PREFACE

Education can be a life-changing point in every child’s life. The

stream and career that is to be chosen in high school and later
in life need a strong foundation base at a primary and secondary
level. A foundation is an early staple for aspirants who are not only
preparing for the Banking examinations but have far-reaching goals
of other competitive examinations ahead of them. With several
years in the field of education, Disha publication has been working
at various levels to be the one-stop solution for quality education.
In this book, we intend to form a strong base for any future
competitive exam candidate and help them recapitulate the latest
pattern and syllabus. This book also mentions the study techniques
and preparation tips for students with illustrative examples added
for better understanding and to ensure they build up their skills in
a motivated manner.
 Table of Contents
S.no Name
1. What are the various bank exams?
2. Exams conducted by IBPS
• Probationary Officer (PO) Exam
• Clerk Exam
• Regional Rural Bank for Officer Scale I/Scale II/Scale III (equivalent to PO level) and
Office Assistant (equivalent to Clerk level)
• Specialist Officer (SO)
3. Exams conducted by State Bank of India
• SBI PO (Probationary Officer)
• SBI Clerk or Junior Associate (Customer Support and Sales
• SBI SO
4. Exams conducted by Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
• RBI Grade B Officer Exam
• RBI Grade C Exam
• RBI Assistant Exam
5. Bank Exam Syllabus
6. Previous Year Cutoffs and vacancies
7. Topper Bytes
8. Frequently Asked Questions
9. Syllabus Analysis

3
 What are the Various Bank Jobs?
Banking is one of the fastest growing industries in India and it is considered as the backbone of the Indian
Economy. Moreover, the government focuses more on providing banking facilities in every locality, village and
town under its Financial Inclusion scheme. Hence, more and more branches of many banks are being opened in
every part of the country for better connectivity.
Banking is a fast growing sector. Therefore, it needs manpower at various levels. Due to this, the banking sector
is a highly lucrative option and will provide you with various opportunities. Recruitment in the banking sector
happens at the following levels:
Bank Probationary Offtcer (Bank PO):
It is a managerial position in a bank. After a training period of 1 to 2 years, the candidates are promoted to the
post of Assistant Managers (AM) or Deputy Managers (DM). The starting salary of a Bank PO ranges from about
Rs. 30,000 - Rs. 40,000/- per month, subject to the location of posting.
Bank Clerks:
This is a Clerical position and is considered as the entry level job in a bank. The salary of a Bank Clerk ranges
from Rs. 20,000 - 25,000/- per month, subject to the location of posting.
Specialist Officers (SO):
Banks also recruit candidates for various specialist positions like
– IT Officer, HR Officer, Marketing Officer, Finance Officer, Law Officer, Agriculture Officer etc. Usually, the grade
and the starting salary of a Specialist Officer is the same as the Probationary Officers.
In terms of employment in the government sector, Banking is the most lucrative option.
The following banks recruit candidates every year – State Bank of India, Reserve Bank of India, NABARD, SIDBI
PSU Bank: Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Bank of Maharashtra, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India, Indian Bank,
Indian Overseas Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, Punjab National Bank, UCO Bank, Union Bank of India,.

Banking Exams:
Most of the Bank exams are conducted by IBPS (Institute of Banking Personnel Selection), SBI and RBI. Apart
from these exams some of the Banks do conduct their separate examinations for entry levels at Clerk &
Officers level. RBI (Reserve Bank of India) do conduct separate exams for the various posts at the central bank.
Recruitment in most of the banks is generally done in three stages. First two stages are the written tests, which
are known as Preliminary and Main; and last stage is the interview process. Short listing of selected candidates
is done at each stage – Preliminary, Main and Interview.
Final merit list is prepared on the basis of marks in Mains (weightage: 80%) and Interview (weightage: 20%).
Exams conducted by IBPS: IBPS is an independent organization which conducts online exams to recruit
Probationary officers, clerks and specialist officers in public sector banks in India. It is based in Mumbai, India.

Exams Conducted by IBPS:

• Probationary Officer (PO) Exam
• Clerk Exam
• Regional Rural Bank for Officer Scale I/Scale II/Scale III (equivalent to PO level) and Office Assistant
(equivalent to Clerk level)
• Specialist Officer (SO)
A. IBPS PO (Probationary Officer):
IBPS will be conducted in three phases: Preliminary Exam, Mains Exam and Interview for Probationary Officer/
Management Trainee posts.

4
(A1). IBPS PO Preliminary Exam:
IBPS PO Preliminary examination is conducted online and candidates are allocated total duration of 1 hour to
complete the Prelim examination. It consists of 3 sections with a total of 100 Questions and a maximum score of
100 marks. There is negative marking in IBPS PO Preliminary exam and 0.25 marks are deducted for each wrong
answer attempted by a candidate. It is necessary to clear the cut-off in all 3 sections to qualify for the IBPS PO
Main Exam.
Note: Separate time limit is provided for each of the 3 sections. So the students appearing in the online exam
once submit a section cannot come back to the same.
Exam Pattern:

S. No. Name of Sections No. of Questions Maximum Marks Duration of time in each
section
1 Quantitative Aptitude 35 35 20 minutes
2 Reasoning Ability 35 35 20 minutes
3 English Language 30 30 20 minutes
Total 100 100 60 minutes
The above tests (Prelim & Main) except the English Language will be available bilingually, i.e. English and Hindi.
(A2). IBPS PO Main Exam:
The IBPS PO Main exam consists of two papers, both of which are conducted online by the Institute. As per the
IBPS PO Main Exam Pattern, the papers are an Objective Test and a Descriptive test.
IBPS PO Main Objective Based Test:
IBPS PO Main examination will be conducted online and candidates are allocated total duration of 3 hours
to complete the Main exam. It consists of 4 sections with a total of 155 questions and a maximum score of
200 marks. There is negative marking in the Main exam and 0.25 marks are deducted for each wrong answer
attempted by a candidate. It is necessary to clear the cut-off in all 4 sections to qualify for further process.
Note: Separate time limit is provided for each of the 4 sections. So the students appearing in the online exam
once submit a section cannot come back to the same.
Exam Pattern:

IBPS PO Exam Pattern - Main

IBPS PO Mains
Section Number of Questions Marks Allotted Time Allotted
Pattern - Paper
Reasoning & Computer
Objective Test 45 60 60 min
Aptitude
English Language 35 40 40 min
Data Analysis &
35 60 45 min
Interpretation
General / Economy /Banking
40 40 35 min
Awareness
English Language (Letter
Descriptive Test 2 25 30 min
Writing & Essay)
The above tests (Prelim & Main) except the English Language will be available bilingually, i.e. English and Hindi.
(A3). IBPS PO Interview Process:
The IBPS interview is conducted for those who clear the main exam. The Interview Process will constitute of 100
marks and the minimum marks for qualifying this round will be 40% which is reduced to 35% for candidates
belonging to SC/ST/OBC/PWD categories.

5
Major Banks Participating in IBPS PO Recruitment 2020. Let’s take a look at all the banks who have participated
in this year for IBPS PO recruitment process:
IBPS Clerk (Clerical cadre Posts):
IBPS conducts the online examination in two phases - Preliminary and Main exams for Clerical cadre Posts.
(B1). IBPS Clerk Preliminary Exam:
IBPS Clerk preliminary examination will be conducted online and candidates are allocated total duration of 1
hour to complete the Prelim exam. It consists of 3 sections with a total of 100 questions and maximum score
of 100 marks. There is negative marking in IBPS Clerk Preliminary exam and 0.25 marks are deducted for each
wrong answer attempted by a candidate. It is necessary to clear the cut-off in all 3 sections to qualify for the
IBPS Clerk Main exam.
Note: Separate time limit is provided for each of the 3 sections. So the students appearing in the online exam
once submit a section cannot come back to the same.
Exam Pattern:
Time allotted for each test
S. No. Name of Section No. of Questions Maximum Marks
(Separately timed)
1 Numerical Ability 35 35 20 minutes
2 Reasoning Ability 35 35 20 minutes
3 English Language 30 30 20 minutes
Total 100 100 60 minutes
(B2). IBPS Clerk Main Exam:
IBPS Clerk Main examination will be conducted online and candidates are allocated total duration of 160
minutes to complete the exam. It consists of 4 sections with a total of 190 questions and maximum score of 200
marks. There is negative marking in IBPS Clerk Main exam and 0.25 marks are deducted for each wrong answer
attempted by a candidate. It is necessary to clear the cut-off in all 4 sections to qualify for further process.
Note: Separate time limit is provided for each of the 4 sections. So the students appearing in the online exam
once submit a section cannot come back to the same.
Exam Pattern:
Time allotted for each
S.No. Name of Sections No. of Questions Maximum Marks
test (Separately timed)
Reasoning Ability & Computer
1 50 60 45 minutes
Aptitude
2 Quantitative Aptitude 50 50 45 minutes
3 General/ Financial Awareness 50 50 35 minutes
4 General English 40 40 35 minutes
Total 190 200 160 minutes
The above tests except the English Language will be available bilingually, i.e. English and Hindi.
(B3). IBPS Clerk Document Verification:
Once a candidate qualifies the prelim and main examinations, he/ she is called for the document verification
before the final selection.
IBPS RRB Officer Scale-I/Scale-II/Scale-III
IBPS conducts two-stages written tests for Officer Scale I and Office Assistant posts while for Officer Scale II and

