Checked 29 September 2026. The pattern is IREM Vol I Appendix 2 as amended by ACS 292 (RBA 21/2025, 02.07.2025). It was first used for the CBT of 21.12.2025. No notification for the next sitting had been published on 29 September 2026.
The Appendix-2 (IREM) examination is the qualifying test that lets a railway Accounts Clerk move up. The IREM calls it the "qualifying examination for promotion above Accounts Clerks of the Accounts Department up to and including the rank of Accounts Assistants". It is also the test that directly recruited Junior Accounts Assistants must clear early in service, and one that Cash & Pay staff can sit to move into accounts. In 2025 the Railway Board rewrote it completely. The old three written papers, set by the head of each accounts office, became two objective papers taken on computer through one Nodal Railway. This guide sets out the current pattern paper by paper and what the first computer-based papers of 21 December 2025 actually asked. It then shows the old pattern side by side, because many pages still describe it.
ProSyllabus is an independent study site. We are not affiliated with Indian Railways, the Railway Board, Northern Railway or any zonal railway or production unit. Every rule below is quoted or summarised from published Board letters and the IREM, and your Accounts office decides every nomination.
Paper count: IREM Appendix 2 as amended by ACS 292. Time and "no negative marking": the Northern Railway notification of 11.11.2025, on Northern Railway's own site. Marks: the 21.12.2025 papers, which we read from Google Drive copies linked on appendix3exam.com. The IREM itself fixes neither marks nor time, so both describe one sitting.
Where other pages get this wrong
Appendix-2 now has two objective papers, answered on computer. The draft-letter question, the optional branch paper and the head-of-office exam are gone.
Commonly published instead: Three written papers: book-keeping, General Rules and Procedure with a compulsory draft letter, and a third paper on one branch of accounts, held by the head of each office. Some pages add 3 hours a paper.
That was the IREM text until 2025 (we read it in an archived copy of 28.03.2013). ACS 292, issued with RBA 21/2025 on 02.07.2025, replaced para 1 with "2 objective mandatory papers" and para 3 with a CBT through a single Nodal Railway. The first sitting on the new pattern was on 21.12.2025.
The two papers at a glance
The IREM gives each paper a one-line syllabus and nothing more. The format details below come from the Northern Railway notification of 11.11.2025, which is on Northern Railway's own website, and from the two papers set on 21.12.2025. The papers we read from Google Drive copies linked on appendix3exam.com: they are Railway papers on their face, but we could not find the Railway's own copy. Treat the format as what happened in 2025 rather than a permanent rule.
| Paper | IREM syllabus wording (official) | December 2025 format (official: NR notification; papers via secondary host) | What it tested in 2025 (our reading) |
|---|---|---|---|
| (a) Book-keeping, English, Reasoning | Elementary Book Keeping, English comprehension and Reasoning | CBT, 10:00 am to 12:00 noon, 110 questions set, maximum marks 100 | Accounting concepts and book-keeping (Q1-75), reasoning (Q76-95), reading passages (Q96-110) |
| (b) General Rules and Procedure (GRP) | General Rules and Procedure (covering all areas i.e. Traffic Accounts, General Expenditure, Stores and Workshop, Books and Budget etc.) | CBT, 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm, 110 questions, attempt any 100, 1 mark each, no negative marking | Railway accounting rules across all branches (Q1-100) and official language (Q101-110) |
Both papers were bilingual. The notification says the examination is in Hindi or English as the candidate selected when nominated, and that no change of medium is allowed once the names reach the Nodal Railway. The papers print every question and option in both languages.
110 questions set, 100 answered
The GRP paper of 21.12.2025 carried four printed instructions: every question from Q1 to Q110 carries 1 mark; the first 100 questions attempted will be evaluated; there is no negative marking; and candidates cannot answer more than 100. So the paper is out of 100, and the ten extra questions are there for you to skip. Choose the ten you skip on purpose. If the software counts your first 100 attempts, a guess made early uses up a slot that a sure answer later in the paper could have had.
Paper (a) also had 110 questions and a "Max Marks: 100" header, but the copy we read does not print the "any 100" instruction. Whether the same rule applied to it is not printed anywhere we looked, so everything below about answering 100 in paper (a) is conditional on that. Check the instructions screen before you start.
