IBPS SO Prelims - Full Course
The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) organizes the Common Recruitment Process (CRP) every year for the selection of personnel in Specialist Officers’ cadre posts listed below in the Participating Banks. The IBPS SO examination has three levels - Preliminary, Mains, and Interview.
IBPS SO Exam Vacancies
In the official notice of IBPS SO Exam, the board has declared the total of ___ probationary vacancies, including category-based reservations. All the applicants should check out the chart of vacancies before appearing for the IBPS SO examination.
Category-wise vacancy details are given below:
| S.NO | I.T. OFFICER | AGRICULTURAL FIELD OFFICER | RAJBHASHA ADHIKAR | LAW OFFICER | HR/ PERSONNEL OFFICER | MARKETING OFFICER | TOTAL |
| SC | 30 | 120 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 55 | 224 |
| ST | 14 | 58 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 26 | 106 |
| OBC | 53 | 210 | 15 | 8 | 12 | 89 | 387 |
| EWS | 22 | 99 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 76 | 218 |
| GEN | 101 | 397 | 47 | 25 | 34 | 289 | 893 |
| Total | 220 | 884 | 84 | 44 | 61 | 535 | 1828 |
| PWBD(Out of which) | 8 | 36 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 21 | 70 |
IBPS SO Selection Process
IBPS SO selection process comprises three phases (Preliminary Exam., Mains Exam., and Interview) . A candidate must qualify each to proceed to the next phase.
IBPS Preliminary Exam
- It is a Computer Based examination.
- IBPS shortlists candidates in each category (General/EWS/OBC/SC/ST/PWBD) for the Main Examination.
IBPS Mains Exam
- It is a Computer Based examination.
- The candidates qualifying the preliminary examination appear for this examination.
- The candidates must qualify the sectional and an overall cutoff in the main exam to be eligible for the interview.
- Cut-off lists for qualifying the Mains examination are different for each category (General/ EWS/OBC/SC/ST/PWD).
Interview Process
- Candidates who have been shortlisted in the Online Main Examination for CRP SPL-XI will subsequently be called for an Interview to be conducted by the Participating Banks and coordinated by the Nodal Banks in each State/ UT. Interviews will be conducted at select centres.
IBPS SO Exam Pattern
IBPS SO Preliminary Examination - Computer Based Examination - Objective paper
The structure of the Examinations which will be conducted online are as follows:
For the Post of Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari
| Section | No. of MCQs/Questions | Maximum Marks | Medium of Exam | Time allotted for each test |
| English Language | 50 | 25 | English | 40 minutes |
| Reasoning Ability | 50 | 50 | English and Hindi | 40 minutes |
| General Awareness with Special Reference to Banking Industry | 50 | 50 | English and Hindi | 40 minutes |
| Total | 150 | 125 |
For the Post of IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR/Personnel Officer and Marketing Officer
| Section | No. of MCQs/Questions | Maximum Marks | Medium of Exam | Time allotted for each test |
| English Language | 50 | 25 | English | 40 minutes |
| Reasoning Ability | 50 | 50 | English and Hindi | 40 minutes |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 50 | 50 | English and Hindi | 40 minutes |
| Total | 150 | 125 |
Candidates have to qualify in each of the three tests by securing minimum cut-off marks to be decided by IBPS. Adequate number of candidates in each category as decided by IBPS depending upon requirements will be shortlisted for Online Main Examination.
(The Prelims exam is only qualifying, which means marks got in the Prelims exam will not be added anywhere else)
Main Examination Preliminary Examination - Computer Based Examination
For the Post of Law Officer, IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR/Personnel Officer and Marketing Officer
| Name of the Test | No. of MCQs/Questions | Maximum Marks | Medium of Exam | Time allotted for each test |
| Professional Knowledge | 60 | 60 | English & Hindi | 45 minutes |
For the Post of Rajbhasha Adhikari
| Name of the Test | No. of MCQs/Questions | Maximum Marks | Medium of Exam | Time allotted for each test |
| Professional Knowledge (Objective) | 45 | 60 | English & Hindi | 30 minutes |
| Professional Knowledge (Descriptive) | 2 | English & Hindi | 30 minutes |
IBPS reserves the right to modify the structure of the examination which will be intimated through its website.