6
III, there is only one written test. Candidates applying for Officer level posts have to appear for an interview
round before the final selection. There is no interview for Office Assistant. The exams are online-based, having
Multiple Choice Questions. There is a negative marking of one-fourth marks for each wrong answer.
Exam Patterns:
C1. IBPS RRB Office Assistant / Officer Scale-I Prelim Exam Pattern

Name of Section Number of Questions Marks Duration of time

Reasoning Ability 40 40
Quantitative Aptitude / Numerical
40 40 Composite Time of 45 minutes
Ability
Total 80 80
C2. IBPS RRB Office Assistant/ Officer Scale I Main Exam Pattern
Name of Sections Number of Questions Marks Duration

Reasoning Ability 40 50

General Awareness 40 40

Quantitative Aptitude / Numerical Ability 40 50 Composite Time of 2 hours

English/Hindi Language 40 40
Computer Knowledge 40 20
Total 200 200
Officer Scale-II & III (SO) will be conducted through 2 phases
C3. IBPS RRB 2020 Mains Exam Pattern for Officer Scale-II (General Banking Officer)

S. No. Section Questions Marks Duration

1. Reasoning Paper 40 50 2 hours

Quantitative Aptitude & Data

2. 40 50
Interpretation Paper

3. Financial Awareness Paper 40 40

English Language
4. 40 40
/ Hindi Language

5. Computer Knowledge Paper 40 20

Total 200 200

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C4. IBPS RRB 2020 Mains Exam Pattern for Officer Scale-II (Specialist Cadre)
S. No. Section Questions Marks Duration
1 Reasoning Paper 40 50

2 Quantitative Aptitude & Data 40 50

Interpretation Paper

3 Financial Awareness Paper 40 40

Composite Time of
4 English Language / Hindi Language 40 20 2 hours
and 30 minutes
5 Computer Knowledge Paper 40 20

6 Professional Knowledge Paper 40 40

Total 240 200

C5. IBPS RRB 2020 Mains Exam Pattern for Officer Scale-III
S. No. Section Questions Marks Duration
1 Reasoning Paper 40 50
Quantitative Aptitude & Data Interpretation
2 Paper 40 50

3 Financial Awareness Paper 40 40

2 hours
4A English Language Paper 40 40
4B Hindi Language Paper 40 40
5 Computer Knowledge Paper 40 20

Total 200 200

All the exams will be held through online mode and will be of objective type. All sections (except English
Language section & Hindi Language section) will be bilingual (i.e. will be asked in both English & Hindi). There
will be both sectional as well as overall cut offs in IBPS RRB 2020 Officer Scale-I (PO) exam. 1/4th marks will be
deducted for every answer attempted wrong by a candidate in IBPS RRB 2020 Exam.
Note:
For the post of office assistant (multipurpose) – marks obtained only in the main examination will be considered
for final merit listing.
For the post of officers scale I – marks obtained only in the main examination will be considered for short listing
for interview and final merit listing.
C6. Interview Process
Candidates who have been shortlisted in the main examination for the post of Officers Scale I and in the
single level examination for the post of Officers Scale II and III will subsequently be called for an Interview to
be co-ordinated by the Nodal Regional Rural Bank with the help of NABARD and IBPS in consultation with the
appropriate authority.
IBPS Specialist Officer (SO) Exam
IBPS SO Exam is conducted for 6 posts - Law Officer, Rajbhasha Adhikari, IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR/
Personnel Officer and Marketing Officer. The exam is conducted in 3 levels – Preliminary, Main & Interview.

8
D1. IBPS SO Prelim Exam Pattern:
For the Post of IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR/Personnel Officer and Marketing Officer:

Name of Test Number of Questions Maximum Marks Medium of Exam Timing (Minutes)

English Language 50 25 English 40

Reasoning Ability 50 50 English and Hindi 40
Quantitative Aptitude 50 50 English and Hindi 40

Total 150 125 120 mins.

For the Post of Rajbhasha Adhikari:
Name of Test Number of Questions Maximum Marks Medium of Exam Timing (Minutes)

English Language 50 25 English 40

Reasoning Ability 50 50 English and Hindi 40

General Awareness with Special
50 50 English and Hindi 40
Reference to Banking Industry
Total 150 125 120 mins.
D2. IBPS SO Main Exam Pattern
For the Post of IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR/Personnel Officer and Marketing Officer:
Name of the Test No. of Qs. Max. Marks Duration
Profession Knowledge 60 60 45 minutes
For the Post of Rajbhasha Adhikari:
Name of the Test No. of Qs. Max. Marks Duration
Profession Knowledge (Objective) 45 60 30 minutes

Profession Knowledge (Descriptive) 2 30 minutes

Note: Penalty for Wrong Answers (Applicable to both – Preliminary and Main examinations) There will be
penalty for wrong answers marked in the Objective Tests. For each question for which a wrong answer has been
given by the candidate one fourth or 0.25 of the marks assigned to that question will be deducted as penalty to
arrive at corrected score.
D3. Interview Process
Candidates who have been shortlisted in mains exam will be called for an interview round.
Exams conducted by State Bank of India
SBI PO (Probationary Officer):
State Bank of India (SBI) conducts the online examination in two phases - Preliminary and Main exams for
Probationary Officer/ Management Trainee posts.
SBI PO Prelim Exam:
SBI PO preliminary examination will be conducted online and candidates are allocated a total duration of 1 hour
to complete the prelim exam. It consists of 3 sections with a total of 100 questions and maximum score of 100
marks. There is negative marking in preliminary exam and 0.25 marks are deducted for each wrong answer
attempted by a candidate. It is necessary to clear the cut-off in all 3 sections to qualify for the Main exam.

9
Note: Separate time limit is provided for each of the 3 sections. So the students appearing in the online exam
once submit a section cannot come back to the same.
Exam Pattern:

S. No. Name of Section No. of Question Maximum Marks Duration of time in each section

1 Quantitative Aptitude 35 35 20 minutes

2 Reasoning Ability 35 35 20 minutes

3 English Language 30 30 20 minutes
Total 100 100 60 minutes
SBI PO Main Exam:
SBI PO main examination will be conducted online and candidates are allocated total duration of 3 hours to
complete the main exam. It consists of 4 sections with a total of 155 questions and maximum score of 200
marks. There is negative marking in main exam and
0.25 marks are deducted for each wrong answer attempted by a candidate. It is necessary to clear the cut-
off in all 4 sections to qualify for further process. A descriptive paper will be conducted along with the above
mentioned online test. It needs to be completed in a time span of 30 minutes and the maximum marks allotted
to this test is 50
Note: Separate time limit is provided for each of the 4 sections. So the students appearing in the online exam
once submit a section cannot come back to the same.
(B1). Objective Test:
Time allotted for each test
S. No. Name of Sections No. of Questions Maximum Marks
(Separately timed)
Reasoning & Computer
1 45 60 60 minutes
Aptitude
2 Data Analysis & Interpretation 35 60 45 minutes
General/ Economy/ Banking
3 40 40 35 minutes
Awareness
4 English Language 35 40 40 minutes

Total 155 200 3 hours

The above tests except the English Language will be available bilingually, i.e. English and Hindi.
(B2). Descriptive Test: The Descriptive Test of 30 minutes duration with two questions for 50 marks will be a Test
of English Language (Letter Writing & Essay).
Interview Process:
A candidate who clears both the Prelim & Main Exams will be further called for a GD-PI session wherein they
will face a panel of selectors discussing on their past experience and questions related to General Knowledge
and of the Banking Sector. It is essential for a candidate to clear the Interview Process in order to ensure their
final selection. The qualifying marks for this round will be decided by the Bank and the marks allotted to these
rounds are: Group Discussion - 20 marks, Interview - 30 marks.
SBI Clerk or Junior Associate (Customer Support and Sales):
SBI conducts the online examination in two phases - Preliminary and Main exams for Clerical cadre Posts.

