RRB Office Assistant Prelims has no English section: it is 80 questions in 45 minutes (Reasoning 40, Numerical 40). Its Mains is 200 questions in 2 hours and lets you choose English or Hindi as the language paper. SBI Clerk tests English in both stages.
RRB Clerk is the Office Assistant (Multipurpose) post in Regional Rural Banks, recruited through IBPS's CRP RRBs. SBI Clerk is the Junior Associate post in SBI. The work is similar; the exams are noticeably different.
2026 cycle side by side
| SBI JA 2026 | RRB Office Assistant (CRP RRBs-XV) | |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 20-28 (as on 01.04.2026) | 18-28 (as on 01.09.2026) |
| Prelims | 100 Q, 60 min: English 30, Numerical 35, Reasoning 35 | 80 Q, 45 min: Reasoning 40 (25 min), Numerical 40 (20 min) |
| English in Prelims | Yes | No |
| Mains | 190 Q, 200 marks, 2 h 40 min | 200 Q, 200 marks, 2 h |
| Mains sections | GA 50, English 40, Quant 50, Reasoning and Computer 50 | Reasoning 40 (50 marks), Computer 40 (20), GA 40 (40), English or Hindi 40 (40), Numerical 40 (50) |
| Negative marking | 1/4 of the question's marks | 1/4 of the question's marks |
| Interview | None | None for Office Assistants |
What this means for you
- Weak in English? RRB Prelims does not test it, and in Mains you can choose the Hindi language paper instead of English.
- Speed: RRB Prelims gives 80 questions in 45 minutes, about 34 seconds each, similar to SBI.
- Computer: RRB Mains has a separate 40-question computer section (20 marks). SBI combines computer with reasoning.
- GA: both need banking and current affairs. RRB GA is 40 questions in 15 minutes, so it must be fast.
Timing
The RRBs-XV notification listed the Office Assistant Prelims in November/December 2026 and Mains in December 2026/January 2027. Preparing for SBI Mains in November also covers most of RRB Mains.
Preparing for both
The overlap is large: Reasoning, Quant and GA preparation serves both. For RRB, add speed practice for 40 Reasoning questions in 25 minutes and a computer section of 40 questions. For SBI, keep English practice daily, since it is tested in both SBI stages.
- SBI: Recruitment of Junior Associates 2026, detailed advertisement (CRPD/CR/2026-27/17)
- IBPS: CRP RRBs-XV notification (revised)
Rules can change with each notification. Confirm on sbi.bank.in/web/careers.
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