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ABOUT EXAM
The IBPS PO Old Syllabus Mock Test series on Smartkeeda is designed for aspirants who want to practice as per the previous exam pattern, covering Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude, English Language, and General/Banking Awareness exactly as they appeared before the syllabus revision, helping candidates build strong fundamentals, revise older question formats, and compare their preparation level against the earlier pattern with detailed solutions and performance tracking for every attempt.
EXAM PATTERN
IBPS SO Exam Pattern 2026
The IBPS SO exam pattern includes Two stages- Prelims and Mains, before the interview stage.
IBPS Prelims Exam Pattern 2026:
Stage I: Prelims
- The IBPS SO preliminary examination will be conducted online mode.
- This phase is divided into 3 sections, however, the subjects asked in the prelims will differ on the basis of the post you choose.
- You are given 150 questions to attempt in a duration of 120 minutes.
- There will be a penalty of one-fourth of the marks assigned to that question for wrong answers marked in the Objective Tests.
You can attempt IBPS SO mock tests at Smartkeeda to familiarise yourself well with the SO exam pattern.
Prelims Pattern for the post of Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari
| S.No | Name of the Test | Number of Questions | Maximum Marks | Duration |
| 1. | English Language | 50 | 25 | 40 minutes |
| 2. | Reasoning Ability | 50 | 50 | 40 minutes |
| 3. | General Awareness with Special Reference to Banking Industry | 50 | 50 | 40 minutes |
| Total | 150 | 125 | 120 minutes |
Prelims Pattern for the Posts of IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR/Personnel Officer, and Marketing Officer
| S.No | Name of the Test | Number of Questions | Maximum Marks | Duration |
| 1. | English Language | 50 | 25 | 40 minutes |
| 2. | Reasoning Ability | 50 | 50 | 40 minutes |
| 3. | Quantitative Aptitude | 50 | 50 | 40 minutes |
| Total | 150 | 125 | 120 minutes |
IBPS SO Mains Exam Pattern 2026
This is the second round in the recruitment process of IBPS SOs.
The IBPS SO Mains Examination will contain questions only from the Professional Knowledge Subjects.
The marks obtained in this round will solely be considered for preparing the merit and therefore to get the final selection you must score well in this round.
- The pattern for different posts shall be as follows.
Mains Pattern For the Posts of Law Officer, IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR/Personnel Officer, and Marketing Officer
| S.No | Name of the Test | No of Question | Maximum Marks | Duration |
| 1. | Professional Knowledge | 60 | 60 | 45 minutes |
Mains Pattern For the post of Rajbhasha Adhikari
| S.No | Name of the Test | No of Question | Maximum Marks | Duration |
| 1. | Professional Knowledge (objective) | 45 | 60 | 30 minutes |
| 2. |
Professional Knowledge (Descriptive) |
2 | 30 minutes |
Penalty For Wrong Answers
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.
IBPS SO Prelims Syllabus:
| Sections | Syllabus |
|
English language |
× Reading Comprehension × Para jumbles × Cloze Test × Miscellaneous × Fill in the blanks × Multiple Meaning /Error Spotting × Paragraph Completion |
|
Reasoning ability |
× Logical Reasoning × Alphanumeric Series × Ranking/Direction/Alphabet Test × Data Sufficiency × Coded Inequalities × Seating Arrangement × Puzzle × Tabulation × Syllogism × Blood Relations × Input-Output × Coding-Decoding |
|
Quantitative Aptitude |
× Simplification × Profit & Loss × Mixtures & Allegations × Simple Interest × Compound Interest × Surds & Indices × Work & Time × Time & Distance × Mensuration × Data Interpretation × Ratio & Proportion, Percentage × Sequence & Series × Permutation, Combination & Probability |
| General Awareness with Special Reference to Banking Industry |
× Government Schemes, Agreements & Deals × Banking & Financial Awareness × Banking terms, rates, processes × Current Affairs × Awards and honors × Books and authors × Latest appointments, × Monetary Policies × Economic Terms × Current Affairs × Financial & Economics News × Static GK |
IBPS SO Mains Syllabus
• IT Officer (Scale-I): Database Management System, Data Communication and Networking, Operating System, Software Engineering, Data Structure, Computer Organization and Microprocessor, Object-Oriented Programming
• Marketing Officer (Scale-I): Basics of Marketing Management, Brand Management, Advertising PR, Sales, Retail, Business Ethics, Market Segmentation, Market research and forecasting demand, Product Life Cycle, Corporate Social Responsibility, Service Marketing, Marketing Strategies
• Law Officer (Scale-I): Banking Regulations, Compliance, and Legal Aspects, Relevant Law and Orders related to negotiable instruments, securities, foreign exchange, Prevention of Money-laundering, Limitation Act, Consumer Protection Act, SARFAES, Banking Ombudsman Scheme, Laws and Actions with the direct link to Banking Sector, Bankers Book Evidence Act, DRT Act
• HR/Personnel Officer (Scale-I): Human Resource Development, Business policy, and strategic analysis, Transnational Analysis, Training and Development, Recruitment and Selection, Rewards and Recognition, Industrial Relations, Business Policy and Strategic Analysis, Grievance and Conflict Management, Performance Management, and Appraisal
•Agricultural Field Officer (Scale-I): Basics of Crop production, Horticulture, Seed Science, Agronomy and Irrigation, Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Practices, Soil resources, Animal Husbandry, Agroforestry, Ecology, Government Schemes
IBPS SO Exam: Tips to Prepare
After taking the test 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 toppers. The highly detailed, error-free analytics report on your strengths and weaknesses prepared by Testzone (Smartkeeda) will help you discover the weak spots of your performance that actually can limit you from achieving your dream job. You can attempt “Topic Tests” available at Testzone to strengthen your concepts on those particular topics.
Here you can find the direct links to practice Topic-wise quizzes for IBPS Exam:
| English Language | Quantitative Aptitude | Reasoning Aptitude |
| Reading Comprehension | Simplification | Inequality |
| Find the Error | Number Series | Syllogism |
| Sentence Correction | Approximation | Blood Relation |
| Misspelled Words | Data Interpretation | Coding Decoding |
| Sentence Rearrangement | Problems on Ages | Direction Sense |
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FAQs
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A: Practicing IBPS SO Pre mock tests on Smartkeeda helps you understand the latest exam pattern, improve speed and accuracy, and build confidence through real exam-level questions and detailed performance analysis.
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