• Updated on 1 Jul, 2026 by Gazal Arora
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IBPS PO Syllabus 2026 covers the subjects and topics prescribed for the Preliminary Examination, Main Examination, Personality Test, and Interview. Candidates preparing for the IBPS PO 2026 exam should thoroughly understand the latest syllabus and exam pattern to plan an effective preparation strategy. The Prelims Examination is scheduled for August 22 and 23, 2026, while the Mains Examination will be conducted on October 4, 2026.
Table of Contents
IBPS PO Syllabus 2026: Stage-wise Breakdown
IBPS PO Syllabus 2026 is divided into four stages – Prelims, Mains, Personality Test, and Interview. While the Preliminary and Main examinations assess candidates' aptitude, reasoning, language proficiency, and banking awareness, the Personality Test and Interview evaluate communication skills, personality traits, banking awareness, and overall suitability for the role of a Probationary Officer. Candidates can check the stage-wise syllabus below:
IBPS PO Syllabus 2026: Prelims
IBPS PO prelims syllabus 2026 includes three core subjects designed to test basic aptitude, reasoning ability, and English comprehension skills. Below are the key topics covered under the IBPS PO prelims syllabus 2026:
IBPS PO Syllabus 2026: Mains
IBPS PO Mains Syllabus 2026 is more advanced and includes banking awareness, computer aptitude, and descriptive writing. Candidates can check the IBPS PO Mains Syllabus 2026 in the table below:
| Section | Topics |
IBPS PO Syllabus 2026: Personality Test & Interview
IBPS PO Personality Test and Interview 2026 are conducted after the Mains Examination. These stages assess a candidate's personality, communication skills, banking awareness, decision-making ability, leadership qualities, and overall suitability in public sector banking. Candidates can expect questions from the following areas.
Banking Awareness & Current Affairs
- New government schemes (Example: Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Unnat Bharat Abhiyan, etc.)
- Trending Topics or Terms (Example: Cryptocurrency, NPA, KYC, Money Laundering, Inflation, Deflation, FDI, etc.)
- Recent Events (Example: GST, FRDI Bill, BREXIT, Banking Scams, Recapitalization of Banks, et.c)
- Important Banking Terms (Example: CRR, PLR, NPAs, Repo rate, Reverse Repo Rate, et.c)
- Terms related to Processes having day-to-day in Banks (eg: Types of accounts, Types of checks, Lockers, check vs Draft, Demat Account)
- Terms related to day-to-day processes in banks (Example: Types of accounts, Types of checks, Lockers, Check vs Draft, Demat Account)
- Apart from these topics, questions from the complete syllabus of Bank PO exams can be asked during the Bank PO interview.
General Knowledge & Current Affairs
- Critical points from the Constitution of India
- Important events from around the world (elections in any country, Conflict between two countries, etc.)
- Person in News (Example: A leader from another country visiting our country, a Sports Person, etc.)
- Environmental issues (Example: Global Warming, Pollutions, etc.)
- Your political opinion (Example: Which government is better? Which is your favorite political party?)
- Who are you going to vote for in the election? Who is better in the previous government and this time governments, etc.
Educational Background or Career Objectives
- Why did you choose this stream?
- What did you do after your graduation?
- Why do you want to join the Banking Sector?
- Why do you want to join the government sector, being an XYZ graduate?
- Why the government sector, why not the private sector?
- Why do you not want to pursue higher education?
Personal Questions
- Tell me something about yourself.
- What's Special About Your Hometown?
- What does your father do?
- Why don't you join your father's business?
- Who is your role model and why?
- What Are Your Strengths and Weaknesses?
- Tell me about a time when you demonstrated leadership skills.
- Tell me about a time you worked in a team.
