IBPS SO syllabus

For years the IBPS Specialist Officer Preliminary Examination was a 150 question aptitude paper, and Professional Knowledge waited until Mains. That changed with the revised pattern. Professional Knowledge is now tested at Prelims for the IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR and Personnel Officer and Marketing Officer posts, and those candidates sit a 100 question paper in 80 minutes instead.

The Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari posts did not move. They continue on the 150 question, 120 minute paper with General Awareness in place of Quantitative Aptitude. The result is that IBPS SO now has two Prelims papers of different length, different section counts and different content, and a page describing only one of them is describing half the exam.

The third thing commonly got wrong is what Prelims is for. Every section is separately qualifying, so a strong total cannot carry a weak section. Browse the available IBPS SO practice papers.

Syllabus by section

Which sections a candidate sits depends entirely on the post applied for. IBPS publishes section names and no topic list beneath them, so the topic lists further down are reconstructed from past papers.

IBPS SO at a glance

Exam pattern

Preliminary Examination, IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR and Personnel Officer, Marketing Officer

Preliminary Examination, Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari

Two features of the first table are worth sitting with. Professional Knowledge carries 50 of the 125 marks from only 25 of the 100 questions, which makes each question there worth two marks against one elsewhere. It is also locked to 20 minutes, the same as every other section, so the highest value questions on the paper run on the tightest value per minute.

On the second table, English is the inverse case. Fifty questions carry 25 marks, which is half a mark each, and they are still given a full 40 minutes. A Law or Rajbhasha candidate who spends the section chasing all fifty is spending forty minutes on a fifth of the paper.

Every section is separately qualifying. Candidates must secure the minimum IBPS decides for each test and then be among the top scorers overall. A wrong answer costs one fourth of the marks assigned to the question: 0.25 marks for a one-mark question, 0.5 for a two-mark Professional Knowledge question, and 0.125 for a half-mark English question.

How the pattern has changed

The revision for CRP SPL-XVI was substantial, and most of the change landed on Prelims.

The marks total stayed at 125 while the question count fell by a third for four of the six posts, which means the paper did not get easier. It got denser. The practical effect is that a candidate for the IT, Agriculture, HR or Marketing posts can no longer treat Prelims as an aptitude screen and start domain revision afterwards. Domain preparation now has to be ready before the first stage.

Law and Rajbhasha candidates are the exception, and their preparation timeline is unchanged.

Eligibility

Age is generally 20 to 30 years as on the date given in the advertisement, with the usual relaxations for OBC, SC, ST, persons with benchmark disabilities and ex servicemen. The advertisement states no limit on attempts, so the age band is the binding constraint.

Qualifications must be held on the date stated in the advertisement. Unlike the generalist banking recruitments, a candidate cannot apply on the strength of a degree expected later.

Selection process

• Preliminary Examination, qualifying only, used to shortlist for Mains
• Main Examination. For IT, Agriculture, HR and Marketing, an objective Professional Knowledge paper of 150 questions carrying 200 marks. For Law and Rajbhasha, an objective Professional Knowledge paper plus a descriptive Professional Knowledge paper
• Interview, conducted by the participating organisations with IBPS as the nodal agency
• Provisional allotment to a participating bank, followed by document verification

The descriptive component for Law and Rajbhasha is part of the scored stage, not a formality, and it is written in the professional domain rather than as a general essay.

How the merit list is decided

Final merit combines the Main Examination score and the interview score in an 80:20 ratio. Preliminary Examination marks are not carried forward at any point.

That weighting is the single most important planning fact for this exam. Four fifths of the final score comes from a paper that is almost entirely professional domain knowledge, which means the aptitude sections exist only to get a candidate into the room. A candidate who optimises for Prelims at the expense of domain depth is optimising the stage that carries no weight.

Allotment then follows merit within the post and category applied for, the preferences given and the vacancies at each participating bank.

English Language

• Reading Comprehension
• Cloze Test
• Error Spotting and Sentence Correction
• Para Jumbles
• Fill in the Blanks
• Sentence Improvement
• Phrase Replacement
• Idioms and Phrases
• Word Usage and Word Swap
• Paragraph Completion and Inference

The weighting differs sharply by post, at one mark a question for the four section paper and half a mark for the three section paper. The full English Language breakdown covers what that means for attempt strategy.

Reasoning

• Puzzles and Seating Arrangement
• Syllogism
• Inequality, direct and coded
• Blood Relations
• Direction Sense
• Order and Ranking
• Coding and Decoding
• Alphanumeric and Number Series
• Data Sufficiency
• Input Output
• Logical Reasoning, covering statement and assumption, statement and conclusion and course of action

Reasoning carries 50 marks on the Law and Rajbhasha paper and 25 on the other, which makes it the highest value aptitude section for Law and Rajbhasha candidates. The full Reasoning breakdown covers both weightings.

Quantitative Aptitude

• Data Interpretation
• Simplification and Approximation
• Number Series
• Quadratic Equations
• Percentage, Ratio and Proportion
• Average and Ages
• Profit, Loss and Discount
• Simple and Compound Interest
• Mixture and Alligation
• Time and Work
• Time, Speed and Distance
• Mensuration
• Permutation, Combination and Probability
• Data Sufficiency

This section appears only on the four section paper, which means Law and Rajbhasha candidates do not sit it at all. The full Quantitative Aptitude breakdown covers the 25 question format.

Professional Knowledge

Professional Knowledge is post specific, and there is no common syllabus across the six posts. It now appears twice for four of them, once at Prelims carrying 50 marks and again at Mains carrying 200. The full Professional Knowledge breakdown sets out what is asked for each post.

