Probationary Officer / Management Trainee - Preliminary Examination
The Common Recruitment Process for Probationary Officers and Management Trainees, run by IBPS for participating public sector banks. The preliminary stage is purely a screening filter: only Mains and interview marks count toward the final merit list.
100 questions · 60 minutes · 100 marks · section-wise negative marking
IBPS PO Prelims Exam Pattern
| Section | Questions | Marks | Negative Marking |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 30 | 30 | 0.25 |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 35 | 30 | 0.21428571428571427 |
| General Intelligence and Reasoning | 35 | 40 | 0.2857142857142857 |
Eligibility
A degree in any discipline from a University recognised by the Government of India, held on the day of registration.
20 to 30 years, reckoned as on the date stated in the notification.
Selection Process
- Preliminary Examination — 100 questions in 60 minutes across three separately timed 20-minute sections. A section cannot be revisited once its time expires.
- Main Examination — 170 objective questions for 200 marks in 160 minutes, plus a 25-mark descriptive paper of two questions in 30 minutes.
- Personality Test — A non-qualifying self-report stage. Attending it is mandatory to be eligible for the interview.
- Interview — 100 marks, minimum 40 per cent or 35 per cent for SC, ST, OBC and PwBD candidates.
- Provisional Allotment — Final merit is weighted 80 per cent Mains and 20 per cent interview.
IBPS PO Prelims Syllabus
General Intelligence and Reasoning
- Floor puzzle
- Floor and flat puzzle
- Box or stack puzzle
- Scheduling puzzle by day, date, month or year
- Comparison and ranking puzzle
- Designation or hierarchy puzzle
- Category and variable-based puzzle
- Age-based puzzle
- Uncertain-number puzzle
- Linear arrangement facing one direction
- Linear arrangement facing both directions
- Double-row or parallel-row arrangement
- Circular arrangement facing centre
- Circular arrangement facing inward and outward
- Square arrangement
- Rectangular and triangular arrangement
- Syllogism including reverse and only-a-few patterns
- Direct and coded inequality
- Coding and decoding
- Blood relations including coded
- Direction and distance
- Order and ranking
- Alphanumeric series
- Data sufficiency
- Statement and assumption
- Statement and conclusion
- Course of action
- Input and output
- Logical Venn diagrams
- Critical reasoning
Quantitative Aptitude
- Tabular data interpretation
- Bar graph
- Line graph
- Pie chart
- Caselet in paragraph form
- Missing data interpretation
- Mixed or combined data interpretation
- Arithmetic-based data interpretation
- Data sufficiency
- Quantity comparison
- Number series, missing and wrong term
- Simplification and approximation
- Quadratic equations
- Percentage
- Ratio and proportion
- Average
- Problems on ages
- Profit, loss and discount
- Simple and compound interest
- Time and work
- Pipes and cisterns
- Time, speed and distance
- Boats and streams
- Problems on trains
- Mixture and alligation
- Partnership
- Mensuration
- Permutation, combination and probability
- Number system
English Language
- Reading comprehension, typically 500 to 800 words
- New-pattern cloze test
- Word swap or interchange
- Column matching
- Para completion
- Sentence connectors
- Phrase replacement
- Error detection in multi-part format
- Para jumbles
- Single and double fillers
- Sentence improvement
- Vocabulary in context
- Idioms and phrases
Qualifying Marks
A minimum cut-off must be cleared in each of the three preliminary tests, and in each Mains test plus an aggregate Mains total. The interview carries 100 marks with a minimum of 40 per cent, or 35 per cent for SC, ST, OBC and PwBD candidates. IBPS sets the figures per cycle and releases them state-wise and category-wise.
Exam Calendar
Based on recent cycles rather than any announcement: notification around June or July, preliminary examination around August, Mains around October, interviews around January or February, and provisional allotment around March or April.
IBPS PO Prelims FAQs
Is there sectional timing in the preliminary examination?
Yes. Each of the three sections is separately timed at 20 minutes.
Can I return to a previous section?
No. Once a section's time expires the paper moves on, so a section cannot be revisited.
Is there negative marking, and how much?
Yes. A quarter of the marks assigned to that question is deducted for each wrong answer, in both the preliminary and main examinations. Unattempted questions carry no penalty. Because sections carry different marks per question, the deduction differs by section.
Does my preliminary score count toward the final merit?
No. Only the Mains and interview marks are used for the final merit list.
What is the weighting between Mains and interview?
80 per cent Mains and 20 per cent interview.
Is there a descriptive paper?
Yes, in the Mains: two questions covering essay and comprehension, 25 marks in 30 minutes, in English. It may be evaluated by an automated scoring mechanism.
What is normalisation?
Where the examination runs across several sessions, scores are equated using the equi-percentile method so that candidates who sat shifts of differing difficulty are compared fairly. Scores are taken to two decimal places.
What is the Personality Test?
A non-qualifying self-report stage introduced in the current cycle. It does not carry marks, but attending it is mandatory to be eligible for the interview.
What are the minimum interview marks?
40 per cent of 100, or 35 per cent for SC, ST, OBC and PwBD candidates.
How many attempts are allowed?
No cap on attempts is stated. The binding constraint is the upper age limit.