Common Recruitment Process for Clerical Cadre in Participating Banks.
The IBPS Clerk exam is conducted every year by the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) to recruit candidates for clerical posts in public sector banks across India.
Recruitment is conducted through the Common Recruitment Process (CRP), which participating banks use to fill clerical vacancies nationwide.
The IBPS Clerk post is now officially referred to as Customer Service Associate (CSA), and the recruitment cycle is called CRP-CSA.
Selected candidates are appointed in public sector banks as clerical staff responsible for customer service, cash handling, account operations, and other banking support activities.
There is no interview stage in IBPS Clerk recruitment.Final selection is based on performance in the Main Examination.
The Nodal Banks/ Participating Organisations may arrange pre-examination training for SC/ST/Religious Minority Community candidates at certain centres as per the guidelines issued by the Government of India. Candidates belonging to the above categories can avail the training at their own cost by indicating the same against the relevant column while applying online. Please find below an indicative list of training centers:
Agartala, Agra, Ahmedabad, Allahabad, Amritsar, Aurangabad, Balasore, Bareilly, Behrampur (Ganjam), Bengaluru, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Dehradun, Dhanbad, Gorakhpur, Gulbarga, Guwahati, Hubli, Hyderabad, Indore, Jabalpur, Jaipur, Jammu, Jodhpur, Kanpur, Karnal, Kavaratti, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Madurai, Mangalore, Mumbai, Muzaffarpur, Mysore, Nagpur, New Delhi, Panaji (Goa), Patiala, Patna, Port Blair, Puducherry, Pune, Raipur, Rajkot, Ranchi, Rohtak, Sambalpur, Shimla, Shillong, Siliguri, Thiruchirapalli, Thiruvananthapuram, Tirupati, Vadodara, Varanasi, Vijaywada and Vishakhapatnam.
The Bank may add additional centers or may remove some of the centers indicated for training. Candidates opting for pre-examination training should download their call letter for training by entering their registration number and password/ date of birth from the Bank's website. No hard copy of the call letter will be sent by post.
While filling out the online application form, candidates can select their preferred exam centre from the IBPS Clerk Exam Centre list. However, IBPS reserves the right to allot a different centre if seats are unavailable at the preferred location. No requests for change of exam centre will be entertained.
| State/UT | Prelims Exam Centers | Mains Exam Centers |
|---|---|---|
| Andaman & Nicobar | Port Blair | Port Blair |
| Andhra Pradesh | Ananthapur, Chirala, Guntur, Hyderabad, Kakinada, Kadapa, Kurnool, Nellore, Rajahmundry, Srikakulam, Tirupati, Vijaywada, Vishakhapatnam, Vizianagaram | Guntur, Kurnool, Vijaywada, Vishakhapatnam |
| Arunachal Pradesh | Naharlagun | Naharlagun |
| Assam | Dibrugarh, Guwahati, Jorhat, Silchar, Tezpur | Guwahati, Silchar |
| Bihar | Arrah, Aurangabad, Bhagalpur, Darbhanga, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Patna, Purnea | Bhagalpur, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Patna |
| Chandigarh | Chandigarh/Mohali | Chandigarh/Mohali |
| Chhattisgarh | Bhilai, Bilaspur, Raipur | Raipur |
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu | Surat, Jamnagar | Surat |
| Delhi | Delhi/New Delhi/Delhi NCR, Faridabad, Ghaziabad | Delhi/New Delhi/Delhi NCR, Faridabad, Ghaziabad |
| Goa | Panaji | Panaji |
| Gujarat | Ahmedabad, Anand, Gandhinagar, Jamnagar, Mehsana, Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara | Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Vadodara |
| Haryana | Ambala, Faridabad, Gurugram, Kurukshetra | Ambala, Faridabad, Gurugram |
| Himachal Pradesh | Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi, Shimla, Solan | Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Shimla, Solan |
| Jammu & Kashmir | Jammu, Samba, Srinagar | Jammu, Srinagar |
