Appendix3 Exam - New pattern - RBA 71 dated 15.12.2021

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Appendix3 Exam - New pattern - Railway Board RBA 71 dated 15.12.2021  

Salient features of New pattern of Appendix3 Exam 

vide RBA 71 dated 15.12.2021

• Introduction of Objective type questions / MCQs 

 

• Merger of 3 cadres i.e., Sr.SO(A), Sr.TIA &Sr. ISA with prospective date. The Objective is to acquire knowledge and experience of the Accounts Dept as a whole.

 

• Conducted by Railway Board  

• All papers - Without Books  

 

• Examination will be on bilingual (at the option of the Candidate)

• Objective type & Descriptive type - Both conducted through online i.e., CBT - Computer Based Test 

 

• 3 Objective Question Papers - Each 100 marks - Time - 2 hours for each Paper. Negative marks 0.25 for each wrong answer. 

 

Candidates	Passing Marks
	Individual Paper	Aggregate of 3 Papers
General	40 Marks	45 %
SC/ST	30 Marks	35 %

 

  

• One Subjective/Descriptive Question paper - 300 marks - Time - 3 Hours  - Valuation of Subjective paper.  Passing marks - 40 % for General Candidates and 30 % for SC/ST Candidates.   Subjective paper will be corrected subject to qualifying the minimum marks in Objective type tests. 

•  Combined marks of Objective & Descriptive  - Determine the position of the candidates in the Merit list. 

• Unlimited attempts    

•  Exemption marks  - 60 %.  The Exemption will be applicable for 5 years. 

• Syllabus as detailed below is indicative only. That means suggestive only. Detailed syllabus will be spelt out in Notification of the examination.  

 

• Syllabus of 3 Objective type papers: 

1.    GRP, Establishment, PF, NPS, Pension, Labour Laws and Associated Finance, Expenditure, Budget & Bookkeeping 

 

2.            Stores, COS Procedures, Workshops, Workshop Costing & associated finance, Expenditure, Budget & Bookkeeping 

 

3.            Traffic Accounts, Traffic Statistics / Costing, Station Accounts and associated finance, Accounting & Bookkeeping  

• Syllabus of 1 Descriptive paper:  

 

A.            General Essay, Letter writing & Precis  - English medium and Hindi Medium

 

B.   Rajbhasha  (Question on Official Language Policy) - English or Hindi 

 

C.   Practical aspect of Finance & Accounts, Approaching Finance, Comprehend/understand the issue and conclusions arrived thereby 

 

D.   Advanced Bookkeeping - Numerical Questions - Calculator allowed.      

 

• Negative marking - 0.25 marks for each wrong answer in Objective type tests.  Different possibilities are as follows.  (for an idea to the Candidates)  

 

 

Probability	Total Questions  (Guessed randomly, if not sure of correct answer)	Correct	Wrong	Marks secured	Probability Percentage
First probability	5	5	Nil	5	16 %
Second probability	5	4	1	3.75	16 %
Third probability	5	3	2	2.5	17 %
Fourth probability	5	2	3	1.25	17 %
Fifth probability	5	1	4	Nil	17 %
Sixth probability	5	Nil	5	Minus 1.25	17 %

  

•  83 %  Positive or Nil effect   

•  17 % - Negative

•  It is better for the Candidates to go to a random guessing subject to be confident of Correct answers for at least 55 objective questions out of 100 questions. 

• Overall, the above Railway Board letter is indicative only.  Detailed policy guidelines / instructions on implementation of new pattern of Appendix III IREM examination and merger supervisory cadre of Accounts Dept will follow. 

FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions - Appendix 3 examination

FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions about Appendix 3 IREM examination

1.      Why Qualifying examination for promotion to the rank of section officer (a/cs), inspectors of station accounts and inspectors of stores accounts is called as “Appendix 3 IREM “ examination ?

Ans: Details of the said examination is available in “Appendix 3 of IREM – Indian Railways Establishment Manual “ (Available at the end of article).     The examinations of Accounts Dept are as follows.

