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Banking | IBPS

IBPS PO 2026-27 cycle

Officer-cadre recruitment for public sector banks, run by IBPS in three stages: a screening Preliminary exam, a Main exam and an interview.

Awaiting notification4 stagesSectional timing1 free mock test

Overview

Conducting body
IBPSwww.ibps.in
Age limit
20 to 30 years
Application fee
₹175 to ₹850
Vacancies
To be announced
First stage duration
1 hr
Negative marking
1/4 mark per wrong answer

IBPS Common Recruitment Process for Probationary Officers and Management Trainees is conducted by Institute of Banking Personnel Selection. Selection runs through 4 stages: Preliminary Examination, Main Examination (objective), Main Examination (descriptive), Interview.

  1. Clear both the sectional and the overall cut-off in the Preliminary examination.
  2. Qualify the Main examination, which has an objective paper of 200 marks and a descriptive paper of 25 marks.
  3. Attend the interview, which carries 100 marks with a minimum qualifying score of 40% or 35% for reserved categories.
  4. The final merit list combines the Main examination and interview scores in an 80:20 ratio.
  5. Provisional allotment to a participating bank follows from the final merit and the preferences you submitted.

Important dates

Important dates
EventDateStatus
Notification release

IBPS has published the PO notification around the start of August in recent cycles.

To be announcedNot announced
Online registration window

Usually open for about three weeks from the notification date.

To be announcedNot announced
Preliminary examination

Usually held in October.

To be announcedNot announced
Main examination

Usually held in November or December.

To be announcedNot announced
Interview

Usually conducted between January and February.

To be announcedNot announced
Provisional allotment

Usually announced by the end of the financial year.

To be announcedNot announced

Eligibility

Educational qualification

A degree in any discipline from a university recognised by the Government of India, or an equivalent qualification recognised as such by the Central Government.

You must hold a valid mark-sheet or degree certificate on the date of registration and be able to state the percentage obtained. Computer literacy is a requirement, evidenced by a certificate, diploma or degree in computer operations, or by having studied computers as a subject.

Age

20 to 30 years as on the cut-off date stated in the official notification, which has been 1 August in recent cycles.

Upper age relaxation

  • SC and ST+5 years
  • OBC (non-creamy layer)+3 years
  • Persons with Benchmark Disability+10 years
  • Ex-servicemen and commissioned officers+5 years
  • Persons affected by the 1984 riots+5 years
  • Widows and divorced women who have not remarried+9 years

Nationality

A candidate must be one of the following:

  • A citizen of India
  • A subject of Nepal or Bhutan
  • A Tibetan refugee who came to India before 1 January 1962 intending to settle permanently
  • A person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia or Vietnam intending to settle permanently in India

Application fee

CategoryFee
General, OBC and EWS

Application fee including intimation charges, non-refundable.

₹850
SC, ST and PwBD

Intimation charges only, non-refundable.

₹175

Fees have been stable across recent cycles but are the kind of detail a notification can revise. Confirm on the official notification before paying.

Exam pattern

Stage by stage structure with question counts, marks, timing and the marking scheme.

Stage 1: Preliminary Examination

Computer based testSectional timingQualifying only
SectionQuestionsMarksTime
English Language303020 min
Quantitative Aptitude353520 min
Reasoning Ability353520 min
Total1001001 hr

Duration: 1 hr|Negative marking: 1/4 mark per wrong answer

  • 100 questions for 100 marks in 60 minutes, with a separate 20-minute clock for each section.
  • You cannot return to a section once its 20 minutes are over.
  • Marks scored here decide who reaches the Main examination but are not carried into the final merit list.

Stage 2: Main Examination (objective)

Computer based testSectional timing
SectionQuestionsMarksTime
Reasoning and Computer Aptitude456060 min
General, Economy and Banking Awareness404035 min
English Language354040 min
Data Analysis and Interpretation356045 min
Total1552003 hr

Duration: 3 hr|Negative marking: 1/4 mark per wrong answer

  • 155 questions for 200 marks in 180 minutes, with sectional timing.
  • Marks from this stage carry 80% weight in the final merit list.