With no negative marking, a blank earns the same as a wrong answer: nothing. So in GRP your working rule is to answer 100 questions, never fewer. Leave the ten you are least sure of, and guess the rest rather than leave them blank. The 40% pass mark in each paper means 40 correct answers out of the 100 that are marked, under this format; for SC and ST candidates a Board letter of 2000 (RBE 43/2000) puts it at 30 of 100. Those counts are our arithmetic; the rules are the IREM's and the Board's. Pass marks, the 50% exemption and the chance ladder have their own guide with a checker.
What the December 2025 papers asked
Paper (a) was not split evenly. We counted the question ranges in the paper. Book-keeping and accounting took 75 of the 110 questions, about 68%; reasoning took 20, about 18%; English took 15, about 14%. The split is our count over one sitting. The IREM fixes no weightage, so the next paper could be balanced differently.
Our count of question ranges: Q1-75 book-keeping and accounting, Q76-95 reasoning, Q96-110 English comprehension. Percentages are our rounding. If paper (a) also marked any 100 of the 110 (not printed on the copy we read), skipping all 15 English questions would leave only 95 others, so at least 5 English questions would be needed to reach 100 answers. That is our arithmetic.
| Section (our count) | Kinds of question we saw |
|---|---|
| Book-keeping and accounting (75) | Current and contingent liabilities; the going concern concept; the accounting equation; depreciation by straight line and written-down value; journal, ledger and trial balance; bank reconciliation; cash flow statement; current ratio and payback period; real and nominal account rules; outstanding expenses and bank overdraft; a few on government accounting |
| Reasoning (20) | Ordering from inequalities; arranging letters of a word; blood relations; coding and decoding; syllogisms; letter values; the wrong number in a series; odd one out; analogies; direction sense |
| English comprehension (15) | Short reading passages, each followed by several questions on meaning, detail and vocabulary |
The GRP paper is railway rules, and it ranged over every heading the IREM names. The table below groups a sample of its questions under those headings, with the question number, so you can see how specific they were. The grouping is ours. We did not assign a count per heading, because many questions sit across two headings, for example a stores question about a workshop issue.
| IREM heading | Examples from the 21.12.2025 GRP paper (question number) |
|---|---|
| Traffic Accounts | How railway earnings are classified (Q2); what wharfage is levied for (Q8); the railway receipt (Q21); where unclaimed freight finally goes (Q17); a cash shortage found at a station (Q33); excess fare collected by a TTE while a refund is pending (Q89); FOIS (Q97) |
| General Expenditure | Plan Head 31 (Q5); primary units (Q14, Q66); cash imprest (Q22); deposit works (Q58); expenditure wrongly debited to capital (Q68); similar works sanctioned as a group (Q62) |
| Stores and Workshop | Proprietary Article Certificate (Q9); workshop outturn (Q11); VED and ABC analysis (Q23, Q47); EOQ (Q31); surplus and condemned stores (Q19, Q39); performance guarantee and security deposit (Q26, Q60); workshop overheads (Q71); stock verification of A-category items (Q87) |
| Books and Budget | Re-appropriation (Q10); the merger of the Railway Budget with the General Budget (Q16); the Pink Book (Q18); the fund for replacing assets (Q24); the committee that examines excess expenditure (Q52); Demands for Grants (Q90); a budget passed without discussion (Q92) |
| Also asked (not named in the IREM line) | GST basics such as reverse charge and HSN (Q6, Q40, Q78); the year of the current GFR (Q80); SOP (Q3, Q98); and ten questions on the official language, from the Constitution's article on it to Hindi training (Q101-110) |
The last ten GRP questions, Q101 to Q110, were all on the official language (Rajbhasha). That is our reading of the paper. The IREM line for GRP does not mention it, but "etc." at the end of the heading leaves room, and the same subject is a compulsory part of Appendix-3. Ten marks are worth a few hours with the Official Languages Act and Rules.
A syllabus tracker built from the two headings
The IREM gives two headings. RBA 100/2019 enclosed a sample question set, and the 2025 papers with official keys are the best guide to depth. The tracker splits the headings into units you can revise. The unit list is ours: the book-keeping units follow the chapters the old IREM text prescribed from Batliboi's Double Entry Book-keeping, plus the concepts the 2025 paper asked; the GRP units are the IREM's four named areas plus the two extra areas the 2025 paper covered.
