Highlights, Eligibility criteria, number of attempts, Selection Process, Tips to prepare SBI PO Exam, Understanding the syllabus, etc…

The State Bank of India conducts an exam namely, the SBI PO exam, every year to select eligible candidates for the position of Probationary Officer. Also, An enormous number of candidates appear for this exam. And only a limited number of candidates are selected based on the vacancies available all across the country. However, SBI PO is one of the in-demand exams in the banking sector of India. Also, Candidates who clear the exam are appointed as Probationary Officers in different branches of the SBI bank.

Although, The SBI PO exam is conducted in three stages. These are- Prelims exam, Mains exam, and Group Discussion/ Personal Interview. Also, According to some statistics, almost 10 lakh candidates apply for the exam, and their number decreases as the exam level proceeds. SBI is a reputed organization that provides high salaries, medical benefits, travel allowance, job securities to the officers, due to which a large number of candidates apply for the exam to secure their career.

SBI PO Highlights

Here are the important SBI PO highlights that every candidate should know before applying for the exam.

1. Exam name- SBI PO
2. Governing body- State Bank of India
3. Post- Junior Management Grade Scale-1
4. Exam level- National
5. Number of candidates- Approximately 10 lakhs
6. Exam category- Graduation
7. Exam frequency- Once a year
8. Also, Exam stages- Stage 1 Prelims, Stage 2 Mains, Stage 3 Group Discussion and Personal Interview
9. Exam mode- Online
10. Exam Duration- For Prelims- One hour (20 minutes for each section). For Mains- Three hours for the Objective test and 30 minutes for the Subjective test.
11. SBI PO syllabus – Preliminary phase- English language, Reasoning ability, Quantitative aptitude. For Mains exam- Objective paper- Data analysis and interpretation, English language, Economy/Banking/General Awareness, Reasoning and computer aptitude. Descriptive paper- English language (Essay and letter writing).
12. Exam pattern- Prelims- 100 multiple choice questions, Mains- Objective paper- 155 questions, Descriptive paper- two questions.
13. Exam language conduction- Hindi and English
14. Number of vacancies- 2056 all over India
15. Exam purpose- For selecting eligible candidates on the designation of Probationary Officers.

Eligibility criteria of SBI PO exam

The eligibility criteria for the SBI PO exam depend on three factors- educational qualification, age limit, and the number of attempts.

Let us discuss them one by one.

• Educational qualifications- However, According to the SBI PO educational qualification eligibility criteria, the applicant should have a graduate degree in any discipline from an acknowledged university or any equivalent degree/qualification grant by the Central Government. Aspiring applicants studying in the final year or semester can also provisionally apply for the exam only on the condition of providing a passing certificate if shortlisted for the interview round. Candidates who have a CA or Chartered Accountant certificate can also apply.
• Age limit- The age limit of the applicant must be 21 to 30 years. However, relaxation is provided to the applicants of reserved categories. Here is the category-wise age relaxation.

Category Age relaxation in years

ST/SC 5

Non-creamy layer OBC 3

1)PWD (OBC) 13

2)PWD (ST/SC) 15

3)PWD (GEN) 10

Retired servicemen, commissioned officers 5

Number of attempts

The maximum number of attempts is fixed for each category by SBI. Also, Candidates who have appeared for the exam for the maximum number of times can’t appear in the forthcoming exam. Please note that a single attempt counted when a candidate appears for the Mains exam after qualifying in the Prelims. Also, Like the age limit factor, reserved category candidates given an advantage. However, The attempt limit for the General/ EWS category is 4, for EWS/ General (PWD)- 7, for OBC/ OBC (PWD)- 7. And there is an unlimited number of attempts for ST/SC and SC/ST(PWD) candidates.

Selection Process- SBI PO exam

The selection procedure of SBI PO is as follows.

• Fill the application form- To apply for the exam, candidates need to visit the official website of SBI and fill the application form with complete details and attach the required documents. After that, they need to pay the application form fee. Also, The form fee for General and OBC candidates is Rs. 750. SC/ST/PWD candidates need not pay anything.
• Get the admit card/ call letter- Candidates can visit the SBI official website to download the admit card. Applicants will get separate admit cards for Prelims, Mains and Interview. It is important to note that no hard copy of the call letter is given to any shortlisted candidate.
• Appear for the exam- All registered applicants need to appear for the Prelims exam first. Also, Prelims exam is held for 1 hour, and candidates have to solve questions based on the English language, Quantitative and Reasoning Aptitude. Candidates who have qualified in the Prelims exam can appear for the Mains. After clearing the Mains exam, shortlisted candidates called for the interview round.
• Check the result- The SBI declares separate results for each round. The result is available for download in PDF format on the official website.

Tips to prepare for the SBI PO exam

After getting the complete information on the SBI PO exam, let us know some tips to crack this exam effortlessly.

Understand the syllabus

The syllabus for the English language covers topics- cloze test, para jumbles, match the clause, etc. Also, The Reasoning section includes topics- puzzles, symbols, data sufficiency, input-output, etc. The quantitative aptitude syllabus includes approximation, simplification, number series, etc.

For the Mains exam, the syllabus of English language, reasoning, and quantitative aptitude remains the same. However, the difficulty level of the questions will increase.

The syllabus for the additional two sections in the Mains exam is as follows.

1. Computer aptitude- Basic knowledge of hardware and software, operating systems, WAN and LAN, MS Office, etc.
2. General Awareness- Candidates must focus on topics- Indian economy, awards and honours, marketing, banking, agriculture, Indian Constitution, etc.

Be thorough with the concepts

Candidates must be clear with all the important concepts to ace the SBI PO exam. Though the standard of the SBI PO exam is of graduation level. But candidates can begin with learning the high school level basics of grammar and quantitative aptitude.

Practice past year question papers and mock tests

In conclusion, Candidates must practice the mock test papers and previous years’ question papers to analyze their preparation level. This will help them to know their weakly prepared areas so they can strengthen them and boost their scores.