The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) is an administrative body which conducts national-level exams every year, to recruit young graduates for the post of Probationary Officers (PO) and Management Trainees in the public sector banks in India. Lakh of candidates, who aspire to join the banking sector, appear for this exam. The exam is conducted in three stages – Prelims, Mains, and Interview. The selection of the candidates is based on their merit scores after which they will be placed in the participating banks.
IBPS PO 2018: Important dates
| Event | Date |
| Online registration and Payment by candidates | 14th August 2018 |
| Last Date to Apply | 4th September 2018 |
| Preliminary Exam Date | 13th, 14th, 20th and 21st October 2018 |
| Declaration of IBPS PO Preliminary Exam Result | October 2018 |
| IBPS PO Mains Exam Date | 18th November 2018 |
| Declaration of IBPS PO Mains Exam Result | December 2018 |
| IBPS PO Interview Call Letter | January 2019 |
| Date of IBPS PO Interview | January/ February 2019 |
| Provisional Allotment Date | April 2019 |
IBPS PO 2018: Vacancies
There are 4102 vacancies available for the post of Probationary Officers/ Management Trainees.
IBPS PO 2018: Eligibility Criteria
Educational Qualification
- A candidate should possess a graduate degree in any discipline from a government recognized University. Candidates in the final year of graduation can also apply. They should mention the percentage of marks obtained in graduation at the time of registration.
- Candidates must have a good computer operations knowledge.
- Candidate must have verbal and written proficiency in the official language of the State/UT.
Nationality / Citizenship of Applicants
The candidates willing to apply for the IBPS Bank PO exam must be-
1. An Indian citizen, or
2. A subject of Bhutan or Nepal, or
3. A Tibetan refugee who came with the intention of permanent settlement in India before 1st January 1962, or
4. A Person of Indian Origin and a migrant from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Burma, Vietnam or East African countries of Zaire, Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia, Uganda, Malawi, and Ethiopia who wants to permanently settle in India, or
Note: Candidates under the category 2, 3, 4 should have a certificate of eligibility issued by the Indian government in their favor.
Age Criteria
The minimum age limit to apply for this exam is 20 years, whereas the upper age limit is 30 years.
Age Relaxation Criteria applicable to candidates belonging to the other categories-
| Category | Relaxation of Age |
| SC/ST | 5 years |
| OBC (Non-Creamy Layer) | 3 years |
| Persons with Disabilities | 10 years |
| Ex-Servicemen | 5 years |
| Widows or Divorced Women | 9 years |
| Persons with Domicile of J&K from 1/1/1980 to 31/12/1989 | 5 years |
| Persons afflicted by 1984 riots | 5 years |
| Retrenched from service (for MP state Only) | 5 years |
IBPS PO 2018: Application Fees
For General and others: Rs. 600/- (including intimation charges)
For SC/ST/PWD: Rs. 100/- (Intimation charges only)
IBPS PO 2018: How to apply?
The application for this exam is done online. You need to fill out an application form available on the IBPS website, with your requisite details and later making the payment. The signatures and photo to be attached in the form must be scanned in the recommended size. Once the payment is made, an acknowledgment will be generated. Save this for future reference.
IBPS PO 2018: Exam Pattern
For Preliminary Exam: This exam is conducted online. The candidates are given 1 hour to complete the exam. This exam constitutes three sections of total 100 marks. There is a negative marking of 0.25 marks for every wrong answer in this exam.
| S. No. | Subjects | No. of questions | Marks |
| 1 | Reasoning Ability | 35 | 35 |
| 2 | English Language | 30 | 30 |
| 3 | Quantitative Aptitude | 35 | 35 |
| Total | 100 | 100 |
For Main Exam: The pattern of the main exam has been slightly changed. Now, this exam will also include a descriptive paper where the appearing candidates would also be tested on their written skills.
| S. No. | Subjects | No. of questions | Marks | Time allotted |
| 1 | Reasoning and Computer Aptitude | 45 | 60 | 60 minutes |
| 2 | General/Economy/Banking Awareness | 40 | 40 | 35 minutes |
| 3 | English Language | 35 | 40 | 40 minutes |
| 4 | Data Analysis and Interpretation | 35 | 60 | 45 minutes |
| Total | 155 | 200 | 180 minutes | |
| English Language (Letter Writing & Essay) | 2 | 25 | 30 minutes |
IBPS PO 2018: Syllabus
Preliminary exam
- Reasoning: Logical Reasoning, ranking/direction/ alphabet, Alphanumeric series, data sufficiency, Seating Arrangement, Coded Inequalities, Tabulation, Seating Arrangement, Puzzle, Syllogism, input-output, blood relations, coding and decoding, etc.