IBPS PO Syllabus 2026: Exam Pattern
IBPS PO Exam Pattern 2026 comprises four stages—Prelims, Mains, Personality Test, and Interview. Candidates must qualify at each stage to progress to the next phase of the recruitment process. The detailed exam pattern is provided below:
| Stage | Section | Questions | Marks | Duration |
| Prelims | English Language | 30 | 30 | 20 Minutes |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 35 | 30 | 20 Minutes | |
| Reasoning Ability | 35 | 40 | 20 Minutes | |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 60 Minutes | |
| Mains | English Language | 40 | 20 | 35 Minutes |
| Reasoning | 40 | 60 | 45 Minutes | |
| General/Economy/Banking Awareness/Digital & Financial Awareness | 50 | 60 | 35 Minutes | |
| Data Analysis & Interpretation | 40 | 60 | 45 Minutes | |
| Objective Total | 170 | 200 | 160 Minutes | |
| Descriptive English | 2 | 25 | 30 Minutes | |
| Interview | Personal Interview | — | 100 | As notified |
IBPS PO Syllabus 2026 FAQs
What is the syllabus for IBPS PO Prelims 2026?
The IBPS PO Prelims syllabus includes three main subjects: English Language, Quantitative Aptitude, and Reasoning Ability. Candidates must focus on topics like reading comprehension, grammar, simplification, profit & loss, data sufficiency, puzzles, and seating arrangement to clear this preliminary stage.
What subjects are included in the IBPS PO Mains syllabus 2026?
IBPS PO Mains comprises Reasoning & Computer Aptitude, General/Economy/Banking Awareness, English Language, and Data Analysis & Interpretation. It also has a descriptive section covering essay and letter writing to assess candidates' language and communication skills.
Is the IBPS PO syllabus different for prelims and mains?
Yes, the prelims exam syllabus is narrower, focusing on English, reasoning, and quantitative aptitude, while the mains syllabus includes additional topics like general awareness, computer knowledge, and descriptive writing.
What topics are covered under Quantitative Aptitude in IBPS PO 2026?
The Quantitative Aptitude syllabus includes simplification, percentages, averages, profit and loss, time and work, ratio and proportion, data interpretation, mensuration, probability, and permutations & combinations.
What is included in the Reasoning Ability syllabus for IBPS PO 2026?
Reasoning Ability covers puzzles, seating arrangement, syllogisms, blood relations, coding-decoding, input-output, inequalities, direction sense, and ranking.
Does the Mains exam include computer knowledge questions?
Yes, the reasoning section in the mains exam includes computer aptitude questions about the basics of computers, abbreviations, hardware, software, and networking.
What topics are there in the English Language section?
The English syllabus covers reading comprehension, cloze test, sentence correction, error spotting, para jumbles, vocabulary, synonyms/antonyms, and grammar.
What is the General Awareness syllabus?
General Awareness includes current affairs, banking and financial awareness, government schemes, RBI policies, and economic news.
Is there a descriptive test in IBPS PO 2026?
Yes, the mains exam has a descriptive section with an essay and letter writing to evaluate writing skills crucial for banking jobs.
How much weight does each section carry in the prelims?
In prelims, English Language has 30 questions, quantitative aptitude has 35, and reasoning ability has 35, together totaling 100 questions.
What is the marking scheme for IBPS PO 2026?
Each correct answer carries 1 mark. There is a negative marking of 0.25 marks for every wrong response in both prelims and mains.
What are some high-scoring topics in the IBPS PO syllabus?
Topics like puzzles, seating arrangements, data interpretation, reading comprehension, and financial awareness are high-scoring and should be prioritized.
What language options are available for the exam?
The exam is conducted in English and Hindi. However, the English section must be attempted in English only.
Are there sectional time limits in the exam?
Yes, there are fixed time limits for each section in both prelims and mains exams, requiring good time management skills.
Where can candidates download the official IBPS PO syllabus PDF?
Candidates can download the official syllabus PDF from the IBPS website (ibps.in) or trusted education portals for a detailed syllabus and exam pattern.