RRB NTPC CBT-1 preparation: pattern, timing and a study plan
The Railway Recruitment Boards fill thousands of Non-Technical Popular Categories (NTPC) posts through one computer-based process. Its first stage, CBT-1, screens candidates for CBT-2. This article covers the CBT-1 pattern from the current notices (CEN 06/2025 for graduate posts and CEN 07/2025 for under-graduate posts) and how to prepare for it.
The pattern
| Subject | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| General Awareness | 40 | 40 |
| Mathematics | 30 | 30 |
| General Intelligence and Reasoning | 30 | 30 |
| Total | 100 | 100 |
- 90 minutes, one clock for the whole paper (120 minutes for candidates allowed a scribe). There is no separate timer per subject.
- 1 mark for a right answer; one-third of a mark deducted for a wrong one.
- The subject split is indicative, as the notice says, so expect small variations.
- CBT-1 only screens. The normalised score shortlists up to 15 times the community-wise vacancies for CBT-2, which is 120 questions in 90 minutes (General Awareness 50, Mathematics 35, Reasoning 35), with the same marking.
The same CBT-1 is common to every post in a notice, from Commercial cum Ticket Clerk to Station Master. Details of posts and pay are on our RRB NTPC page.
The time is generous; use it
Ninety minutes for 100 questions is 54 seconds a question, noticeably more than SSC's 36 seconds. The single clock means you choose how to spend it. A plan that works for many students:
- General Awareness first, in 20 to 25 minutes. Forty questions you either know or do not.
- Reasoning next, in about 25 minutes.
- Mathematics last, with 35 to 40 minutes. Calculators are not allowed, so arithmetic speed matters.
- Keep the final few minutes for questions marked for review.
General Awareness: 40% of the paper
General Awareness is the biggest section, so it often decides who gets through.
- Static GK: history, geography, polity, economy and general science up to class 10. Science is a steady source of marks.
- Current affairs of the last year, especially national events, sports, awards and government schemes.
- Railway-specific facts (zones, headquarters, firsts) appear from time to time and are cheap to learn.
Mathematics
Class 10 level: number system, percentages, ratio, profit and loss, interest, time and work, time and distance, averages, mensuration, algebra, geometry, trigonometry and basic statistics. Arithmetic forms the bulk. Practise without a calculator from the start, and learn squares to 30, cubes to 20 and common fractions as percentages.
General Intelligence and Reasoning
Analogies, series, coding-decoding, blood relations, direction sense, syllogisms, Venn diagrams, puzzles and statement-conclusion questions. As in every exam, the types repeat, so timed practice in sets is the fastest route to speed.
Negative marking in CBT-1
A wrong answer costs one third of a mark, so with four options a blind guess gains nothing on average. Once you can rule out one option, a guess is worth it. Our negative marking guide explains the arithmetic for RRB and other exams.
A twelve-week plan
- Weeks 1 to 4: build the base in all three subjects; one sectional test per subject each week.
- Weeks 5 to 8: one full 90-minute mock a week, analysed the same day; the rest of the week on the two or three topics that lost the most marks.
- Weeks 9 to 12: two full mocks a week; daily current affairs revision; no new topics in the last week.
The same base serves RRB Group D, whose CBT also gives 90 minutes for 100 questions with one-third negative marking, though its subjects and level differ.
Sit full RRB NTPC CBT-1 mocks on Mockrooms, with one 90-minute clock and the real marking, and see after each one which topics cost you marks.