Stage 3: Main Examination (descriptive)

Descriptive, typed
SectionQuestionsMarks
English Language: letter writing and essay225
Total225

Duration: 30 min|Negative marking: None

  • Typed on the computer immediately after the objective Main examination.
  • Evaluated only for candidates who clear the objective cut-off.

Stage 4: Interview

Interview

Duration: Varies|Negative marking: None

  • Carries 100 marks with a minimum qualifying score of 40%, relaxed to 35% for SC, ST, OBC and PwBD candidates.
  • Conducted by the participating banks under the coordination of the Nodal Bank.
  • Carries 20% weight in the final merit list.

Syllabus

English Language

  • Reading comprehension
  • Cloze test
  • Para jumbles
  • Error spotting and sentence correction
  • Sentence improvement
  • Fill in the blanks
  • Paragraph completion and inference
  • Word usage, vocabulary and idioms
  • Match the column and connectors

Quantitative Aptitude

  • Data interpretation: tables, bar, line, pie and caselets
  • Number series: missing and wrong term
  • Quadratic equations and inequalities
  • Simplification and approximation
  • Percentage, ratio and proportion
  • Average, ages and partnership
  • Profit, loss and discount
  • Simple and compound interest
  • Time, speed, distance, boats and trains
  • Time and work, pipes and cisterns
  • Mixture and alligation
  • Mensuration
  • Permutation, combination and probability
  • Data sufficiency

Reasoning Ability

  • Puzzles: floor, box, day, month and category based
  • Seating arrangement: linear, circular and rectangular
  • Syllogism and reverse syllogism
  • Inequality, coded and direct
  • Blood relations and direction sense
  • Order, ranking and comparison
  • Coding and decoding
  • Alphanumeric and symbol series
  • Input and output
  • Data sufficiency
  • Statement, assumption, argument and course of action

Banking Awareness

  • Reserve Bank of India: structure, functions and monetary policy
  • Banking regulation, Basel norms and capital adequacy
  • Money market and capital market instruments
  • Financial institutions: NABARD, SIDBI, EXIM, NHB and SEBI
  • Priority sector lending and financial inclusion schemes
  • Union Budget and Economic Survey highlights
  • National income, inflation and fiscal terminology
  • Static awareness: bank headquarters, taglines and important days
  • Current affairs of the previous six months

Computer Aptitude

  • Computer fundamentals and generations
  • Hardware, software and memory
  • Operating systems and file management
  • MS Office and shortcut keys
  • Internet, networking and topologies
  • Database and DBMS basics
  • Computer security, viruses and firewalls
  • Abbreviations and number systems

How to apply

  1. Register on the IBPS portal

    Open the CRP PO/MT link on ibps.in, choose New Registration and enter your name, mobile number and email address. Save the provisional registration number and password that are generated.

  2. Upload your photograph, signature, thumb impression and declaration

    IBPS specifies a photograph of about 200 by 230 pixels at 20 to 50 kb, a signature of about 140 by 60 pixels at 10 to 20 kb, a left thumb impression of about 240 by 240 pixels at 20 to 50 kb and a handwritten declaration of about 800 by 400 pixels at 50 to 100 kb, all as JPEG files. Check the current notification, since these specifications occasionally change.

  3. Complete the application form

    Fill in personal details, category, qualification with percentage, bank preferences in order and examination centre preferences. Preferences cannot be changed after submission.

  4. Pay the fee online

    Pay by debit card, credit card, internet banking, IMPS, cash card or UPI. Do not close the browser until the e-receipt is generated.

  5. Save the e-receipt and application printout

    Download both immediately. You will need the registration number and password again for the admit card and every later stage.