10
SBI Clerk Prelim Exam Pattern:
SBI Clerk preliminary examination will be conducted online and candidates are allocated total duration of 1
hour to complete the Prelim exam. It consists of 3 sections with a total of 100 questions and maximum score of
100 marks. There is negative marking in preliminary exam and 0.25 marks are deducted for each wrong answer
attempted by a candidate. The exam pattern is very much similar to the IBPS Clerk Prelim Exam.
Note: Separate time limit is provided for each of the 3 sections. So the students appearing in the online exam
once submit a section cannot come back to the same.
SBI Clerk Prelim Exam Pattern:
Time allotted for each test
S. No. Name of the test No. of questions Maximum Marks
(Separately timed)
1 English Language 30 30 20 minutes.

2 Numerical Ability 35 35 20 minutes.

3 Reasoning Ability 35 35 20 minutes

Total 100 100 1 hour.

SBI Clerk Main Exam:
SBI Clerk main examination will be conducted online and comprising of 4 sections with about a 190 questions in
total and with maximum marks of 200. The entire exam is needed to be completed in a time span of 2 hours 40
minutes. There is a negative marking of 0.25 Marks for each wrong answer. Therefore, it has become imperative
for aspirants to perform well in four sections to clear the exam.
Note: Separate time limit is provided for each of the 3 sections. So the students appearing in the online exam
once submit a section cannot come back to the same.
Exam Pattern:
Time allotted for each test
S. No. Name of the test No. of questions Maximum Marks
(Separately timed)
Reasoning Ability & Computer
1 50 60 45 minutes.
Aptitude
2 Quantitative Aptitude 50 50 45 minutes.

3 General/ Financial Awareness 50 50 35 minutes

4 General English 40 40 35 minutes.

Total 190 200 2 hours 40 minutes.

The above tests except the English Language will be available bilingually, i.e. English and Hindi.
SBI SO 2020 Exam Pattern
State Bank of India conducts a separate exam for recruitment of Specialist Officers as Assistant Managers,
Engineers, Officers, Architects, designers, administrators, Tester, Manager, Analysts, Developers, Test lead,
innovation specialist, and various other Posts on the regular/ contractual basis. Exam pattern of each exam
varies according to the post as follows.
SBI SO Exam Pattern (For Systems, CA and Engineering Officers)
The exam for the post of Systems, CA and Engineering Officers will be conducted in two parts i.e Paper 1 and
Paper 2. Time period of Paper 1 is 90 minutes. Exam pattern of both papers is given below.

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Question paper 1

S. No. Name of the Test Number of Questions Maximum Marks

1 English language 35 35
2 Reasoning Ability 50 50
3 Quantitative Aptitude 35 35
Total Time Duration- 90 Minutes 120 120
Question paper 2
Number of Maximum
S. No. Name of the Test
Questions Marks
1 Professional Knowledge 50 100
Total Time Duration- 45 Minutes 50 100
SBI SO Exam Pattern (For Law Officers)
For the post of Law Officers, candidates will be attempting 2 papers
i. e Paper 1 and Paper 2 .Exam pattern of both papers is given below.
Question paper 1
S. No. Name of the Test Number of Questions Maximum Marks
1 English language 50 50
2 Reasoning Ability 70 70
Total Time Duration- 90 Minutes 120 120
Question paper 2
S. No. Name of the Test Number of Questions Maximum Marks
1 Professional Knowledge 50 100
Total Time Duration- 45 Minutes 50 100
SBI SO Exam Pattern (For Official Language Officers)
Candidates will be required to attempt 2 papers i.e. Paper 1 and Paper 2.Exam pattern of both papers is given
below.
Question paper 1

S. No. Name of the Test Number of Questions Maximum Marks

1 Language (Hindi & English) 70 70
2 Reasoning Ability 50 50
Total Time Duration- 90 Minutes 120 120
Question paper 2
S. No. Name of the Test Number of Questions Maximum Marks
1 Professional Knowledge 50 100
Total Time Duration- 45 Minutes 50 100
SBI SO Exam Pattern (For Economist)
Unlike other exams, candidates for this post are required to appear for 3 papers. Question Paper 1 shall be
attempted within 90 minutes’ time. While Question Per 2 and Question Paper 3 will be conducted in 45 minutes
for each paper. The details of each paper have been listed below:

12
Question paper 1
Number of Maximum
S. No. Name of the Test
Questions Marks
1 English language 35 35
2 Reasoning Ability 50 50
3 Quantitative Aptitude 35 35
Total Time Duration- 90 Minutes 120 120
Question paper 2

S. No. Name of the Test Number of Questions Maximum Marks

1 Professional Knowledge 50 100

Total Time Duration- 45 Minutes 50 100
Question Paper 3
The third question paper for the post of ‘Economist’ will be of a descriptive nature. Candidates will be asked
to write an essay on a topic related to Economics. The question paper will be of 50 marks. 45 Minutes will be
provided to the candidates to solve the question paper.
NOTE: One mark for correct answer will be given in Paper 1 while
0.25 will be deducted for each wrong answer.
Exams conducted by Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) conducts RBI Grade-B Officer and RBI Assistant Exams for various branches all across
the country. As Reserve Bank of India offers an excellent pay scale and reputed job profile, it lures thousands of
candidates every year to take this examination.
RBI Grade B Officer Exam
The Reserve Bank of India is the central bank for the country and conducts exams annually for the recruitment
to various posts in RBI. The RBI Grade B Officer exam is conducted by RBI for the recruitment of officers.
RBI Grade B Exam is conducted in three phases:
• Phase-I exam
• Phase-II exam
• Interview process
Exam Pattern of Phase-I exam

S. No. Section Asked No. of Questions Maximum Marks Duration

1. General Awareness 80 80

2. Quantitative Aptitude 30 30

Composite time of 2 hours

3. English Language 30 30

4. Reasoning 60 60
Total 200 200

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Exam Pattern of Phase-II exam:

S. No. Section Asked Paper type Maximum Marks Duration

1. Economics and Social Issues Objective 100 90 minutes

Descriptive (to be
2. Paper II English (Writing Skills) typed with the help of 100 90 minutes
keyboard)
3. Paper III Finance & Management Objective Type 100 90 minutes

Interview process
Candidates will be shortlisted for the interview, based on aggregate marks obtained in Paper-I, Paper-II and
Paper-III of Phase II exam. Interview Process will carry 50 marks.
RBI Grade C Exam
RBI Grade C Exam is conducted for the recruitment of candidates by Reserve Bank of India. The exam is conducted
in three phases:
• Preliminary Exam
• Mains Exam
• Interview.
Prelims Paper Pattern

S. No. Name of Subject Number of questions Max. Marks

1. General Awareness 80 80
2. English Language 30 30
3. Reasoning 60 60
4. Quantitative Aptitude 30 30
Total 200 200
Mains Exam Pattern

S.No. Subject Names Type of Question Paper Max. Marks Test Duration
90
1. Economic and Social Issues Objective 100
Minutes
2. English Language Descriptive 100 90
Minutes
Finance and Management/ Economics/ 90
Objective 100
3. Statistics Minutes
270
Total 300
Minutes
Interview: 50 marks The interview will continue in its existing format.
RBI Assistant Exam
RBI Assistant Exam is conducted by the RBI to recruit candidates for the position of Assistants in its various
branches. The RBI exam pattern for the assistant exam is conducted in three phases:
Preliminary Exam Main Exam
Language Proficiency Test (LPT)

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Exam Pattern of Preliminary Exam

S. No. No. of Questions Maximum Marks

English Language 30 30 A Composite time of 1
Numerical Ability 35 35 Hour is provided to the
Reasoning Ability 35 35 candidate.
Total 100 100
Exam Pattern of Main Exam

