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IBPS SO (Specialist Officer) mock test
Government Exams · Syllabus

IBPS SO (Specialist Officer) Syllabus 2026

The complete IBPS SO (Specialist Officer) syllabus for 2026 — 10 sections and 93 topics in all, organised exactly as the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) prescribes. Use it as your revision checklist, then test yourself with a free IBPS SO (Specialist Officer) mock below.

Reasoning Ability (Prelims — all streams)8 topics

  • Puzzles — Linear and Circular seating, Floor-based, Box-based, Day/Month scheduling
  • Syllogism (statement-conclusion, possibility)
  • Inequalities (direct and coded)
  • Coding-Decoding (alphabetic, numeric, symbol)
  • Blood Relations, Direction Sense, Order and Ranking
  • Alphanumeric Series
  • Statement-Assumption, Cause-Effect
  • Critical Reasoning passages

English Language (Prelims — all streams)6 topics

  • Reading Comprehension (banking, economy, social themes)
  • Cloze Test (single-blank)
  • Para Jumbles
  • Sentence Improvement and Error Spotting
  • Fill in the Blanks (single, double)
  • Vocabulary in context (synonyms, antonyms, idioms)

Quantitative Aptitude (Prelims — IT / Agri / HR / Marketing streams)9 topics

  • Simplification and Approximation
  • Number Series and Quadratic Equations
  • Percentages, Profit-Loss-Discount, SI/CI
  • Ratio and Proportion, Partnership, Ages
  • Time and Work, Pipes and Cisterns
  • Time, Speed and Distance — Boats and Streams, Trains
  • Averages, Mixtures and Alligation
  • Mensuration 2D and basic 3D
  • Data Interpretation — Tabular, Bar, Line, Pie, Caselet

General Awareness with Banking reference (Prelims — Law / Rajbhasha streams)9 topics

  • RBI, banking regulation, monetary policy basics
  • Banking products and services
  • Financial Inclusion schemes
  • Digital payments — UPI, IMPS, NEFT, RTGS
  • Government schemes — PMJDY, PM-KISAN, PMFBY, MUDRA
  • Capital market, SEBI, mutual fund basics
  • Insurance — IRDAI, LIC, basic policies
  • Recent banking current affairs (last 6 months)
  • Static GK — awards, sports, books, persons, defence, science

Professional Knowledge — IT Officer (Mains)10 topics

  • Computer Networks — OSI model, TCP/IP, IP addressing, subnetting, routing protocols
  • Operating Systems — process management, memory management, file systems, deadlocks, synchronisation
  • Database Management — RDBMS, SQL queries, normalisation (1NF-3NF, BCNF), transactions, ACID, indexing
  • Data Structures — arrays, linked lists, stacks, queues, trees, graphs, hashing, sorting/searching algorithms
  • Algorithms — time/space complexity, divide-and-conquer, greedy, dynamic programming
  • Software Engineering — SDLC models (Waterfall, Agile, Spiral), testing types, UML basics
  • Web Technologies — HTTP/HTTPS, HTML, CSS, JavaScript basics, REST APIs
  • Cyber Security — symmetric/asymmetric encryption, digital signatures, phishing, malware classes, firewall, IDS/IPS
  • Cloud Computing — IaaS/PaaS/SaaS, virtualisation, public/private/hybrid cloud
  • Emerging tech — AI/ML basics, Blockchain fundamentals, IoT, Big Data

Professional Knowledge — Agricultural Field Officer (Mains)10 topics

  • Indian agriculture — cropping systems, kharif/rabi/zaid crops, agro-climatic zones
  • Soil science — soil types, fertility, NPK, soil conservation, organic farming
  • Agronomy — irrigation methods (drip, sprinkler, surface), tillage, crop rotation, pest management
  • Horticulture — fruits, vegetables, floriculture, post-harvest management
  • Animal Husbandry, Dairy, Poultry, Fisheries (Blue Revolution)
  • Government schemes — PM-KISAN, PMFBY (crop insurance), eNAM, KCC (Kisan Credit Card), PMKSY (irrigation)
  • Agricultural finance — agriculture loans, KCC, crop loan interest subvention, priority sector lending agriculture norms
  • NABARD — role, refinance, RIDF, schemes
  • Agricultural marketing — APMC reforms, eNAM, MSP, FCI, PDS
  • Agri current affairs — recent budgets' agriculture announcements, monsoon forecasts, food inflation

