IBPS PO Prelims Exam Pattern, Syllabus and Application Process

The IBPS Bank Exam is the government banking exam of the country. It is an annual exam with three stages – The Preliminary examination, The Mains Examination, and the Final Interview. The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection has been functioning in India since 1975.

They encourage individuals to engage more with the public sector organization by conducting these exams. It is an autonomous body that coordinates with the Indian government. It sees a large number of applicants every year. And this is only going up with every passing year.

The prelims are the first level of the exam and are only to qualify. This means that the score of this exam doesn’t make it to the final cut. It only enables candidates to sit for the Mains examinations held later. The prelims have one objective type paper with three sections in it.

The sections are the English Language, Quantitative Aptitude, and Logical Reasoning. The total score of the paper is 100 and it has 30-35 questions under each section. Mathematics, accounting, and economics are very important subjects for this exam.

IBPS PO Prelims Points to Remember

IBPS PO Application Process

  1. Visit ibps.in

  2. Click on ‘CWE PO/MT’

  3. Click on New Registration

  4. Enter your Email ID, Mobile Number, and other details

  5. Provisional Registration Number and Password will generate

  6. Fill IBPS PO Application FormUpload Documents

  7. Choose Organization Preference

  8. Pay IBPS PO Application Fee

  9. Save the application form and the admit card

IBPS PO Prelims Exam Pattern

Section

Number of Questions

Marks 

Time 

English Language

30

30

20 min

Numerical Ability

35

35

20 min

Reasoning Ability

35

35

20 min

The total marks are 100 for the paper. The institute announces the results on its official website which the candidates can look at.

IBPS PO Prelims Syllabus

The syllabus is based on the exam analysis of the previous year’s question papers. The IBPS doesn’t release an official syllabus but only mentions the subject that will be important. The level of this exam is usually an undergraduate degree based.

Reasoning

Quantitative Aptitude

English Language

 

IBPS PO Prelims Question Division 2020

All the sections lie between easy to moderate level of exam. The section-wise division of the paper was –

Quantitative section

English Language

Reasoning

IBPS PO Prelims Result

The institute declares the exam results usually in a month. The shortlisted candidates then appear for the mains examinations. The gap between the exam is not more than two months. Candidates can check their result on their official website.

And even for notification updates, visiting their website is the best option.

IBPS PO Prelims Cutoff 2019

The cutoff for the bank prelims exam 2019 according to different categories is –

IBPS PO Prelims Tips

Conclusion

The preliminary examination plays an important role in deciding the future. Just because it does count for the final score, candidates must not take it lightly. It decides if you will sit for the mains exam or not. This qualifying exam needs more preparation and hard work as the competition is higher.

The candidates must be familiar with different aspects of the exam. This includes exam patterns, syllabus, cutoff, and more. This article will help cover all of them before you begin with your IBPS PO Exam preparation.

IBPS PO Exam Pattern, Syllabus and Books

The IBPS PO examination is an annual exam that selects the Bank PO officers for the banks in India. The examination has three stages – Prelims, Mains, and the Interview. The institute doesn’t launch an official syllabus for these papers.

Thus since long back, candidates prepare for these exams based on exam analysis of every year’s paper. The exam analysis studies the number of questions in the exam, questions under each section, topics present under each section, cut off, and much more.

The syllabus for the first two stages is almost similar because of overlapping paper sections.

This allows applicants to prepare for both the paper together. The study material is also similar. Only the level of difficulty increases with each stage. And the prelim’s score is not applicable for the final score, it is only to qualify for the mains exam.

The interview doesn’t have any syllabus and tests the applicant’s personality. The questions are mostly about personal life and contemporary issues. The applicants can check out the detailed syllabus for the IBPS PO examination below –

IBPS PO Prelims Exam Pattern

Section

Number of Questions

Marks

Time

English Language

30

30

20 min

Numerical Ability

35

35

20 min

Reasoning Ability

35

35

20 min

Total 

100

100

60 min

IBPS PO Prelims Syllabus

Reasoning

 

Quantitative Aptitude

 

English Language

IBPS PO Prelims Exam Analysis 2020

All the sections lie between easy to moderate level of exam. The section-wise division of the paper was –

Reasoning

Quantitative Section

English Language

IBPS PO Mains Exam Pattern

Paper

Section

Medium 

Questions

Marks 

Time 

Objective Test

Reasoning & Computer Aptitude

English & Hindi

45

60

60 min

English Language

English 

35

40

40 min

Data Analysis & Interpretation

English & Hindi

35

60

45 min

General Awareness, Economy & Banking Awareness

English & Hindi

40

40

35 min

Descriptive Test

Letter Writing & Essay

English 

2

25

30 min

Total 

155

+2

225

+25

2.5 hours + 30 Min

IBPS PO Mains Syllabus

Quantitative Aptitude

Reasoning and Computer Aptitude

English Language

General Awareness

IBPS PO Mains Exam Analysis 2019

English Language

Data Analysis & Interpretation

Reasoning Ability

General Awareness

Descriptive Paper

The essay writing topics for the 2019 paper were –

The letter writing topic for the 2019 exam was –

IBPS PO Interview

The IBPS of India calls the qualified candidates for the mains exam for the interview process. There are 100 marks for the interview and candidates must score 40% to make the final cut. For the reserved category, the percentage comes down to 25%.

