IBPS SO Syllabus 2026 For Prelims & Mains Exam Pattern Check Subject-Wise Topics

Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) has released the IBPS SO Syllabus 2026 along with the CRP SPL-XVI Notification on 30 June 2026. The recruitment process is being conducted for 745 Specialist Officer vacancies across 11 participating public sector banks. The IBPS SO selection process includes Preliminary Examination, Main Examination and Common Interview. Important update this year is that Professional Knowledge appears in both the Prelims and Mains stages, making early preparation of the relevant subject important for candidates.

IBPS SO Prelims Exam Pattern 2026

IBPS SO Prelims Syllabus 2026

The Preliminary Examination is the first screening stage and tests general aptitude along with Professional Knowledge. The syllabus differs slightly according to the post applied for.

Candidates applying for IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer (AFO), HR/Personnel Officer and Marketing Officer attempt:

• English Language
• Reasoning Ability
• Quantitative Aptitude
• Professional Knowledge

Candidates applying for Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari attempt General Awareness with special reference to the banking industry instead of Quantitative Aptitude:

• English Language
• Reasoning Ability
• General Awareness (Banking-focused)
• Professional Knowledge

English Language Syllabus

The English Language section is qualifying in nature, but candidates are required to clear the minimum sectional cut-off.

• Reading Comprehension
• Cloze Test
• Para Jumbles and Sentence Rearrangement
• Error Detection / Spotting
• Fill in the Blanks
• Sentence Improvement
• Vocabulary - Synonyms and Antonyms

Reasoning Ability Syllabus

Reasoning Ability evaluates logical thinking, pattern recognition and problem-solving speed and is common to all Specialist Officer posts.

• Puzzles and Seating Arrangement - Linear, Circular and Box-based
• Syllogism
• Blood Relations
• Coding-Decoding
• Direction Sense
• Inequalities
• Order and Ranking
• Data Sufficiency
• Machine Input-Output

Quantitative Aptitude Syllabus

This section applies to IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR/Personnel Officer and Marketing Officer candidates.

• Simplification and Approximation
• Number Series
• Data Interpretation - Tables, Bar, Line and Pie Charts
• Quadratic Equations
• Percentage
• Profit & Loss
• Simple Interest and Compound Interest
• Time and Work
• Time, Speed and Distance
• Ratio and Proportion
• Averages
• Mixtures and Alligations

General Awareness Syllabus

This section replaces Quantitative Aptitude for Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari posts and focuses mainly on current affairs and banking-sector awareness.

• Banking and Financial Awareness
• Current Affairs - National and International
• RBI Policies and Monetary Tools
• Government Schemes related to Banking and Finance
• Static GK - Currencies, Capitals, Headquarters and Awards

IBPS SO Prelims Exam Pattern 2026

A penalty of 0.25 marks is deducted for every wrong answer in the examination. Therefore, candidates should avoid unnecessary guessing without proper elimination.

IBPS SO Mains Syllabus 2026: Post-Wise Professional Knowledge

The Main Examination focuses on post-specific Professional Knowledge. Candidates should give special attention to their respective professional subject while preparing for the Mains examination.

1. IT Officer Professional Knowledge

• Database Management Systems (DBMS)
• Computer Networks
• Operating Systems
• Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) Concepts
• Data Structures
• Software Engineering
• Cyber Security
• Cloud Computing Basics

2. Agriculture Field Officer (AFO) Professional Knowledge

• Crop Production and Cropping Patterns
• Soil Science
• Agricultural Economics
• Horticulture
• Animal Husbandry
• Government Agricultural Schemes and Rural Credit

3. Law Officer Professional Knowledge

• Banking and Commercial Laws
• Constitutional Law
• SARFAESI Act
• Negotiable Instruments (NI) Act
• Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC)
• Procedural Laws relevant to Banking Litigation

4. HR/Personnel Officer Professional Knowledge

• Labour Laws
• Human Resource Management and Development
• Organizational Behaviour
• Motivation Theories
• Industrial Relations
• Performance Management

5. Marketing Officer Professional Knowledge

• Marketing Mix - Product, Price, Place and Promotion
• Consumer Behaviour
• Brand Management
• Sales and Distribution Management
• Digital and Rural Marketing Strategies

6. Rajbhasha Adhikari Professional Knowledge

• Hindi Grammar and Translation - Hindi to English and English to Hindi
• Official Language Policy of the Government of India
• Rajbhasha Implementation in Banks
• Essay Writing and Precis Writing in Hindi

IBPS SO Mains Exam Pattern 2026

The Mains examination pattern varies according to the post group.

For IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR/Personnel Officer and Marketing Officer:

For Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari:

IBPS SO Interview 2026

Candidates who qualify the Main Examination cut-off are called for a Common Interview conducted by the participating banks and coordinated by IBPS through Nodal Banks.

• The interview generally lasts around 15-20 minutes.
• It assesses subject/domain knowledge, communication skills and confidence.
• Candidates are required to carry their original documents for verification.
• Mains marks and Interview performance are considered for the final merit list and provisional bank allotment.

Important Links

• Official Website
• Download Syllabus

Before Applying

Please verify the official notification for complete eligibility, age limits, education qualification, fee rules, and other terms before submitting the online application.