Checked 29 September 2026. Structure is from IREM Appendix 3 para 3(iii)(b) and 3(v) (as amended by ACS 282 and 288), the Board's model subjective paper of 01.05.2024 and the June 2024 paper. The next paper may change the choice of questions; no notification had been issued on 29 September 2026.
The subjective paper is worth 200 of the 500 marks, and it is the paper most often described wrongly. The questions appear on a computer screen. You write your answers by hand, on paper, in an answer book, in three hours. Para 3(xii) says it is marked only for candidates who qualify in all the objective papers, and in 2024 no one below the aggregate had it marked either (our count). So everyone who reaches it has done well, and in 2024 still 96 of 1,133 failed it (our count). This guide covers the three sections, what the 2024 paper actually asked, and the answer-book rules that can void an answer.
ProSyllabus is an independent study site. We are not affiliated with Indian Railways, the Railway Board or any zonal railway or production unit. Every rule below is quoted or summarised from the Board's published letters, and your Accounts office decides every nomination.
Where other pages get this wrong
You write the subjective paper by hand. Only the question paper is on the computer.
Commonly published instead: "Subjective, typed on computer" and "typing speed becomes a real constraint", including on our own notice board until this guide.
IREM Appendix 3 para 3(v), as amended by ACS 288 (07.03.2024): "Subjective paper will be conducted through on-line mode. Question paper will be available on computer and candidate will have to write answers on paper." The first version of ACS 282 (21.08.2023) said only "through on-line mode", which is how the typed reading started. The 2024 model paper's instructions are about an answer book: a detachable roll-number slip, extra books tied with thread, blank pages crossed out.
IREM Appendix 3; model subjective paper of 01.05.2024; result of 07.08.2024.
The three sections
| Section | Choice | Marks | Model paper (01.05.2024) | June 2024 paper (our reading) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A — Advanced Book Keeping | Answer 1 of 2 | 40 | Final accounts from a trial balance with 11 adjustments; or journal adjustments plus a bank reconciliation statement | Trading and profit and loss account and balance sheet with adjustments; or a BRS (20) with inventory turnover (10) and a fall in current ratio (10) |
| B — Practical aspect of Accounts and Finance | Answer 1 of 2 | 40 | Operating ratio and net receipts from railway figures; or a finance-scrutiny checklist for an umbrella-work estimate | Finance scrutiny at each stage of outsourcing office cleaning; or GST on railway working, input tax credit and compliance |
| C — General Essay, Letters and Précis, and Rajbhasha | Answer 3 of 5 | 3 × 40 | Two essays (at least 500 words), a précis (not more than 100 words, with a heading), a DO letter, a Rajbhasha question on the Official Languages Act | Two essays (railway growth and modernisation; skills for public service), a letter to a bank on pension, a précis, a Rajbhasha question in four 10-mark parts |
The model column is from the Board's model paper. The 2024 column is our reading of pages 193 to 202 of the scanned 2024 papers. We describe the questions and do not reproduce them. The section names are the model paper's own.
Rajbhasha: compulsory or a choice?
The texts disagree. ACS 282, as first issued, and RBA 71/2021 promised "one compulsory question on Rajbhasha". The current IREM says only a "question on Rajbhasha as per ACS No.283 dated 4.12.2023". That cross-reference looks like an error: ACS 283, issued as RBE 134/2023, amends IREM Chapter II on promotion from Group C to Group B, not the Rajbhasha question (reported by gconnect.in; we did not find the Board's copy). Both the 2024 model paper and the 2024 paper put the Rajbhasha question inside Section C, answer any 3 of 5. On those two papers, then, you could leave it out. That is our reading of the papers; the Board has not issued a clarification. Prepare it anyway. In 2024 it was four 10-mark parts: the main points of the Official Languages Act 1963 as amended in 1967; regions A, B and C under the Official Languages Rules 1976; the cases where documents must be bilingual; and official language committees in small offices. Candidates who prepare it have a question that rewards recall over prose.