The questions are mainly around the application and general knowledge topics. The institute generates a merit list at the end of the examination process. The ratio between the mains and the interview is 80:20.

And in the end, a merit list comes out with the names of the qualified candidates. And the final candidates receive a joining letter from the bank.

Books for IBPS PO Exam

English Language

Quantitative Aptitude

Reasoning Ability and Computer Aptitude

 

General Awareness

Conclusion

The article was a guide for all the IBPS PO exam applicants. If you are appearing for any competitive exam, knowing the structure and the syllabus is very important. This helps you prepare well for the examination with a well-developed exam strategy.

The IBPS Bank PO exam is a tough one to crack due to high competition. This is the reason why all the applicants must follow a structured approach to crack this exam. And knowing the syllabus inside out is the way to do it. Read the syllabus thoroughly before starting your preparation.

IBPS PO Mains Exam Pattern, Syllabus and Results

The IBPS PO Mains Exam is the second stage of the IBPS Examinations. It takes place annually a month or two after the prelims exam. The only ¼ of the total candidates who appear for the prelims make it for the mains examination.

The prelims are only to qualify and reduce the competition. The mains examination decides the final rank and the score of the candidate. The mains have two papers – objective type and the descriptive type. Before they only had objective type paper but later introduced another paper.

The descriptive paper does not have any syllabus and solely depends on the writing skills of the candidate. It is either an essay writing paper or a letter-writing one. The question can be either related to the mains syllabus or from the current affairs.

The objective type paper has five sections. Two of them overlap with the prelims as they are – Reasoning Ability and English Language. The rest three are – Computer Aptitude, General Awareness, and Banking and Economy. Let us understand all the elements of the exam in detail now –

IBPS PO Mains Exam Pattern

Paper

Section

Medium 

Questions

Marks

Time 

Objective Test

Reasoning & Computer Aptitude

English & Hindi

45

60

60 min

English Language

English 

35

40

40 min

Data Analysis & Interpretation

English & Hindi

35

60

45 min

Descriptive Test

General Awareness, Economy & Banking Awareness

English & Hindi

40

40

35 min

Letter Writing & Essay

English

2

25

30 min

 

IBPS PO Mains Syllabus

The banks don’t lay down a proper syllabus for the exam. The exam analysis of every year’s paper concludes the syllabus as –

Quantitative Aptitude

Reasoning

 

Computer Aptitude

English Language

 

General Awareness

IBPS PO Mains Admit Card

The candidates who qualify for the mains receive an admit card from the institution. They receive it only which they need to download. They need to carry the card for the mains examination at their center. They should also carry an identity proof to enter the exam center.

IBPS PO Mains Cut Off

The cutoff for the bank mains exam 2019 according to different categories is –

IBPS PO Exam Analysis 2019

English Language

Data Analysis & Interpretation

 

Reasoning Ability

General Awareness

Descriptive Paper

The essay writing topics for the 2019 paper were –

The letter writing topic for the 2019 exam was –

 

IBPS PO Mains Result

The IBPS Mains results get released on their official website. Only the eligible candidates who clear the mains cut off can appear for the interviews. The mains assesses all the sections of the paper and then releases a merit list.

The cut-off for different categories differs every year and thus the final results are always different. The result for the mains comes out 2-3 months after the examination.

IBPS PO Interview Process

The IBPS of India calls the qualified candidates for the mains exam for the interview process. There are 100 marks for the interview and candidates must score 40% to make the final cut.

For the reserved category, the percentage comes down to 25%. The questions are mainly around the application and general knowledge topics.

Final Selection

The institute generates a merit list at the end of the examination process. The ratio between the mains and the interview is 80:20. And in the end, a merit list comes out with the names of the qualified candidates. And the final candidates receive a joining letter from the bank.

Conclusion

The IBPS Mains examination takes place at the end of the year annually. They have two equally important papers. The article you saw covered the exam pattern, syllabus, cut off, exam analysis, and the result. The exam has a lot more competition at this stage and thus aspirants must take it seriously.

The number of candidates may decrease but so their caliber only increases. The candidates appearing in the Bank PO exam must know the structure of the exam well. This helps to formulate a preparation strategy and avoid last-minute surprises.

The article is useful for future PO officers as they start their exam preparation. Do give it a read and structure your strategy accordingly.