If this is your first attempt at IBPS PO, the hardest part is not the syllabus. It is knowing what to do on which day. This guide gives you a 12-week plan built on the latest official pattern (IBPS CRP PO/MT-XVI), so you can start today and arrive at the Prelims with 25+ full mocks done.
IBPS has not announced the 2027 dates yet. Exam dates below are shown as “–” until the official calendar is out. Always check the latest notification on ibps.in.
IBPS PO at a glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Conducted by | IBPS (Institute of Banking Personnel Selection) |
| Post | Probationary Officer / Management Trainee in participating public sector banks |
| Qualification | Graduation in any discipline |
| Age | 20 to 30 years (relaxation for reserved categories) |
| Stages | Prelims → Mains (objective + descriptive) → Interview |
| Negative marking | 1/4 of the marks of the question |
| Final merit | Mains and Interview in the ratio 80:20 (Prelims is qualifying only) |
| 2027 notification | – |
| 2027 Prelims date | – |
Exam pattern you are preparing for
Prelims (1 hour, sectional timing)
| Section | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 30 | 30 | 20 min |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 35 | 30 | 20 min |
| Reasoning Ability | 35 | 40 | 20 min |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 60 min |
You must clear the cut-off in each section, so a weak section can knock you out even if your total is high.
Mains (2 hours 40 minutes + descriptive)
| Section | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reasoning | 40 | 60 | 45 min |
| General / Economy / Banking / Digital / Financial Awareness | 50 | 60 | 35 min |
| English Language | 40 | 20 | 35 min |
| Data Analysis & Interpretation | 40 | 60 | 45 min |
| Total | 170 | 200 | 160 min |
| Descriptive (essay + comprehension) | 2 | 25 | 30 min |
Full topic list: IBPS PO syllabus & exam pattern.
Before you start: the 3 rules of this plan
- Daily minimum: 4 hours. If you are working, split it as 1.5 hours in the morning and 2.5 hours in the evening.
- Every day has three parts: one Quant topic, one Reasoning topic, and English + current affairs.
- Mocks start in week 3, not at the end. Most first-timers fail because they take their first mock two weeks before the exam.
Month 1 (Weeks 1–4): Build the base
The goal of month 1 is simple: learn every Prelims topic once, slowly and correctly. Speed comes later.
| Week | Quantitative Aptitude | Reasoning | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Simplification, approximation, tables up to 30, squares to 50, cubes to 25 | Inequalities, coding-decoding | Daily reading (1 editorial), basic grammar: subject-verb agreement, tenses |
| 2 | Number series, quadratic equations | Linear seating arrangement, order and ranking | Error spotting, fillers |
| 3 | Percentage, ratio, average, profit and loss | Circular seating, blood relations, direction | Cloze test, para jumbles |
| 4 | Simple and compound interest, time and work, speed-time-distance | Box and floor puzzles, syllogism | Reading comprehension (2 passages a day) |
From week 3: take one sectional test a day (rotate Quant, Reasoning, English) and one full Prelims mock on Sunday.
Month 2 (Weeks 5–8): Speed and Mains topics
| Week | Focus |
|---|---|
| 5 | Data interpretation (table, bar, pie, line); mixture and alligation; ages, partnership |
| 6 | Puzzles daily (2 per day, timed); input-output; data sufficiency |
| 7 | Mains-level DI: caselets, missing DI, arithmetic DI; logical reasoning (assumption, conclusion, course of action) |
| 8 | Banking awareness: RBI, monetary policy, banking terms, digital payments (UPI, NEFT, RTGS, IMPS) |
Mocks in month 2: 3 full Prelims mocks a week. After each mock, spend as long analysing it as you spent taking it.
Current affairs: read the daily current affairs post every day and take its 10-question quiz. Mains asks current affairs of the last 6 months, so start now.
Month 3 (Weeks 9–12): Mocks, revision and the descriptive paper
| Week | Plan |
|---|---|
| 9 | 1 full Prelims mock every day + revise weak topics from your error notebook |
| 10 | 1 Prelims mock daily + 2 Mains mocks this week |
| 11 | Alternate Prelims and Mains mocks; practise 1 essay and 1 letter/comprehension every 2 days (25 minutes each) |
| 12 | Light revision only: formula sheet, puzzles, last 6 months’ current affairs one-liners. No new topics. |
How to attempt the Prelims paper (sectional timing)
- English (20 min): start with fillers, error spotting and vocabulary, then reading comprehension. Aim for 22–24 attempts with high accuracy.
- Quant (20 min): simplification and number series first, then quadratic equations, then one DI set. Skip lengthy arithmetic word problems.
- Reasoning (20 min): inequality, syllogism and coding first (fast marks), then 2–3 puzzles you can solve fully. Never half-solve a puzzle.
The error notebook (the most important habit)
Every wrong answer in a mock goes into a notebook with three columns: question type, why I got it wrong, the correct method. Revise this notebook every Sunday. This one habit stops you from repeating the same mistakes in every mock.
Common mistakes first-timers make
- Reading too many books instead of doing more questions. One good book per subject is enough. See our recommended books.
- Ignoring English because it “carries fewer marks”. The sectional cut-off applies to English too.
- Starting current affairs one month before Mains.
- Taking mocks without analysing them.
Free practice on SyllabusBox
- Free mock tests for Bank PO (full mocks, sectional and topic tests with solutions)
- Daily current affairs and one-liners
- Daily quizzes
Pattern, age and marking scheme are from IBPS CRP PO/MT-XVI. Confirm everything with the official 2027 notification when it is released.