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The state bank of India conducts a different exam to recruit its Probationary Officers. The SBI PO has three stages like the IBPS PO exam. They are the preliminary examinations, mains examinations, and interviews with group discussion.
The extra elements here group discussion that multiple candidates have together. The Bank releases a notification every year which informs candidates about the exam structure of the year.
It is an annual nationwide conducted exam that sees lakhs of applicants every year. The mode for the first two stages is online and has a few months gap between them.
The Prelims is the first stage and remains only a qualifying exam for the candidate to appear for the mains. The prelims have three sections in the paper with almost the same division of questions. They are English Language, Numerical Ability, and Reasoning Ability.
The bank removed the section-wise qualification and considers the total marks of the exam now. Last year the bank had 2000 vacant seats and the competition only increased because of attractive job packages. This is going to increase with every passing year.
SBI PO Prelims Exam Pattern
- There are a total of 100 questions in the paper.
- Time is only 60 minutes to solve the entire paper.
- There is a deduction of 0.25 marks for every wrong answer.
- There are three sections in the paper.
- They are –
-
- English language
- Quantitative Aptitude
- Reasoning Ability
- The exam pattern for the exam is –
| S.No. | Name of Tests | No. of Questions | Marks | Duration |
| 1 | English Language | 30 | 30 | 1 Hour |
| 2 | Numerical Ability | 35 | 35 | |
| 3 | Reasoning Ability | 35 | 35 |
SBI PO Prelims Syllabus
The section-wise distribution of topics in the paper is –
English Language
- Reading Comprehension
- Para jumbles
- Sentence Improvement
- Spelling Errors
- Word Replacement
- Idioms and Phrases
- Vocabulary
The exam analysis for English section 2019 was –
| Topic | No. of Questions | Difficulty Level |
| Reading Comprehension | 5 | Moderate |
| Error Detection | 6 | Easy |
| Sentence Correction | 5 | Easy |
| Single Filers | 7 | Easy |
| Cloze Test | 5 | Easy |
| Match the following based Sentence Formation | 2 | Easy |
| Total | 30 | Easy |
Quantitative Aptitude for SBI Po Prelims
- Number System
- Simplification
- Percentage
- SI & CI
- Quadratic Equations
- Ratio and Proportion
- Speed, Time & Distance
- Mensuration
- Permutation & Combination
- Probability
- Profit & Loss
- Data Interpretation
The exam analysis for quantitative section 2019 was –
| Topic | No. of Questions | Difficulty Level |
| Data Interpretation | 15 | Moderate |
| Missing No. Series | 5 | Moderate |
| Quadratic Equation | 5 | Easy |
| Miscellaneous Word Problems | 10 | Moderate |
| Total | 35 | Moderate |
Reasoning Ability for SBI PO Prelims Exam
- Logical Reasoning
- Alpha-numeric Series
- Blood Relations
- Syllogism
- Puzzle
- Seating Arrangement
- Coding-Decoding
The exam analysis for reasoning section 2019 was –
| Topics | No. of Questions | Difficulty Level |
| Puzzles and Seating Arrangement | 20 | Moderate |
| Coding-Decoding | 1 | Easy |
| Direction Sense Test | 3 | Moderate |
| Blood Relation | 4 | Easy |
| Syllogism | 4 | Easy |
| Alphabet based | 1 | Easy |
| Comparison Based | 2 | Easy |
| Total | 35 | Easy-Moderate |
SBI PO Prelims Application and Admit Card
- Visit the official website
- Click on the NEW REGISTRATION
- Fill out basic info like name, contact number, email id, etc.
- Upload your documents.
- Fill educational information
- Accept the terms and condition
- Apy the application fees
- Submit the application form.
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Admit Card allows the candidates to enter the examination center on the exam date. The candidates can download from the official website after filling out the application form. The application fee for the reserved category is Rs125/-. And for the open general category, it is Rs 750/-.
SBI PO Prelims Eligibility
- The age group between 21 to 30 Years of age can appear for this exam
- The OBC category receives 3 years of relaxation
- The SC/ST category receives it for 5 years
- An Indian Citizen
- Candidates can be a subject of Nepal or Bhutan
- A Tibetan refugee residing in India before 1 January 1962
- Persons of Indian Origin migrated from Pakistan, Vietnam, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, or one of the listed East African countries
- Minimum a graduate from a recognized university
SBI PO Exam Number of Attempts
- The General category has 4 attempts.
- PWD General category has 7 attempts.
- PWD OBC/ OBC category has 7 attempts.
- SC/SC(PWD)/ST/ST(PWD) have No restriction.
SBI PO Prelims Cut Off
The Bank releases the cut-off for every exam yearly. This is considering the overall performance of the candidates. This for the entire paper and not section-wise. The candidates can check their result on their official website. The category wise cut off for the year 2019 was –
- The General Category – 71/100
- Scheduled Caste – 61.75/100
- Scheduled Tribe – 54.75/100
- Other Backward Class – 68.25/100
- Economically Weaker Section – 68.25/100
- PWD (LD) – 59.50/100
- PWD (VI) – 64.75/100
- PWD (HI) – 16.25/100
List of SBI PO Prelims Exam Centre
The Bank also offers 6-day long coaching classes for the minority categories. This is according to government guidelines as they don’t have access to resources. It is similar to an orientation that takes place in different parts of the country.
