IBPS SO Syllabus, Exam Pattern — CRP SPL-XVI — Specialist Officers (Scale I) in Participating Banks, Vacancies 2027-28
| Conducting body | Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) |
|---|---|
| Qualification | A professional degree for the post applied for — IT Officer (engineering/PG in computer-related fields or DOEACC 'B'), Agricultural Field Officer (4-year degree in agriculture and allied fields), Rajbhasha Adhikari (PG in Hindi/Sanskrit with English), Law Officer (LL.B + enrolled advocate), HR/Personnel Officer (graduate + 2-year PG in HR/personnel subjects), Marketing Officer (graduate + 2-year PG in marketing). Age: 20–30 years as on 01.07.2026 (relaxation: SC/ST 5 years, OBC 3 years, PwBD 10 years). |
| Selection process | Preliminary Examination → Main Examination (merit decided on the Professional Knowledge score) → Interview (Main : Interview weightage 80:20) → Provisional Allotment. |
| Negative marking | 0.25 of the marks assigned to a question is deducted for each wrong answer in the objective tests (Prelims and Mains). No penalty for a question left blank. |
| Official website | ibps.in |
Exam Pattern
Prelims — IT Officer, Agricultural Field Officer, HR/Personnel Officer, Marketing Officer
Every test is separately timed. Candidates must qualify in EACH of the four tests by securing the minimum cut-off decided by IBPS to be shortlisted for the Main examination.
| Section | Questions | Marks | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 25 | 25 | 20 minutes |
| Reasoning | 25 | 25 | 20 minutes |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 25 | 25 | 20 minutes |
| Professional Knowledge | 25 | 50 | 20 minutes |
Total: 100 questions, 125 marks, 80 minutes
Prelims — Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari
Same totals and timings; the Quantitative Aptitude test is replaced by General Awareness with special reference to the Banking Industry.
| Section | Questions | Marks | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 25 | 25 | 20 minutes |
| Reasoning | 25 | 25 | 20 minutes |
| General Awareness with Special Reference to Banking Industry | 25 | 25 | 20 minutes |
| Professional Knowledge | 25 | 50 | 20 minutes |
Total: 100 questions, 125 marks, 80 minutes
Mains — IT Officer, Agricultural Field Officer, HR/Personnel Officer, Marketing Officer
In the Main examination, all tests EXCEPT Professional Knowledge are qualifying in nature — the merit list is made on the Professional Knowledge score alone.
| Section | Questions | Marks | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 30 | 30 | 25 minutes |
| Reasoning | 40 | 40 | 35 minutes |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 30 | 30 | 25 minutes |
| Professional Knowledge (Objective) | 50 | 100 | 40 minutes |
Total: 150 questions, 200 marks, 125 minutes
Mains — Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari
Quantitative Aptitude is replaced by General Awareness (Banking), and a descriptive paper is added. Merit is on the Professional Knowledge score. Interview: 100 marks, minimum qualifying 40% (35% for SC/ST/OBC/PwBD); final score combines Main and Interview in 80:20 ratio.
| Section | Questions | Marks | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 30 | 30 | 25 minutes |
| Reasoning | 40 | 40 | 35 minutes |
| General Awareness with Special Reference to Banking Industry | 30 | 30 | 20 minutes |
| Professional Knowledge (Objective) | 50 | 100 | 45 minutes |
| Descriptive Paper (Law: English; Rajbhasha: Professional Knowledge) | 2 | 25 | 30 minutes |
Total: 150 objective questions + descriptive paper, 225 marks, 155 minutes
Syllabus — Topics to Prepare
Note: this body does not publish a topic-wise syllabus — the pattern above is official, and these are the standard topics asked under each section. Treat them as an indicative preparation list.
Professional Knowledge (the deciding test)
- Questions are from the qualifying discipline of the post applied for — for example, computer science/IT subjects for IT Officer, agriculture subjects for Agricultural Field Officer, law for Law Officer, HR/personnel subjects for HR Officer, marketing for Marketing Officer
- The notification does not publish a topic-wise syllabus for any test — detailed information is given in IBPS's Information Handout issued with the call letter
English Language, Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude, General Awareness
- English: reading comprehension, cloze test, error detection, para jumbles, vocabulary
- Reasoning: puzzles and seating, syllogism, blood relations, alphanumeric series, inequality, coding-decoding
- Quantitative Aptitude: number series, simplification, quadratic equations, data interpretation, arithmetic topics
- General Awareness (Law/Rajbhasha only): banking and financial awareness, RBI/SEBI updates, economy and current affairs
Sources (official documents)
Checked: Pattern verified from the official IBPS CRP SPL-XVI notification (Clause D for the structure, Clause E for the penalty). The notification does not publish a topic-wise syllabus — the topics above are indicative. Always confirm with the latest notification before applying.