Sources familiar with the situation informed CNBC-TV18 that this planned protest indicates a rare instance of organized employee dissent at India’s central bank.
Under the current framework, a Grade C officer, known as Assistant General Manager, who has served for five years is automatically eligible for promotion to Grade D, the Deputy General Manager level, irrespective of how many DGM positions are available. The new policy eliminates this guarantee.
Officers now have to wait for a vacancy to open, meaning career advancement relies not on tenure or performance, but on attrition and overall headcount, both of which are completely beyond an individual’s control.
The promotion from Grade B to Grade C remains unchanged, still being time-bound at seven years of service.
The RBI’s officer hierarchy spans from Grade A to Grade F. Historically, promotions have been time-bound: it takes seven years to progress from Grade B to C, five years for automatic promotion from Grade C to D, four to five years for performance-based advancement from Grade D to E, and an interview is required for promotion from Grade E to F.
The shift from Grade C to Grade D is considered the entry point into the RBI’s senior executive pathway. According to sources, officers believe this change is particularly severe given the already lengthy career timelines at the RBI. With seven years until the first promotion and five more until the second, making the third promotion dependent on vacancies fundamentally alters the career landscape at the central bank.
This is not the first time changes in promotion policy have led to unrest. In December 2018, a circular raising the non-promotion threshold from the bottom 10% of officers to the bottom 25% triggered a spontaneous strike, with dissatisfied officers requesting a meeting with the then-Governor.
This protest also coincides with a significant drop in external recruitment through the RBI Grade B exam. Vacancies had been 294 in 2022 and 291 in 2023, dropping to 94 in 2024, slightly recovering to 120 in 2025, and then plummeting to just 60 in the current 2026 cycle, the lowest ever recorded.
Applications for the 2026 exam are open until May 20. With fewer officers being recruited at Grade B and internal promotions now restricted for Grade C to D, officers indicate that the career pipeline is constricting from both ends concurrently.
CNBC-TV18 has contacted the RBI for an official statement. This story will be updated upon receiving a response.
(Edited by : SHEERSH KAPOOR)
First Published: May 8, 2026 2:38 PM IST
