This page lists RRB NTPC previous year question papers for 10 years, 2012 to 2021, with 3 official PDFs (question papers and answer keys) and labelled mock papers for 6 years with no official question paper. RRB NTPC (Railway Recruitment Board NTPC) is conducted by the Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) and covers Maths, Reasoning and General Awareness. Pick a year below for the paper, answer key and a timed practice plan; confirm dates and pattern on rrbcdg.gov.in.
Explore: Question papers by year · Syllabus & pattern · Pattern changes · FAQ
Year-wise question papers
RRB NTPC 2021
The last phases of CBT 1 for CEN 01/2019 ran until mid-2021. Closest to the current CBT 1.
RRB NTPC 2020
CBT 1 for CEN 01/2019 finally began in December 2020: 100 questions in 90 minutes.
RRB NTPC 2019
The year CEN 01/2019 was notified. Practise here in the CBT 1 format still used today.
RRB NTPC 2018
A gap between NTPC cycles. Use it for mixed Maths, reasoning and GA practice at CBT 1 level.
RRB NTPC 2017
CBT 2 for CEN 03/2015 was held in January 2017, with 120 questions in 90 minutes.
RRB NTPC 2016
The first NTPC run as an all-India computer-based test, spread over many shifts.
RRB NTPC 2015
CEN 03/2015 set up the CBT pattern that railways still follow for NTPC.
RRB NTPC 2014
From the pen-and-paper era. Good for static GK and basic arithmetic.
RRB NTPC 2013
An older offline paper. Use it for topic practice after you have done the CBT years.
RRB NTPC 2012
The oldest paper here. Mine it for repeated GK facts, not for timing.
Prefer to practise one topic at a time? RRB NTPC topic-wise PYQs lists all 300 questions from 3 official RRB NTPC papers by topic, with the official answers.
About RRB NTPC
RRB NTPC is the Indian Railways exam for Non-Technical Popular Categories. It fills posts such as Station Master, Goods Train Manager, Chief Commercial cum Ticket Supervisor, Junior Account Assistant cum Typist and Senior Clerk cum Typist for graduates, and Commercial cum Ticket Clerk, Accounts Clerk cum Typist, Junior Clerk cum Typist and Trains Clerk for Class 12 pass candidates. It is one of the largest recruitment exams in the country, and the 2019 cycle alone drew more than a crore applications.
The Railway Recruitment Boards run it. There are 21 boards in different regions, but since 2015 they have run NTPC through one centralised employment notice (CEN) with a common computer-based test. You apply through one board, and that board handles your result and document verification.
NTPC is not an annual exam. Big notifications came in 2015, 2019 and 2024, and each cycle took one to three years from notification to final result. That makes old papers even more important than usual. Between cycles you have a long time to prepare and very little new material to prepare from. The papers from the 2016 and 2020–21 CBTs are the best guide you have to the level and style of the next one. Full syllabus and eligibility details are on the RRB NTPC syllabus and pattern page.
Railway boards have not published a complete official paper for every NTPC shift. Candidates could see their own questions through the answer key link for a limited period, and most of the papers circulating online are built from those. Some year pages on this site point to official archives, and others give a clearly labelled mock paper in that year’s pattern.
How the paper has changed since 2012
The biggest change in NTPC’s history came in 2015, when the railways moved from separate pen-and-paper exams run by individual boards to a single computer-based test for the whole country. The CBT pattern set then has barely changed since.
| Cycle | Mode | First stage | Second stage | What was different |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 2014 | Pen and paper, set by individual RRBs | One objective paper on general awareness, arithmetic and reasoning | Varied by post | Patterns and difficulty differed between boards |
| CEN 03/2015 (exams 2016–2017) | Computer-based | CBT 1: 100 questions in 90 minutes (GA 40, Maths 30, Reasoning 30) | CBT 2: 120 questions in 90 minutes (GA 50, Maths 35, Reasoning 35) | First all-India NTPC CBT; typing or aptitude test afterwards depending on the post |
| CEN 01/2019 (exams 2020–2022) | Computer-based | Same CBT 1 structure, held in seven phases from December 2020 to July 2021 | CBT 2 held separately for different pay levels | CBT 1 results were revised in 2022 after candidate protests |
| CEN 05/2024 and 06/2024 | Computer-based | Same CBT 1 structure | Same CBT 2 structure | Separate notices for graduate and undergraduate posts |
In every CBT since 2016, one-third of a mark is deducted for each wrong answer. There is a single timer for the whole test and no sectional time limit. After CBT 2, candidates for typist posts take a typing skill test, and Station Master candidates take a computer-based aptitude test (CBAT). Both are post-specific, so check the notice for the posts you choose.