S. No. No. of Questions Maximum Marks Duration

English Language 40 40 30 Minutes
Quantitative Aptitude 40 40 30 Minutes
Reasoning Ability 40 40 30 Minutes
Computer knowledge 40 40 20 Minutes
General Awareness 40 40 25 Minutes
Total 200 200 135 Minutes
Note: The negative marking will be of 0.25 which will be deducted for every wrong answer given by the candidate.
Language Proficiency Test (LPT)
The final stage of the recruitment will be the Language Proficiency Test (LPT). The candidates who clear the
main exam will then have to appear for the LPT.
It is mandatory for all the candidates to qualify these three rounds to ensure final selection to the post of
Assistant in Reserve Bank of India.
Bank Exam Syllabus
Written tests in bank exams generally frame questions to test the General Aptitude of the candidate. In Prelims,
Questions are asked from three different sections – Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning Ability & English Language.
While in the Main exam, Questions are asked focusing on Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning Ability, English
Language, General Awareness (with special reference to Banking Awareness), Basic Computer Knowledge and
Professional Awareness.
Syllabus of all above sections is given below:
Quantitative Aptitude:
Number Systems, Simplification, Ratio & Proportion, Percentage, Averages, Profit & Loss, Mixtures & Alligations,
Series, Simple Interest & Compound Interest, Time, Speed & Distance, Time and Work, Mensuration – Cylinder,
Cone, Sphere, Series, Permutation & Combination, Probability, Quadratic Equations, Data Interpretation, Data
Analysis and Data Sufficiency.
Reasoning Ability:
Sitting Arrangements, Tabulation, Puzzle, Logical Reasoning, Syllogism, Input Output, Coding Decoding,
Alphanumeric Series, Blood Relation, Ranking / Direction / Alphabet Test, Data Sufficiency, Coded Inequalities.
English Language :
Reading Comprehension, Cloze Test, Error Spotting, Sentence Correction, Para Jumbles, Vocabulary, Multiple
Meaning Words, Paragraph Completion and New Pattern Questions of various types.
Basic Computer Knowledge:
Binary System, History of computers, Hardware, Software, Database (Introduction), Communication (Basic
Introduction), Networking (LAN, WAN), Internet (Concept, History, Working Environment, Application), Security
Tools, Virus, Hacker, MS Windows & MS Office, Logic Gates.

15
General Awareness:
Current Affairs:
Banks in news Economy based current affairs, Business news, Agreements, New Appointments, Visits,
Government Schemes, Awards and Honors, Summits, Committees, National and International, Obituaries,
Reports and Indexes, Books and Authors, Defence, Sports.
Banking Awareness:
RBI, Function of RBI, Banking Abbreviations, Banking Regulation Act 1949, Policy Rates, Types of Accounts,
Negotiable Instruments Act 1881, Banking Ombudsman Scheme 2006, Financial Inclusion, Priority Sector
Lending, Money Market Instruments, Capital Market; Latest developments in the Banking Sector.
Preparations for banking exams is only complete when you have gone through everything in the syllabus
prescribed for the exam in a very well-structured and systematic manner so that no topic is left uncovered.
Also, make it a point that all the important points should be noted down.

IBPS PO Prelims Cut-Off 2020-21: Category-wise

Category Cut Off Marks
General 58.75
OBC 58.50
SC 51
ST 43.5
EWS 57.75
HI 19.75
OC 46
VI 54.25
ID 21.75

IBPS PO Mains Cut-Off 2019-20: Category-wise

Category IBPS PO Mains Cut Off Marks (Out of 225)
GENERAL 71.25
EWS 65.88
OBC 70.25
SC 55.63
ST 38.13
HI 41
OC 46.13
VI 70.50
ID 45.88

IBPS PO Mains Cut-Off 2019-20: Section-wise

Cut Off (SC/ST/ OBC/ Cut Off (General/
S. No. Subject Maximum Marks
PwD) EWS)
1. Reasoning & Computer Aptitude 60 05.50 07.75

16
 2. English Language 40 10.75 14.25
3. Data Analysis & Interpretation 60 02.50 05.25
General Economy & Banking
4. 40 05.00 08.00
Awareness
5. English Language (Descriptive) 25 08.75 10.00

IBPS PO Prelims Cut-Off 2019

IBPS PO Cut-Off  for 2019-20 Prelims exam has been released with its scorecard & marks on 8th November
2019. IBPS PO Prelims 2019 Cut-Off table is mentioned below.
IBPS PO 2019 Prelims Cut-Off: Category-wise
Category Cut Off Marks
General 59.75
OBC 59.75
SC 53.50
ST 46.25
EWS 59.75
HI 21.25
OC 44.50
VI 52.25
ID 20.75
IBPS Clerk 2020 Vacancy: State-wise
The state wise vacancy for IBPS Clerk 2020 exam has also been released along with notification. All candidate
have to check state wise vacancy before applying for IBPS Clerk CRP X exam. This year, Maharashtra has the
maximum number of vacancies i.e. 334.
State Name Total Vacancies
Andaman and Nicobar Islands 1
Andhra Pradesh 85
Arunachal Pradesh 01
Assam 24
Bihar 95
Chandigarh 8
Chhattisgarh 18
Dadra and Nagar Haveli/Daman & Diu 4
Delhi 93
Goa 25
Gujarat 139
Haryana 72
Himachal Pradesh 45
Jammu and Kashmir 7
Jharkhand 67
Karnataka 221
Kerala 120

17
 Ladakh 0
Lakshadweep 3
Madhya Pradesh 104
Maharashtra 371
Manipur 3
Meghalaya 1
Mizoram 1
Nagaland 5
Odisha 66
Puducherry 4
Punjab 162
Rajasthan 68
Sikkim 1
Tamil Nadu 229
Telangana 62
Tripura 12
Uttar Pradesh 259
Uttarakhand 30
West Bengal 151
Total 2557

Participating Banks in IBPS Clerk 2020 Exam

the total number participating banks in IBPS Clerk 2020 recruitment has been reduced this year. The following is
the list of banks participating in IBPS Clerk 2020 Exam.
• Bank of Baroda
• Canara Bank
• Indian Overseas Bank
• UCO Bank
• Bank of India
• Central Bank of India
• Punjab National Bank
• Union Bank of India
• Bank of Maharashtra
• Indian Bank Punjab & Sind Bank

IBPS Clerk 2020 Cut-Off

IBPS has released IBPS Clerk Prelims Cut-Off & Score Card. Candidates can check the cut-off by clicking on the
link mentioned below. The Prelims Cut-Off and Score Card will help candidates analyze their score and compare
with the score of other candidates.
Let’s have a look at the cut-off for IBPS Clerk 2019 Prelims Exam: General Category
State Name Cut-Off Marks
Andhra Pradesh 66.25

18
 Assam 63
Bihar 65
Chandigarh 71.5
Delhi 71.75
Goa 67
Gujarat 27
Haryana 68.5
Himachal Pradesh 62.25
Jharkhand 73
Karnataka 53.25 (EWS)
Kerala 73.5
Madhya Pradesh 70
Maharashtra 61.50
Odisha 71.50
Punjab 66.25
Rajasthan 71.25
Tamil Nadu 57.75
Telangana 61
Uttar Pradesh 68.25
Uttarakhand 76
West Bengal 70.75

IBPS RRB 2020 Vacancy Increased

The total number of vacancies for IBPS RRB 2020 (CRP RRBs IX) exam has been increased. IBPS introduced 10,493
vacancies for IBPS RRB 2020 examination, earlier it was 9698. The table for Post-wise vacancies is mentioned
below. The number of vacancies for IBPS RRB 2020 are 5076 for Office Assistant and 4201 for Officer Grade-I.
Let’s have a look at the table of IBPS RRB increased vacancy for 2020 Office Assistant & Officer Scale-I, II & III
exam.
Posts New Vacancy Old Vacancy
IBPS RRB Office Assistant (Multipurpose) 5076 4682
IBPS RRB Officer Scale -I 4201 3800
IBPS RRB Officer Scale-II (Agriculture Officer) 100 100
IBPS RRB Officer Scale-II (Marketing Officer) 08 08
IBPS RRB Officer Scale-II (Treasury Officer) 03 03
IBPS RRB Officer Scale-II (Law) 26 26
IBPS RRB Officer Scale-II (CA) 26 26
IBPS RRB Officer Scale-II (IT) 59 59
Officer Scale-II (General Banking Officer) 838 838
Officer Scale – III 156 156
Total 10,493 9,698