Appendix 1 of IREM	IRAS probationary officers
Appendix 2 of IREM	Qualifying examination for promotion above accounts clerks of the   accounts department up   to and   including the rank of accounts assistants
Appendix 3 of IREM	Qualifying examination for promotion to the rank of section officer (a/cs), inspectors of station accounts and inspectors of stores accounts
Appendix 4  of IREM	Promotion to and  confirmation the rank of stock verifiers

2.      At what intervals, the examination is conducted?

Ans:   Every year  

3.      What is the eligibiligy for appearing the Examination ?

              Ans:  He or she should have passed the Appendix 2 examination and completed 5 years continuous service in a Railway Accounts office or completed 3 years continuous service in a Railway Accounts office, if he/she is a graduate.

4.      How many chances is a candidate permitted to avail ?

Ans: Normally 3 chances. However 10 chances may be permitted subject to the permission granted by the following officers.

Chances	Permission granted by
1 to 3	Normal
4 to 5	FA& CAO
6	General Manager
7 to 10	Railway Board

5.      Is absence from the examination counted as a chance availed ?

           Ans: Yes. Absence from the examination shall be counted as a chance/attempt for this purpose.

6.      What are the passing marks for the examination ?

Ans:

Paper	General category	SC/ST category
Advanced Book keeping	40 %	30%
General Rules & Procedures	40%	30%
Optional Paper  with Books	40%	30%
Optional Paper without books	40%	30%

Note: 45% for general category and 35% for SC/ST category in aggregate in both papers of Optional subject

7.      What is the combination of Optional subjects in the examination ?

Ans:   OPTIONAL SUBJECTS - APPENDIX-3 (IREM) Examination

                       for SO(A) group  - Eight choices

First Optional	Second Optional
General Expenditure	Books & Budget
General Expenditure	Stores Accounts
General Expenditure	Workshop Accounts
General Expenditure	Establishment & PF Accounts
Books & Budget	Stores Accounts
Books & Budget	Workshop Accounts
Books & Budget	Establishment & PF Accounts
Traffic Accounts	Traffic Statistics & Traffic Book

Note: General Expenditure and Books & Budget is popular choice among candidates.  But the final selection depends on the candidates exposure in the working /interest /advice of seniors etc.

             for TIA group  - No choice

First Optional	Second Optional
Station Accounts	Traffic Accounts

  

            for ISA group  - No choice

First Optional	Second Optional
Stores Accounts	General Procedures  followed in office of COS

8.    What is the eligibility criteria (marks) for claiming exemption ?

Ans:  60% . A candidate who fails in the examination but shows marked excellence in any subject by obtaining not less than 60 per cent of the maximum marks of that subject will be exempted from further examination in that subject in subsequent examinations. 

Examples are

1.  Optional paper with books - 65 marks (i.e., above 60 marks)           } Candidate declared is

     Optional paper without books - 62 marks (i.e., above 60 marks)     } exempted in that subject

2.  Optional paper with books - 65 marks (i.e., above 60 marks)           } Not exempted 

     Optional paper without books - 58 marks (i.e., below 60 marks)     }

        9.  Click the links below for details.

Appendix3 exam details - IREM

Single Examination pattern

10. Railway Codes Suggested for Optional Subjects.

ü  Frequently asked question is “WHICH CODES ARE REFER FOR WHICH OPTIONAL”

ü  Here is the answer.  

ü  Related Manuals, GCC- General Conditions of Contract  and Finance Compendium (for General Expenditure)  also helpful for attempting optional papers.

Railway Codes and Manuals link  

Optional	Railway Code	Railway Code	Railway Code
Books & Budget	Accounts Code Volume One	Finance Code Volume One	Finance Code Volume Two
General Expenditure	Accounts Code Volume One	Finance Code Volume One	Engineering Code
Stores Accounts	Stores Code Volume One	Stores Code Volume Two
COS office – General procedures	Stores Code Volume One	Stores Code Volume Two
Workshop Accounts	Rolling Stock Code
Traffic Accounts	Accounts Code Volume Two	Traffic Code
Station Accounts	Accounts Code Volume Two	Traffic Code
Traffic Statistics & Traffic Book	Accounts Code Volume Two	Traffic Code
Establishment & PF Accounts	Establishment Code Volume One	Establishment Code Volume Two