IBPS SO Syllabus 2024 | Subject-Wise Syllabus & Exam Pattern

IBPS SO Syllabus 2024: To ace the IBPS SO 2024 Exam, you must be familiar with the Exam Pattern and full Syllabus. This will aid applicants’ preparation for the next IBPS SO Exam.

The IBPS (Institute of Banking Personnel Selection) is a recruitment agency governed by the Ministry of Finance. All national banks consider the IBPS exam scores to recruit candidates for their banks. The IBPS SO (Specialist Officer) exam is conducted to hire candidates for technical and specialized roles in different banks.

The IBPS SO exam is conducted in three phases. The first IBPS SO exam pattern is the prelims round. The selected candidates have to attend the mains exams for six different government positions. Finally, there is an interview round for different positions.

The IBPS SO exam pattern was changed in 2019. Until now, there has been no official notification regarding the change in exam pattern for the 2024 exam. The candidates should be aware of the IBPS SO syllabus in detail. This would help them prepare for the exam properly. The IBPS SO exam 2023 mains exam was conducted on January 28, 2024. The IBPS SO exam 2024 dates will be announced on the official website of IBPS.

This article will discuss the IBPS SO syllabus for the prelims and mains examinations.

IBPS SO Syllabus and Exam Pattern 2024: Overview

The IBPS SO exam is conducted for six different positions. Let’s look at the positions.

• Agricultural Officer
• Information Technology Officer
• Law Officer
• Rajbhasha Adhikari
• Marketing Officer
• Human Resources/Personnel Officer

IBPS SO Syllabus and Exam Pattern: Latest Updates

There has been no official information regarding changes in the IBPS SO syllabus and exam pattern. The last change was announced in 2019. Let’s look at the last updates announced.

• The IBPS SO exam would be conducted in three phases: – Prelim, Mains, and Interview rounds.
• IBPS would provide separate sectional timing for all sections in the Prelims exam.
• The total time for the prelim exam is 120 minutes. 40 minutes are allowed for each section.
• The Prelims score would not be considered in the final round allotment.
• The final selection would be considered based on the mains and interview round.
• The IBPS SO mains exam will have questions on professional knowledge.

IBPS SO Syllabus 2024

• The first step to preparing for the IBPS SO exam is understanding the syllabus.
• There are different syllabi for Prelims and Mains exams. The candidate needs to know about both syllabi in detail.
• Without knowing the syllabus, the candidates would be confused regarding the course. The students cannot prepare the right topics without knowing the syllabus.
• Candidates who know the complete syllabus can prepare a timetable and cover all the topics before the exam.

IBPS SO Syllabus for Prelims Exam

• The prelims exam is common for all positions. All the candidates have to clear the prelims to attend the mains exam.
• The prelims exam has four topics.
  • Reasoning Ability
  • Quantitative Aptitude
  • English
  • General Knowledge, Economy and banking

Let’s look at the IBPS SO syllabus for the prelims.

Reasoning Ability	Banking Awareness	English	General Knowledge
Alphanumeric Series	Profit and Loss	Close Test	Mixtures & Allegations
Directions	Simplification & Approximation	Reading Comprehension	Financial Knowledge
Logical Reasoning	General Knowledge of different financial institutions	Tense rules	Basic Economics
Alphabet combination	Simple & Compound Interest	Idioms & phrases	Current events of national and international importance
Ranking & Order	Work & Time	Paragraph jumbles	National & International importance
Data Sufficiency	Surds & Indices	Error detection	Measures of Central Tendency and Variation
Reasoning Inequalities	Speed, time & distance	Paragraph completion
Seating Arrangements	Mensuration	Multiple meanings
Picture series	Data Interpretation
Syllogism	Percentages
Tabulation	Ratio & Ptoportion
Input/Output	Number Systems
Coding and Decoding	Series & sequences
Relationships	Permutation & combination
Word formation	Probability
Assertion & Reason	Measures of central tendency and Variation
Statement, Argument and Assumption

• Prepare a study plan to cover all the topics. This will help to prepare for the exam.
• Practice several mock papers and solve the previous year’s papers.
• The syllabus is the same for all the positions. The difference comes when the selected candidates appear for the mains and the interview round.

IBPS SO Main Syllabus

The IBPS SO main syllabus is different for the six different positions. The candidates need to thoroughly understand the IBPS SO main syllabus to prepare well for the mains exam. Let’s look at the syllabus of each position.