SBI PO Vacancy 2021

SBI PO 2021 Vacancy have been announced along with SBI PO 2020 Notification. The State Bank of India declared
a total vacancy of 2000 posts for SBI PO 2020 Exam.
19
Let’s have a look at the SBI PO Vacancies for 2020 exam:
SBI PO Vacancy
Category Vacancy Backlog Total
SC 300 - 300
ST 150 - 150
OBC 540 - 540
EWS 200 -
GEN 810 - 810
Total 2000 - 2000
SBI PO Vacancy (PwD Category)
Category Vacancy Backlog Total
LD 20 - 20
VI 20 - 20
HI 20 49 69
d&e 20 7 27
SBI PO Prelims Cut Off 2019
Category Prelims Cut-off (Out of 100 marks)
General 71
Economically Weaker Section (EWS) 68.25
Other Backward Caste (OBC) 68.25
Scheduled Caste (SC) 61.75
Scheduled Tribe (ST) 54.75
LD 59.50
VI 64.75
HI  16.25
D&E 0.25
SBI PO Mains Cut-Off
Category Main Exam Cutoff (Out of 250 marks)
General 104.42
EWS 100.89
OBC 94.28
SC 82.50
ST 77.63
LD 86.51
VI 101.75
HI  75.36
D&E 75.14
SBI PO Final Cut-Off
Category Final Cut Off (Normalized to 100 marks)
General 54.11
EWS 50.13
OBC 48.78

20
 SC 45.74
ST 43.90
LD 47.11
VI 52.58
HI  35.29
D&E 33.37
SBI Clerk Vacancy: Regular Vacancies
SBI Clerk 2020: Regular Vacancies
Junior Associates (Customer Support & Sales) Vacancy
State Language GEN EWS SC ST OBC Total
Gujarat Gujarati 227 55 38 82 148 550
Daman & Diu Gujarati 0 0 0 0 0 0
Andhra Pradesh Telugu/ Urdu 61 15 24 10 40 150
Karnataka Kannada 191 47 76 33 128 475
Madhya Pradesh Hindi 205 51 76 102 76 510
Chhattisgarh Hindi 78 19 22 60 11 190
West Bengal Bengali/ Nepali 247 61 140 30 134 612
A&N Islands Hindi/ English 15 2 0 2 7 26
Sikkim Nepali/ English 7 1 0 2 2 12
Odisha Odia 171 42 68 93 51 425
Jammu & Kashmir Urdu/ Hindi 23 5 4 5 13 50
Ladakh Ladakhi/ Urdu/ Dogri 8 1 1 1 4 15
Himachal Pradesh Hindi 77 18 46 7 37 185
Chandigarh Punjabi/ Hindi 13 2 4 0 6 25
Punjab Punjabi/ Hindi 61 15 43 0 31 150
Tamil Nadu Tamil 171 39 74 3 106 393
Pondicherry Tamil 5 0 1 0 1 7
Delhi Hindi 60 14 21 10 38 143
Uttrakhand Hindi 141 25 45 7 32 250
Haryana Hindi/ Punjabi 45 9 17 0 26 97
Telangana Telugu/ Urdu 151 37 60 26 101 375
Rajasthan Hindi 200 50 85 65 100 500
Kerala Malayalam 207 39 39 3 106 394
Lakshadweep Malayalam 4 0 0 2 0 6
Uttar Pradesh Hindi/ Urdu 357 86 181 8 233 865
Maharashtra Marathi 384 86 86 77 232 865
Goa Konkani 7 1 0 1 1 10
Assam Assamese /Bengali/ Bodo 82 18 12 21 49 182
Arunachal Pradesh English 5 1 0 4 0 10
Manipur Manipuri 11 2 0 7 2 22
Meghalaya English/ Garo / Khasi 14 3 0 13 1 31
Mizoram Mizo 9 2 0 10 1 22
Nagaland English 7 1 0 6 0 14

21
 Tripura Bengali/ Kokborok 16 3 5 10 0 34
Bihar Hindi/ Urdu 107 23 36 2 62 230
Jharkhand Hindi/ Santhali 20 4 5 11 5 45
Total 3387 777 1209 713 1784 7870
SBI Clerk Vacancy: Special Recruitment Drive
State Language GEN EWS SC ST OBC Total
Kashmir Valley Urdu/Kashmiri/ Dogri 23 5 4 5 13 50
Leh & Kargil Valley Urdu/ Ladakhi/ Dogri 10 2 1 2 5 20
Dibang Valley,Tawang etc. English 9 2 0 9 0 20
Tura Garo 9 2 0 8 1 20
Mokokchung Ao (Naga) 9 2 0 9 0 20
60 13 5 33 19 130
Total 3447 790 1214 746 1803 8000
SBI SO Cutoff 2020
SBI SO recruitment for 2020 is currently underway and cutoffs for different posts will be released by SBI along
with the declaration of SBI SO result. Let’s have a look at the cutoffs of previous year and candidates can develop
their own insight based on them:
SBI SO Cutoffs in Written Test

Subjects Cutoffs for SC/ST/OBC/PWD Cutoffs for Unreserved

Reasoning 11.25 12.50

English language 5.75 6.50
Quantitative knowledge 3.50 45.25
Professional knowledge 40 45

Category Wise SBI SO Cutoffs for Professional Knowledge

Categories Category wise cut off marks in professional knowledge
SC 54.50
ST 47.25
OBC 57.50
GEN 59.25
VI 49.25
HI 42
OH 49.75
SBI Clerk 2020 Prelims Cut-Off
SBI Clerk Cut off 2020 (General Category)
State Name Cut-off
Andhra Pradesh 68
Bihar 68.75

22
 State Name Cut-off
Chhattisgarh 68.75
Delhi 76.25
Gujarat 56.75
Himachal Pradesh 66
Jharkhand 68.25
Karnataka 58.75
Kerala 69.75
Madhya Pradesh 68.75
Maharashtra 59.75
Odisha 68.25
Chandigarh 76
Punjab 77.50
Haryana 72.75
Rajasthan 68.75
Telangana 66
Tamil Nadu 62
Uttar Pradesh 71
Uttrakhand 69.75
West Bengal 67.5
RBI Grade B Vacancy 2021
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced the total number of vacancies for RBI Grade B 2021 exam along with
its Official Notification. This year, RBI introduced 322 vacancies. Last year, the total number of vacancies was
199. Let’s have a look at the vacancy for RBI Grade B 2020 Exam.
Serial Number Posts Vacancy
1. Officers in Grade ‘B’(DR)- General 270
2. Officers in Grade ‘B’(DR)- DEPR 29
3. Officers in Grade ‘B’(DR)- DSIM 23
Total 322
RBI Grade B Cut Off for Prelims 2019-20
Category
Section
GENERAL/UR EWS OBC SC ST PwBD
General Awareness (Maximum Marks = 80) 20.00 20.00 16.00 14.25 14.25 14.25
Reasoning (Maximum Marks = 60) 15.00 15.00 12.00 10.75 10.75 10.75
English Language (Maximum Marks = 30) 7.50 7.50 6.00 5.25 5.25 5.25
Quantitative Aptitude (Maximum Marks = 30) 7.50 7.50 6.00 5.25 5.25 5.25
Total Score/Aggregate (Maximum Marks = 200) 122.00 122.00 115.50 108.00 108.00 108.00

23
Grade ‘B’ (DR) General 2019-20 
Category
RECRUITMENT STAGE
GENERAL OBC SC ST EWS Pw BD

Paper I, II & III Aggregate Cut 172.25 ( HI, LD, MD)

193.25 188 172.25 172.25 193.25
Off 176.75 (VI)

Written Exams (All Papers)

238.25 215.5 206.5 194 197 Gen 215.75 OBC 194.75
+ Interview Aggregate Cut off

Grade ‘B’ (DR)-DEPR - 2019-20 Department of Economic & Policy Research

Category & CUT OFF MARKS
RECRUITMENT STAGE
GENERAL OBC SC ST EWS PwBD

Aggregate cut off marks for HI- 45.67 LD/MD/VI -52.67 ( As No

52.67 47.67 45.67 45.67 52.67
Paper 1 vacancy )