General Awareness with special reference to the Banking Industry

• Banking Awareness, covering the Reserve Bank of India, monetary policy, regulatory bodies and banking terminology
• Current Affairs, national and international
• Financial Awareness, covering budgets, schemes, markets and financial institutions
• Static Awareness, covering headquarters, currencies, capitals, appointments and awards

This section replaces Quantitative Aptitude for Law and Rajbhasha candidates and carries 50 marks. The full General Awareness breakdown covers the reading window that actually matters.

What is not in the syllabus

• No single Prelims paper. The structure differs by post
• No Quantitative Aptitude for Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari candidates
• No General Awareness for IT, Agriculture, HR and Marketing candidates at Prelims
• No published topic wise question split beneath any section name
• No descriptive paper except at Mains for Law and Rajbhasha
• No carry forward of Prelims marks into the merit list
• No stated limit on the number of attempts

How to spend the time

The first decision is which paper is actually being prepared for, because the two have little in common beyond English and Reasoning. An IT Officer candidate and a Law Officer candidate studying from the same IBPS SO plan are preparing for different exams.

On the four section paper, Professional Knowledge is where the value sits. Twenty five questions carrying 50 marks means each question there is worth two of anywhere else, and the section is still locked to 20 minutes. It deserves the sharpest preparation of the four, not the last week of it.

On the three section paper, English is the trap. Fifty questions carrying half a mark each, given a full 40 minutes, is poor value per minute, and the same 40 minutes spent on Reasoning or General Awareness buys twice the marks. Clearing the sectional minimum in English and moving on is usually the right call.

Across both papers, General Awareness and Professional Knowledge reward steady accumulation rather than late revision, and the aptitude sections reward pace. Since every section is separately qualifying, the plan has to clear a floor everywhere before it maximises anywhere.

Above all, the 80:20 merit split should shape the calendar. Prelims is a gate. Mains is the exam. Browse the available IBPS SO practice papers.

Common mistakes

• Preparing on the old 150 question Prelims pattern when applying for IT, Agriculture, HR or Marketing
• Assuming Professional Knowledge starts at Mains, when it now appears at Prelims for four of the six posts
• Using a single IBPS SO plan for a paper that differs by post
• Treating English on the Law and Rajbhasha paper as worth full marks, when 50 questions carry 25
• Underweighting Professional Knowledge at Prelims, where 25 questions carry 50 marks
• Clearing the total while missing a sectional minimum, which is not a pass
• Optimising Prelims performance when the merit list is built 80 per cent from Mains
• Guessing blind across five options at minus 0.25
• Applying on a qualification expected later, when the degree must be held by the stated date

IBPS SO against IBPS PO and SBI PO

All three are IBPS or SBI recruitments with a qualifying Prelims and a scored Mains. IBPS SO is the only one selecting for a professional domain rather than a generalist officer cadre, and its paper reflects that.

IBPS SO is the only one of the three where a candidate's degree subject decides which paper they sit, and the only one testing professional domain knowledge before the Mains stage.

Frequently asked questions

How many questions are in IBPS SO Prelims?

It depends on the post. IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR and Personnel Officer and Marketing Officer candidates sit 100 questions carrying 125 marks in 80 minutes. Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari candidates sit 150 questions carrying 125 marks in 120 minutes.

Is Professional Knowledge asked in IBPS SO Prelims?

Yes, under the revised pattern, for the IT, Agriculture, HR and Marketing posts. It carries 50 of the 125 marks from 25 questions. Law and Rajbhasha candidates sit General Awareness instead.

What changed in the revised IBPS SO pattern?

Professional Knowledge moved into Prelims for four posts, the Prelims paper for those posts fell from 150 questions to 100 and from 120 minutes to 80, and the Mains objective paper grew to 150 questions carrying 200 marks. The Prelims total stayed at 125 marks.

Is there sectional timing?

Yes. Each section is locked, at 20 minutes on the four section paper and 40 minutes on the three section paper, and time cannot be moved between sections.

Is there a sectional cut-off?

Yes. Candidates must secure the minimum IBPS decides for each test, and a strong total does not compensate for a failed section.

Do Prelims marks count in the final merit list?

No. Merit is built from the Main Examination and the interview in an 80:20 ratio.

Why does English carry only 25 marks for 50 questions?

On the Law and Rajbhasha paper each English question carries half a mark, while Reasoning and General Awareness carry a full mark each. The section is still given 40 minutes, which makes its value per minute the lowest on the paper.

Do Law and Rajbhasha candidates sit Quantitative Aptitude?

No. Their paper has English Language, Reasoning and General Awareness with special reference to the banking industry.

What is the negative marking?

One fourth of the marks assigned to a question is deducted for a wrong answer: 0.25 marks for a one-mark question, 0.5 for a two-mark Professional Knowledge question, and 0.125 for a half-mark English question.

Is there a descriptive paper?

Only at Mains, and only for the Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari posts, where it is written in the professional domain.

What is the age limit for IBPS SO?

Generally 20 to 30 years as on the date stated in the advertisement, with the usual category relaxations.

How many attempts are allowed?

The advertisement states no limit. The age band is what ends a candidate's run.

Related syllabus pages

IBPS SO syllabus guides

• English Language syllabus, IBPS SO
• Reasoning syllabus, IBPS SO
• Quantitative Aptitude syllabus, IBPS SO
• Professional Knowledge syllabus, IBPS SO
• General Awareness syllabus, IBPS SO