IB ACIO Syllabus 2026 and Exam Pattern, Syllabus Topics (Tier 1, 2 and Interview)
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- IB ACIO Syllabus 2026
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) conducts the IB ACIO exam for the post of Assistant Central Intelligence Officer Grade-II Executive in the Intelligence Bureau. The first step to begin preparation for the IB ACIO examination is that the candidates must know the complete IB ACIO Syllabus 2026 and Exam Pattern to plan a proper exam strategy for the examination.
IB ACIO Syllabus and Exam Pattern 2026
To ace the IB ACIO Grade-II/ Executive Exam ( IB ACIO), it is necessary to know the Exam pattern and the detailed IB ACIO Syllabus and Exam Pattern 2026 of this exam. Let’s understand the syllabus one by one from the article.
| IB ACIO Syllabus 2026- Highlights | |
| Organization Name | Intelligence Bureau (IB) |
| Exam Conducting Body Name | Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) |
| Exam Name | IB ACIO Grade-II/ Executive Examination |
| Post Name | ACIO Grade II/ Executive |
| Vacancies | 3717 |
| Category | Syllabus |
| Total No. of Questions | Tier 1 - 100 questions |
| Total Marks | Tier 1 - 100 marks Tier 2 - 50 marks Tier 3- 100 marks |
| Type of Questions | Tier 1 - Objective Type Tier 2 - Descriptive Type |
| Selection Process | Tier 1- Written Exam Tier 2- Written Exam Tier 3- Interview |
| Official Website | www.mha.gov.in or www.ncs.gov.in |
IB ACIO Tier 2 Result 2026 Out- Click to Check
IB ACIO Tier 2 Cut Off 2026- Click to Check
IB ACIO Selection Process 2026
The IB ACIO Tier 1 exam is a written, objective-type exam. The candidates who will clear the Tier 1 exam will then appear in the Tier 2 exam. The Tier 2 exam is descriptive, and to pass the Tier 2 exam, candidates are required to score at least 33% marks (as per the rule). Based on Tier 1 and Tier 2 exam performances, candidates will be called for an interview for the final round of selection. The selection process for the Intelligence Bureau ACIO 2026 exam is divided into three phases, as discussed below.
IB ACIO Tier 1 Syllabus 2026
The IB ACIO Tier-I exam is an objective-type test designed to assess a candidate's general awareness, reasoning ability, quantitative aptitude, English language skills, and general studies. It is divided into 5 sections.
Check the IB ACIO Tier 1 Syllabus 2026 for all 5 subjects: Quantitative Aptitude, General Awareness & General Studies, Logical/ Analytical/ Numerical Ability & Reasoning, and English Language from the section below.
IB ACIO Syllabus for Quantitative Aptitude
| Quantitative Aptitude | |
| Number systems | Percentages |
| Mensuration | Ration and Time |
| Averages | Profit and loss |
| Fundamental Arithmetical Operations | Computation of whole numbers |
| Use of tables and graphs | Decimals |
| Relationship between numbers | Operations Research & Linear Programming |
| Differential Geometry | Dynamics |
| Essential Mathematics | Calculus |
| Real Analysis | Fundamental Arithmetical Operations |
| Computation of Whole numbers | Time and Distance |
| Ration and Proportion | Interest |
| Discount | Algebra |
| Differential Equations | Statistics |
| Time and Work | Fractions |
| Analytical Geometry | Statistics |
| LCM and HCF | Ratios |
| Percentage | Factoring |
| Age | Profit and Loss |
| Missing Numbers | Average |
| Prices and Expenditure Problems | Simple and Compound Interest |
| Time and Work | Mensuration |
| Volume | Time and Distance |
| Fractions | Series Completion |
IB ACIO Syllabus for General Studies
| General Studies | |
| History | Physics |
| Biology | Current Affairs |
| Science & Technology | Static GK |
| Indian Polity & Constitution | Economy & Finance |
| Geography | Chemistry |
IB ACIO Syllabus for Numerical Ability & Reasoning
| Numerical Ability & Reasoning | |
| Alphanumeric series | Reasoning Analogies |
| Artificial Language | Blood Relations |
| Calendars | Cause and Effect |
| Clocks | Coding-Decoding |
| Data Sufficiency | Decision Making |
| Directions | Input-Output |
| Odd One Out | Puzzles |
| Order & Ranking | Statement and Assumptions |
| Statement and Conclusions | - |
IB ACIO Syllabus for English Language
| English Language | |
| Spellings Correction | One Word Substitution |
| Improvement | Verbal Comprehension Passage |
| Adjectives | Detecting Mis-spelt words |
| Idioms and Phrases | Passage |
| Verbs | Clauses |
| Fill in the blanks | Spot the error |
| Synonyms/Antonyms | Vocabulary |
| Grammar | Sentence Structure |
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IB ACIO Tier 2 Exam Syllabus 2026
The IB ACIO Tier 2 exam is a descriptive paper designed to assess a candidate's writing skills and analytical abilities. all important details are given below.
- Exam Mode- Offline (Pen and Paper-based)
- Type of Paper- Descriptive
- Total Marks- 50 marks [Essay: 20 marks, English comprehension: 10 marks, & Long answer type questions: 20 marks]
- Duration- 1 hour (60 minutes)
- Medium- English
- Topics- There is no such list of topics released; however, it is expected that the topic can be related to current events. The topics could be related to Current Affairs, Economics, Socio-political issues, etc.
Tips for IB ACIO Tier 2 Preparation:
Essay Writing:
- Candidates must practice writing essays of around 400 to 500 words and analyse the time consumed.
- More focus should be on the structure of writing an essay, following the format: Introduction, Body, Conclusion.
- Stick to facts and balanced arguments.
Long Answer Type Questions:
- Do practice long answers with meaningful information required.
- Maintain the tone and meaning while practising long answer writing.
English Comprehension:
- Candidates can excel in this part by practising reading editorials and answering inference-based questions.
- Candidates must focus on Time management in this section.
IB ACIO Interview Process
Candidates who will be qualified in both Tier 1 and Tier 2 exams will be selected for the final round i.e. interview round. The IB ACIO interview round comprises 100 marks. Candidates appearing in interviews may be subject to the Psychometric/Aptitude Test, which will be a part of the interview.
| Interview | Maximum Marks |
| Interview | 100 |
IB ACIO Exam Pattern 2026
- The questions in the Tier 1 Exam will be Objective-type questions, and in the Tier 2, the questions will be descriptive.
- For each incorrect answer in IB ACIO Tier 1, there will be a negative marking of ¼ mark.
- The time duration for each tier is 1 hour.
| IB ACIO Tier-1 Exam Pattern 2026 | |||
| Subjects | No. of Questions | Marks | Duration |
| Current Affairs | 20 | 20 | 1 Hour |
| General Studies | 20 | 20 | |
| Numerical Aptitude | 20 | 20 | |
| Reasoning and Logical Aptitude | 20 | 20 | |
| English Language | 20 | 20 | |
| Total | 100 | 100 | |
| IB ACIO Tier-2 Exam Pattern 2026 | ||
| Papers | Maximum Marks | Time |
| Essay Writing | 20 | 1 Hour |
| English comprehension | 10 | |
| Long answer type questions (2 questions of 10 marks each on Current Affairs, Economics, Socio-political issues etc) | 20 | |
| Total | 50 | |