IBPS Exam Details

IBPS stands for Institute of Banking Personnel Selection, and it is a body that has been formed exclusively to conduct examinations for recruiting personnel for public sector banks apart from the State Bank of India. The IBPS conducts annual examinations for recruiting clerks or junior associates, PO or probationary officers, and SO or specialist officers (IT officer, law officer) for public sector banks.

In this blog post, you will get an idea of IBPS. The main functions it is expected to perform. You will also get a brief overview of all the exams that this body conducts on an annual basis.

IBPS: About the Organization

IBPS is an autonomous body that was formed in 1975; however, it received its autonomous status much later. Almost a decade later, in 1984, the RBI requested that this body be independent in conducting examinations and setting standards for hiring personnel in public sector banks.

Functions of IBPS

Here are the functions that IBPS as a body is expected to perform

• Organizing Examinations for Recruiting Personnel in Banks: Every year, the IBPS organizes examinations for recruiting personnel. IBPS is responsible for releasing the notifications as per the vacancies given out by the banks. Further, they work with the examination centers, issue admit cards, and ensure that the examination process is conducted smoothly.
• Setting Standards for the Examination:  It is the job of the IBPS to set standards so that the entire process of conducting the examination and declaring the results is fair, transparent and upholds merit.
• Evaluations of the Examination: The IBPS is responsible for developing methods for evaluating the examination. Hence, the marks to be allotted to each question and the questions that stand canceled are all decided by the IBPS. The normalization of scores to account for the varying difficulty of questions in different sessions is also done by the IBPS.
• Provide HR Services: The IBPS is also expected to help public sector banks with HR material and recruitment policies.

The Exams Conducted by the IBPS

Here are the details of the exams conducted by IBPS 

IBPS PO

The IBPS PO exam is conducted annually to recruit probationary officers for public sector banks. The exam for POS takes place in three stages, namely the Prelims, which is open to all eligible candidates. The ones who qualify for the prelims can appear for the next stage, that is, the Manis. Finally, the candidates who qualify for the Mains go for the Personal Interview round. 

Exam Pattern 

For the IBPS PO exam, the Prelims are conducted in a span of three to four days. Usually, there are four slots during each day in which an online examination is conducted.  The Prelims Exam tests a candidate’s reasoning aptitude, quantitative aptitude, and English language skills. All the questions are objective in this stage of the examination.

The Mains examination has both objective as well as descriptive types of questions. Moreover, the Mains exams test the candidates on reasoning & computer aptitude, general awareness, English, data interpretation, and descriptive tests. The personal interview is of 100 marks and involves questions on general banking awareness, the candidate’s personal experience, and other trending topics.

IBPS SO

The IBPS SO exam is conducted annually to recruit specialist officers for public sector banks. The specialist officers are recruited for law, IT, marketing, and language officers. The exam for IBPS SO also has three stages, namely the Prelims, Mains, and Personal Interviews. 

Exam Pattern 

The Prelims exam has 150 questions and 125 marks. The Mains exam has 60 questions for 60 marks each. The duration of the Mains examination is 45 minutes, except for the post of Rajbhasha Adhikari, where the examination duration is 30 minutes.

IBPS RRB

The IBPS is also responsible for recruiting people for the post of probationary officers and clerks in the regional rural banks. The IBPS RRB exams too have three stages: the Prelims, Mains and Personal Interviews. However, the interview stage is only for the PO exam.

Exam Pattern 

The Prelims exams test the candidates on English Language, Quantitative Aptitude, and Reasoning Ability. The Mains exam tests the candidates for Reasoning & Computer Aptitude, General Awareness, English, Data Interpretation, and Descriptive Test.

IBPS Clerk 

The IBPS clerk examination is conducted to recruit junior associates or clerks for the post. The examination for these posts happens in two stages, namely, the Prelims and the Mains.

Exam Pattern

In the prelims exam, the candidate is tested on English Language, Numerical Ability, and Reasoning. In the Mains exam, the candidate is tested on General/Financial Awareness, General English, Reasoning Ability, and Computer Aptitude.

Eligibility Criteria for the Examinations

Here are the eligibility criteria for the exams conducted by IBPS

• Age Restrictions – For IBPS clerk posts, the age limit is 20 to 28 years. For PO posts, the age limit is 20 to 30 years. For SO posts, the age limit is 20 to 30 years.
• Education- To appear as a candidate for these examinations, the person must be a graduate of a recognized university.

Preparation for the Exams

The IBPS exam is quite competitive. Every year lakhs of aspirants fill up the forms for cracking these exams. Hence, it is crucial to prepare well for these exams. Here are some tips that may help young aspirants as they prepare for these exams

Be Clear with the Concepts

The exams have sections for quantitative aptitude and sections that test English grammar and reasoning, so it is essential that the candidate has conceptual clarity to tackle all these topics with ease.

Go Through Past Question Papers

Past papers let the candidates know of the scope and the difficulty level of the questions and are a must for good preparation.

Final Words

IBPS has for many years conducted exams for the recruitment of bank junior associates and clerks in a credible manner. The exams are conducted annually and are used to recruit officers and junior assistants for public sector banks, so if you are interested in landing a job at a public sector bank, start by reading about the IBPO.