IBPS PO Syllabus 2026, Exam Pattern for Prelims & Mains

IBPS PO Recruitment is conducted in three stages- Prelims, Mains, and Interview. The candidate has to qualify in each stage to get shortlisted for the vacancies. To ace the IBPS PO Exam, it is necessary to know the Exam pattern and detailed syllabus. This will help you to prepare judiciously for the IBPS PO Exam. Last year, the patterns for both prelims and mains were revised in terms of marks and time duration. Let’s understand the IBPS PO Syllabus and Exam Pattern 2026 one by one. 

IBPS PO Syllabus & Exam Pattern 2026

The officials had released the IBPS PO Syllabus & Exam Pattern for the IBPS PO exam. There is separate sectional timing for each section in the preliminary exam. IBPS PO 2026 Exam will be conducted in three phases: Preliminary Exam, Mains Exam and Interview Process. A candidate must clear each level of examination to get selected for the post of Probationary Officer in multiple Public Sector Banks.

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IBPS PO Exam Pattern 2026 Changed

This year, IBPS has made same revision in IBPS PO Prelims and Mains Exam Pattern. Candidates appearing for IBPS PO 2026 must know the exam pattern to prepare in the right direction. We have discussed below the revised IBPS PO Exam Pattern 2026.

IBPS PO Preliminary Exam Pattern 2026

The IBPS PO preliminary examination will be conducted online and candidates are allocated a total duration of 1 hour to complete the preliminary exam. It consists of 3 sections with a total of 100 questions and a maximum score of 100 marks. There is negative marking in IBPS PO preliminary exam, and 0.25 marks are deducted for each wrong answer attempted by a candidate. It is necessary to clear the cut-off in all 3 sections to qualify for the IBPS PO Main exam. There is a change in the total marks for the Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning Ability section. 

IBPS PO Mains Exam Pattern 2026

• Introduction of Descriptive Paper: Just like the SBI PO Exam, IBPS introduced a Descriptive Paper in its Mains Examination, where candidates will be judged on their written skills. An essay and a letter will be given to candidates to write, which will constitute 25 marks and have to be completed in a time span of 30 minutes.

• The marking scheme for each section has also been changed.

• There will be a penalty of 0.25 marks for wrong answers marked in the Objective Tests.

• The overall time allotted for IBPS PO 2026 Mains Objective Exam has also been changed. Now, the main exam is of 160 minutes (objective test) plus 30 minutes (descriptive test). 

• In total, the time for IBPS PO Mains is 190 minutes (3 hours 10 minutes)

IBPS PO 2026 Interview Process

Candidates who qualify for the Mains Exam are finally called for the Interview Process by IBPS. The Interview Process will constitute of 100 marks and the minimum marks for qualifying this round will be 40% which is reduced to 35% for candidates belonging to SC/ST/OBC/PWD categories.

Penalty for Wrong Answers:

0.25 marks will be deducted for every question attempted wrong by a candidate in both IBPS PO 2026 Preliminary Exam and IBPS PO Mains Exam. There will be no deduction of marks for a question left blank/unattempted by a candidate.

Final Selection

The final selection of the candidate for the post of Probationary Officer will be made by taking into consideration the cumulative score of Mains Exam and the interview process. The weightage of both these phases of examination will be in the ratio 80:20 respectively. A merit list will be generated after the Interview Process of the IBPS PO 2026 Exam has been conducted. Candidates who make it to the list will be thus offered the joining letter by the Bank of their choice.

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IBPS PO Syllabus 2026

To ace IBPS PO 2026 exam, it is really necessary to know the detailed IBPS PO Syllabus. The syllabus is a bit different for IBPS PO Preliminary Exam and IBPS PO 2026 Mains Exam. Let’s have a look at the syllabus of both these phases of the IBPS PO Exam:

IBPS PO Prelims Syllabus 2026

IBPS PO Prelims Exam Syllabus: IBPS PO Preliminary Exam is the primary selection round of the IBPS PO Exam. Candidates who clear the preliminary exam are eligible to appear for the mains exam. The Preliminary Exam of IBPS PO comprises three major sections: Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude and English Language.

IBPS PO Prelims Syllabus 2026

IBPS PO Mains Syllabus 2026

IBPS PO Mains Exam Syllabus: The main exam is an important phase of the IBPS PO 2026 Mains Exam. Maximum weightage is given to score obtained by the candidate in IBPS PO Mains Exam in the final selection to the post of Probationary Officer. The Mains Examination of IBPS PO consists of 4 + 1 sections: Reasoning & Computer Aptitude, English Language, Quantitative, Aptitude & General Awareness. IBPS has introduced a descriptive paper in its mains exam for the selection of candidates for the post of Probationary Officer.

IBPS PO Mains Exam Syllabus