IBPS PO 2026: what we know
The prelims were held on 22–23 August 2026 as per the IBPS calendar, the prelims result was released on 29 September, and the Main exam was scheduled for 4 October 2026. IBPS does not publish difficulty ratings or good-attempt figures, and the Mains result is still awaited (tentatively November 2026).
What this page covers
Section-wise paper
Section names, questions, marks and timings are from the notification; each section is separately timed. IBPS publishes only section names, so the topic lists below are commonly tested areas, not an official syllabus.
Prelims · English Language
30 Q · 30 marks · 20 min · English only. Commonly tested: reading comprehension, error spotting, fillers and para jumbles.
Prelims · Quantitative Aptitude
35 Q · 30 marks · 20 min. Commonly tested: simplification, number series, quadratic equations, data interpretation and arithmetic.
Prelims · Reasoning Ability
35 Q · 40 marks · 20 min. Commonly tested: puzzles and seating arrangement, syllogism, inequalities, blood relations and coding-decoding.
Mains · Reasoning
40 Q · 60 marks · 45 min. Commonly tested: puzzles, data sufficiency, logical reasoning and input-output.
Mains · General / Economy / Banking Awareness
50 Q · 60 marks · 35 min. Officially covers general, economy, banking, digital and financial awareness, including RBI circulars.
Mains · English Language
40 Q · 20 marks · 35 min · English only. Commonly tested: reading comprehension, vocabulary and sentence-level questions.
Mains · Data Analysis & Interpretation
40 Q · 60 marks · 45 min. Commonly tested: tables, charts and caselet-based data sets, data sufficiency and arithmetic.
Mains · Descriptive paper
2 Q · 25 marks · 30 min · English. Essay and comprehension, broadly on economic and social issues, banking and technology trends, current events and ethics; may be scored by an automated mechanism.
What a wrong answer costs
Every objective section deducts one-fourth of a question’s marks for each wrong answer, in both prelims and Mains; a question left blank costs nothing. Because marks per question differ by section, so does the penalty. Worked out from the official marks and question counts:
| Section | Marks per question | Penalty per wrong answer |
|---|---|---|
| Prelims · English Language | 1.00 | 0.25 |
| Prelims · Quantitative Aptitude | ≈ 0.86 | ≈ 0.21 |
| Prelims · Reasoning Ability | ≈ 1.14 | ≈ 0.29 |
| Mains · Reasoning | 1.50 | 0.375 |
| Mains · General / Economy / Banking Awareness | 1.20 | 0.30 |
| Mains · English Language | 0.50 | 0.125 |
| Mains · Data Analysis & Interpretation | 1.50 | 0.375 |
These figures assume marks are spread equally across a section’s questions — IBPS states only section totals. The penalty applies to the objective tests only. IBPS does not publish good-attempt numbers, so we don’t show any.
Normalisation & cut-offs
Scores from different sessions, if held, are normalised using the equi-percentile method, with scores taken up to two decimals. In the prelims you must clear a cut-off in each of the three sections, set by IBPS, before candidates are shortlisted for Mains category-wise. In the Mains you need a minimum score in each test and a minimum total; the cut-offs depend on the vacancies, and Mains scores aren’t shared with shortlisted candidates until the interview process is complete. IBPS shows cut-offs in candidates’ result logins rather than in a separate document.
Crack IBPS PO with your own daily plan
Daily targets, PYQ practice sets & timed mocks — to the latest pattern.
Turn the paper structure into your next mock
Knowing where the marks and penalties sit only helps if you practise to it. JobSafal turns the IBPS PO sections into daily targets and timed practice, so accuracy becomes a habit before the exam.
Section-wise plan
Daily targets across English, Quant/DI, Reasoning and Awareness.
Full CBT mocks
Real-interface mocks with rank comparison.
Sectional drills
Work on the section your mocks flag as weak.
PYQ practice sets
See how earlier IBPS PO papers asked each section.