The list of these centers is available on their official website. The center for the prelims exam are –
| States | Exam Centres for Prelims Exam |
| Andaman & Nicobar | Port Blair |
| Andhra Pradesh | Chirala, Chittoor, Guntur, Kakinada, Kurnool, Nellore, Ongole, Puttur, Rajahmundhry, Srikakulam, Tirupati, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram |
| Arunachal Pradesh | Itanagar, Naharlagun |
| Assam | Dibrugarh, Guwahati, Jorhat, Kokrajhar, Silchar Tezpur |
| Bihar | Arrah, Aurangabad, Bihar Sharif, Bhagalpur, Darbhanga, Gaya, Hajipur, Muzaffarpur Patna, Purnea, Samastipur, Siwan |
| Chandigarh | Chandigarh |
| Chhattisgarh | Bhilai, Bilaspur, Raipur |
| Goa | Panaji, Verna |
| Gujarat | Ahmedabad, Anand, Gandhinagar, Himmatnagar, Jamnagar, Mehsana, Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara |
| Haryana | Ambala, Bahadurgarh, Hissar, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Panipat, Palwal, Sonipat, Yamunanagar |
| Himachal Pradesh | Baddi, Bilaspur, Dharamshala, Hamirpur, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi, Shimla, Sirmaur, Solan, Una |
| Jammu & Kashmir | Jammu, Kathua, Samba, Srinagar |
| Jharkhand | Bokaro, Dhanbad, Hazaribag, Jamshedpur, Ranchi |
| Karnataka | Belgaum, Bengaluru, Bidar, Gulbarga, Hubli, Mangalore, Mysore, Shimoga, Udipi |
| Kerala | Alappuzha, Kannur, Kochi, Kollam, Kottayam, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Palakkad, Thrichur, Thiruvananthapuram |
| Lakshadweep | Kavaratti |
| Madhya Pradesh | Bhopal, Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur, Satna, Sagar, Ujjain |
| Maharashtra | Amaravati, Aurangabad, Chandrapur, Dhule Jalgaon, Kolhapur, Latur, Mumbai/ Thane/Navi Mumbai, Nagpur, Nanded, Nasik, Pune, Ratnagiri, Sangli, Satara |
| Manipur | Imphal |
| Meghalaya | Ri-Bhoi, Shillong |
| Mizoram | Aizawl |
| Nagaland | Kohima |
| Delhi -NCR | Delhi, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, Gurgaon |
| Odisha | Angul, Balasore, Bargarh, Baripada, Berhampur (Ganjam), Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Jharsuguda, Rourkela, Sambalpur |
| Puducherry | Puducherry |
| Punjab | Amritsar, Bhatinda, Fatehgarh Sahib, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Mohali, Pathankot, Patiala, Phagwara, Sangrur |
| Rajasthan | Ajmer, Alwar, Bhilwara, Bikaner, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Sikar, Udaipur |
| Sikkim | Gangtok |
| Tamilnadu | Chennai, Coimbatore, Dindigul, Krishnagiri, Madurai, Nagercoil, Namakkal, Perambalur, Salem, Thanjavur, Tiruchirapalli, Tirunelveli, Thoothukodi, Vellore |
| Telangana | Hyderabad, Karimnagar, Khammam, Warangal |
| Tripura | Agartala |
| Uttar Pradesh | Agra, Aligarh, Allahabad, Bareilly, Bulandshahar, Gorakhpur, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Mathura, Meerut, Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar, Unnao, Varanasi |
| Uttarakhand | Dehradun, Haldwani, Haridwar, Roorkee |
| Kolkata | Asansol, Berhampur, Bardhaman, Durgapur, Hooghly, Howrah, Kalyani, Greater Kolkata, Siliguri |
SBI PO Prelims Preparation
- Begin with reading what the exam is about and what the job profile will look like.
- Then move towards the syllabus and get through with it.
- Formulate a well-defined preparation strategy for the exam
- Set short-term goals and stick to them.
- Practice solving mock papers and quizzes for better time management.
- Practice the application-based questions as much as possible.
- Look at previous year papers to get an idea of the exam pattern
- Recognize your strengths and weaknesses and try improving them.
- Read the newspapers regularly to know the current affairs and improve your language.
Conclusion
The State Bank of India is a prestigious place to work. They have multiple incentives and packages that attract lakhs of applicants for their exams. The government jobs are promising and thus a good job profile for people to consider.
The elements of the SBI PO prelims examination. You will come across its syllabus, exam pattern, eligibility, cut-off, and much more. The article will guide you with the elements of the SBI PO prelims examination. You will come across its syllabus, exam pattern, eligibility, cut-off, and much more.
They all are important to focus on a better understanding of the exam. The aspirant for this exam should read the article before beginning with preparation so that it’s easier to follow the examination process.