a summary of Railway Board letters and may not reflect a later amendment. Exam dates, centres and schedules are not listed here: they are announced through your departmental notice board and the conducting agency's portal, which are the authority for your cycle.