What is IBPS Clerk?
- IBPS (Institute of Banking Personnel Selection) annually administers the IBPS Clerk exam. It is the governing body in charge of recruiting fresh staff for India’s public sector banks.
- Each year, the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) conducts a Common Recruitment Process (CRP) for positions in the Clerical Cadre at 11 Public Sector Banks. In India, public sector banks are a significant category of government-owned institutions, with the Indian government’s ministry of finance or one of the state governments’ ministries of finance holding the majority of the bank’s shares.
- Candidates for the IBPS Clerk position are chosen based on how well they perform in the two-part online exam. The IBPS banking exams will be administered in two stages: the preliminary exam comes first, followed by the mains exam. Thus, those who pass both of these exams are chosen for the position.
IBPS Clerk: Eligibility Criteria
The eligibility criteria for IBPS Clerk are divided into three parameters- age limit, educational qualification, and nationality.
IBPS Clerk Age Limit:
Age Limit:- The candidates should fulfill the upper and lower age limits without fail.
| Exam | General Category | OBC | SC/ST |
| | Min. age | Max. age | Min. age | Max. age | Min. age | Max. age |
| IBPS Clerk | 20 years | 28 years | 20 years | 31 years | 20 years | 33 years |
IBPS Clerk Educational Qualifications:
- The candidates must complete their graduation (Any bachelor’s degree) from any discipline from a recognized university/ institution.
- Proficiency in the Official Language of the State/UT.
IBPS Clerk Nationality
In order to apply for the IBPS Clerk, the candidate must fulfill the following nationality conditions. He/She must be a:
- Citizen of India
- Subjects of Nepal or Bhutan
- Tibetan refugees
- Migrants from Sri Lanka, Burma, Ethiopia, United Republic of Tanzania, Malawi, Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, Pakistan, and Zaira (must reside in the state permanently).
How to Fill the IBPS Clerk Application Form?
Given below are the steps to fill the IBPS Clerk Application Form:
Step 1: Visit the official website of IBPS.
Step 2: Go to the home page, find and click on the ‘IBPS Clerk Exam Application’ link.
Step 3: Click on the ‘New Registration link’
Step 4: Fill the form with basic details such as the name, father’s name, date of birth (DOB), etc.
Step 5: After entering the essential information, double-check it and click the ‘Save and Next’ button.
Step 6: Upload the digitally scanned required documents and click next.
Step 7: On the following page, fill in your educational and professional information, and then click the next button.
Step 8: Proceed towards the fee payments. Use online net banking, credit cards, or debit cards to pay the online application fee.
Step 9: Download and save the copy of the application form along with the fee payment receipt for future purposes.
IBPS Clerk Selection Process
The selection process for IBPS Clerk starts with the notification of the exam and ends with the allotment of banks. The selection of the candidates is done on the basis of an online exam divided into two phases:
- IBPS Clerk Preliminary Exam
- IBPS Clerk Mains Exam
The candidates who clear both the rounds will then have to appear for the verification of the documents and induction into designated banks.
Banks that come under IBPS:
– Bank of Baroda – Bank of India – Canara bank
– Bank of Maharashtra – Central Bank of India – Indian bank
– Indian Overseas Bank – Punjab national bank – Punjab & Sind bank
– UCO bank – Union bank of India
IBPS Clerk Prelims Exam Pattern:
The IBPS has recently revised the IBPS Clerk Exam Pattern. For a better understanding of the IBPS Clerk exam pattern, candidates must go through the previous year’s question papers and analyse them thoroughly and prepare themselves accordingly.
The IBPS Clerk Exam Pattern for the Prelims Exam is given below:
| S. No | Section | No. of Questions | Maximum marks | Duration |
| 1 | Reasoning Ability | 35 | 35 | 20 minutes |
| 2 | Quantitative Aptitude | 35 | 35 | 20 minutes |
| 3 | English Language | 30 | 30 | 20 minutes |
| | Total | 100 | 100 | 1 hour |
- For each correct answer 1 mark is awarded. Also, for each wrong answer 0.25 marks are deducted as penalty.
- Sectional cut off is available for all the 3 sections, also candidates have to clear the overall cut off to qualify for the next round.
- After clearing this stage, the candidates will have to attend the mains exam.
IBPS Clerk Mains Exam Pattern:
The IBPS Clerk Exam Pattern for Mains is given below:
| S No. | Section | No. of Qs. | Max. marks | Duration |
| 1 | Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude | 50 | 60 | 45 minutes |
| 2 | Quantitative Aptitude | 50 | 50 | 45 minutes |
| 3 | General/Financial Awareness | 50 | 50 | 35 minutes |
| 4 | English language | 40 | 40 | 35 minutes |
| | Total | 190 | 200 | 2 hours 40 minutes |
- The mains exam of IBPS clerk recruitment consists of 4 sections as mentioned in the table. For each section, different time limits are given.
- The total questions in this exam are 190. Maximum marks for this exam is 200.
- Both sectional cut off and overall cut off are applicable.
- 1/4th of the marks assigned to the question are deducted as penalty for wrong answer.
- The candidates clearing the mains phase will get the provisional selection order.