Appendix-2 syllabus tracker
Tick a unit when you have revised it and done questions on it. Paper (a) units come from the old prescribed chapters and the December 2025 paper; Paper (b) units are the IREM headings plus what the 2025 paper added. Neither list is an official syllabus.
0 of 22 done
Ticks are saved only in this browser on this device.
Old pattern and new pattern
Anyone who sat Appendix-2 before 2025 sat a different examination. The IREM text that stood until ACS 292 prescribed three papers, and it left the conduct and the interval between sittings to the head of each office. The table puts the two texts side by side. Both columns are official: the left from the archived IREM page of 28.03.2013, the right from the current page and ACS 292.
| Feature | Old text (to 2025) | Current text (ACS 292, 02.07.2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Papers | Three: Elementary Book-keeping; General Rules and Procedure; one branch of accounting | Two: (a) Book Keeping, English comprehension and Reasoning; (b) General Rules and Procedure |
| Question type | Written; GRP had a compulsory draft-letter question | 100% objective (RBA 19/2025) |
| Branch choice | One of seven: Establishment and PF; Stores; General Expenditure; Workshop; Books, Budget and Appropriation; Coaching; Goods | None: GRP covers all areas |
| Book prescribed | Thirteen chapters of J. R. Batliboi, Double Entry Book-keeping | None named |
| Who conducts it | The head of each office, who also decides the interval | CBT with an agency engaged through RRB, through one Nodal Railway chosen by the Board each calendar year |
| How often | At intervals the head of the office decides | IREM: "for a calendar cycle", no frequency. RBA 19/2025 para 6: "twice in a year". One sitting found (21.12.2025) |
| Pass mark | 40% in each subject | 40% in each subject (unchanged). SC/ST: 30 of 100 under RBE 43/2000, a Board letter outside the IREM |
The move to objective questions came in steps. In 2015 the Board said objective questions did not apply to the Accounts Department at all (RBA 38/2015). In November 2019 it introduced 20% objective questions in GRP and the optional paper (RBA 100/2019). A month later it corrected that to 80% objective with one written question worth 20%, and no negative marking (RBA 108/2019). RBA 17/2025 of 23.05.2025 reiterated those 2019 letters. Then RBA 19/2025 of 17.06.2025 made both papers 100% objective and moved the exam to CBT. ACS 292 wrote that into the IREM two weeks later.
| Date | Letter | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| 22.06.2015 | RBA 38/2015 | Objective questions held not applicable to the Accounts Department |
| 18.11.2019 | RBA 100/2019 | 20% objective questions in GRP and the optional paper; sample question set issued |
| 17.12.2019 | RBA 108/2019 | 80% objective plus one written question of 20% in GRP and the optional paper; no negative marking |
| 23.05.2025 | RBA 17/2025 | The 2019 instructions reiterated |
| 17.06.2025 | RBA 19/2025 | Two 100% objective papers; CBT through an agency engaged by RRB |
| 02.07.2025 | RBA 21/2025 (ACS 292) | IREM Appendix 2 paras 1 and 3 rewritten |
| 29.09.2025 | RBA 28/2025 | Northern Railway confirmed as Nodal Railway for Appendix II |
| 21.12.2025 | NR notification of 11.11.2025 | First CBT sitting (official: Northern Railway) |
What the change means if you sat the old exam
- Exemptions you earned in the old book-keeping, GRP or optional paper do not carry over. The Northern Railway notification says so in terms; see the pass marks guide for how that sits with the IREM's 50% exemption rule.
- The draft letter and long written answers are gone from Appendix-2. They come back in Appendix-3, whose subjective paper is written by hand.
- English comprehension and reasoning are new. Neither was in the old text.
- The branch you knew best no longer carries a whole paper. GRP now covers traffic, expenditure, stores, workshop and budget in one paper.
