Paper analysis
What previous papers actually asked
Topic-wise weightage and difficulty for each stage, so you can see where the marks are before deciding what to study. Analysis is our own; the question papers stay with the conducting bodies that own them.
SBI CBO
Lateral officer recruitment for candidates who already have banking experience, selected through an online objective and descriptive test followed by screening and interview.
IBPS RRB Clerk
Clerical-cadre recruitment for Regional Rural Banks through a short composite Preliminary paper and a Main exam that offers a Hindi option, with no interview.
IBPS RRB PO
Officer Scale I recruitment for Regional Rural Banks, with a short composite Preliminary paper, a Main exam offering a Hindi option, and an interview.
IBPS SO
Specialist officer recruitment for public sector banks across IT, agriculture, law, marketing, HR and Rajbhasha streams, with a Professional Knowledge paper deciding most of the merit.
IBPS Clerk
Clerical-cadre recruitment for public sector banks through a Preliminary and a Main examination, with no interview and a local language requirement.
SBI Clerk
Clerical-cadre recruitment for State Bank of India through a Preliminary and a Main examination, with no interview and a local language requirement.
IBPS PO
Officer-cadre recruitment for public sector banks, run by IBPS in three stages: a screening Preliminary exam, a Main exam and an interview.
- 2025Hard
Main Examination
The mains paper is where the selection is actually decided, because mains and interview marks are the only ones that count towards the final merit list. The four objective sections, their marks and their sectional timings are as published by IBPS. The topic counts are our compilation from candidate reports; IBPS does not release a topic breakdown, and no question text is reproduced here. Note that the mains marking is not one mark per question, so the number of questions and the marks available in a section are different numbers.
155 questions across 4 sections | 6 takeaways
Read the analysis - 2025Moderate
Preliminary Examination
IBPS conducts the PO preliminary examination across several shifts, and each shift gets a different paper. The section structure, marks and timing below are taken from the official notification and are identical in every shift. The topic-level counts are our own compilation from candidate reports across shifts, so treat them as the typical shape of the paper rather than an exact record of any one sitting. IBPS does not publish a topic-wise breakdown of its papers, and no question text is reproduced anywhere on this page.
100 questions across 3 sections | 6 takeaways
Read the analysis
SBI PO
Officer-cadre recruitment for State Bank of India in three phases: a screening Preliminary exam, a Main exam, and a psychometric test with group exercise and interview.
- 2026Moderate
Preliminary Examination
SBI held the PO Preliminary examination on 1 and 2 August 2026 in four shifts each day, with a different paper in each shift and a normalisation applied across them. The section structure below (30 English, 35 Quantitative Aptitude and 35 Reasoning for 100 marks in 60 minutes, with a separate 20-minute clock per section) is taken from the official advertisement and is identical in every shift. The topic-level counts are our own compilation from candidate reports across shifts, not official data, so read them as the typical shape of the paper rather than a record of one sitting. No question text is reproduced anywhere on this page.
100 questions across 3 sections | 6 takeaways
Read the analysis - 2025Moderate
Preliminary Examination
SBI runs the PO Preliminary examination across several shifts on different days, with a different paper in each and a normalisation applied across them. The section structure below (30 English, 35 Quantitative Aptitude and 35 Reasoning for 100 marks in 60 minutes, with a separate 20-minute clock per section) is taken from the official advertisement and is identical in every shift. The topic-level counts are our own compilation from candidate reports across shifts, not official data, so read them as the typical shape of the paper rather than a record of one sitting. No question text is reproduced anywhere on this page.
100 questions across 3 sections | 6 takeaways
Read the analysis
RRB ALP
Safety-category recruitment for locomotive crew, with two Computer Based Tests, a trade-specific qualifying paper, a psychological aptitude test and the strictest medical standard in the railways.
RRB Group D
The largest railway recruitment by vacancy count, filling Level 1 posts such as Track Maintainer and Assistant through a single Computer Based Test and a physical efficiency test.
RBI Assistant
Clerical-cadre recruitment for the central bank through a Preliminary and a Main examination, followed by a qualifying language proficiency test and no interview.
RBI Grade B
The central bank's flagship officer exam, with an aptitude screening paper followed by written papers on economics, finance and English writing, then an interview.
RRB NTPC
Railway recruitment for clerical, commercial, station master and goods train manager posts, selected through two computer based tests and a post-specific skill test.
- 2026Moderate
Computer Based Test 2 (Graduate)
The Railway Recruitment Boards held the graduate-level CBT 2 under CEN 06/2025 on 10 July 2026, and the provisional answer key and response sheets were published from 15 July with an objection window that ran to 22 July 2026. The section structure below (50 General Awareness, 35 Mathematics and 35 General Intelligence and Reasoning for 120 questions in 90 minutes, with one mark for a correct answer and one third deducted for a wrong one) is from the official notification and is the same in every shift. The topic-level counts are our own compilation from candidate reports across shifts, not official data, and no question text is reproduced here. Scores are normalised across shifts, so treat this as the reliable shape of the paper rather than a record of one sitting.
120 questions across 3 sections | 8 takeaways
Read the analysis - 2025Easy
Computer Based Test 1
RRB NTPC CBT 1 runs over many days and many shifts, with a different paper in each and a normalisation process applied across them. The section structure, marks and duration below are from the official notification and are the same in every shift. The topic counts are our compilation from candidate reports across shifts, not official data, and no question text is reproduced here. Because papers vary by shift, treat these as the reliable shape of the paper rather than a record of one sitting.
100 questions across 3 sections | 7 takeaways
Read the analysis
SSC CGL
Graduate-level recruitment by the Staff Selection Commission for Group B and Group C posts across central government ministries and departments, decided over two computer-based tiers.
SSC CPO
Graduate-level recruitment by the Staff Selection Commission for Sub-Inspector in Delhi Police and the Central Armed Police Forces, decided by two computer papers, a physical test and a medical exam.
SSC MTS
A matriculation-level recruitment by the Staff Selection Commission for Group C Multi-Tasking Staff across central departments and for Havaldar in the CBIC and CBN, decided by a two-session computer-based test.
SSC CHSL
A 12th-level recruitment by the Staff Selection Commission for clerical and data-entry posts such as LDC/JSA, DEO and Postal Assistant, decided over two computer-based tiers and a qualifying skill test.
SSC GD Constable
Matriculation-level recruitment by the Staff Selection Commission for Constable (General Duty) in the central armed police forces, decided by a computer test, physical tests and a medical exam.
LIC AAO
Officer-cadre recruitment into LIC, held in three stages: a qualifying Preliminary exam, a Main exam with a descriptive paper, and an interview.
Advertisement
How to read a weightage table
Start with the biggest block
If puzzles are sixteen of thirty-five reasoning questions, that one topic decides the section. Time spent there returns several times what a two-question topic returns.
Note what is easy and heavy
A topic that is both high weightage and marked easy is where you should be near perfect. Those are the marks everyone who clears is getting.
Plan what to skip
Knowing in advance which sets are traps is worth as much as knowing how to solve them. With negative marking, a question left blank beats a guess between four options.