IBPS Clerk Syllabus
The IBPS Clerk Syllabus for the Prelims Exam is given below:
| Reasoning Ability: | Quantitative Aptitude: | English language: |
Alpha-numeric series, Syllogism, Inequality, Direction sense, Blood relation, Order and ranking, Puzzle, Seating arrangement, Input Output, Coding decoding, Data sufficiency, Tabulation, Logical reasoning. | Simplification, Sequence & Series, Ratio and Proportion, Problems on Age, Average, Partnership, Percentage, Quadratic Equation, Profit and Loss, Time and Work, Pipes and Cisterns, Work and Wages, Time, Speed & Distance, Problems on Train, Boats and Stream, Interest – SI & CI Mixture of allegation, Mensuration, Data interpretation, Permutation, Combination & Probability. | Reading Comprehension, Para Jumbles, Cloze Test, Fillers, Error Spotting, Paragraph Completion, Sentence Connectors & Miscellaneous. |
Mains Level Syllabus:
| Reasoning Ability | Data analysis and Interpretation | Computer Aptitude | General Awareness | English Language |
Data sufficiency, Syllogism, Inequality, Direction sense, Blood relation, Alpha-numeric series, Order and ranking, Scheduling, Tabulation, Input Output, Coding decoding, Critical reasoning, Verbal reasoning, Circle Seating arrangement, Square seating arrangement, Puzzle, Analytical and decision making, Course of action. | Data sufficiency, Sequence & Series Tabular graph Line graph Pie chart Bar graph Radar graph, Missing DI, Caselet DI, Permutation, Combination & Probability, Miscellaneous | Internet, MS Office, Memory, Computer hardware, Keyboard shortcuts, Computer Fundamentals, Computer Abbreviations, Computer terminologies, Operating system, Number system, Networking Basic of logic gates. | Current affairs, Financial awareness, Static GK & Banking awareness. | Reading comprehension Para jumbles Cloze test Fillers Error spotting Paragraph Completion Sentence Connectors Word association Vocabulary Verbal ability Sentence improvement Miscellaneous |
IBPS Clerk Exam Centres
- The IBPS Clerk Exam will be held online at numerous locations throughout India. The official notification contains a rough list of the examination centres for both the online preliminary examinations and the online main exams.
- Once the application is submitted, a request to modify the exam venue cannot be made. Therefore, candidates should carefully choose their centres and accurately mention such choices in their applications.
IBPS Clerk Admit Card
- The IBPS Clerk admit card is issued to candidates who fulfil all the eligibility criteria and have paid the fees online. Hall ticket released for the clerical cadre exam has all the essential details relevant to the particular IBPS Clerk Exam- Prelims/Mains.
The IBPS Clerk Admit Card contains the following details:
- Name of the candidate
- Registration number/ Roll number
- Exam date
- Exam Centre
- Photograph of the candidate
- General guidelines for the IBPS Clerk exam.
IBPS Clerk Result
- The IBPS Clerk Result is generally declared in January every year. As the IBPS Clerk exam allots banks based on the State or Union territory for which the candidate has applied, the Provisional Allotment of banks is announced on different dates.
- Aspirants who want to know more about the clerical result steps to check it, and the important dates for the same, can visit the www.ibps.in page.
- Applicants are required to submit the necessary documents to their allotted banks for background verification once the results are declared.
IBPS Clerk Cut-Off
- To qualify for the IBPS Clerk Exam, candidates must obtain the minimum qualifying marks. Candidates who do not get the required minimum marks in the preliminary test will not be considered for the next step of the hiring process.
- To be eligible for the Mains exam, applicants must pass the sectional cut-off for each of the sections in addition to the overall cut-off. Similarly, candidates must clear these minimum marks in the mains exam in order to be selected for the exam.
- There are different factors like the number of candidates who appeared, the difficulty level of the exam and the number of vacancies that decides the cut-off marks for that particular year.
- Since the vacancies released in IBPS clerks are state-wise, the cut-off is also different for different states. After successfully clearing background verification, the candidates are appointed as a clerk in the respective Public Sector Banks (PSB).
- Attempt Regular Mock Tests:
• Mock tests should be a focus area for the exam. This is because one has to answer a large number of questions in a short amount of time. Solve IBPS CLERK mock tests and stay updated with the type of questions asked in the bank exams.
• Attempting mock tests has two advantages. First, it gives the aspirant a good idea of their preparation level, allowing them to intensify focus on weak areas of the IBPS syllabus. Second, it also provides ample practice in solving questions within the stipulated time.
• This is critical as the IBPS CLERK exam is conducted online with no scope of re-attempting questions once a section has been finished
How many attempts are there for the IBPS Clerk exam?
- There is no fixed number of attempts for the IBPS Clerk exam. A candidate can apply for as long as he/she is applicable and eligible for the examination.
What is the job of an IBPS Clerk?
- The main responsibility of a Clerk in IBPS is documentation and back-office work. The responsibilities also include: verifying documents and countersigning cheques and drafts.
Can a candidate apply for the IBPS Clerk exam after passing class 12th?
- No, a candidate cannot apply for the IBPS Clerk exam immediately after passing class 12th. The candidate must at least hold a Bachelor’s degree in any discipline to apply for the exam.
Is there a negative marking in IBPS Clerk?
- Yes, a penalty of 0.25 marks is deducted for every wrongly marked answer. Since there is negative marking, candidates must be very careful while answering questions in the prelims and mains computer-based examination.
Is there any sectional time limit for IBPS Clerk Exam?
- Yes, in both the preliminary and main exams, there is a set timing for each of the sections.