Shifts and normalisation
An NTPC CBT is spread over many days, sometimes over months, with two or three shifts a day. Every shift has a different paper. The railways normalise the raw marks across shifts using a formula published in the notice, so that a hard shift does not hurt the candidates who got it.
For practice, this means a “2021 paper” is really one shift out of dozens. Different shifts in the same phase can vary noticeably in difficulty, especially in General Awareness. Do not read too much into how one reported shift felt. Your target is steady accuracy, and normalisation handles the rest.
What the papers show, section by section
General Awareness
GA carries the most questions in both CBTs, which is the main way NTPC differs from SSC exams. It is also the section where students who use past papers well pull ahead.
The questions cover current affairs, Indian history and the freedom struggle, Indian and world geography, the Constitution and polity, basic economics, general science up to Class 10, sports, art and culture, famous personalities, important government schemes, abbreviations, computer basics, and Indian transport systems including the railways themselves. Science and static GK are a large and reliable part of it.
When you review a past paper, sort every GA miss into three groups: science, static GK and current affairs. Science misses usually point to a chapter in your Class 9 or 10 NCERT book, so go back to that chapter. Static GK misses go on a list you revise weekly. Current affairs from old papers will not repeat, but they show you how far back the questions reach (often a year or more before the exam) and which kinds of events get asked.
Mathematics
NTPC Maths sits at roughly Class 10 level and is mostly arithmetic: number system, LCM and HCF, fractions and decimals, percentages, ratio and proportion, averages, profit and loss, simple and compound interest, time and work, time and distance, and mensuration. A few questions come from elementary algebra, geometry, trigonometry and basic statistics.
The questions are short, and the people who score well here are the ones who make few mistakes, not the ones who know advanced tricks. Mark each wrong answer as a method gap or a calculation slip. Most students find the slips outnumber the gaps.
General Intelligence and Reasoning
The reasoning section has analogies, series completion, coding and decoding, mathematical operations, blood relations, syllogisms, Venn diagrams, seating and ranking puzzles, data sufficiency, statement and conclusion, decision making, and simple map and graph questions. It is predictable, and it is often the highest-scoring section for prepared candidates.
Past papers show that the same question types repeat across shifts with very small changes. A few weeks of type-by-type practice from old papers can push your accuracy here close to full marks. The only real trap is time: a long puzzle can swallow five minutes. Skip it on the first pass.
Notes on recent years
2020 and 2021 papers come from the CEN 01/2019 CBT 1, which ran in seven phases from 28 December 2020 to 31 July 2021. This is the newest large set of NTPC papers and the closest to the current pattern. Solve as many shifts as you can find, and notice how the difficulty of GA moved from phase to phase. When the CBT 1 results came out in early 2022, protests over the shortlisting method led the railways to set up a committee and later issue revised results. That does not affect the papers, but it explains why the cycle took so long.
2015 to 2017 cover CEN 03/2015, the first all-India CBT. CBT 1 was held in 2016 and CBT 2 in January 2017. The structure matches today’s, so these papers are full practice. The current affairs is dated, but the science, static GK, Maths and reasoning are all usable.
2018 and 2019 fall between cycles. CEN 01/2019 was notified in 2019, but its CBT did not start until December 2020. Use these pages for practice in the current format.
2012 to 2014 are from the pen-and-paper era, when each board set its own paper. They are useful for static GK and arithmetic, and some of the GK facts have come back in later CBTs. Do not use them for timing.
