Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS)
Pan India - Pan India
Vacancies
745
Salary
As per IBPS notification
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As per IBPS notification
Minimum Age
20 Years
Maximum Age
30 Years
Age relaxation applicable as per govt rules for SC/ST/OBC/PwD/Ex-Servicemen.
As per IBPS notification
Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) conducts the IBPS SO (Specialist Officer) recruitment for 11 participating public sector banks. For CRP SPL-XVI, a key update is that Professional Knowledge now appears in both the Prelims and Mains stages. Below is the complete syllabus and exam pattern for every Specialist Officer post – IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer (AFO), Law Officer, HR/Personnel Officer, Marketing Officer, and Rajbhasha Adhikari.
| Particulars | Details |
|---|---|
| Exam Name | IBPS SO (Specialist Officer) Recruitment 2026 |
| Recruitment Cycle | CRP SPL-XVI |
| Conducting Body | Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) |
| Notification Release Date | 30 June 2026 |
| Online Application Dates | 1 July 2026 – 21 July 2026 |
| Total Vacancies | 745 |
| Posts Offered | IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, Law Officer, HR/Personnel Officer, Marketing Officer, Rajbhasha Adhikari |
| Participating Banks | 11 Public Sector Banks |
| Selection Stages | Preliminary Exam → Main Exam → Common Interview |
| Prelims Nature | Qualifying only (not counted in final merit) |
| Final Merit Basis | Main Exam + Interview |
| Prelims Duration | 80 minutes |
| Prelims Questions/Marks | 100 Questions / 125 Marks |
| Negative Marking | 0.25 marks deducted per wrong answer |
| Official Website | ibps.in |
| Stage | Nature | Weightage in Final Merit |
|---|---|---|
| Online Preliminary Examination | Qualifying only | Not counted |
| Online Main Examination | Merit-based | Counted (major share) |
| Common Interview | Merit-based | Counted (remaining share) |
Only candidates who clear the Prelims cut-off move to Mains, and only Mains-qualified candidates are called for the interview. Final selection is based on combined Mains and Interview performance.
| Section | Questions | Marks | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 25 | 25 | Sectional time limit |
| Reasoning Ability | 25 | 25 | Sectional time limit |
| Quantitative Aptitude / General Awareness | 25 | 25 | Sectional time limit |
| Professional Knowledge | 25 | 50 | Sectional time limit |
| Total | 100 | 125 | 80 minutes |
Post-wise Prelims structure: Candidates applying for IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR/Personnel Officer, and Marketing Officer attempt English Language, Reasoning Ability, Quantitative Aptitude and Professional Knowledge. Candidates applying for Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari attempt English Language, Reasoning Ability, General Awareness (banking-focused) and Professional Knowledge.
Negative marking: 0.25 marks deducted for every wrong answer in both Prelims and Mains. Unanswered questions are not penalised.
The Mains syllabus is entirely different for each Specialist Officer post, unlike the largely common Prelims syllabus. Only the Professional Knowledge and descriptive components count meaningfully toward the final Mains score.
For IT Officer, AFO, HR/Personnel Officer, and Marketing Officer:
| Section | Nature | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Professional Knowledge | Objective | Highest weightage |
| English Language | Objective/Descriptive | Qualifying |
| Reasoning | Objective | Included |
| Quantitative Aptitude | Objective | Included |
| Descriptive English Paper | Descriptive | Essay/Letter/Precis |
For Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari:
| Section | Nature | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Professional Knowledge | Objective | Highest weightage |
| Descriptive Paper | Descriptive | Post-specific writing test |
Candidates who clear 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 lasts around 15-20 minutes, assesses subject/domain knowledge, communication skills and confidence, and is combined with Mains marks to prepare the final merit list.
The IBPS SO Syllabus 2026 includes English Language, Reasoning Ability, Quantitative Aptitude or General Awareness (depending on post), and Professional Knowledge, tested across the Preliminary Examination, Main Examination, and Interview stages.
No. English Language and Reasoning Ability are common to all posts, but the fourth Prelims subject and the entire Mains Professional Knowledge syllabus differ by post – IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR/Personnel Officer, and Marketing Officer attempt Quantitative Aptitude, while Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari attempt General Awareness instead.
No. The Preliminary Examination is qualifying in nature only. Final merit is based on the Main Examination and Interview scores combined.
Yes. A penalty of 0.25 marks is deducted for each wrong answer in both the Preliminary and Main Examinations.
The Prelims exam consists of 100 questions carrying 125 marks, to be completed in 80 minutes with separate sectional time limits for English Language, Reasoning Ability, Quantitative Aptitude/General Awareness, and Professional Knowledge.
| Resource | Link |
|---|---|
| IBPS Official Website | ibps.in |
| IBPS SO CRP SPL-XVI Detailed Notification PDF | Download PDF |