IBPS PO Mains Mock Test

The Probationary Officer (PO) job in India is a highly sought-after position in the banking sector. This is one of the best career options for banking aspirants as it offers a lucrative salary package, job security, various perks and allowances, and career growth opportunities in public sector banks. Probationary officers for different public sector banks are selected through the IBPS PO recruitment process and the shortlisted candidates are trained for a period of 2 years to become fully-fledged managers. POs are responsible for various banking operations such as managing accounts, loans, and customer service.

The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) will tentatively release the official notification for the recruitment of POs in the public sector banks of the country in August 2025. The examination calendar for the IBPS 2025 exams has already been released and as per the calendar, the IBPS PO prelims exam will be conducted in August 2025.  The IBPS PO exam will be conducted in three stages - Preliminary Exam, Main Exam, and Interview, and the final selection will be based on the candidate's performance in the Main exam and interview.
 
To help you understand the format and important aspects of the IBPS PO exam we have prepared the following table:

 

The eligibility criteria for the IBPS PO exam is similar to other banking exams but it is always important to carefully read and understand the eligibility criteria before preparing for any exam.  It is the basic criteria for appointment to the probationary officer posts in the Public sector Banks of the country including educational qualifications, age limit, nationality, work experience, and other specific requirements for this post. By carefully reviewing the IBPS PO eligibility criteria, you can determine whether you meet the requirements for the job and whether it is worth applying for.

To apply for the post of IBPS PO, here are the essential education qualifications:
 
· You must possess a degree (Graduation) in any discipline from a University recognized by the Govt. Of India or any equivalent qualification recognized as such by the Central Government.
 
· You must possess a valid Graduation Mark-sheet / Degree Certificate and indicate the percentage of marks obtained in Graduation while registering online.

To apply for the post of IBPS PO, an unreserved category candidate should not be below 20 years & above 30 years of age.
 
However, there will be age relaxations in the upper age limit for different categories as follows:

 

A candidate must be either –

I. A Citizen of India or

II. A subject of Nepal or

III. A subject of Bhutan or

IV. A Tibetan Refugee who came over to India before 1st January 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India or

V. A  person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania (formerly Tanganyika and Zanzibar), Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia, and Vietnam intending to permanently settle in India, provided that a candidate belonging to categories (ii), (iii), (iv) & (v) above shall be a person in whose favour a certificate of eligibility has been issued by the Government of India.

The application fee for applying for the post of IBPS PO would be as given below. You can make the payment of Application Fees/Intimation Charges through the On-Line Mode only.  As per the notification, you will also have to bear the Bank Transaction charges for Online Payment of application fees/intimation charges.

 

IBPS PO basic pay is Rs. 36,000 and the in-hand salary is around Rs. 57,000. In addition to Basic Pay, bank officers (i.e. Probationary Officers / PO / Management Trainees) are eligible for the following allowances:
 

 

 
Descriptive writing is a part of the main examination and is conducted just after the completion of your objective paper in the main exam. You are required to choose and write an Essay and a Letter out of the 3 given topics. The total time allotted for the descriptive part is 30 minutes to type a letter and an essay. Scoring well in this section can be a cakewalk for you if you are aware of the latest happenings in and around the world, have a good knowledge of the format for formal/informal letter writing, and possess a good typing speed.
 
As notified by IBPS, the Descriptive Paper of the English Language (Letter writing & Essay) may be evaluated by an automated scoring mechanism for identifying features related to writing proficiency. This scoring mechanism is duly validated and evaluates test takers' proficiency in writing in the English Language in an objective manner as the mechanism does not have any in-built biases for evaluating responses.
 
Penalty For Wrong Answers 
(Applicable to both – Online Preliminary and Online Main Examination)
 
There will be a 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 a penalty to arrive at the corrected score. If a question is left blank, i.e. no answer is marked by the candidate, there will be no penalty for that question. Therefore, if you’re unaware of an answer, it would be better to leave the response blank to save yourself from a negative marking.

You will be required to obtain a minimum score (cutoff) in each test of the Online Main examination and also a minimum total score to be considered to be shortlisted for the interview. Depending on the number of vacancies available, cut-offs will be decided and candidates will be shortlisted for interview by IBPS. Prior to the completion of the interview process, scores obtained in the online Main examination will not be shared with the candidates shortlisted for interview.

This is the final & an important part of the IBPS PO recruitment process.  Candidates who have been shortlisted in the Online Main examination for IBPS PO will subsequently be called for an Interview that will be conducted by the Participating Banks and coordinated by the Nodal Bank in each State/ UT with the help of IBPS.
 