What each section rewards
Section A — Advanced Book Keeping (40 marks)
- Final accounts with adjustments are the staple. Both the model and the 2024 paper had a trial balance to be turned into a trading account, a profit and loss account and a balance sheet, with adjustments for closing stock, provisions, outstanding and prepaid items, depreciation, goods on approval and fire loss.
- The alternative is split into parts: journal adjustments and a BRS in the model; a BRS plus two ratio questions in 2024. If you are unsure of one part, the full final-accounts question may be safer.
- A basic calculator is allowed here, and only a basic one. Show every working line: the calculator result alone earns nothing if the examiner cannot follow it.
Section B — Practical Finance and Accounts (40 marks)
- This is the railway finance officer's desk. The model asked for the operating ratio from receipts, working expenses and appropriations to funds, and for a scrutiny checklist on an umbrella-work estimate. The 2024 paper asked for finance scrutiny of an outsourcing contract, stage by stage, and for the effect of GST.
- Structure beats length. A scrutiny answer reads best as the stages (sanction, estimate, tender, agreement, payment) with the checks at each, citing the rule you would apply.
- Revise what you vet at work. This section rewards people who have done finance vetting, and the objective Paper I and III topics feed it directly.
Section C — Essay, letter, précis, Rajbhasha (3 × 40 marks)
- Essays need at least 500 words (model paper). In 2024 both essay topics were about public service and the railway, not abstract themes.
- A précis must stay within 100 words and needs a heading. Count your words; overshooting is the common way to lose marks.
- Letters are official correspondence: a DO letter from the FA&CAO to divisional finance managers in the model, a letter to a bank on pension in 2024. Use the formats you use at work.
- Three of five means you can drop the two you like least. Decide which before the day.
The answer-book rules that can void an answer
| Rule (2024 model paper instructions) | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Write your roll number only on the detachable coloured slip on the top sheet, nowhere else | A roll number or "unauthorised remarks" inside the book invites disciplinary action |
| Write the subject yourself on the top sheet and on the slip | It identifies the paper for the evaluator |
| Answer only the required number; extra answers are ignored | Only the first answers up to the required number are marked. A sixth answer is not a bonus |
| Mark the question number clearly against every answer | If the numbering is unclear, the answer is liable to be rejected |
| Tie extra answer books together and write the count on the first top sheet; strike out blank pages | Loose books can be separated from yours |
| Write in the medium you gave the Board | An answer book in another medium may be summarily rejected and not evaluated |
| Basic calculator only; no scientific calculator, diary, pager or phone | A banned device is unfair means, with debarment and action under the D&A Rules 1968 |
All from the Board's model subjective paper of 01.05.2024. Its general instructions ban watch calculators and calculators built into rings; its subjective-paper instructions allow a basic model of calculator. Carry only a plain, stand-alone calculator.
Plan the three hours
Three hours for five 40-mark answers is 36 minutes each, before you set aside any time to read or check. By hand, a 500-word essay can use most of that allowance, depending on how fast you write; time yourself on a practice essay. Final accounts with eleven adjustments can take longer than that. Decide your split before the day and practise to it. The planner gives you a clock for the hall; the 2024 paper ran from 2 pm to 5 pm on 19 June 2024.
Plan your three hours
Five answers of 40 marks each in 180 minutes. Set how long you will spend choosing questions and how long you keep for checking, then give Section A extra time if the book-keeping numericals take you longer. The planner prints a clock for the hall.
Our planning aid, not an official rule. The paper structure (answer 1 of 2 in A, 1 of 2 in B, 3 of 5 in C, 40 marks each) is from the 2024 model paper and the 2024 paper. Only the first answers up to the required number are marked, so number every answer clearly.
| Block | Suggested minutes (ours) | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Read and choose | 10 | Pick 1 of A, 1 of B, 3 of C; note the numbers |
| Section A answer | 40 | Workings first, then the formatted accounts |
| Section B answer | 30 | Stages and checks, citing rules |
| Three Section C answers | 30 each (90) | Essay plan in two minutes; count précis words |
| Check | 10 | Numbering, totals, strike blank pages, tie books |
| Total | 180 | Section A gets 10 minutes more than the others |
Our suggested split, with 10 minutes to read, 10 to check and 10 extra for Section A. It is the planner's default, printed here for readers whose browser does not run it.