Aggregate cut off marks for 182.84 (No candidate shortlisted for
182.84 173.67 161.84 169.5 182.84
Paper 1,2 & 3 the interview phase)

Aggregate cut off marks in

(No candidate shortlisted for the 
written examination (All 229.17 203.17 195.67 189.34 204.17
interview phase)
Papers) + Interview
GRADE ‘B’ (DR) DSIM 2019-20 Department of Statistics and Information Management
Category & CUT OFF MARKS
RECRUITMENT STAGE
GENERAL OBC SC ST EWS Pw BD

Paper I cut off marks 38.33 38.33 31.33 31.33 38.33 31.33

Aggregate cut off marks for Paper 1,2

160 160 142.33 139 160 139
&3
No candidate  No candidate
Aggregate cut off marks for written Shortlisted shortlisted 
212 196.17 186.5 188.33
exam (All Papers) + Interview for the interview for the interview
phase phase

RBI Assistant 2020 Cut off

Candidates can check state wise, category wise, and section cut off for RBI Assistant Prelims 2019:
Section Wise Prelims Cut Off
Sections SC, ST, ALL- PWD OBC, OBC-EXS GENERAL, GEN-EXS
English 9.00 10.00 11.00
Reasoning Ability 10.00 11.00 12.00
Numerical Ability 10.00 12.00 13.00

24
RBI Assistant Prelims Zone/State Wise Cut Off
RBI Zone Name SC ST OBC EWS General
Ahmedabad 90.25 79.00 89.50 91.00 92.75
Bengaluru - 81.75 89.75 89.00 92.25
Bhopal 86.00 80.50 92.50 92.75 94.75
Bhubaneswar 85.75 81.25 94.75 93.75 95.75
Chandigarh 89.50 - 93.50 95.00 96.75
Chennai 88.00 - 92.75 87.00 94.00
Guwahati 83.50 77.75 86.25 83.75 89.50
Hyderabad 92.00 88.00 94.75 94.75 96.25
Jaipur 86.75 85.25 93.25 93.75 95.75
Jammu - 79.50 87.00 89.00 94.25
Kanpur & Lucknow 87.00 - 92.25 94.25 96.00
Kolkata 92.25 - - 92.00 96.25
Mumbai 84.00 71.50 84.25 81.75 87.75
Nagpur 88.00 77.50 - 88.75 90.50
New Delhi 89.00 - 92.75 93.50 96.25
Patna 85.75 - 93.75 94.00 95.75
Thiruvananthapuram & Kochi 87.00 - 95.00 89.75 96.25

Topper Bytes
Abhishek Chowdhury - IBPS RRB Topper
“It took me 1 ½ year to clear IBPS RRB exam. The feeling was great. I was ecstatic. I failed many times but never
gave up as I was very strong with my determination and goal. There is no alternative to hard work and regular
practice.”
I have completed my graduation with English Honours. Thereon, I went to pursue Mass Communication and
Journalism. Hailing from a Humanities background, I was not good in Mathematics, and in Banking exams, you
need to be good in Mathematics. But I made my weakness, my strength. I put in a lot of effort for the past
couple of years. Currently, I am working as an Assistant Manager in Tripura Gramin Bank. 
The exam strategy differs from person to person. My strategy was to focus on my weak areas more. I devoted
time to every section of the exam. However, my prime focus was on Maths and Reasoning as that maths was my
weak area. I started brushing up the basics. Revised formulas and practice lengthy calculations daily. I focused
on accuracy.
I used to make notes of everything that I studied, especially in the General Awareness section. This helped me
in memorizing well. Besides this, I used to practice many questions related to Data Interpretation and puzzles
as these topics carry maximum weightage in the exam. Since English was my strong area, I attempted sectional
mock tests and tried to rectify the mistakes.
Mock tests are the best way to check one’s preparation level. It helped me analyze where I stand in the
competition. One can identify his strong and weak areas and work on them accordingly. Besides, attempting
mock tests gave me a real-time exam feeling and helped me handle the exam pressure. 
Coaching for me was important because it helped me build the base. Also, I got to learn many shortcut tricks for
solving questions, which is important for competitive exams where there are time constraints. 
For future aspirants, I would like to say that perseverance, passion, and hard work are the most important
factors for success in competitive exams. It is also important to learn from failure. I wish the future banking
aspirants the best of luck for their upcoming endeavors. 

25
Preeti Sharma - IBPS Clerk Topper
“Never think of giving up, whatever the conditions are!” 
I wrote SSC, NTPC, and IBPS Clerk in 1st year of my preparation cleared prelims but missed mains by 2 and 1.5
marks respectively. However, this gave me confidence. Then I decided to pursue my career in the Banking sector
so started preparing for banking exams. In the first two years, I was able to clear prelims only. The main reason
for not qualifying for mains was a lack of practicing of mains level questions and not having the knowledge of
good platforms for test series and proper guidance. 
Later I developed a strategy. For English, I practiced the editorial part of ‘The Hindu’. I learned grammar rules
from a YouTube channel platform and appeared for mock test series of mains which was of great help to clear
the mains exam. 
For Quant, I’ve taken test series which helped me solve the trickiest of questions plus it enhanced my knowledge
of the complexity of every topic. This removed my fear of attempting hard level questions in the mains exam.
Similarly for reasoning, I practiced the best level of puzzle, seating arrangement, and new mains level questions
to enhance my capacity of solving new questions. I also went through monthly GK journals and daily quizzes for
the G.A section and it helped me tremendously. 
During the journey of 5 years, I lost my confidence several times but rebuilt it again by boosting up myself.
Keeping faith in my hard work is the key that has always motivated me and kept me on track. Currently, I am
working at Union Bank. 
For my dear girl aspirants, I would like to say that many girls are struggling not only to get a job but also from
family and society pressure of getting married due to age factor (as per Indian Society). To all of them, people
will try to pull you down all the time. At such an instance, we must think that all this shall come to an end when
you achieve your target. The people who are questioning you today will praise you later. So have faith in yourself
and your hard work. Don’t even think of giving up until you achieve your target. 

Tinkeshwari Swami - SBI PO Topper

I have cracked SBI PO in the first attempt without any coaching. I never thought of cracking it easily but there is
a famous saying, “Where there is a will, there is the way.” My dream to join SBI was so determinant that when
people of my age were fascinated with social media, I kept myself away from it to focus on studies. Besides
cracking SBI PO, I’ve also cleared IBPS RRB Clerk, IBPS PO, SSC CHSL, SBI Clerk, FCI, and LIC ADO but I joined SBI
because of its reputation and working environment.
I started preparing for the SBI PO exam three to four months before the exam. I uninstalled all my social media
accounts to do away with all sorts of distractions. I browsed the internet only to find out study-related materials.
I have prepared for the exam all by myself. I prepared from the online course material. Besides, I used to watch
prep live videos and clear all my doubts from raising my queries in the comment section.
In Prelims, I focused mainly on Maths and Reasoning. I started from basics, watched online videos to clear my
concept. For English, I focused on comprehension. My focus was on practice, concept-building, and mock tests.
Mostly, I have cleared my basics and concepts in prelims. Therefore, in mains, I focused on tackling the tough
questions and gave mock tests, and solved previous years’ question papers. I also invested time in current affairs
as it can be a game-changer. 
I made note of everything I studied. Picked one topic daily and researched the types of questions asked in the
exam. I was consistent with my studies and had taken at least 50 mock tests. These tests are very important as
it helps in time management and building accuracy. Attempting the test also helped me analyze my preparation
for the exam. I used to study a minimum of 3 to 4 hours and a maximum of 8 hours a day. 
For the Interview, personality and knowledge are assessed. So all I did was be confident and genuine in the
interview. I was clear with the points I have mentioned in the bio-data. 
My advice to future aspirants of the SBI PO exam is that aspirants should be focused, brush-up concepts, and
develop accuracy and speed. Devote equal time to each section and maintain consistency. Besides studies,
26
candidates should eat healthily and sleep well. Believe in your preparation and do the best.

