The Three Exam Families: Stages, Marks, Timing and Negative Marking
This chapter lays the four tests side by side: RRB NTPC, the NDA and Naval Academy written papers, the IBPS PO/MT Preliminary and Main, and the IBPS Customer Service Associate (Clerk) Preliminary and Main. It gives the stages, questions, marks, timing and penalty for each, works out the per-question cost of a wrong answer and the break-even accuracy, and then shows which later chapter serves which test. Knowing what a question is worth is the first step in deciding how long to give it.
KarmSakha preparation topics covered
- Stage structure of RRB NTPC CEN 06/2026 and CEN 07/2026
- NDA and NA written papers, marks per item and SSB weight
- IBPS PO/MT-XVI Preliminary, Main, Descriptive Paper and Personality Test
- IBPS CSA-XVI (Clerk) Preliminary and Main
- Eligibility and age snapshots with reference dates
- Per-question penalty under one-third and one-fourth deduction
- Break-even accuracy and expected value of guessing
- Time per question for sectional and unsectioned papers
- Syllabus overlap across the four tests
- Which pattern facts change between cycles and how to check them
How This Vault Maps to the Four Tests
Four tests are covered here, drawn from three families of recruitment examination. The Railway Recruitment Boards run the NTPC computer-based tests (CBT 1 and CBT 2) for graduate and undergraduate posts. The Union Public Service Commission runs the National Defence Academy and Naval Academy written examination, two objective papers that lead to a Services Selection Board test. The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection runs the Preliminary and Main examinations for Probationary Officers/Management Trainees (PO) and for Customer Service Associates (CSA), the post commonly called Clerk. Each family rewards a different habit: NTPC rewards breadth at moderate speed, NDA rewards depth in mathematics under a one-third penalty, and the bank tests reward raw calculation speed inside separately timed sections.
Every number in this chapter is read from, or arithmetically derived from, the notice named beside the table. The IBPS figures come from the PO/MT-XVI notification issued with registration from 1 July 2026 and the CSA-XVI notification of 1 August 2026. The NDA figures come from UPSC Notice No. 10/2026-NDA-II dated 20 May 2026 and from the cover pages of the September 2026 test booklets. The NTPC figures come from summaries of the Centralised Employment Notices (CEN) 06/2026 and 07/2026 because the detailed RRB documents could not be opened while this chapter was prepared; treat them as a working map and confirm them on the RRB portal before you plan around them. Later chapters refer back to the tables here instead of repeating them.
The table below shows how heavily each chapter of this vault serves each test. Read across a row to see which tests a chapter supports, and down a column to build your own order of study. A dash means the topic is not tested in the written stage of that exam. Chapter 2 and Chapter 12 are method chapters and serve every candidate, so they are not listed.
| Chapter | Subject | NTPC (CBT 1, CBT 2) | NDA (Paper I, Paper II) | IBPS PO | IBPS CSA (Clerk) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Arithmetic core | Core | Some | Core | Core |
| 4 | Elementary mathematics (class 6-10) | Core | Core | Some | Some |
| 5 | Data interpretation, series, simplification | Some | - | Core (Main has a full DI section) | Core |
| 6 | NDA mathematics (class 11-12) | - | Core (Paper I) | - | - |
| 7 | Reasoning | Core | - | Core | Core |
| 8 | English language | - | Core (Paper II, Part A) | Core | Core |
| 9 | General science | Core | Core (Paper II, Part B) | - | - |
| 10 | History, polity, geography, static GK | Core | Core (Paper II, Part B) | - | - |
| 11 | Banking and financial awareness | - | - | Core (Main) | Core (Main) |
RRB NTPC: CBT 1 and CBT 2 Under CEN 06/2026 and CEN 07/2026
NTPC stands for Non-Technical Popular Categories. For the 2026 cycle the Railway Recruitment Boards issued two notices: CEN 06/2026 for graduate-level posts and CEN 07/2026 for undergraduate posts. The RRB Patna portal listed both notifications, and an indicative notice for CEN 06/2026, when it was checked on 6 November 2026. According to RRB notice summaries, CEN 06/2026 carries 3,548 vacancies: Goods Train Manager 2,750, Senior Clerk cum Typist 371, Junior Accounts Assistant cum Typist 300 and Chief Commercial cum Ticket Supervisor 127. Those four add up to 3,548. CEN 07/2026 carries 1,688 posts: Commercial cum Ticket Clerk 700, Junior Clerk cum Typist 600, Accounts Clerk cum Typist 200 and Trains Clerk 188, which also add up correctly.
Both CENs use the same two-stage computer-based design before document verification and medical examination. A Press Information Bureau release on CEN 06/2026 describes a first-stage CBT, a second-stage CBT, then document verification and a medical examination as applicable. In CBT 1 the summaries agree on 100 questions for 100 marks in 90 minutes, split into General Awareness 40, Mathematics 30 and General Intelligence and Reasoning 30. CBT 2 has 120 questions for 120 marks in 90 minutes, split into General Awareness 50, Mathematics 35 and Reasoning 35. Candidates eligible for a scribe are reported to receive 120 minutes in both CBTs. Each wrong answer costs one-third of a mark. The summaries do not describe sectional timers, so assume one running clock for the whole paper and confirm this in the CEN.