During the interview round of IBPS PO, the panel members will try to check your confidence, knowledge, opinions, communication skills, and fitness for the job. This is also the scoring part of the examination process and the marks obtained in this round are added to the final merit. The following are the important points regarding the IBPS PO interview process:
 

 
IBPS SO Waitlist

In the IBPS SO exam, a reserve list, to the extent of approximately 10 percent of the vacancies under each category for each post is maintained which is subject to the availability of candidates. The waitlist or reserve list is maintained for candidates who have cleared the written examination but have not been allotted any post due to a marginal difference in their marks and the cutoff. The waitlisted candidates are selected on a provisional basis, and their selection depends on the availability of vacancies in the participating banks. If any selected candidate chooses to withdraw from the post or does not meet the eligibility criteria, the vacancy is offered to a candidate from the waitlist. The reserve list is usually valid for one year from the date of the result declaration. However, being on the waitlist does not guarantee the selection

Having a fair idea of the previous year's cutoff can help you set realistic goals for your own performance in the IBPS PO exam. It also provides you with an idea of the level of competition you might be facing in the upcoming exam. The cutoff for the PO exam is generally lower than that of clerk exams due to an increase in the difficulty level of the paper. By getting an overview of the previous year's cutoff for the IBPS PO exam, you can make informed decisions about your target score for the upcoming exam.

However,  you must remember that the cutoff largely depends on the available vacancies and the difficulty level of the examination and can differ based on the given factors. Here is the previous year’s IBPS PO prelims cutoff (out of 100) and IBPS PO mains cutoff (out of 200):

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) releases bank-wise vacancies along with the official notification every year on their official website. For the year 2025, 3955 tentative vacancies were declared by IBPS for the position of probationary officers in the 11 public sector banks which were later revised to 3955. The table below shows the tentative IBPS PO Vacancies for the year 2024-25:
 

 

The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) collects vacancies from various participating public sector banks in India. The following 11 banks participated in the IBPS PO recruitment in the year 2025:
 
1. Bank of Baroda

2. Bank of India

3. Bank of Maharashtra

4. Canara Bank

5. Central Bank of India

6. Indian Bank

7. Indian Overseas Bank

8. Punjab National Bank

9. Punjab & Sind Bank

10. UCO Bank

11. Union Bank of India

Becoming a Probationary officer is a professional goal for many people because of the significant career advancement it offers.  Compared to other government positions, a bank PO has a relatively high chance of career progression. You can easily move up the ladder and obtain top-level banking positions in your zone depending on your abilities and performance. Strong willpower and thoughtful preparation are all that is needed on your end to ace the bank PO exam and the interview. Here, we have mentioned some important guidelines to be followed to ace the IBPS PO 2025 exam on the first attempt:
 
Step 1: 
 
The first step is to understand the examination pattern before beginning your preparation. Once you have a clear understanding of the examination pattern, syllabus, important topics, marking schemes, cut-off, and the number of safe attempts, you will be able to develop an effective study plan and make the most out of your preparation.
 
Quant and Reasoning are always the tricky sections in banking exams as this section can consume a lot of your time if you do not have good calculation or analytical skills besides having good conceptual knowledge. Many candidates struggle in attempting the required number of questions within the stipulated time in this section.  To overcome this, you have to develop a strategic study plan and adhere to a disciplined study routine to cover all the topics and regularly practice through IBPS PO Sectional Tests.
 
Step 2:
 
After thoroughly covering the syllabus and practicing each section, the next step is to attempt IBPS PO full-length mock tests. IBPS PO mock tests at Smartkeeda are the simulation of the actual exam which will give you a good idea of the IBPS PO exam pattern and the level of difficulty of the questions asked in this exam.
 
Step 3:
 
After taking the test you should analyze it thoroughly to point out your mistakes in the test and the areas of improvement where you need to alter your approach to boost your score. You should carefully go through your performance report and check the topics where your responses were wrong or where you wasted most of your time by comparing your analytics to the topper’s. This will help you to identify your weaknesses and help you work on them at the right time. You can also attempt “Topic Tests” available at Testzone to strengthen your concepts on those particular topics.
 
To stay ahead of the competition, it is crucial to keep oneself updated with current affairs and general knowledge to excel in the general awareness section which is one of the scoring sections of IBPS PO mains. You can attempt monthly mockdrills at Smartkeeda and boost your score in the General Awareness Section.
 
Step 4:
 
Reattempt! After understanding the loopholes in your preparation and working well on them, the next step is to review your preparation and understand how much you have improved yourself. Go to the Reattempt mode of the Smartkeeda mock test series and attempt the complete IBPS PO full-length mock test. After completing the mock test, compare your latest performance with your past performance to and analyze the improvement in your preparation.
 
If you’re having an examination in later shifts, get an idea about the number of questions being attempted by other aspirants of the previous shifts. To get an idea of the difficulty level of the exam and your target attempts, you can also attempt the memory-based paper of the IBPS PO exam at Smartkeeda. 
 
The IBPS PO exam offers a great opportunity to kick-start your career as an officer in the banking sector and make your dreams come true. With dedication, hard work, and perseverance, you can easily crack the IBPS PO exam and secure a promising career in the banking sector.

Here you can find the direct links to practice Topic-wise quizzes for IBPS PO 2025 Exam: