SBI PO Exam Pattern – SBI PO Main Examination and Interview

Every year State Bank of India (SBI) invites applications to recruit candidates for the position of Probationary Officer (PO). The SBI PO National Level Written Exam takes place in two phases: Prelims and Mains. All the candidates who qualify the preliminary examination get shortlisted and become eligible to appear for the Main examination. Post this round, the candidates who qualify are shortlisted for Group Exercise and Interview. The Preliminary Examination of SBI PO this year is to be held between 8th to 16th June, 2020. The Main Examination will take place on 20th July, 2020.

In order to prepare and score well, the first and foremost task is to have a clear picture and understanding of the exam pattern of SBI PO.

Overview of SBI PO Exam 2020:

Name of Examination	State Bank of India Probationary Officer (SBI PO)
Exam Conducting Body	SBI
Level of Examination	National / All India Level
Mode of Examination	Online / Computer - Based Test
Total Number of Vacancies	2000
Emoluments	Rs. 27, 620 – Rs. 42, 020 (Gross)

SBI PO Exam Pattern 2020:

Step 1: Preliminary Exam

Preliminary Examination, conducted online, consists of 100 Objective Type Questions for 100 marks. The total duration of this test is 60 minutes. Each section has a time limit of 20 minutes. The candidates should clear the sectional cut off to be shortlisted by the Bank for the Main Examination.

Sections	Total Questions	Total Marks	Duration
English Language	30	30	One Hour
Quantitative Ability	35	35
Reasoning Ability	35	35
Total	100	100

Step 2: Main Examination

The Main Examination is further sub- divided into Objective Test and Descriptive Test carrying 200 and 50 marks respectively. Both are conducted in online mode. The candidates are required to answer the descriptive paper by typing in the answers. It immediately starts after the completion of the objective- test.

Objective Test: It is a 3 hour duration test consisting of 200 questions divided into 4 different sections. Every section in the objective test has a separate time limit to complete the questions. To qualify the test it is mandatory for the candidates to secure minimum marks in every section, as decided by the banking authorities.

Sections	Total Questions	Total Marks	Duration (minutes)
English Language	35	40	40
Data Analysis & Interpretation	35	60	45
Reasoning & Computer Aptitude	45	60	60
General, Economy & Banking Awareness	40	40	35
Total	155	200	180

Descriptive Test: The Descriptive Test is a 50 marks test of English Language- Essay and Letter Writing. The total time allotted for this section is 30 minutes. The candidates are required to obtain at least passing marks to qualify the test and become eligible for the next round i.e. group discussion and personal interview.

Penalty for Incorrect Answer

The penalty for incorrect answer is applicable to both examinations- Prelims and Mains. For every incorrect answer, one fourth marks will be deducted from the total marks assigned to that question in the objective tests. In case of any unattempted question, no mark will be deducted.

Step 3: Group Exercises and Personal Interview

20 and 30 marks are allotted to Group Exercises and Interview, respectively. The Bank is the sole authority to decide the adequate number of candidates and the qualifying marks in these rounds. The candidates who clear this round are finally placed in the Bank as Probationary Officers. For more details, you can check the Official Website of SBI: sbi.co.in

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