| Jharkhand | Dhanbad, Hazaribagh, Jamshedpur, Ranchi, Bokaro | Dhanbad, Jamshedpur, Ranchi |
| Karnataka | Bengaluru, Belgaum, Bidar, Davangere, Gulbarga, Hubli-Dharwad, Mangalore, Mysore, Shimoga, Udupi | Bengaluru, Hubli-Dharwad, Mangalore |
| Kerala | Alappuzha, Kannur, Kochi, Kollam, Kottayam, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Palakkad, Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur | Kochi, Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram |
| Ladakh | Leh | Leh |
| Lakshadweep | Kavaratti | Kavaratti |
| Madhya Pradesh | Bhopal, Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur, Sagar, Satna, Ujjain | Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior |
| Maharashtra | Amravati, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar (Aurangabad), Chandrapur, Jalgaon, Kolhapur, Latur, Mumbai/Thane/Navi Mumbai/MMR, Nagpur, Nanded, Nashik, Pune, Solapur | Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar (Aurangabad), Mumbai/Thane/Navi Mumbai/MMR, Nagpur, Pune |
| Manipur | Imphal | Imphal |
| Meghalaya | Shillong | Shillong |
| Mizoram | Aizawl | Aizawl |
| Nagaland | Kohima | Kohima |
| Odisha | Balasore, Berhampur(Ganjam), Bhubaneshwar, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Rourkela, Sambalpur | Bhubaneshwar |
| Puducherry | Puducherry | Puducherry |
| Punjab | Amritsar, Bhatinda, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Mohali, Pathankot, Patiala | Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Mohali, Patiala |
| Rajasthan | Ajmer, Alwar, Bikaner, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Sikar, Udaipur | Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur |
| Sikkim | Bardang/Gangtok | Bardang/Gangtok |
| Tamil Nadu | Chennai, Coimbatore, Erode, Madurai, Nagercoil, Salem, Thanjavur, Thiruchirapalli, Tirunelveli, Vellore, Virudhunagar | Chennai, Madurai, Tirunelveli |
| Telangana | Hyderabad, Karimnagar, Khammam, Warangal | Hyderabad, Karimnagar |
| Tripura | Agartala | Agartala |
| Uttar Pradesh | Agra, Aligarh, Bareilly, Faizabad, Ghaziabad, Gorakhpur, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Mathura, Meerut, Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar, Noida/Greater Noida, Prayagraj(Allahabad), Sitapur, Varanasi | Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, Kanpur, Lucknow, Meerut, Prayagraj(Allahabad), Varanasi |
| Uttarakhand | Dehradun, Haldwani, Roorkee | Dehradun |
| West Bengal | Asansol, Durgapur, Greater Kolkata, Hooghly, Kalyani, Siliguri | Asansol, Greater Kolkata, Kalyani, Siliguri |
Candidates must download the IBPS Clerk admit card from the official website as the hard copy will not be sent via post. To log in and download the admit card, candidates need the following details:
The admit card is usually released 10 to 15 days before the examination date. The IBPS Clerk call letter will be issued in two phases:
Candidates are advised to verify all details mentioned on the admit card before downloading and printing it.
IBPS declares results after completion of each examination phase. The final selection is based on the marks obtained in the Online Mains Examination.
A state-wise and category-wise merit list is prepared in descending order of marks secured. Candidates falling within the merit list are considered for appointment as clerks in participating banks.
Preparation for IBPS Clerk should be aligned with the latest exam pattern and syllabus. Candidates should plan their preparation strategically as the syllabus covers a wide range of topics.
IBPS has released the updated IBPS Clerk Syllabus for both prelims and mains exam. Unlike every year, this year also, IBPS has released huge vacancies for Clerical Cadre posts to be filled in 11 participating banks. If you are planning to prepare for IBPS Clerk Exam then you must be looking for the latest exam pattern and syllabus. Check the updated IBPS Clerk syllabus & exam pattern in this post below.