Using old papers at different stages of preparation
With a year or more to go
You will often have this much time, because notifications are irregular. Use it to cover Class 9 and 10 science and the static GK areas, and after each area, solve every question on it from the past papers. Do the same for each Maths and reasoning topic. One full CBT 1 paper a month is enough at this stage.
Once the notification is out
When the CEN is published, you usually still have several months before CBT 1. Move to one full paper a week, with an error log in three parts: GA, Maths and reasoning. Spend the rest of the week fixing the errors. Start typing practice now if you are applying for a typist post, because the skill test comes quickly after CBT 2.
In the last two months before CBT 1
Sit two or three full papers a week, each in one 90-minute sitting. Use the 2020 and 2021 shifts for these, and keep a note of how many questions you attempt and how many you get right. In the last two weeks, revise your static GK and science lists daily and read a monthly current affairs summary for the past year. Stop adding new sources.
Between CBT 1 and CBT 2
CBT 2 is longer (120 questions) and goes deeper in GA. If you clear CBT 1, switch to CBT 2 papers from the 2017 and 2022 rounds and keep the same error log.
Mistakes students make with past papers
The most common mistake is treating NTPC like an SSC exam and giving GA too little time. Forty of the hundred CBT 1 questions are GA. If you are strong in Maths and reasoning but weak there, you will not clear the cut-off.
Another is guessing too much. With one-third of a mark off for a wrong answer, three wrong guesses cancel a correct answer. Check your mock data. If fewer than one in four of your guesses turn out right, they are costing you marks.
Many students also memorise current affairs from old papers. Those questions will not come back. The science and static GK will, so put your effort there.
Finally, do not trust every memory-based paper. A few questions may be incomplete or have the wrong answer. If something looks off, check it in an NCERT book or a standard GK reference.
FAQ
Where can I find RRB NTPC previous year question papers?
The railways have not posted a complete official paper for every shift. Candidates could view their own questions through the answer key link for a limited time after each CBT, and most papers online come from those. Year pages here link to official archives where they exist and give labelled mock papers where they do not.
What is the RRB NTPC exam pattern?
CBT 1 has 100 questions in 90 minutes: 40 General Awareness, 30 Mathematics and 30 Reasoning. CBT 2 has 120 questions in 90 minutes: 50, 35 and 35. One-third of a mark is deducted for each wrong answer. Typist posts then have a typing test and Station Master posts an aptitude test. Check the current CEN before your exam.
Which RRB NTPC papers are closest to the current exam?
The 2020 and 2021 papers from the CEN 01/2019 CBT 1, which ran in seven phases. The 2016 and 2017 papers from CEN 03/2015 use the same structure and are also good full practice.
Are RRB NTPC papers from before 2015 useful?
For topics, yes. They were pen-and-paper tests set by individual boards, so the timing and structure differ from today’s CBT. Their static GK and arithmetic questions are still good practice once you have done the CBT years.
How does normalisation work in RRB NTPC?
Each CBT runs in many shifts with different papers. The railways convert raw marks to normalised marks using the formula given in the notice, which adjusts for differences in difficulty between shifts. You cannot gain by hoping for an easy shift, so concentrate on accuracy.
Why does General Awareness matter so much in RRB NTPC?
It has the most questions in both CBTs, 40 of 100 in CBT 1 and 50 of 120 in CBT 2. A lot of it is general science and static GK that repeats across years, so reviewing GA from past papers carefully pays off more than in most exams.
How often is RRB NTPC held?
It is not annual. Major notifications came in 2015, 2019 and 2024, and each cycle took a long time from notification to result. Use the gaps to build your GK and science base with past papers, so you are not starting from scratch when a CEN comes out.
Should I practise CBT 2 papers before clearing CBT 1?
Mostly no. Focus on CBT 1 until you clear it, since the syllabus is the same and CBT 1 decides whether you go further. Once you have cleared it, switch to CBT 2 papers, which are longer and go deeper into GA.
Where to get the official papers
Notices, answer keys and results for RRB NTPC are published on the Railway Recruitment Board websites, such as rrbcdg.gov.in. Download your response sheet while the answer key link is open, because it is removed after a few weeks. We add practice papers and notes on each year, but the current CEN is the final word on dates, pattern and eligibility.