Penalty for Wrong Answers (Applicable to both – Online Preliminary and Online Main examinations) There will be penalty for wrong answers marked in the Objective Tests. For each question for which a wrong answer has been given by the candidate one fourth or 0.25 of the marks assigned to that question will be deducted as penalty to arrive at corrected score. If a question is left blank, i.e. no answer is marked by the candidate, there will be no penalty for that question.
CUTOFF SCORE (Online Main Examination) Each candidate will be required to obtain a minimum score in the test of Online Main examination and also secure sufficiently high scores to be considered to be shortlisted for interview.
Prior to the completion of the interview process, scores obtained in the online Main examination will not be shared with the candidates shortlisted for interview.
“MARKS OBTAINED IN THE ONLINE MAIN EXAMINATION ONLY WILL BE CONSIDERED FOR SHORTLISTING FOR INTERVIEW AND ALSO FOR FINAL MERIT LISTING”.
INTERVIEW
- The total marks allotted for Interview are 100.
- The minimum qualifying marks in interview will not be less than 40% (35% for SC/ST/OBC/PWBD candidates).
FINAL CUT OFF
- The weightage (ratio) of Online Main Examination and interview will be 80:20 respectively.
- The combined final score of candidates shall be arrived at on the basis of total scores obtained by the candidates in the Online Main Examination of CRP- SPL-XI and Interview.
- A candidate should qualify both in the Online Main Examination and interview and be sufficiently high in the merit to be shortlisted for subsequent provisional allotment process.
IBPS SO Exam Syllabus
IBPS SO Preliminary Examination Syllabus
The IBPS SO Prelims Exam is an objective type paper. The syllabus for Prelims consists of three subjects:
| English Language | Quantitative Aptitude | Reasoning | *General/Economy/Banking Awareness |
| Reading Comprehension | SURDS AND INDICES | BLOOD RELATION | Banking Awareness |
| Cloze Test | SIMPLIFICATION AND APPROXIMATION | RANKING AND TIME SEQUENCE TEST | Financial Knowledge |
| Para Jumbles | PERCENTAGE | DIRECTION AND DISTANCE | Basic Economics |
| Miscellaneous | PROFIT AND LOSS | SEATING ARRANGEMENT | Current Affairs- Current Events of National and International Importance with focus on financial news |
| Fill in the blanks | RATIO, PROPORTION AND PARTNERSHIP | PUZZLES | Static GK : General Knowledge on various topics of importance to financial institutions |
| Multiple meaning/Error spotting | AVERAGE | ALPHABET TEST | |
| Paragraph Completion | MIXTURES AND ALLIGATION | INEQUALITY | |
| Idioms and Phrases | SIMPLE INTEREST AND COMPOUND INTEREST | SYLLOGISM | |
| TIME AND WORK | CODING- DECODING | ||
| TIME, SPEED AND DISTANCE | INPUT- OUTPUT | ||
| INEQUALITY | DATA SUFFICIENCY | ||
| MENSURATION 2-D | DECISION MAKING | ||
| MENSURATION 3-D | STATEMENT AND ASSUMPTIONS | ||
| PERMUTATIONS AND COMBINATIONS | STATEMENT AND CONCLUSIONS | ||
| PROBABILITY | STATEMENT AND ARGUMENTS | ||
| DATA INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS | STATEMENT AND INFERENCES | ||
| DATA SUFFICIENCY | ASSERTION AND REASON | ||
| SERIES | COURSE OF ACTION | ||
| CAUSE AND EFFECTS |
* For the post of Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari only.