Soumyojit Sarkar - SBI Probationary Officer

I feel delighted to share my journey to one of the toughest government recruitment exams of India: SBI PO.
I was skeptical about joining the government sector at first as I always dreamt of living a corporate life with
a hefty pay package after an MBA. But learning about the career growth in SBI was enough to provide the
necessary kick for preparation.
Managing the office and preparing for SBI was a tightrope walk. I had to balance both my professional and
personal life. At times I would be back from work only when the clock had strayed into the next calendar day.
My day would usually start at 8:30 AM. I utilized my lunchtime for brushing up on my GK. An important part of
the preparation was analyzing mocks thoroughly. I took two mocks over the weekends and analyzed the scores. 
I marked out topics for which I couldn’t attempt any questions. My accuracy had always been good so I
concentrated on my weaker topics. So, I spent an entire month before the exam mastering all topics. I preferred
videos for preparation as I find them more engaging and impactful. 
After the prelims results, I had only 14 days left for the mains exam. I decided to focus on my weak area, which
was General Knowledge. In the mains, paper one had to attempt more questions to fetch maximum scores.
So I focussed on finding the right questions. I solved the easy ones among the 2 mark questions first, then 1.5
mark questions, and at last the 1 mark questions. In LR, though there were many new question types, they were
pretty easy ones. I had attempted about 75+ questions in the paper. For the essay, I hadn’t practiced much, but
since my English basics were in place, I fared well. For letter writing, I just revised the formats of formal and
informal letters. 
For the interview, I was quite tense. I went inside with a smile on my face and they asked me a few GK questions.
The interview for me was mostly HR. I felt that they were gauging my confidence and my eagerness to join the
Bank.
I wish all the best to the future aspirants of SBI PO. 

Pallav Angrulla - SBI PO Topper

My orientation was always towards banking as I belong to a family of bankers. This inclination persuaded me
to take up banking as a career. 
I am content to crack the exam in the first attempt. I started preparing for the exams before 70-80 days of the
exam. To be honest, the cut-throat competition did not hamper my confidence, it motivated me to work harder.
I got to hear about the competition for the limited number of seats. But I always had on my mind that I have to
give my best. I, therefore, adopted a strategy of “Smart work with hard work” which boosted my confidence.
Plus, in case of exams like this, aspirants don’t need to score out-of-the-box. One just has to perform relatively
better than others to crack the exam. 
My preparation plan was a bit different from others because I only had 75- 80 days to prepare. I remembered a
few basics which I learned two years back while preparing for CAT but had forgotten many. In the first 10 days,
I covered certain topics of quant in which I was weak. After that, for the rest 60 days, I attempted practice tests
and analyzed my performance. I gave a lot of mock tests. I was more into attempting mock tests than practicing
topics. I might have attempted at least 70- 90 mock tests for prelims. I was analyzing each question along with
my performance in those questions which worked wonders for me. And I had also practiced from diverse test
series. 
Nowadays, the banking domain has become one of the most dynamic sectors. For aspirants, I would like to say
that last year’s paper was different as compared to what we attempted in mains this year. So, aspirants need to
analyze the latest changing trends along with practice from previous year papers. 

27
 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS?
1. How to relax and reduce anxiety?
Remember that a certain amount of anxiety enables you to become more alert and attentive towards your work.
An optimum level of arousal is the key to success. But the moment the anxiety level becomes higher and it starts
to hamper your working ability, it is time to take immediate corrective measures.
You can relax on a chair, a bed or stretched out on a comfortable spot. To relax, focus on your breathing and close
your eyes to listen to the sound of your breathing in the air as it flows in and out. You will feel at peace.
Other methods:
1. Self assertion: Do a realistic review of the situation and decide on a course of action and carry it out. Take
charge of your life.
2. Sleep habits: loss of sleep over a long period of time can create stress and affect your thinking ability.
3. Consultation: Help yourself by seeking consultation from peers, instructors or professional counsellors. Talk
to your friends for for support and encouragement.
2. What is the right time to study?
Research shows that your mental output is higher in the morning than in the evening or at night. Your mind will
be fresh after a good 8 hours sleep and will function better. So the morning hours are the most valuable and best
time for serious work.
3. What is the amount of notes that I should make for my self study sessions?
The amount of notes that you make depends on the following factors:
1. The content of the lecture: If the lecture deals with solid facts, laws and principles, it may necessitate a great
quantity of notes.
2. Familiarity with the topic: The less familiar you are with a topic the more detailed notes you require. If you
are familiar with the topic, just an outline of the lecture will do.
3. Source of information: If no source of information in a textbook or elsewhere then complete notes will have
to be taken down.
4. How much should I sleep?
The time a person requires to sleep varies. Sleeping between 4 to 10 hours is normal. Most people sleep between
6-8 hours a day which is the appropriate amount of time.. Too less or too much sleep hampers your productivity.
If you sleep well, you will feel energised on waking up and ready for a new day.
5. Is coaching necessary?
For success in any type of exam, 80 % of the contribution is from the student’s efforts, 10% is from the strategy
of how to derive the most from the knowledge the student has and 10% is from guidance. Here, the important
thing to note is that even though strategy and guidance contribute only 20% but are very important because it is
this 20% which decides and defines how the balance 80% of time and energy is going to be used. In absence of
proper guidance to a student at home or at school, coaching is advisable.
6. What if my future is ruined lest I fail to gain enough marks in the examination?
Examinations are an important way in which professional colleges select students. Success in them does open
doors to many jobs and careers. Lack of success will mean certain jobs and careers aren’t immediately open to
you, at least at the level of entry that you originally intended. Some may be closed altogether.
However, happiness, wealth, peace of mind, rich experience of life, meaningful status in the eyes of others, a
worthwhile career, a useful job and an inner sense of purpose and self belief as a human being, do not depend
on examination results.
7. How to make a Plan that works ?

28
So, planning is important but the most important part is to come up with a plan that works. Most people fail at
this because they give up when the first attempt at planning does not work out perfectly. The best thing to do is
to expect changes and be ready for the process. Needing to make changes in your plan does not mean failure - it
means inexperience at planning. Quitting all planning when things go off the rails - THAT really is failure!
Very often students plan with great vigour in the beginning. Once they start implementing the plan, they find
that the plan does not work. After a short period of time the plan is consigned to the dustbin. So the question
arises what is the secret of good planning?
Good planning means
• Consult your seniors about how they started their preparation. Study the trend of previous year question
papers & draw marks distribution of each subject to find out which topics are most important & which are
least. Give priority to important topics & try to put them in early stages of your preparation to avoid any
possibility of them being left out.
• Divide your entire time into periods of one month each and plan to complete a block of lessons by the end
of each period. Set up milestones after every period to find out whether the objectives have been met out
or not. Chart out this plan on a calendar clearly and place it above your study table.
• Do not overestimate the time you have. If you actually have the extra time you can always do more studying,
but if you plan more than what you actually have, you feel depressed and your entire plan might go haywire.
You are also advised to leave a little gap (free time) in between two periods so that if any module gets
delayed you don’t have to change the whole plan.
8. How to develop concentration?
When we watch a favourite film, we are able to concentrate for three hours. We hardly realize who’s beside us,
when he/she got up, etc. A cricket match absorbs us similarly; our eyes remain glued to the TV screen!
So, we can concentrate when we are watching a movie or a cricket match but when it comes to studying a
subject especially a difficult subject we feel distracted by the slightest noise, the faintest whisper, even by the
most distant sound of music. So, the basic problem is not of concentration but is of interest in the activity which
we are doing. Concentration is nothing but the extent of interest and involvement in the subject.
The amount of learning is dependent on the amount of concentration, which is further dependent on the
intensity of interest. Some of the characteristics of students who have confidence in a subject are:
1. They enjoy doing the subject or topic.
2. All their efforts to study are self – motivated. Nobody needs to tell them that they have to study the subject.
3. They develop the killer instinct, which is necessary to solve tricky problems.
4. On the other hand, those who lack confidence in a subject or a topic display the following traits:
5. They dislike the topic
6. They have to force themselves to study the topic
7. They approach any problem with a negative frame of mind.
9. How to develop Interest / Confidence in a subject
An easiest way to develop confidence/interest is to approach the subject in a systematic and step by step
manner. Usually, students skip some of the fundamental steps and approach problem solving with half-baked
knowledge because of which they get stuck and slowly and slowly develop dis-interest in the subject. Let us find
out different approaches adopted by the students.