IBPS Clerk Syllabus is very much the same as any other Bank Exam. The major three sections on which a candidate needs a complete command to ace the preliminary exam for IBPS Clerk are:
When a candidate clears the Preliminary Exam, he/she must start preparing for the phase 2 exam. The Mains Examination of IBPS Clerk consists of 4 sections which are mentioned below:
A candidate must look into the IBPS Clerk Syllabus and practice with IBPS Clerk Previous Years’ Papers to know the weightage of the sub-topics asked in each section of both the preliminary and mains exams of IBPS Clerk Exam . The number of questions in Mains Exam has been reduced to 155 and time duration is now 120 minutes.
The selection criteria for IBPS Clerk posts will be 2 tier i.e. the online examination will be held in two phases, Online Preliminary and Online Main. The prelims marks are not included in the IBPS PO final merit list and selection is solely based on marks scored in the mains exam.
| Stages | Details |
|---|---|
| IBPS Clerk Prelims |
No. of Questions- 100 Type of Questions- Multiple Choice Questions Duration- 60 minutes Qualifying in nature Subjects- English Language, Reasoning Ability, Numerical Ability Negative Marking- 0.25/ ¼th |
| IBPS Clerk Mains |
No. of Questions- 190 Duration- 160 minutes Scoring in nature Subjects- Quantitative Aptitude, English Language, Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude, General/ Financial Awareness Negative Marking- 0.25/ ¼th |
Let's now look at the section-wise (subject-wise) syllabus for IBPS Clerk exam. This will assist you in completely understanding the exam and formulating an impressive preparation strategy for yourself. The syllabus is provided for all subjects and depending on whether the candidate is appearing for the Prelims or Mains exam. IBPS Clerk Syllabus for Prelims and Mains examinations is given below:
The syllabus for Numerical Ability / Quantitative Aptitude and English Language is the same for mains and preliminary exams. In addition to these two, the other subjects are General / Financial Awareness and Reasoning & Computer Knowledge. General Awareness is based on the Banking Sector awareness.
The English Language section of the IBPS Clerk exam assesses your understanding and proficiency in English. The updated syllabus for the English Language section is as follows:
| Vocabulary | Grammar | Reading Comprehension |
|---|---|---|
|
Homonyms Antonyms Synonyms Word Formation Spelling |
Spotting Errors Phrases and idioms Direct and Indirect speech Active/ Passive voice |
Theme Detection Passage completion Topic rearrangement of passage Deriving Conclusion |
The Reasoning Ability section of the IBPS Clerk exam tests your logical and analytical thinking skills. Check the important topics for Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning from below tabulated data.
| Verbal Reasoning | Non-Verbal Reasoning |
|---|---|
|
Analogy Classification Word formation Statement and conclusions Syllogism Statement and assumptions Statement and arguments Coding-Decoding Blood Relations Passage and conclusions Alphabet test Series Test Number, Ranking and time sequence Direction sense Test Decision-making test |
Figure series Input/output Assertion and reasoning Sitting Arrangement Series test Odd figure Out Analogy Miscellaneous Test |
The Quantitative Aptitude section of the IBPS Clerk exam evaluates your numerical ability and problem-solving skills. Below is the detailed syllabus for the Quantitative Aptitude section:
The Computers section of the IBPS Clerk exam is designed to test your basic knowledge of computer hardware, software, and related concepts. Here's a detailed syllabus for the Computers section:
The General Awareness section of the IBPS Clerk exam primarily focuses on current events and general knowledge. The topics included in this section are as follows-
| Current Affairs | Banking |
|---|---|
| Current affairs related to national and international issues of last 6 months |
Overview of Indian Financial System History of the Indian banking system Recent credit and monetary policies Introduction to National financial institutions like RBI, SEBI, IRDA, FSDC etc and of International organizations like IMF, World Bank, ADB, UN etc Abbreviations and Economic terminologies Banking Terms Important Government Schemes on capital & money market |
The IBPS Clerk exam occurs in two stages: Prelims and Mains. Both these papers follow the online method of conducting the written examination. The structure of the exam is as follow:
The preliminary exam of IBPS CRP CSA-XIV is an online exam testing a candidate on the basis of their aptitude, intellect and English. There are three sections in total and the candidate must clear the cut-off of each section to proceed to the mains exam round.
