Syllabus & pattern at a glance
SBI PO is selected in three phases. Prelims (Phase I) is a screening test; the Main exam (Phase II) decides who is called for Phase III, and its marks are scaled to 75 of the 100 marks in the final merit list.
Prelims exam pattern
Three objective tests, each separately timed at 20 minutes, for a total of 100 marks. There is no sectional cut-off: SBI ranks candidates category-wise on their aggregate and calls about 10 times each category’s vacancies to mains. Prelims marks are not carried into the final merit.
| Test | Questions | Time |
|---|---|---|
| English Language | 40 | 20 min |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 30 | 20 min |
| Reasoning Ability | 30 | 20 min |
| Total | 100 (100 marks) | 1 hour |
The advertisement gives only the total of 100 marks for prelims; it does not split the marks test by test.
Prelims syllabus, test by test
SBI publishes only the test names and a short description of each in its prelims booklet. Tap a test for the topics commonly tested under it — use them as a study checklist, not an official list.
SBI’s prelims booklet says English is tested through grammar, vocabulary, sentence completion, synonyms, antonyms and passage comprehension, and that Quantitative Aptitude covers computation, quantitative reasoning and the interpretation of tables and graphs. It adds that the real exam may have harder questions, and question types not shown in the samples.
Mains exam pattern
Four separately timed objective tests — 170 questions, 200 marks, 3 hours — followed straight away by a 30-minute descriptive test that you type on the computer. Together they make 230 marks in 3 hours 30 minutes.
| Mains test | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| I · Reasoning & Computer Aptitude | 40 | 60 |
| II · Data Analysis & Interpretation | 30 | 60 |
| III · General Awareness / Economy / Banking Knowledge | 60 | 60 |
| IV · English Language | 40 | 20 |
| Objective total | 170 | 200 |
Mains syllabus, test by test
Mains goes deeper than prelims, adds computer aptitude and an awareness test, and ends with a descriptive test. Topic chips are commonly tested areas; the descriptive tasks are the ones SBI itself lists.
How marks are split across tests
SBI does not publish topic-wise weightage, and for prelims it gives only question counts. In mains it does fix the marks: Reasoning & Computer Aptitude, Data Analysis & Interpretation and the awareness test carry 60 marks each, English 20, and the descriptive test 30.
Reasoning & Computer Aptitude
Quant & Data Analysis
Awareness
English
Crack SBI PO with your own daily plan
Daily targets, PYQ-style practice sets & timed mocks — built around the SBI PO pattern.
Turn this syllabus into a daily plan
A topic list only helps once it’s sequenced. JobSafal breaks the SBI PO prelims and mains tests into short daily targets you can actually finish.
Syllabus as daily targets
Prelims and mains topics split into small daily targets, so you always know what to study next.
PYQ-style practice sets
Six timed SBI PO practice sets to test what you’ve covered against the clock.
Timed mocks
Practise in a timed test interface, with analysis after every attempt.
English & Hindi
Notes and practice in both languages — the English Language tests and the descriptive test are in English only.
