SBI Probationary Officer Syllabus
Related exam lifecycle →
Exam pattern
Phase-I · Preliminary Examination (objective)
Three sections of 20 minutes each. There is NO sectional cut-off. A category-wise merit list is drawn on aggregate marks and roughly ten times the vacancies are shortlisted for the Main examination. Preliminary marks do not carry into the final merit.
Phase-II · Main Examination (objective)
Four sections, each separately timed. Marks do not track question counts — see the section list.
Phase-II · Descriptive Paper
Administered immediately after the objective test and typed on the computer. Communication skills: an email (one of two options), a situation analysis (one of two), and either report writing or precis writing (one of two). Grand total for Phase-II is 230 marks over 3 hours 30 minutes.
Phase-III · Psychometric Test, Group Exercises and Interview
Topic-wise syllabus
Prelims · English Language
20 minutes. The advertisement gives a single total of 100 marks for the preliminary paper rather than per-section marks.
40 questions
Prelims · Quantitative Aptitude
20 minutes.
30 questions
Prelims · Reasoning Ability
20 minutes.
30 questions
Mains · Reasoning and Computer Aptitude
50 minutes.
40 questions · 60 marks
Mains · Data Analysis and Interpretation
45 minutes.
30 questions · 60 marks
Mains · General Awareness, Economy and Banking Knowledge
45 minutes.
60 questions · 60 marks
Mains · English Language
40 minutes. 40 questions for 20 marks, as printed in the advertisement.
40 questions · 20 marks
Mains · Descriptive Paper (Communication Skills)
Email, situation analysis, and report or precis writing — one of two options each.
3 questions · 30 marks