Candidates are required to solve the question paper in the time frame of 20 minutes for each section. The composite mark of the paper is 100 and the passing marks is decided by IBPS that is likely to change every year depending on the level of difficulty of the exam.
| S.No. | Name of Tests | No. of Questions | Maximum Marks | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English Language | 30 | 30 | 20 minutes |
| 2 | Numerical Ability | 35 | 35 | 20 minutes |
| 3 | Reasoning Ability | 35 | 35 | 20 minutes |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 1 Hour |
Candidates have to qualify in each of the three tests by securing minimum cut-off marks to be decided by IBPS. An adequate number of candidates in each category as decided by IBPS depending upon requirements will be shortlisted for Online Main Examination.
Slights changes have been observed in the Exam Pattern of IBPS Clerk Mains Exam. IBPS Clerk Mains Exam will now consist of 155 questions and the total marks will remain same i.s. 200. The duration of the exam is reduced to 120 minutes which was previously 160 minutes.
| S.No. | Name of Tests | No. of Questions | Maximum Marks | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude | 40 | 60 | 35 minutes |
| 2 | English Language | 40 | 40 | 35 minutes |
| 3 | Quantitative Aptitude | 35 | 50 | 30 minutes |
| 4 | General/ Financial Awareness | 40 | 50 | 20 minutes |
| Total | 155 | 200 | 120 minutes |
There is a penalty for wrong answers marked in both the preliminary examination as well as mains examination. A wrong answer to an objective question will lead to a penalty of one-fourth (1/4) of the total mark assigned to that question. There will be no penalty for the question left blank or unanswered.
The final score for the IBPS Clerk exam is calculated keeping the following points in mind:
The candidate must fulfill the following three criteria to be eligible for the IBPS Clerk Exam -
The candidate must be 20 Years to 28 Years. A candidate must have been born not earlier than 02.07.1998 and not later than 01.07.2006.
There is some relaxation of the upper age limit for special category candidates. The details on it are given below:
| SNo. | Category | Age relaxation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe | 5 years |
| 2 | Other Backward Classes (Non-Creamy Layer) | 3 years |
| 3 | Persons With Disabilities | 10 years |
| 4 | Ex-Servicemen / Disabled Ex-Servicemen | actual period of service rendered in the defence forces + 3 years (8 years for Disabled ExServicemen belonging to SC/ST) subject to a maximum age limit of 50 years |
| 5 | Widows, divorced women and women legally separated from their husbands who have not remarried |
Age concession upto the age of 35 years for General/EWS, 38 years for OBC and 40 years for SC/ST candidates |
A candidate must possess the minimum qualification of Graduation in any discipline from a recognized University or any equivalent qualification recognized as such by the Central Government. The candidate should possess a certificate as proof of passing the qualifying examination.
The candidate must possess a valid mark sheet / Degree Certificate that he/ she is a graduate on the day he/she registers and indicate the percentage of marks obtained in Graduation while registering online.
Operating and working knowledge in computer systems is mandatory i.e. candidates should have a Certificate/Diploma/Degree in computer operations/Language/ should have studied Computer / Information Technology as one of the subjects in the High School/College/Institute.
Proficiency in the Official Language of the State/UT (candidates should know how to read/ write and speak the Official Language of the State/UT) for which vacancies a candidate wishes to apply is preferable.
A candidate must be either -