IBPS SO Main Examination Syllabus
- Professional Knowledge related to subject or post applying for. (Subject of graduation or/and post-graduation Course)
IBPS SO Eligibility Criteria
Educational Qualification
| Name of the Post | Educational Qualifications |
| I.T. Officer | a) 4 year Engineering/ Technology Degree in Computer Science/ Computer Applications/ Information Technology/ Electronics/ Electronics & 3 Telecommunications/ Electronics & Communication/ Electronics & Instrumentation OR b) Post Graduate Degree in Electronics/ Electronics & Tele Communication/ Electronics & Communication/ Electronics & Instrumentation/ Computer Science/ Information Technology/ Computer Applications OR Graduate having passed DOEACC ‘B’ level |
| Agricultural Field Officer | 4 year Degree (graduation) in Agriculture/ Horticulture/Animal Husbandry/ Veterinary Science/ Dairy Science/ Fishery Science/ Pisciculture/ Agri. Marketing & Cooperation/ Co-operation & Banking/ Agro-Forestry/Forestry/ Agricultural Biotechnology/ Food Science/ Agriculture Business Management/ Food Technology/ Dairy Technology/ Agricultural Engineering/ Sericulture |
| Rajbhasha Adhikari | Post Graduate Degree in Hindi with English as a subject at the degree (graduation) level OR Post graduate degree in Sanskrit with English and Hindi as subjects at the degree (graduation) level. |
| Law Officer | A Bachelor Degree in Law (LLB) and enrolled as an advocate with Bar Council |
| HR/Personnel Officer | Graduate and Two Years Full time Post Graduate degree or Two Years Full time Post Graduate diploma in Personnel Management / Industrial Relations/ HR / HRD/ Social Work / Labour Law |
| Marketing Officer | Graduate and Two Years Full time MMS (Marketing)/ Two Years Full time MBA (Marketing)/ Two Years Full time PGDBA / PGDBM/ PGPM/ PGDM with specialization in Marketing * |
For posts other than IT Officer Scale I: Candidates should have Certificate/Diploma/Degree in computer operations/ Language/ should have studied Computer / Information Technology as one of the subjects in the High School/ College/ Institute.
Age Criteria
Age (As on 01.11.2021): Minimum: 20 years Maximum: 30 years
Relaxation of Upper Age Limit
| Category | Age Relaxation |
| SC/ST | 5 years |
| OBC (Non- creamy layer) | 3 years |
| PWBD | 10 years |
| Ex-Servicemen | 5 years |
| Candidates affected by the 1984 riots | 5 years |
Nationality / Citizenship:
A candidate must be either
(i) a Citizen of India or
(ii) a subject of Nepal or
(iii) a subject of Bhutan or
(iv) a Tibetan Refugee who came over to India before 1st January 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India or
(v) a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania (formerly Tanganyika and Zanzibar), Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia and Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India, provided that a candidate belonging to categories (ii), (iii), (iv) & (v) above shall be a person in whose favour a certificate of eligibility has been issued by the Government of India.
FAQ's
Question. Can I appear for IBPS SO with a 55% graduation score?
Answer. Yes, If you have A Bachelor Degree in desired stream, you can appear for IBPS SO (I.T. Officer, Agricultural Field Officer, Law Officer, HR/Personnel Officer, Marketing Officer only) with a 55% graduation score, but not for Rajbhasha Adhikari . There is no percentage cut-off, but the candidate must have completed the graduation.
Question. What is the selection process for IBPS SO?
Answer. IBPS SO is held in three stages: Prelims Examination, Mains Examination and Interview. The candidate will have to clear each stage to qualify for an IBPS SO appointment.
Question. When will the online applications start?
Answer. IBPS released notification for RECRUITMENT OF SPECIALIST OFFICERS- 2022-23 on 02.11.2021.
Question. What is the cut-off for IBPS SO recruitment?
Answer. There is no fixed cut-off. It depends on the performance of the candidates each year.
Question. Is IBPS SO a bilingual exam?
Answer. Yes, the IBPS SO exam is conducted in English and Hindi language. However, the English language section is in English only.
Question. What is the application fee?
Answer. The application fee for SC/ST/PWBD candidates is ₹ 175/-. All others candidates have to pay ₹ 850/-
Question. Are there fixed timings for different sections?
Answer. Yes, both in Prelims and Mains.
Question. What is the mode of registration?
Answer. A candidate can only register online by visiting the official website of IBPS.
Question. What is the educational qualification for an IBPS SO recruitment?
Answer. A Bachelor Degree in desired stream for I.T. Officer, Agricultural Field Officer, Law Officer, HR/Personnel Officer, Marketing Officer and Post Graduate Degree in desired stream for Rajbhasha Adhikari.
Question. Are graduation marks required to qualify for the IBPS SO exam?
Answer. There is no percentage cut-off, but the candidate must have completed the graduation for I.T. Officer, Agricultural Field Officer, Law Officer, HR/Personnel Officer, Marketing Officer only
Question. Will there be any sectional cut-off for the IBPS SO Exam?
Answer. Candidates have to qualify in each of the three tests (Preliminary Examination) by securing minimum cut-off marks to be decided by IBPS.
Question. Is there any group discussion or personal interview after qualifying the Mains exam?
Answer. Yes, only a personal interview will be there after qualifying the Main Examination.