IBPS PO syllabus: prelims, mains and the descriptive paper

How the IBPS PO selection runs from start to finish

Think of the exam as a funnel with four steps. Each one has a different job, and only some of them add to your final score.

1. Prelims: a one hour screening test. You must clear every sectional cut off and the overall cut off, but these marks are not carried forward.
2. Mains: the real ranking paper. Objective and descriptive marks together, out of 225, decide who is called for interview.
3. Personality test: a self report test added in the recent notifications. It does not carry marks, yet you cannot reach the interview without taking it.
4. Interview: 100 marks. You need at least 40 percent (35 percent for SC, ST, OBC and PwBD candidates) to qualify.

Final selection uses mains and interview in the ratio 80 to 20, which is why the mains deserves most of your preparation time.

IBPS PO prelims exam pattern

The IBPS PO pre exam pattern gives you three separately timed sections of 20 minutes each, and the IBPS PO pre syllabus stays at a basic to moderate level. You cannot move time from one section to another, so speed inside each window matters.

Notice that reasoning now carries 40 marks while quant carries 30, even though both have 35 questions. Questions within a section can therefore carry unequal marks, so read the marks shown on screen.

IBPS PO mains exam pattern and marking scheme

The mains objective test has four sections, each with its own clock. The descriptive test follows straight after, typed on the computer.

Under the IBPS PO marking scheme, a wrong objective answer pulls back 25 percent of that item's value, while a blank leaves your score untouched. Sectional cut offs apply in the mains too, so a weak English score can block you even when your total looks fine.

IBPS PO prelims syllabus, section by section

The prelims syllabus is the base layer of the whole exam. Most of these topics return in a harder form in the mains.

Reasoning Ability

• Puzzles on floors, boxes, months and years, along with linear and circular seating
• Syllogism, inequality, blood relations, direction and distance
• Ranking order, letter and number codes, alphanumeric sequences

Quantitative Aptitude

• Simplification and approximation, number series, quadratic equations
• Data interpretation: tables, bar graphs, pie charts, caselets
• Arithmetic word problems: percentages, ratios, ages, averages, mixtures, interest (simple and compound), profit, loss and discount, work and wages, trains, boats and speed, plus basic probability

English Language

The IBPS PO English syllabus at this stage covers reading comprehension, cloze test, error spotting, sentence improvement, para jumbles, fillers and vocabulary used in context.

IBPS PO mains syllabus in detail

Reasoning

Longer and trickier puzzles, input and output, data sufficiency, critical reasoning (assumptions, inferences, courses of action, strengthening and weakening arguments), syllogism in reverse form and coded direction questions. Older notices called this section Reasoning and Computer Aptitude; check the latest notification for whether computer topics still appear, and keep a light revision of computer basics in case.

Data Analysis and Interpretation

Table, line, bar, pie and caselet based sets, missing data sets, data sufficiency, arithmetic word problems, quantity comparison and number series. Calculation speed decides this section.

General, Economy, Banking, Digital and Financial Awareness

News from about the half year before the exam, RBI circulars and monetary policy, banking terms, payment systems and digital banking, government schemes, Union Budget and Economic Survey highlights, and some static awareness.

English Language

Reading comprehension, cloze passages, sentence rearrangement, phrase replacement, error detection, paragraph completion and summary questions.

Descriptive test

One essay and one comprehension passage with questions, both typed. Topics usually touch banking, economy, technology and social issues.

What changed in the recent IBPS PO pattern

If you studied from an older book, these are the shifts to note:

• Prelims marks moved: reasoning went up to 40 marks and quant came down to 30.
• The mains objective test now has 170 questions instead of the earlier 145 to 155, though the total stays at 200 marks.
• English in the mains carries only 20 marks for 40 questions, while awareness, reasoning and data analysis carry 60 marks each.
• Digital and financial awareness, including RBI circulars, was added to the awareness section.
• The descriptive paper changed from letter and essay to essay and comprehension.
• A mandatory, non scoring personality test now comes before the interview.

Reading the IBPS PO syllabus by marks

Do the arithmetic once and your priorities become clear. In the mains, reasoning, data analysis and awareness together give 180 of the 200 objective marks. Awareness is the section where steady daily reading pays most, because a well read candidate can answer many questions in a few seconds each.

English still matters for two reasons: it has a sectional cut off in both stages, and the 25 mark descriptive test depends on your writing. Treat it as a section to keep safe rather than one to chase marks in.

A four month plan tied to the syllabus

1. Month 1: finish the prelims syllabus. Learn arithmetic chapters, basic puzzles and the English question types. Start a daily notes file for banking news.
2. Month 2: move to mains level puzzles, caselets and critical reasoning. Read RBI policy statements and press releases each week.
3. Month 3: take sectional tests under the exact time limits from the pattern table. Write two essays a week on screen, not on paper.
4. Month 4: full mocks for both stages, revision of awareness notes, and a typed comprehension practice every few days.

Once you are scoring well in mocks, compare your marks with the past figures on the IBPS PO cut off page, and browse other banking exams on the bank exams hub.

Books and study material in general terms

A short reading list works better than a crowded one. One standard arithmetic and data interpretation book, one reasoning puzzle collection and one English grammar and vocabulary guide are enough for the objective sections. For awareness, rely on the RBI website, the Union Budget documents and the Economic Survey, along with a daily newspaper. Keep the official notification beside you as your checklist of sections.

Many readers also search for the IBPS PO salary along with the syllabus. Salary is not part of the syllabus, but for context the Scale I officer post starts at a basic pay of ₹48,480; confirm the current scale and allowances in the latest notification.

IBPS PO ka syllabus in Hindi

आईबीपीएस पीओ परीक्षा के तीन मुख्य चरण हैं: प्रारंभिक परीक्षा, मुख्य परीक्षा और इंटरव्यू। प्रारंभिक परीक्षा में अंग्रेजी, गणित (क्वांटिटेटिव एप्टीट्यूड) और रीजनिंग के कुल 100 प्रश्न 60 मिनट में पूछे जाते हैं। मुख्य परीक्षा में रीजनिंग, डेटा एनालिसिस, बैंकिंग और आर्थिक जागरूकता तथा अंग्रेजी के प्रश्न होते हैं, और उसके बाद निबंध व कॉम्प्रिहेंशन की वर्णनात्मक परीक्षा होती है। गलत जवाब देने पर उस प्रश्न के अंकों का चौथा हिस्सा घटा दिया जाता है। फाइनल मेरिट में मुख्य परीक्षा का भार 80 प्रतिशत और इंटरव्यू का 20 प्रतिशत है। नवीनतम अधिसूचना जरूर देखें।