IBPS PO Exam Pattern 2020-21: The IBPS PO 2020-21 recruitment notification for 8000+ vacancies was released recently on the official website of Institute of Banking Personnel Selection @ibps.in. Candidates who wish to secure a job in one of the prestigious public sector banks must be thorough with the IBPS PO Exam Pattern and syllabus. IBPS PO 2020 Preliminary exam will be conducted in the online mode on 3rd, 4th & 10th October 2020 while the IBPS PO Mains Examination will be tentatively held on 28th November 2020. Aspirants who are in search of the IBPS PO Exam Pattern for Preliminary and Mains exam can refer to this article. To ace in the IBPS PO 2020 exam, we suggest you refer to the exam pattern before starting your preparation and incorporate it while practising.
The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) conducts this exam every year for the recruitment of Probationary Officers (Management Trainees) in various public sector banks in India (except State Bank of India and its associate banks). Read this article to find out everything about the changes made in the IBPS PO exam pattern.
Detailed IBPS PO Exam Pattern 2020 for Prelims and Mains
The recruitment process of Probationary Officers takes place in three stages, namely, the Preliminary exam, Main Exam, and Personal Interview. Candidates who qualified in the Preliminary examination will be eligible to appear for the IBPS PO 2020 Mains exam.
Stages & Mode Of IBPS PO Exam 2020
IBPS PO is an online examination.
| Stage | Mode |
| Prelims | Online |
| Mains | Online |
| Personal Interview | Face-to-Face |
IBPS PO Exam Pattern For Prelims
The exam pattern of the IBPS PO Prelims remains the same as before. There are three sections in the Preliminary exam which are tabulated as below:
| Sections | Total Number Of Questions/Maximum Marks |
| English Language | 30/30 |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 35/35 |
| Reasoning Ability | 35/35 |
| Total | 100/100 |
Time Duration: The Preliminary exam is of one-hour duration. Each section of IBPS PO Preliminary examination is separately timed. Each section of the IBPS PO Preliminary Exam will be allotted a time duration of 20 minutes.
IBPS PO Cutoff for each section: Like the time duration is separately allotted, each section of IBPS PO 2020 Preliminary examination will have its own separate cut off marks. Candidates who clear the respective cut off marks of each of these sections, as well as the overall cutoffs, will be eligible to appear for the IBPS PO Online Main exam.
Penalty for Wrong Answers: There will be a negative marking of 0.25 marks for each wrong attempt in IBPS PO Prelims 2020.
IBPS PO Exam Pattern For Mains
From 2017, the IBPS PO exam pattern for the Main exam has changed. The total number of questions and the maximum marks for each section of IBPS PO Main exam are tabulated below:
| Sections | Total Number Of Questions/Maximum Marks |
| English Language | 35/40 |
| Data Analysis and Interpretation | 35/60 |
| Reasoning and Computer Aptitude | 45/60 |
| General Awareness | 40/40 |
| Total in Objective Test | 155/200 |
| English Language (Letter Writing & Essay) | 2/25 |
Negative Marking: Similar to the Prelims examination, 25 percent of the mark assigned to a question will be deducted for the wrong answer in the main exam. However, there is no penalty for questions not attempted.
IBPS PO Exam Pattern 2020 for Mains: Time Duration
The total time duration for the Main exam is 3 hours 30 minutes. However, these sections are separately timed. Check out the table below to find out how much time is allotted for each section:
| Sections | Time Allotted |
| English Language | 40 minutes |
| Data Analysis and Interpretation | 45 minutes |
| Reasoning and Computer Aptitude | 60 minutes |
| General Awareness | 35 minutes |
| English Language (Letter Writing and Essay) | 30 minutes |
IBPS PO Exam Pattern 2020: Selection Procedure
Stage-1 Preliminary Exam: As mentioned earlier, the IBPS PO 2020 recruitment is organized in three stages namely Preliminary examination, Mains and Personal Interview. In order to qualify the IBPS PO preliminary examination and to move further to the Mains exam, candidates must ensure they meet the cutoff scores set by IBPS for each section.
Stage-2 Main Examination: The marks obtained in the IBPS PO main exam will only be considered to shortlist candidates to the Interview stage. In order to qualify, candidates must obtain a minimum section-wise and overall cutoff score. IBPS PO Cutoff for Mains exam will depend on the number of vacancies available. Prior to the completion of the interview process, scores obtained in the online Main examination will not be shared with the candidates shortlisted for interview.
Stage-3 Interview: Qualified candidates from IBPS PO Mains Examination will be called for Interview. The Personal Interview will be conducted by the participating organizations separately in coordination with the Nodal bank of each state IBPS. Shortlisted candidates for Interview will be informed about the venue, time and date. The total marks allotted for the Interview are 100 marks. The marks from the Online main examination and interview in the ratio of 80:20 will be considered for the final selection.
IBPS PO Exam Pattern 2020: Important Dates
| IBPS PO Recruitment 2020-21 | |
| Events | Tentative Dates |
| IBPS PO Online Registration | August 2020 (Tentatively) |
| Payment of IBPS PO Application Fees | August 2020 (Tentatively) |
| Release of Call Letters for Pre-Exam Training | September 2020 (Tentatively) |
| Pre-Examination Training | September 2020 (Tentatively) |
| Release of IBPS PO Prelims Admit Card | September 2020 (Tentatively) |
| IBPS PO Prelims Exam | 3rd, 4th & 10th October 2020 |
| IBPS PO Prelims Result | October/November 2020 |
| Release of IBPS PO Mains Admit Card | November 2020 |
| IBPS PO Main Exam | 28th November 2020 |
| IBPS PO Main Result | December 2020 |
| Release of IBPS PO Interview Call Letter | January 2021 |
| IBPS PO Interview | January/February 2021 |
| Provisional Allotment | April 2021 |
IBPS PO Exam Pattern 2020-21 | Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The Frequently Asked Questions regarding IBPS PO exam pattern 2020-21 are mentioned below:
Q1: Is there any sectional cut off in IBPS PO mains?
Answer: Yes, similar to the IBPS PO Preliminary examination, Mains will also have a sectional cutoff.
Q2: Do I have to clear the cut-off marks of each section for both Prelims and Mains in order to qualify for the next round?
Answer: Yes, you have to clear the cut off marks of all the three sections of the Prelims to appear for the Main exam. Likewise, you have to clear the cut off marks of all the five sections of the Main exam to appear for the Personal Interview.
Q3: In how many languages is the IBPS PO exam conducted?
Answer: The IBPS PO exam is conducted bilingually. The medium of IBPS PO Online examinations will be in English and Hindi (Except for English language section).
Q4: Is there any penalty for wrong answers?
Answer: Yes, you will lose 0.25 marks assigned to a question for the wrong answer.
Q5: Do I get provisional allotment if I clear the Main exam?
Answer: No, if you clear the Main exam, you will be eligible to appear for the Personal Interview. You need to clear the Personal Interview as well and secure a top rank in the merit list in order to ensure provisional allotment.
Be thorough with the IBPS PO exam pattern as well as the IBPS PO syllabus and then finish each and every topic properly. Solve as man IBPS PO practice questions as possible in a time-bound manner. Also, once you have finished the whole syllabus, take as many free IBPS PO mock tests as possible on Embibe and make use of the analysis to improve your score.
We hope this detailed article on IBPS PO exam pattern helps you in your preparation. If you have any confusion regarding IBPS PO Exam Pattern, ping us and we will help you out.
Embibe wishes all the very best to IBPS PO aspirants.
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