Syllabus
IBPS PO Prelims Syllabus 2026
Institute of Banking Personnel Selection: Probationary Officer
The 2026 preliminary exam contains three separately timed tests. IBPS officially specifies the test names, questions, marks and timing; it does not publish an exhaustive subtopic list.
Transparent labelling: the section pattern below is official. The topic lists are a TakeMockTest preparation map based on recurring bank-exam question families, not an IBPS-prescribed syllabus.
English Language
30 questions · 30 marks · 20 minutes- • Reading comprehension and contextual vocabulary
- • Cloze tests and fillers
- • Sentence correction and error detection
- • Para jumbles and sentence arrangement
- • Word usage and phrase replacement
Quantitative Aptitude
35 questions · 30 marks · 20 minutes- • Simplification, approximation and number series
- • Quadratic equations
- • Data interpretation
- • Percentage, ratio, average and partnership
- • Profit and loss, interest and mixture
- • Time and work, pipes, speed and distance
Reasoning Ability
35 questions · 40 marks · 20 minutes- • Seating arrangement and logic puzzles
- • Syllogism and coded inequalities
- • Coding-decoding and alphanumeric series
- • Blood relations and direction sense
- • Ranking, order and comparison
- • Data sufficiency and input-output patterns
Official pattern source: Institute of Banking Personnel Selection, CRP PO/MT-XVI detailed notification, section D. View the official notification.
Frequently asked questions
What is the IBPS PO syllabus?
It runs to 3 sections: English Language, Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning Ability. 17 named topics are listed beneath them. Those bullets are a preparation map built here from the question families this exam keeps returning to, not a subtopic list the exam body publishes: the section names, counts, marks and timing are official, the topics under them are not.
How many questions are there in the IBPS PO paper, and how long is it?
The Prelims stage is 100 questions for 100 marks in 60 minutes. Negative marking: one-fourth of the marks assigned to the question. Knowing that alongside the syllabus is what turns a topic list into a plan: it tells you how many marks each section is actually worth and how many minutes you can afford per question.
How do I practise the whole IBPS PO syllabus?
Sit a full mock first, before working through the topic list. A syllabus tells you what can be asked; it does not tell you which parts of it are costing you marks, and most candidates find that is not where they expected. There are 21 free tests for IBPS PO here, and the sectional ones let you rebuild a single section once the full paper has shown you which one to rebuild.
Is this IBPS PO syllabus current?
It is taken from the official notification, cited and linked at the foot of this page, rather than from another preparation site, so you can check it against the source yourself. Syllabuses do change between cycles, usually through a corrigendum to the notification rather than a fresh document, so confirm against the current notice before planning a whole revision cycle around any topic list, including this one.