IBPS SO Professional Knowledge syllabus

See the full IBPS SO syllabus for the exam pattern and other sections.

Professional Knowledge is the section that makes IBPS SO a specialist recruitment rather than a banking aptitude test, and it is the only section with no common syllabus. There are six posts and six different papers, and material written for one of them is of no use to a candidate sitting another.

Under the revised pattern it also appears twice for four of the six posts. IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR and Personnel Officer and Marketing Officer candidates now meet Professional Knowledge at Prelims, where 25 questions carry 50 marks, and again at Mains, where 150 questions carry 200 marks. Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari candidates meet it only at Mains, where an objective paper is followed by a descriptive one.

Since final merit is built 80 per cent from the Mains score, this is the section that decides the exam. Browse the available IBPS SO practice papers.

Pattern

At Prelims each Professional Knowledge question is worth two marks, against one mark in every other section, while the section is still locked to the same 20 minutes. A wrong answer costs one fourth of the marks assigned to the question, which makes each wrong answer here cost 0.5 marks rather than 0.25. The descriptive paper carries no negative marking.

IT Officer Scale I

• Database Management Systems, covering relational models, normalisation, SQL and transactions
• Data Communication and Networking, covering the OSI and TCP/IP models, protocols, routing and switching
• Operating Systems, covering process management, memory management, scheduling, deadlocks and file systems
• Data Structures and Algorithms
• Software Engineering, covering development models, testing and project management
• Computer Organisation and Architecture, including microprocessors
• Information Security and Cryptography, covering attacks, firewalls, encryption and digital signatures
• Web Technologies and internet fundamentals
• Programming concepts, including object oriented programming
• Cloud computing and virtualisation
• Emerging technologies, covering artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, the internet of things and blockchain
• Management Information Systems and IT in banking

Agriculture Field Officer Scale I

• Crop production and agronomy, covering cropping systems, seasons and major crops
• Soil science, covering soil types, fertility, nutrients and conservation
• Seed science and plant breeding
• Horticulture, covering fruits, vegetables, flowers and post harvest handling
• Plant protection, covering pests, diseases and integrated pest management
• Agricultural engineering and farm mechanisation
• Irrigation and water management
• Animal husbandry, dairying and poultry
• Fisheries and aquaculture
• Agroforestry
• Agricultural economics and marketing, including minimum support prices and market structures
• Agricultural extension and rural development
• Agricultural finance, rural credit, crop insurance and government schemes

Law Officer Scale I

• Banking laws, covering the Banking Regulation Act and the Reserve Bank of India Act
• The Negotiable Instruments Act
• Securities, mortgages, pledges, hypothecation and guarantees
• The SARFAESI Act and the recovery of debts legislation, including Debt Recovery Tribunals
• The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code
• Contract law and the Indian Partnership Act
• Company law
• The Transfer of Property Act
• The Indian Evidence Act and the Limitation Act
• The Prevention of Money Laundering Act and KYC obligations
• The Foreign Exchange Management Act
• Consumer protection and the Banking Ombudsman scheme
• The Information Technology Act as it applies to banking
• Constitutional provisions relevant to banking and regulation
• The Right to Information Act

Rajbhasha Adhikari Scale I

• Hindi grammar, covering sandhi, samas, alankar, ras, chhand, muhavare and lokoktiyan
• Translation from English to Hindi and from Hindi to English
• Official language policy, covering the Official Languages Act and the Official Languages Rules
• Constitutional provisions on official language
• Paribhashik shabdavali, the standardised technical and banking terminology
• Noting and drafting in Hindi
• Letter, report and circular writing in Hindi
• The history of Hindi literature and major writers
• Computing in Hindi, covering Unicode, fonts and typing tools
• Banking terminology in Hindi

HR and Personnel Officer Scale I

• Human Resource Planning and job analysis
• Recruitment, selection and induction
• Training and development
• Performance appraisal and potential appraisal
• Compensation management and employee benefits
• Industrial relations and trade unions
• Labour legislation, covering industrial disputes, factories, wages, provident fund, gratuity and employee state insurance
• Organisational behaviour, covering motivation, leadership, group dynamics and organisational culture
• Grievance handling and discipline
• Transfer, promotion and career planning
• Human resource development and HR audit
• Strategic management and business policy
• Emotional intelligence and change management