How it compares with Appendix-3
Appendix-2 is the first step; Appendix-3 is the next, and it is a harder paper. Appendix-3 has three objective papers with 0.25 deducted per wrong answer, and a 200-mark subjective paper written by hand. Appendix-2 has two objective papers and no deduction at all. See the Appendix-3 pattern and syllabus and the Appendix-3 subjective paper guide. How the Appendix-2 CBT is organised, from nomination to the reporting time, is in the exam-day guide.
How many papers are there in the Appendix-2 IREM exam now?
Two objective papers: (a) Elementary Book Keeping, English comprehension and Reasoning, and (b) General Rules and Procedure covering traffic accounts, general expenditure, stores and workshop, and books and budget. This is IREM Appendix 2 para 1 as amended by ACS 292 of 02.07.2025.
Is there negative marking in Appendix-2?
No. RBA 108/2019 first said so, and the Northern Railway notification of 11.11.2025 and the December 2025 GRP paper repeat it.
How long is each Appendix-2 paper?
Two hours in the December 2025 sitting: paper (a) from 10 am to 12 noon and GRP from 3 pm to 5 pm, per the Northern Railway notification. PwBD candidates had 40 minutes more under a corrigendum of 28.11.2025. The IREM itself does not fix a duration.
How many questions are there?
In December 2025 each paper set 110 questions. The GRP paper said to attempt any 100, with the first 100 attempted evaluated, at 1 mark each. Paper (a) printed maximum marks of 100 but not the same instruction in the copy we read.
Is there still a draft letter or an optional paper?
No. Both belonged to the three-paper text that ACS 292 replaced in July 2025.
Can I write Appendix-2 in Hindi?
Yes. The exam is bilingual, and you choose Hindi or English when your office nominates you. The 2025 notification allowed no change of medium afterwards.
Is there an official detailed syllabus?
Only the two headings in the IREM. RBA 100/2019 enclosed a sample question set, and the 2025 papers with official answer keys circulate through a candidate site.
Sources
- official — Railway Board — IREM Vol I, Appendix 2 (current text incorporating ACS 166 of 2004 and ACS 292 of 2025)
- official — Railway Board — RBA 21/2025, 2025/ACII/20/12/e-3493745 dated 02.07.2025, enclosing ACS 292 (Appendix 2 paras 1 and 3)
- official — Railway Board — RBA 19/2025 dated 17.06.2025: accounts departmental exams in CBT mode through an agency engaged by RRB; Appendix II as two 100% objective papers
- official — Railway Board — IREM Vol I, Appendix 2 as archived on 28.03.2013 (the old three-paper text, via web.archive.org)
- official — Northern Railway (Nodal Railway) — No. 2025/Adm-I/Appendix-IIA Exam (Nodal Rly) dated 11.11.2025 to all zonal railways and PUs: CBT of Appendix-II (IREM) Examination 2025, Annexures A and B (on Northern Railway's "Appendix II(IREM) Examination 2025" page)
- official — Northern Railway (Nodal Railway) — Corrigendum dated 28.11.2025 to the notification of 11.11.2025: amended Annexure A (Shift 2 times; 40 minutes' compensatory time for PwBD candidates)
- official — Appendix II (IREM) Examination 2025 question papers of 21.12.2025 with answer keys (official in form (Railway papers with answer keys), read via a secondary host: Google Drive links on appendix3exam.com; the Railway's own copy was not found online; the links are on this post)
- official — Railway Board — RBE 43/2000, No. 97-E(SCT)-I/25/25 dated 13.03.2000: 10% relaxation for SC/ST in Appendix-IIA and Appendix-IIIA examinations reckoned on total marks (30 where general candidates need 40 of 100)
- official — Railway Board — RBA 108/2019 dated 17.12.2019: 80% objective, one written question, no negative marking
- official — Railway Board — RBA 100/2019 dated 18.11.2019: objective questions in Appendix-2, with a sample question set
- official — Railway Board — RBA 17/2025 dated 23.05.2025: RBA 100 and 108 of 2019 reiterated
- official — Railway Board — RBA 38/2015 dated 22.06.2015: objective questions then held not applicable to the Accounts Department
- official — Railway Board — RBA 28/2025 dated 29.09.2025: Northern Railway nodal for Appendix II, North Western Railway for Appendix IV
official = a document published by the conducting body. reported = a news or coaching site we could not check against an original. Where sources disagree this page says so rather than picking one.
