IBPS PO Syllabus 2026 — Complete Topic-wise Breakdown

IBPS PO (Probationary Officer) is one of the most sought-after banking exams in India, conducted by the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection. Thousands of vacancies are notified every year across 11 public sector banks including Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, and Canara Bank.

Exam Structure

Phase 1 — Prelims: 100 questions, 60 minutes, 100 marks Phase 2 — Mains: 155 questions + Descriptive, 3 hours 30 minutes Phase 3 — Interview: 100 marks

Prelims Syllabus

| Section | Questions | Marks | Time | |---|---|---|---| | English Language | 30 | 30 | 20 min | | Quantitative Aptitude | 35 | 35 | 20 min | | Reasoning Ability | 35 | 35 | 20 min |

Quantitative Aptitude Topics

Number System, Simplification, HCF & LCM, Percentage, Average, Ratio & Proportion, Profit & Loss, Simple & Compound Interest, Time & Work, Time Speed Distance, Data Interpretation (Tables, Charts, Pie Graphs)

Reasoning Ability Topics

Seating Arrangement, Puzzles, Syllogism, Blood Relations, Direction Sense, Coding-Decoding, Inequality, Input-Output, Order & Ranking, Data Sufficiency, Alphanumeric Series

English Language Topics

Reading Comprehension, Cloze Test, Para Jumbles, Fill in the Blanks, Error Detection, Sentence Improvement, Word Rearrangement

Mains Syllabus

Reasoning & Computer Aptitude (45 questions, 60 min)

All Prelims topics plus: Machine Input-Output, Logical Reasoning, Computer Basics, MS Office, Internet, Networking

English Language (35 questions, 40 min)

All Prelims topics plus: Passage-based Questions, Inference-based Questions, Column-based Questions

Data Analysis & Interpretation (35 questions, 45 min)

Tables, Bar Graphs, Line Graphs, Pie Charts, Mixed DI, Caselet DI, Missing Data DI

General/Economy/Banking Awareness (40 questions, 35 min)

Current Affairs (last 6 months), Banking History, RBI, SEBI, Government Schemes, Financial Institutions

Descriptive Writing (2 questions, 30 min)

Letter writing (Formal/Informal) + Essay on current banking/economic topics. Target 250–300 words each.

Preparation Strategy

Start with Maths and Reasoning — highest weightage in Prelims, most time-consuming
English daily — read The Hindu or Economic Times for RC practice
Banking awareness — start 2 months before exam date
Mock tests — minimum 20 full-length Prelims mocks, 10 Mains mocks
Descriptive writing — practice 3–4 letters and essays per week in final month

Cut-off Trend (General Category)

| Year | Prelims | Mains | |---|---|---| | 2025 | 62–65 | 55–58 | | 2024 | 60–63 | 52–56 | | 2023 | 58–62 | 50–54 |