How it was marked in 2024
The subjective paper was evaluated for 1,133 candidates in 2024. Their average was 103.7 of 200. 143 scored below 80 and 45 below 60, and 96 failed once the relaxed standard for reserved candidates is applied (all our counts over the official list). A candidate who clears the objective stage should therefore expect to pass the subjective paper. Still, about one in twelve did not, and for them the whole sitting counted for nothing beyond any exemptions earned. There is no re-evaluation: only totals and arithmetic can be rechecked (para 17). Answer books are destroyed six months after the final result, after vigilance clearance (para 16).
Examiners are paid per paper set and per answer book. Board letter A(E)/A3/2024/7/2 of 21.03.2025 revised the honorarium for setting and evaluating the Appendix-III CBT from the 2024 exam. The subjective paper is marked by people, not by the CBT system. For the objective papers and the pass rules, see the pattern guide and the pass marks guide.
Is the Appendix-3 subjective paper written or typed?
Written. The question paper is shown on a computer, but you write the answers on paper in an answer book (IREM Appendix 3 para 3(v), ACS 288 of 07.03.2024).
How many questions must I answer in the subjective paper?
Five of nine: 1 of 2 in Section A (Advanced Book Keeping), 1 of 2 in Section B (Practical Accounts and Finance), and 3 of 5 in Section C (essay, letters, précis and Rajbhasha). Each carries 40 marks.
Is the Rajbhasha question compulsory?
The 2021 and first 2023 texts said compulsory, but the 2024 model paper and the 2024 paper both placed it among the five Section C questions, of which you answer any three. The current IREM does not say compulsory. Prepare it in any case.
Can I use a calculator in the subjective paper?
A basic calculator, yes, for the book-keeping numericals. Scientific calculators, electronic diaries and phones are not permitted.
What happens if I answer more questions than required?
Extra answers are ignored. Only the first answers up to the required number are evaluated, so strike out anything you do not want counted.
How many marks do I need in the subjective paper?
80 of 200 (40%) for unreserved candidates. For SC, ST and PwBD candidates the relaxed standard applies; the 2024 results match 60 of 200 (30%).
Will my subjective paper be checked if I fail an objective paper?
No. Para 3(xii) says it is evaluated only for candidates who qualify in all the objective papers. In 2024 the 20 who cleared every paper but missed the 45% (or 35%) aggregate were not evaluated either (our count).
Sources
- official — Railway Board — IREM Vol I, Appendix 3 (current text incorporating ACS 282 and 288)
- official — Railway Board — corrigendum RBA 07/2024 dated 07.03.2024 enclosing ACS 288 (answers on paper, 30/35% for SC/ST/PwBD, exemption for 5 attempts)
- official — Railway Board — ACS 282, RBA 27/2023, letter A(E)/A3/2023/10/2 dated 21.08.2023 (merged three-stream Appendix-3 scheme)
- official — Railway Board — RBA 71/2021 dated 15.12.2021: the new objective-plus-subjective scheme announced
- official — Railway Board — model Papers I to III and model subjective paper, A(E)/A3/2024/1/2 dated 01.05.2024
- official — Railway Board — all four 2024 Appendix-III question papers (202 scanned pages)
- official — Railway Board — Appendix-III (IREM) result A(E)/A3/2024/5/2 dated 07.08.2024, exam of 18-19.06.2024
- official — Railway Board — Corrigendum 4 dated 19.03.2024: exam moved to 18-19.06.2024
- official — Railway Board — 2024 notification with Corrigenda 1 to 3 (24.02, 26.02 and 29.02.2024)
- reported — gconnect.in — ACS 283, RBE 134/2023 dated 04.12.2023: amendment to IREM Vol I on promotion of Group C staff to Group B (reported)
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.