Documents to keep ready

  • Valid photo identity proof such as Aadhaar, PAN, passport, driving licence or voter ID
  • Graduation mark-sheets and the degree certificate
  • Caste or EWS certificate in the prescribed format, where applicable
  • PwBD certificate issued by the competent authority, where applicable
  • Recent passport-size photograph matching the image you uploaded
  • Signature, left thumb impression and handwritten declaration as uploaded

Salary and job profile

Pay and allowances

Pay scale:
Junior Management Grade Scale I (JMGS-I)
Initial basic pay:
To be announced
Approximate in-hand:
To be announced

Allowances

  • Dearness Allowance revised quarterly
  • House Rent Allowance or bank accommodation
  • City Compensatory Allowance based on place of posting
  • Learning Allowance
  • Special Allowance

Perks

  • Medical insurance covering self and dependants
  • Leave Fare Concession
  • Concessional interest on staff housing, vehicle and personal loans
  • Pension under the National Pension System
  • Gratuity and provident fund

Basic pay and gross emoluments follow the bipartite settlement in force between the Indian Banks' Association and the unions, and vary with the city of posting. Confirm the current figures from the official notification before relying on them.

What the job involves

  • A two-year probation, usually rotating across deposits, advances and general banking desks.
  • Handling account opening, KYC compliance and day-to-day customer relationships.
  • Appraising and processing loan applications and monitoring asset quality.
  • Cross-selling third-party products such as insurance and mutual funds.
  • Cash, clearing and remittance operations along with branch administration.
  • Promotion to Assistant Manager, Manager and Branch Manager through internal channels.

Previous paper analysis

What was actually asked, topic by topic, so you can see where the marks live.

Free mock tests

Written to this exam's pattern, with the same interface, sectional locking and marking scheme you will face on exam day.

  • IBPS PO Prelims: sectional timing practice set 1

    20 questions | 12 min | sectional timing

    Start

Study material

How to prepare for IBPS PO

  • Sectional timing is what fails most candidates, not the syllabus. Practise 20-minute sections in isolation until you can finish a set without looking at the clock.
  • In the Preliminary examination, treat Reasoning puzzles as the highest-yield area but cap yourself at two puzzle sets. Attempting a third often costs more than it earns.
  • Build a daily calculation habit: tables up to 25, squares up to 40, cubes up to 20 and fraction to percentage conversions. Data Interpretation in the Main exam is arithmetic-heavy and speed comes from recall.
  • Read one financial newspaper daily and maintain a single running note for banking and economy current affairs, since the awareness section rewards the previous six months disproportionately.
  • Attempt a full-length mock every week from three months out, and spend more time reviewing the mock than taking it. Accuracy below 85% usually means over-attempting rather than weak concepts.

Frequently asked questions

Do Preliminary examination marks count towards the final selection?

No. The Preliminary examination only decides who is shortlisted for the Main examination. The final merit list is built from the Main examination and the interview in an 80:20 ratio.

Is there sectional timing in IBPS PO?

Yes, in both stages. The Preliminary examination gives 20 minutes to each of its three sections, and the Main examination gives each section its own clock. Once a section's time is over you cannot go back to it, so plan your attempt order within a section rather than across sections.

How much is deducted for a wrong answer?

One fourth of the marks assigned to that question. Questions you leave unanswered carry no penalty, so a blind guess is only worth it when you can eliminate at least two options.

How many attempts are allowed?

There is no limit on the number of attempts. You can apply in every cycle as long as you meet the age and qualification criteria.

Can final-year students apply?

No. You need to hold a valid degree certificate or mark-sheet on the date of registration, so the result must already be declared.

Is a calculator allowed in the exam?

No physical calculator is allowed. An on-screen calculator is provided in the Main examination for the Data Analysis and Interpretation section, but not in the Preliminary examination.

Last verified 27 July 2026(1 day ago, by editorial)

Not yet confirmed for this cycle: the schedule, the vacancy count, basic pay, gross pay, in-hand pay and the application fee. Where we have a figure from previous cycles we show it and label it as expected; where we do not, the page says "to be announced". Check the official source below before you rely on any of it.

Official sources

Found something out of date? Tell us and we will correct it, citing the source.