- Quantitive Aptitude: Simplification, time & work, profit & loss, ratio & proportion, percentage, simple interest and compound interest, mixture and allegations, time & distance, mensuration, sequence and series, data interpretation, number system, permutation & Combination, etc.
- English Language: Reading comprehension, cloze test, spotting errors, fill in the blanks, paragraph completion, para jumbles, etc.
Mains Exam
- Reasoning & Computer Aptitude
Reasoning: Verbal Reasoning, data sufficiency, Circular Seating Arrangement, Order and Ranking, direction and distances, coding and decoding, Coded Inequalities, Double Line Up, input-output, Linear Seating Arrangement, Scheduling, Syllogism, blood relations, etc.
Computer Aptitude: Keyboard shortcuts, Memory, Internet, Microsoft office, computer abbreviations, computer software, networking, computer hardware, operating system, and computer fundamentals/technologies - General Awareness: Banking & Financial awareness, general knowledge, and current affairs
- Quantitative Aptitude: Simplification, profit & loss, percentage, average, time & work, simple interest and compound interest, number system, time & distance, mensuration and geometry, data interpretation, mixture and allegations, ratio & proportion, sequence and series, quadratic equation, age problems, permutation & Combination, linear equation, probability, etc.
- English language: Reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, and verbal ability
- Descriptive Paper: Letter & Essay writing
IBPS PO 2018: How to prepare?
1. English Language
This is a scoring section, so always attempt this section first. Focus to make your basic English strong and then go on to the advanced topics.
Important Topics: Reading Comprehension, Para Jumbles, Fill-ups, and paragraph completion.
Success mantra: Practice as many mock tests as possible. They will help in increasing your speed in solving questions. Reading Hindu newspaper will be of great help.
2. General Awareness
This is a vast section in which questions can be asked from anywhere. So, it is advised to read as many magazines and journals available in the market to prepare for Bank PO examination. It is a scoring section and if this section is prepared diligently, you can even score full marks in it.
Important topics to focus on: Banking Awareness, RBI, Agriculture, Awards, Geography, Books with Author, Politics, Law & Politics, Finance and Insurance, Sports, Indian economy, Budget and Taxes, Government Schemes, and Countries with their Currencies.
Success mantra: Make a newspaper reading a daily habit. Reading Hindu newspaper will be of great help.
3. Quantitative Aptitude
This section is the toughest section in the IBPS PO exam. Most of the students are afraid of this section. This paper evaluates your calculation skills and knowledge of the mathematics of school-level. You must be well-versed with the basic concepts, formulas, properties, etc. to score good marks in this subject. Go for the easy category questions first such as Problems on Ages, Simple Interest, Simplification, Average, Profit and Loss, Percentage, Ratio & Proportions, etc.
Important topics: Data Interpretation is the most important and scoring part of this section. Other topics are Time and Distance, Work and Time, Percentages, Ratio and Proportions, and Mixture & Allegations.
Success mantra: Practice as many mock tests as possible. They will help in increasing your speed in solving questions.
4. Computer Aptitude
This section is a part of Main exams and contains very basic questions relating to computers. Referring to previous year question papers is advised.
Important topics: Basic Terminologies, History of Computers, Computer Hardware and Software, Operating System and Networking
Some Recommended Books
- Quantitative Aptitude by R.S. Aggarwal
- Logical Reasoning by R.S. Aggarwal
- Comprehensive Guide to IBPS – Disha Publications
- Objective Computer Knowledge & Literacy by Kiran Publication
- English Language by Wren & Martin
- Bank PO Solved papers for PO & MT – Kiran Publication
- General Awareness category – Mahindra Financial and Banking Awareness