IBPS SO syllabus for Agricultural Officer

Agronomy, Irrigation & seed science

Basics of crop production & Horticulture

Agricultural Economics and Practices

Soil Resources

Animal Husbandry

Ecology

Agroforestry

Government Schemes related to Agriculture

IBPS SO law officer syllabus

Prevention of money-laundering & Limitation Act

Banking regulations

Prevention of money-laundering & limitation act

Law & order related to securities, financial assets and foreign exchange

Consumer protection act

Banking Ombudsman

SARFAES

Bankers Book Evidence Act

Laws & actions related to the banking sector

Debt recovery Tribunals act

IBPS SO IT officer main syllabus

Data Communication & networking

Database management systems

Operating systems

Software engineering

Data Structures

Computer organization

Embedded system & microprocessors

Embedded systems & microprocessors

IBPS SO syllabus for Marketing officer

Brand Management

Basics of marketing management

Retail business

Advertising, public relations and sales

Market segmentation

Business ethics

Product Life cycle mangement

Market research & forecasting

Corporate Social Responsibility

Marketing strategies and services marketing

IBPS SO syllabus for HR/Personnel Officer

Business policy & strategic analysis

Training & development

Rewards & Recognition

Transnational analysis

Rewards & recognition

Recruitment & selection

Business policy & strategic analysis

Grievance & conflict management

Performance management & appraisals

IBPS SO syllabus for Rajbhasa Adhikari

Error correction

Grammar

Fill in the blanks

Reading comprehension

Letter writing

Essay writing

• The candidates can now focus on their respective streams to prepare for the IBPS SO mains exam.
• The IBPS SO main syllabus is kept at the graduation level to make it equal for all candidates.
• The candidates must attend several mock papers and solve the previous year’s papers to do well in the mains exam.
• The candidate must prepare a study plan to cover all the topics to do well in the exam.

IBPS SO Exam Pattern 2024

• The IBPS SO exam is conducted in three phases.
• The first phase is the prelims. The candidate has to attend an online MCQ-based examination. 
• The total time is 120 minutes. The total mark is 125 marks.
• The question paper would be in English and Hindi.
• The second phase is the mains examination. The candidate has to attend an online exam. 
• The total time for Rajbhasa Adhikari is 30 minutes, and the total mark is 60.
• For the other posts, the time is 60 minutes, and the total mark is 60.
• The third phase is the interview round. The candidates are interviewed by a panel and selected based on their interview performance.

IBPS SO Exam Pattern for Prelims Exam

The IBPS SO prelims exam is an online MCQ-based exam. Let’s look at the exam patterns in detail.

IBPS SO prelims syllabus for Marketing Officer, Agricultural officer, HR/Personnel Officer, IT Officer

Subjects	No. of questions	Total marks	Duration
English	50	25	40 minutes
Reasoning	50	50	40 minutes
Quantitative Aptitude	50	50	40 minutes
Total	150	125	120 minutes

IBPS SO prelims syllabus for Law Officer and Rajbhasa Adhikari

Subject	No. of questions	Total marks	Duration
English	50	25	40 minutes
Reasoning	50	50	40 minutes
General Knowledge	50	50	40 minutes
Total	150	125	120 minutes

• 0.25 marks are deducted for every wrong answer.
• There are no marks for unattempted questions.

IBPS SO Exam Pattern for the Mains Exam

IBPS SO mains syllabus for Marketing Officer, Agricultural Officer, HR/Personnel Officer, IT Officer, and Law Officer.

Subject	No. of questions	Total marks	Duration
Professional Knowledge	60	60	45 minutes

IBPS SO mains syllabus for Rajbhasa Adhikari

Subjects	No. of questions	Total marks	Duration
Professional Knowledge(Objective)	45	60	30 minutes
Professional Knowledge(Descriptive	2	60	30 minutes

• .25 marks are deducted for every wrong answer.
• There are no marks for unattempted questions.

IBPS SO Interview Process 2024

• The candidates who have cleared the IBPS PO mains exam will be called for an interview per their posts. 
• The interview would be conducted by a panel, where the candidates would be judged on their professional knowledge.
• The round is final and important as candidates would be selected based on this round.

IBPS SO Exam: Important Points to Remember

• There has been no latest information regarding changes in the IBPS SO syllabus. Any changes in the syllabus or IBPS SO exam pattern would be announced on the official website of IBPS.
• The candidates need to check the entire syllabus for their respective positions. The IBPS SO syllabus for prelims is the same, but the IBPS SO main syllabus differs for different positions.
• The candidates need to prepare a study plan. This will help to cover all the topics in detail. Without a study plan, the candidates would be confused about how to complete the syllabus.
• The candidates must practice several mock papers and solve the previous year’s papers.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)