Professional Knowledge — HR / Personnel Officer (Mains)9 topics

  • HRM concepts — HR planning, recruitment, selection, induction, training & development
  • Performance management — appraisal systems, 360-degree feedback, KPIs
  • Compensation and benefits — wage structure, incentives, statutory benefits
  • Industrial Relations — Industrial Disputes Act 1947, Trade Unions Act 1926, Factories Act 1948
  • Labour Laws — Code on Wages 2019, Industrial Relations Code 2020, Social Security Code 2020, OSH Code 2020
  • Organisational Behaviour — motivation theories (Maslow, Herzberg, McGregor), leadership styles, group dynamics
  • HRD — Training Needs Analysis, learning theories, competency mapping
  • Strategic HRM, Talent Management, Succession Planning
  • Banking HR — recruitment via IBPS/SBI/RBI/NABARD, transfer policies, employee grievance redressal in PSBs

Professional Knowledge — Marketing Officer (Mains)10 topics

  • Marketing concepts — 4Ps, 7Ps for services, marketing mix, segmentation-targeting-positioning
  • Consumer behaviour — buying decision process, influencing factors
  • Product life cycle, BCG matrix, Ansoff matrix
  • Pricing strategies — cost-plus, competition-based, value-based, penetration, skimming
  • Distribution channels and supply chain basics
  • Digital marketing — SEO, SEM, social media, content marketing, email marketing
  • Banking marketing — retail banking products, cross-selling, customer relationship management (CRM)
  • Brand management, sales management, sales forecasting
  • Services marketing (high relevance for banking)
  • Market research basics, customer satisfaction measurement

Professional Knowledge — Law Officer (Mains)12 topics

  • Banking Regulation Act 1949 and RBI Act 1934 — key provisions and powers of RBI
  • Negotiable Instruments Act 1881 — cheques (Section 138), promissory notes, bills of exchange
  • SARFAESI Act 2002 — secured asset enforcement, ARC, DRT, recovery process
  • Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 — CIRP, liquidation, NCLT, NCLAT
  • Indian Contract Act 1872 — offer-acceptance, consideration, capacity, free consent, performance
  • Companies Act 2013 — types of companies, directors, shareholders, winding up
  • Indian Evidence Act 1872, Code of Civil Procedure 1908, Code of Criminal Procedure (now BNSS 2023)
  • Consumer Protection Act 2019
  • Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002, FEMA 1999
  • Banking Ombudsman Scheme, Banking Codes and Standards (BCSBI)
  • Limitation Act 1963, Transfer of Property Act 1882
  • Recent banking law judgments (Supreme Court / High Court on banking matters)

Professional Knowledge — Rajbhasha Adhikari (Mains)10 topics

  • Rajbhasha policy of Government of India — Official Languages Act 1963, Official Languages Rules 1976
  • Constitutional provisions — Articles 343-351 (Official Language of the Union, Regional languages, Special directives)
  • Hindi literature — major periods (Aadikal, Bhaktikal, Reetikal, Adhunikkal), major poets and authors
  • Hindi grammar — sandhi, samaas, alankar, ras, chhand, vakya rachna
  • Translation skills — English to Hindi and Hindi to English (banking, administrative, technical contexts)
  • Hindi typing on computer (Inscript / Krutidev / Mangal fonts) — knowledge of Unicode and ISCII
  • Banking-domain Hindi vocabulary and phraseology
  • Letter writing and noting/drafting in Hindi (administrative format)
  • Hindi essay writing on current affairs and banking themes
  • Implementation of Rajbhasha policy in PSBs — Rajbhasha Karyanvayan Samiti, Annual Programme of Hindi

Know the syllabus — now see where you stand.

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