IBPS Clerk — Syllabus & Exam Pattern

Free preparation for IBPS Clerk — the official exam pattern and topic-wise syllabus are below. Start preparing from home.

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Exam Pattern

Conducting body: IBPS. From the 2025 (CRP CSA-XV) cycle the post "Clerk" is officially renamed "Customer Service Associate (CSA)". Selection = 2 online stages, NO interview; final merit is prepared from MAINS marks only (Prelims is qualifying). Candidate must also be proficient in the official/local language of the state/UT applied for (checked at joining).

PRELIMINARY (qualifying only; marks NOT counted in final merit) — 100 questions / 100 marks / 60 minutes, sectionally timed:

English Language: 30 Q / 30 marks / 20 min
Numerical Ability: 35 Q / 35 marks / 20 min
Reasoning Ability: 35 Q / 35 marks / 20 min

Negative marking: 0.25 mark deducted per wrong answer; no penalty for un-attempted. Must clear both sectional and overall cut-offs to advance.

MAINS (decides final merit) — REVISED for the 2025 CRP CSA-XV cycle to 155 questions / 200 marks / 120 minutes, sectionally timed:

Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude: 40 Q / 60 marks / 35 min
English Language: 40 Q / 40 marks / 35 min
Quantitative Aptitude: 35 Q / 50 marks / 30 min
General/Financial Awareness: 40 Q / 50 marks / 20 min

Negative marking: 0.25 mark deducted per wrong answer. (This replaces the OLDER Mains pattern of 190 Q / 200 marks / 160 min used up to CRP Clerks-XIV.) Question medium: English and Hindi (except the English Language test).

Syllabus (topic-wise)

NOTE: IBPS does not publish a rigid line-by-line syllabus; the notification fixes only sections, question counts, marks and timing. The topics below are the standard, consistently-tested areas — treat as indicative, not an official verbatim list.
English Language (Prelims & Mains): Reading Comprehension; Cloze Test; Para Jumbles / sentence rearrangement; Error Detection/Spotting; Sentence Improvement; Fill in the Blanks (single/double fillers); Phrase/Idiom replacement & word usage/word swap; Vocabulary (synonyms, antonyms); Paragraph completion
Numerical Ability / Quantitative Aptitude (Prelims & Mains): Simplification & Approximation; Number Series (missing/wrong term); Quadratic Equations; Data Interpretation (tables, bar/line/pie, caselet, missing DI); Data Sufficiency; Percentage; Ratio & Proportion; Average; Profit & Loss; Simple & Compound Interest; Time & Work; Time-Speed-Distance; Partnership; Mixtures & Alligation; Ages; Boats & Streams; Mensuration; Probability; Permutation & Combination
Reasoning Ability (Prelims & Mains): Puzzles & Seating Arrangement (linear/circular/floor-based); Syllogism; Blood Relations; Direction & Distance; Order & Ranking; Coding-Decoding; Inequality (mathematical/coded); Alphanumeric/Alphabet/Number Series; Machine Input-Output; Data Sufficiency; Logical Reasoning (statement-argument, statement-assumption, cause-effect); Analogy & Classification
Computer Aptitude (Mains only — combined within the Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude section): Computer fundamentals; hardware & software; operating systems; MS Office; Internet & networking; database basics; computer abbreviations; input/output devices; memory & storage; basic security terms (virus/antivirus)
General / Financial Awareness (Mains only): Current Affairs (national & international, approx. last 6 months); Banking & Financial Awareness (RBI functions, monetary policy, SEBI/IRDA, types of accounts, negotiable instruments, NPAs, banking terms & abbreviations); Financial Awareness (money & capital markets, financial institutions, budget & economic terms); Indian Economy; Government/Financial-inclusion schemes; Static GK (countries-capitals-currencies, important days, awards, sports, books & authors)

Official source: https://www.ibps.in/index.php/clerical-cadre-xv/

⚠️ Always confirm against that year's official notification — the exam pattern and syllabus can change. This page is free guidance only.