RRB NTPC syllabus 2026 has three subjects: Mathematics, Reasoning and General Awareness. CBT-1 is 100 questions in 90 minutes, CBT-2 is 120 questions, both with 1/3 negative marking.
The RRB NTPC syllabus 2026 covers three subjects across both stages: Mathematics, General Intelligence and Reasoning, and General Awareness. The exam runs in two computer-based stages: CBT-1 has 100 questions for 100 marks in 90 minutes and is only a qualifying screen, while CBT-2 has 120 questions for 120 marks in 90 minutes and decides the final merit. Both stages apply 1/3 negative marking for every wrong answer.
RRB NTPC stands for Non-Technical Popular Categories and is conducted by the Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) under the Railway Recruitment Control Board (RRCB), Ministry of Railways. This guide gives you the exact section-wise pattern, the full topic-level syllabus for CBT-1 and CBT-2, the negative marking rule and our first-party analysis of why General Awareness is the single most decisive section, grounded in the question bank we built for the RRB NTPC full mock test series on Quiz4Exam.
RRB NTPC 2026 is a multi-stage recruitment: CBT-1, then CBT-2, then a Typing Skill Test for typing posts or a Computer-Based Aptitude Test for Station Master and Traffic Assistant, and finally Document Verification and Medical. Both CBTs are objective single-correct papers with three sections each, taken bilingually in Hindi, English and regional languages. There is no separate English-language section.
RRB NTPC recruits at two levels that share the same syllabus. As of July 2026, the ongoing cycle has CEN 06/2025 for Graduate posts with 5,810 vacancies (notified 20 October 2025) and CEN 07/2025 for Undergraduate 12th-level posts with 3,058 vacancies (notified 27 October 2025), a total of 8,868 posts. The Graduate CBT-1 result was declared on 11 June 2026 and the Graduate CBT-2 was held on 10 July 2026. Treat specific dates as tentative and always confirm the live RRB CEN, since a fresh cycle follows.
CBT-1 is the screening stage: 100 questions for 100 marks in 90 minutes, split as Mathematics 30, General Intelligence and Reasoning 30, and General Awareness 40. It is qualifying only and is not counted in the final merit; your normalised CBT-1 score simply shortlists you, roughly 20 times the number of vacancies, for CBT-2.
| Section | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 30 | 30 |
| General Intelligence and Reasoning | 30 | 30 |
| General Awareness | 40 | 40 |
| Total | 100 | 100 |
The Mathematics syllabus is Class 10 arithmetic-heavy: number system, BODMAS, decimals, fractions, LCM and HCF, ratio and proportion, percentage, average, profit and loss, simple and compound interest, time and work, time and distance, mensuration, algebra, geometry, elementary trigonometry, number series, data interpretation and elementary statistics. The General Intelligence and Reasoning syllabus covers analogies, classification, number and letter series, coding-decoding, syllogism, Venn diagrams, blood relations, data sufficiency, statement and conclusion, direction sense, ranking, calendars, clocks, puzzles and non-verbal reasoning. The General Awareness syllabus spans current affairs of roughly the last 12 months, Indian history, geography, polity, economy, general science, static GK, art and culture, sports, government schemes, important organisations and railway GK.
CBT-2 is the merit-deciding stage: 120 questions for 120 marks in 90 minutes, split as Mathematics 35, General Intelligence and Reasoning 35, and General Awareness 50. The syllabus is the same as CBT-1, but the difficulty is higher, and CBT-2 marks build the final merit list, so this is the stage that truly decides selection.
| Section | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 35 | 35 |
| General Intelligence and Reasoning | 35 | 35 |
| General Awareness | 50 | 50 |
| Total | 120 | 120 |
Here is a quick CBT-1 versus CBT-2 comparison so you can see exactly how the two stages differ.
| Feature | CBT-1 | CBT-2 |
|---|---|---|
| Total questions | 100 | 120 |
| Total marks | 100 | 120 |
| Duration | 90 minutes | 90 minutes |
| Mathematics | 30 | 35 |
| Reasoning | 30 | 35 |
| General Awareness | 40 | 50 |
| Role in selection | Qualifying only | Decides merit |
| Difficulty | Class 10 standard | Higher |
Yes. RRB NTPC applies 1/3 negative marking in both CBT-1 and CBT-2: you earn 1 mark for each correct answer and lose 0.33 marks for each wrong answer, while a blank question costs nothing. Scores are normalised across the many shifts to keep difficulty fair, and there is no sectional cutoff inside the CBT.