Eligibility differs between the two notices. For CEN 06/2026 the summaries give a degree required by the closing date and an age of 18 to 33 years as on 1 January 2027, with category-wise relaxation, and an application window that opened on 8 October 2026. The notified closing date of 6 November 2026 was extended to 8 November 2026 (23:59 hours) by Corrigendum-1 dated 6 November 2026. For CEN 07/2026 they give an age of 18 to 30 years as on 1 January 2027 and applications from 15 October to 13 November 2026, with no CBT 1 date announced at the last check. Two third-party summaries state that CEN 07/2026 requires a pass in class 12 (or equivalent) with at least 50 per cent aggregate marks, with exemptions for SC, ST, PwBD and ex-servicemen candidates; confirm this in the CEN before relying on it. The typing skill test is not part of CEN 06/2026 for the typist posts: the PIB release of 11 October 2026 states that the Computer-Based Typing Skill Test has been dispensed with for the Junior Accounts Assistant cum Typist and Senior Clerk cum Typist posts, with basic computer and typing proficiency assessed after joining. Confirm the wording in the CEN itself.
| Feature | CBT 1 | CBT 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Questions / marks | 100 / 100 | 120 / 120 |
| Duration | 90 minutes (120 with scribe) | 90 minutes (120 with scribe, per summaries) |
| General Awareness | 40 | 50 |
| Mathematics | 30 | 35 |
| General Intelligence and Reasoning | 30 | 35 |
| Marks per question | 1 | 1 |
| Penalty per wrong answer | 1/3 mark | 1/3 mark |
| Average time per question | 54 seconds | 45 seconds |
NDA and NA: Two Papers, 900 Marks and the SSB
The NDA and Naval Academy examination has a written stage and a Services Selection Board (SSB) stage. UPSC Notice No. 10/2026-NDA-II, dated 20 May 2026, announced the examination (II) 2026, held on 13 September 2026, with 394 vacancies: 370 for men and 24 for women. The notice divides them into Army 208, Navy 42, Air Force 120 (Flying 92, Ground Duties Technical 18 and Non-Technical 10) and Naval Academy 10+2 Cadet Entry 24. The written stage has two objective papers sat on the same day: Paper I is Mathematics (Code 01) and Paper II is the General Ability Test (Code 02). Each runs for two and a half hours. Mathematics carries 300 marks and the General Ability Test 600, so the written total is 900, and the SSB Test and Interview carries a further 900 marks.
The test booklet covers published on 14 September 2026 supply the item counts. Mathematics has 120 items for 300 marks with all items equal in marks, so each item is worth 2.5 marks. The General Ability Test has 150 items across Part A (English) and Part B (General Knowledge) for 600 marks with all items equal, so each item is worth 4 marks. The notice allots 200 marks to Part A and 400 to Part B. Dividing by 4 gives 50 items in Part A and 100 in Part B. These two counts are derived, not printed, so check them against the booklet you receive. The papers are objective only, and Mathematics and Part B are set bilingually in Hindi and English.
Eligibility for NDA (II) 2026 is narrow. The candidate must be unmarried and born not earlier than 1 January 2008 and not later than 1 January 2011. For the Army wing a pass in class 12 is enough; for the Air Force, Navy and the Indian Naval Academy course, class 12 with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics is required. The notice also sets an application fee with exemptions, which this chapter does not quote. On the paper itself, calculators, mathematical tables and logarithmic tables are not permitted, questions use the metric system only, and answers are marked on an OMR sheet with a black ball pen. These rules shape practice: every calculation in Chapters 4 and 6 is done by hand.
| Feature | Paper I: Mathematics | Paper II: General Ability Test |
|---|---|---|
| Code | 01 | 02 |
| Items | 120 | 150 (Part A English 50, Part B General Knowledge 100, derived) |
| Maximum marks | 300 | 600 (Part A 200, Part B 400) |
| Marks per item | 2.5 | 4 |
| Duration | 2 hours 30 minutes | 2 hours 30 minutes |
| Penalty per wrong answer | 1/3 of 2.5, about 0.83 mark | 1/3 of 4, about 1.33 marks |
| Average time per item | 75 seconds | 60 seconds |
| Next stage | SSB Test / Interview, 900 marks | SSB Test / Interview, 900 marks |
IBPS PO/MT-XVI: Preliminary, Main, Descriptive and Personality Test
The IBPS Common Recruitment Process for Probationary Officers/Management Trainees, series XVI, filled vacancies of 2027-28. The detailed notification is signed 1 July 2026 (the file name carries 30.06.2026); registration ran from 1 to 21 July 2026. A candidate must hold a graduate degree of any discipline recognised by the Government of India as on 21 July 2026 and be aged 20 to 30 years as on 1 July 2026, meaning born between 2 July 1996 and 1 July 2006. The IBPS calendar of 16 January 2026 planned the Preliminary for 22 and 23 August 2026 and the Main for 4 October 2026; calendars are tentative and the notices govern. Under the notification the Personality Test is non-qualifying, though appearing is mandatory for the interview, and the final score combines the Main examination and the 100-mark Interview in the ratio 80:20, with Preliminary marks used only for shortlisting.