29
Approach 1

Approach 2

In both the approaches the student skips certain steps and the net result is inability to solve problems which
lowers the confidence level / interest in the subject. This is the stage when suddenly the subject starts looking
difficult and boring. The correct methodology is explained in Approach 3.
Approach 3

30
In Approach 3 the student moves from Level 1 to 2 and then to 3 and constantly refers theory and text as and
when the problem occurs.
So to summarize :
• It is very important to develop confidence in a subject. Confidence level also leads to higher interest in the
subject.
• The student develops confidence in a subject in 5 to 6 sittings
• Even if the scores are low during the initial sitting the student should not give up but rather spend more time
on the topic
• In addition to adopting correct approach to studying, following techniques will aid your concentration:
• Whenever you find your mind wandering, become conscious of the fact that your mind has wandered and
bring it back to what you are studying. Do not let frustration come in the way. You will find that with passage
of time, you become better and better at catching the mind from jumping here and there.
• Everyday set aside 10-15 minutes during which time you are going to completely concentrate on a particular
activity. The activities, which you can concentrate on, can be - praying, walking, eating, looking at a still
picture/clock and so on. Whenever you find that your mind has wandered, gently bring back the mind,
review the thought that distracted your mind and get back to the task of fully concentrating on your activity.
• Environment of study. Proper lighting is important. If your eyes are getting strained, you will not be able to
concentrate. Ensure that you are sitting comfortably and the light is optimal. Again noise distractions should
be minimal. It is difficult to concentrate when you are in a noisy room.
• Studies should be concentrated around your peak performance. Study hard during your peak hours of
performance. Schedule your study such that the peak consumes those activities, which need concentration,
high problem solving skills and alertness. During other hours, you may want to perform routine activities.
• Be active in what you do e.g. speak aloud, talk to someone, write notes.
• Set yourself realistic small targets. This will give you more chance to succeed in reaching your goal. Success
will increase both your self- confidence and your study efficiency.
• Vary both the topics you study and the methods you use.
• Study for short periods of time, at least initially
• Check your sleep : Lack of concentration is often due to lack of complete sleep.So don’t increase your study
hours at the cost of your sleep.
Apply above mentioned techniques in your studies and soon your concentration related problems will go away.
10. Should I study one subject or many subjects in a day?
Imagine you are going to appear for an exam after five days and you have four subjects (of equal length) to study.
In order to revise your syllabus you can adopt any of the following methods
Method I: Studying and completing one subject a day for four days and making a final revision on the fifth day
of all the subjects.
Method II: Every day studying a combination of subjects like two hours Chemistry, then next two hours Physics,
etc.
Let us analyze and understand how the brain works to find out which method is better
The Analysis: When we study a particular subject, say Physics, a particular part of the brain is working more than
the rest of the brain. When we shift to say Inorganic Chemistry, practically the other part of brain would become
active and the part studying Physics will go for rest. So by changing the subject after periodic intervals, we give a
chance to refresh a particular part of the brain and also prevent ourselves from feeling tired.
If we study a particular subject throughout the day, we stress a particular part of the brain, more which is
inefficient and undesirable.

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By engaging a different intelligence each time on a different subject, your brain actually consolidates and reviews
the previous session in the “background” while it focuses a different part on the new task. You will learn more,
faster, with a lot less pain and boredom than by spending three hours on the same subject.
So, study a combination of subjects, i.e., after studying 2-3 hours of Physics shift to Chemistry for two hours. By
doing this the efficiency of your study increases.
11. What are the five Simple Steps of Effective Study
Following steps are required for effective study:
1. Learn Concept
• Get an overview • Determine key ideas
2. Practice concepts and its application
3. Recall, revise & memorise
4. Test your understanding
5. Analyse your performance and take corrective measures
12. How to develop critical thinking ability?
The following general procedure may help you ask and answer questions and subsequently develop critical
thinking ability.
1. Write down everything you know about the topic (a concept map is a useful format for this). When you
can’t think of anything more, give yourself a few minutes to look for details that you may have missed. Ask
yourself, “Is there anything else?” Be as inclusive as you can at this stage.
2. Re-organize the material into categories or groupings, by asking, “How do these things fit together? What
elements are related and how are they related? What general groupings are there?”
3. Ask, “What is the significance of all this? What can it be used for? What are its implications? Is there anything
that doesn’t fit, or that doesn’t agree with the facts, or with other theories on the topic, or with my personal
experience?” You may need to write an explanation of your answers in a paragraph.
13. How to increase my speed while attempting the exam?
Speed building comes through the following:
• Memorizing land mark problems (remembering standard formulae, concepts so that you can apply them
directly)
• Being strong in mental calculations (never use the calculator during your entire preparation, try to do first
and second level of calculations mentally, remember as vocalization reduces reading speed, similarly doing
calculation on paper reduces the speed. Tools for solving numerical problems faster can be: memorizing
tables upto 30, knowing the values of fractions i.e. 2/3=66.66%,1/23=4.37%; knowing squares & cubes upto
40).
• Working with choices (see all the options and do not go for last digit accuracy unless required by the problem)
14. Quick Tip:
Finishing your studies for the exam......
Follow the following instructions while closing your studies for the exam.
Select 3-4 numerical questions of which you are very-very confident of solving correct. You must have attempted
these questions many times during your preparation so the chances of doing them wrong or getting confused is
zero. The questions should be logical in nature. Solve them completely step by step with proper understanding.
Our research says that this small exercise will give you the confidence and motivation much required just before
the exams. Also it would initiate your mind and put it in thinking mode (some of the students have a problem
that their mind gets choked and stop working just before the exams).

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 Syllabus of IBPS/ SBI bank exams
SECTIONS SBI PO SBI Clerk IBPS PO IBPS Clerk IBPS RRB PO IBPS RRB Clerk
Reasoning
Prelim Main Prelim Main Prelim Main Prelim Main Prelim Main Prelim Main
Ability
Alphabet Test
           
Alphabet &
Number Series            
Coding &
Decoding            
Blood Relation
           
Direction and
Distance            
Order and
Ranking            
Sitting
Arrangement            
Problem Solving
and Puzzles            
Syllogism
           
Data Sufficiency
           
Coded
Inequalities            
Input Output
          
Statement &
Conclusion            
Drawing
Inference           
Statement &
Assumptions            
Statement and
Course of Action            
Cause & Effect
           
Statement &
Argument            
Critical
Reasoning           
Sections SBI PO SBI Clerk IBPS PO IBPO Clerk IBPS RRB PO IBPS RRB Clerk
Quantitative
Prelim Main Prelim Main Prelim Main Prelim Main Prelim Main Prelim Main
Aptitude
Number System
           
Simplification
          
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LCM, HCF
           
Percentage
           
Average and Ages
           
Profit and Loss
           
Ratio &
Proportion and            
Partnership
Simple and
Compound            
Interest
Mixture and
Alligation            
Time, Speed &
Distance            
Boat & Stream
         
Time and Work
           
Pipes and Cistern
           
Mensuration
           
Number Series
           
Quadratic
Equation            
Permutation and
Combination            
Probability
           
Data Analysis
           
Data Sufficiency
           
Data
Interpretation &            
Caselets

SECTIONS SBI PO SBI Clerk IBPS PO IBPS Clerk IBPS RRB PO

IBPS RRB
Clerk
English Prelim Main Prelim Main Prelim Main Prelim Main Prelim Main Prelim Main
Language
Reading
Comprehension            
Spotting Error            
Cloze Test            
Sentence
Improvement           

34
Fill in the
Blanks            
Sentence
Rearrangement            
(Parajumbles)
Idioms and
Proverb            
Passage
Completion          
Miscellaneous/
Vocabulary            
SECTIONS SBI PO SBI Clerk IBPS PO IBPS Clerk IBPS RRB PO IBPS RRB Clerk

General/
Banking/
Prelim Main Prelim Main Prelim Main Prelim Main Prelim Main Prelim Main
Economy
Awareness
Banking
Awareness            
Current Affairs            
SECTIONS SBI PO SBI Clerk IBPS PO IBPS Clerk IBPS RRB PO IBPS RRB Clerk

Computer
Prelim Main Prelim Main Prelim Main Prelim Main Prelim Main Prelim Main
Knowledge
Computer
Knowledge            

35
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