Marketing Officer Scale I

• Marketing fundamentals and the marketing mix
• Segmentation, targeting and positioning
• Consumer behaviour
• Product management and the product life cycle
• Pricing strategies
• Distribution channels and supply chain basics
• Promotion and integrated marketing communication
• Sales management and personal selling
• Market research and marketing information systems
• Services marketing and bank marketing
• Brand management
• Digital marketing, social media and e-commerce
• Customer relationship management
• Retail marketing and rural marketing
• Strategic marketing tools, including SWOT and portfolio analysis

What is not in the syllabus

• No common Professional Knowledge paper. Every post has its own
• No Professional Knowledge at Prelims for Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari
• No descriptive component except at Mains for Law and Rajbhasha
• No published topic wise question count for any post
• No negative marking on the descriptive paper

How to spend the time

The revised pattern changed when domain preparation has to be finished, and that is the practical consequence most candidates miss. Under the old structure a candidate could clear an aptitude Prelims and then spend the gap before Mains on their subject. For four of the six posts that gap no longer exists, because Professional Knowledge is tested in the first stage.

At Prelims the section is worth preparing with the most care, not the least. Twenty five questions carrying 50 marks is two marks a question against one everywhere else, so a candidate who converts fifteen questions here has earned 30 marks, more than a perfect English section. The flip side is symmetrical, since a wrong answer costs 0.5 rather than 0.25, which makes blind guessing more expensive here than anywhere on the paper.

At Mains the section is effectively the whole exam. One hundred and fifty questions carrying 200 marks, inside a stage that carries 80 per cent of the final merit, means every hour spent on domain depth is worth several hours spent polishing aptitude.

For Law and Rajbhasha candidates the descriptive paper deserves separate practice from the objective one. Writing a clear answer in the professional register under a 30 minute clock is a different skill from recognising the right option, and it cannot be learned from objective practice alone.

Because the syllabus is a professional domain rather than an exam topic list, current developments matter. Regulatory changes for Law, scheme changes for Agriculture, labour law amendments for HR and platform changes for Marketing all turn up, and a two year old compilation will be out of date in exactly the places that get asked.

Common mistakes

• Expecting Professional Knowledge to begin at Mains, when four of the six posts now meet it at Prelims
• Using material written for a different post, since there is no common syllabus
• Guessing blind in this section at Prelims, where a wrong answer costs 0.5 marks
• Treating the section as equal in value to the aptitude sections, when each question is worth double
• Polishing aptitude at the expense of domain depth, when Mains carries 80 per cent of the merit
• Preparing the Law and Rajbhasha descriptive paper only through objective practice
• Studying from outdated compilations in a domain where rules and schemes change
• Assuming a professional degree is enough preparation, when the paper tests breadth across the whole domain

Professional Knowledge across the stages

Frequently asked questions

Is Professional Knowledge asked in IBPS SO Prelims?

Yes, for the IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR and Personnel Officer and Marketing Officer posts. It carries 50 of the 125 marks from 25 questions. Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari candidates sit General Awareness instead.

Why is each Professional Knowledge question worth two marks?

Twenty five questions carry 50 marks in that section, while the other three sections carry one mark a question. The weighting reflects that this is a specialist recruitment.

Does that mean a wrong answer costs more?

Yes. Negative marking is one fourth of the marks assigned to the question, so a wrong answer here costs 0.5 marks against 0.25 elsewhere.

Is there a common Professional Knowledge syllabus?

No. Each of the six posts has its own paper, and material for one post does not transfer to another.

How many Professional Knowledge questions are in Mains?

One hundred and fifty, carrying 200 marks in 125 minutes, for the IT, Agriculture, HR and Marketing posts. Law and Rajbhasha candidates sit 50 objective questions in 45 minutes plus two descriptive questions in 30 minutes.

Is there a descriptive paper?

Only at Mains, and only for Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari candidates. It is written in the professional domain and carries no negative marking.

How much does Professional Knowledge matter in the final selection?

It is effectively the selection. The merit list is built 80 per cent from the Mains score and 20 per cent from the interview, and Mains is a Professional Knowledge paper.

Is my degree enough preparation?

Rarely on its own. The paper tests breadth across the whole domain rather than the depth of a specialisation, and it includes current regulatory and industry developments.

Does Prelims Professional Knowledge count toward the merit list?

No. Prelims is qualifying only, though the section is separately qualifying and has to be cleared.

What should I read for current developments?

For Law, regulatory circulars and recent amendments. For Agriculture, scheme and policy updates. For HR, labour law changes. For Marketing, platform and channel developments. Try a free IBPS SO mock.

Related syllabus pages

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