Because a wrong answer costs 0.33 marks, blind guessing is punished. The overall qualifying marks are 40% for UR, 30% for OBC and SC, and 25% for ST. In practice, skip the questions you cannot narrow down at all, and spend your time on the ones where you can eliminate options and answer with confidence.
General Awareness is the single largest and most decisive section in RRB NTPC. From our own analysis while building the Quiz4Exam RRB NTPC question bank, GA carries 40 of 100 marks in CBT-1 (40%) and 50 of 120 marks in CBT-2 (about 41.7%), so it sits at roughly 40 to 42% of every paper, more than either Mathematics or Reasoning alone.
That weight, plus the fact that GA questions are direct and need no calculation, makes it the highest-scoring section per minute if you prepare it well. Build a rolling current-affairs habit over the last 12 months, lock down static GK across history, geography, polity, economy and general science at Class 10 level, and add railway-flavoured GK such as Indian Railways zones and transport facts. Since Mathematics and Reasoning are only Class 10 standard, strong candidates often separate on General Awareness, so treat it as your scoring engine, not an afterthought.
Prepare all three subjects from the start, since CBT-1 and CBT-2 share the same syllabus and CBT-2 only raises the difficulty. Build daily Class 10 arithmetic and reasoning practice for speed, make General Awareness your daily reading habit, and always take mocks with 1/3 negative marking applied so your attempt strategy is realistic. For a full study plan, read our RRB NTPC preparation strategy guide.
Before you move on: see where you stand with a free RRB NTPC mock test. Real CBT interface, section-wise analysis and All India Rank, free after a quick phone sign up. When you are ready for full-length practice, our RRB NTPC full mock test series mirrors the exact CBT-1 and CBT-2 pattern with normalisation-aware analysis.
The RRB NTPC syllabus 2026 has three subjects across both stages: Mathematics (Class 10 arithmetic), General Intelligence and Reasoning (analogies, series, coding-decoding, syllogism, puzzles), and General Awareness (current affairs, history, geography, polity, economy, general science, static GK and railway GK). CBT-2 uses the same syllabus at higher difficulty.
CBT-1 has 100 questions for 100 marks in 90 minutes, split as Mathematics 30, Reasoning 30 and General Awareness 40, and is qualifying only. CBT-2 has 120 questions for 120 marks in 90 minutes, split as Mathematics 35, Reasoning 35 and General Awareness 50, and its marks decide the final merit list.
Yes. Both CBT-1 and CBT-2 apply 1/3 negative marking: you earn 1 mark for each correct answer and lose 0.33 marks for each wrong answer, while unanswered questions carry no penalty. Scores are normalised across shifts, and the overall qualifying marks are 40% for UR, 30% for OBC and SC, and 25% for ST.
General Awareness is the largest and most decisive section. It carries 40 of 100 marks in CBT-1 and 50 of 120 marks in CBT-2, about 40 to 42% of each paper, more than Mathematics or Reasoning alone. Because GA questions are direct and need no calculation, strong candidates often separate on this section.
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RRB NTPC selection runs CBT-1, then CBT-2, then a Typing Skill Test for typing posts or a Computer-Based Aptitude Test for Station Master and Traffic Assistant, and finally Document Verification and Medical. CBT-1 is qualifying only, while CBT-2 marks build the merit list. Both CBTs are bilingual objective papers with 1/3 negative marking.
