IBPS SO Exam 2025 - Notification, Eligibility, Important Dates, Syllabus and more

The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection Specialist Officer (IBPS SO) exam is a competitive examination conducted annually to recruit qualified candidates for specialist officer roles in various public sector banks across India. These roles require expertise in specific domains such as IT, Law, Marketing, HR, Agriculture, and Rajbhasha (Official Language). The detailed notification for IBPS SO 2025 will be out soon on the official website.

The exam fee for the IBPS SO 2025 exam is expected to be:

• General and OBC Candidates: ?850
• SC/ST/PwD Candidates: ?175

Read below for eligibility selection procedure, age limit, educational qualification and all other information.

• Opening date for online application: To be announced
• Closing date for online application: To be announced
• Exam date: To be announced
• Admit Card: To be announced
• Result date: Will be announced after exam

Pay Scale: ?36,000 - ?37,000 (Varies post-wise) + Allowances

Posts Available: IT Officer (Scale I), Agriculture Field Officer (Scale I), Rajbhasha Adhikari (Scale I), Law Officer (Scale I), HR/Personnel Officer (Scale I), Marketing Officer (Scale I).

Age Limit:

20–30 years (age relaxation applicable for reserved categories).

Educational Qualification:

Varies by post, such as IT Officer, Marketing Officer, Rajbhasha Adhikari, etc. Most require specific postgraduate degrees in relevant fields. Candidates are suggested to refer official notification for more details.

Stage 1:

This stage is common for all Specialist Officer posts. The structure includes three sections:

Reasoning Ability

Analytical Reasoning, Puzzles, Seating Arrangements, Coding-Decoding, Blood Relations, Syllogism, Direction Sense, Input-Output, Data Sufficiency.

English Language

Reading Comprehension, Cloze Test, Sentence Rearrangement, Error Spotting, Para Jumbles, Fill in the Blanks, Vocabulary, Sentence Completion.

Quantitative Aptitude

For the Post of IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR/Personnel Officer and Marketing Officer.

Number Series, Simplification, Average, Percentage, Ratio and Proportion, Time and Work, Profit and Loss, Data Interpretation, Mensuration, Probability, Time and Distance, Speed, and Distance.

General Awareness (For the post of Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari) - Special Reference to Banking Industry

Stage 2:

This stage focuses on Professional Knowledge related to the post, along with additional sections. The detailed breakdown is as follows:

Professional Knowledge

• For IT Officer: Computer Networks, Operating Systems, Data Structures, Databases, Programming Languages, Web Technologies.
• For Agriculture Officer: Crop Production, Agricultural Economics, Animal Husbandry, Soil Science.
• For Marketing Officer: Sales Management, Consumer Behavior, Brand Management, Advertising.
• For Law Officer: Indian Contract Act, Banking Law, Negotiable Instruments Act.
• For HR Officer: Human Resource Management, Labour Laws, Industrial Relations.

General/Financial Awareness

Banking Awareness, RBI Functions, Fiscal Policy, Government Schemes, Current Affairs, Economic Developments.

English Language

Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary, Sentence Correction, Error Spotting, Cloze Test.

Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude

Data Sufficiency, Puzzles, Logical Reasoning, Coding-Decoding, Basic Computer Science (Operating Systems, Databases).

Stage 3: Interview

Candidates who qualify the Mains Exam are called for an Interview.

Exam Pattern:

Stage 1 (Online)

• Total Duration: 2 hours
• Total Marks: 125 marks
• Sections:
  • Reasoning Ability: 50 marks
  • English Language: 25 marks
  • Quantitative Aptitude/General Awareness (Varies Post-wise): 50 marks
  • Marking Scheme: +1 for each correct answer, -0.25 for each incorrect answer

Stage 2 (Online)

• Total Duration: 2 hours
• Total Marks: 200 marks
• Sections:
  • Professional Knowledge (specific to the specialist post applied for, such as IT, Agriculture, Marketing, etc.): 60 marks
  • General/Financial Awareness: 50 marks
  • English Language: 40 marks
  • Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude: 60 marks
  • Marking Scheme: +1 for each correct answer, -0.25 for each incorrect answer

Stage 3: Interview

• Total Marks: 100
• Minimum qualifying marks: Candidates must achieve at least 40% in the interview (35% for reserved categories).

• Refer to previous year questions of IBPS SO exam to be aware of exam pattern.
• For study materials, practice papers and mock tests, you can refer to https://vksir.com

Below are some tips following that will help to cover the entire syllabus on time and also make it easier to ace the exam for IBPS SO 2025.

• Know the syllabus and take a printout of it.
• Manage your time effectively.
• Decide your study materials and stick to it.
• Study daily as consistency is the key.
• Go through the previous year question papers.
• Join test series and attempt mock tests from time to time.

IBPS SO 2025 detailed notification will be available soon. For further details, candidates can read the complete the complete notification on official website.