IBPS PO Syllabus and Exam Pattern 2026 (CRP PO/MT-XVI)

Last updated: 2026-11-13 · MockMentor

IBPS PO has five steps: Prelims, Mains, a personality test, an interview and provisional allotment. Only Mains and the interview count in the final merit, in an 80:20 ratio. The pattern below is from the CRP PO/MT-XVI notification.

Prelims: 100 marks, 60 minutes

Section	Questions	Marks	Time
English Language	30	30	20 minutes
Quantitative Aptitude	35	30	20 minutes
Reasoning Ability	35	40	20 minutes
Total	100	100	60 minutes

Each section is separately timed.
You must clear a cut-off in each of the three sections, unlike SBI PO Prelims, which has none.
IBPS shortlists enough candidates in each category for Mains, depending on vacancies.

Mains: objective test, 200 marks, 160 minutes

Section	Questions	Marks	Time
Reasoning	40	60	45 minutes
General / Economy / Banking Awareness / Digital / Financial Awareness including RBI circulars	50	60	35 minutes
English Language	40	20	35 minutes
Data Analysis and Interpretation	40	60	45 minutes
Total	170	200	160 minutes

IBPS notes that the sections need not come in this order in the exam.

Mains: descriptive paper, 25 marks, 30 minutes

Paper	Questions	Marks	Time
Essay and comprehension	2	25	30 minutes

The descriptive paper may be broadly based on economic and social issues, emerging trends in banking and technology, current events and ethics.
IBPS says it may score the paper with a validated automated scoring mechanism.
The whole Mains takes 3 hours 10 minutes; plan for about 4 hours at the venue.

Negative marking and scores

A quarter (0.25) of the marks of a question is deducted for each wrong answer in Prelims and Mains objective tests. Blank answers carry no penalty.
Scores from different sessions are normalised using the equi-percentile method, to two decimal places.

Personality test and interview

Stage	Marks	Rule
Personality test (self-report)	Not scored	Compulsory to be called for interview; the profile goes to the panel
Interview	100	Minimum 40% (35% for SC/ST/OBC/PwBD)

Interviews are held by the participating banks and coordinated by a nodal bank in each state or region.

How the final score is made

Component	Weightage
Mains (objective + descriptive)	80
Interview	20

You must qualify in both Mains and the interview, then rank high enough to be allotted to a bank. If scores tie, the older candidate ranks higher.

IBPS PO syllabus: what each section tests

IBPS names the sections but does not publish a topic list. Based on its handouts and past papers, this is what each section covers.

Section	Main areas
English Language	Reading comprehension, error detection, sentence improvement, cloze test, para jumbles, vocabulary in context
Quantitative Aptitude (Prelims)	Simplification and approximation, number series, quadratic equations, data interpretation, arithmetic (percentages, ratio, averages, profit and loss, interest, time and work, speed and distance, probability, mensuration)
Reasoning	Puzzles and seating arrangement, syllogism, inequalities, blood relations, direction sense, coding-decoding, input-output and, in Mains, critical reasoning and data sufficiency
Data Analysis and Interpretation	Tables and charts, caselets, data sufficiency, arithmetic within data sets
General / Economy / Banking / Financial Awareness	Current affairs, RBI circulars and monetary policy, banking regulation, government schemes, budget and economy, digital payments
Descriptive	An essay and a comprehension, on economic and social issues, banking and technology, current events and ethics

Where the marks are

The awareness section is 60 of 200 Mains marks and now names RBI circulars. Steady reading of circulars, schemes and economic news pays off here.
The interview is 20% of the final score. A 100-mark interview with a 40% minimum means poor preparation can end your chances even after a strong Mains.