Government Exams · Syllabus

SBI PO (Probationary Officer) Syllabus 2026

The complete SBI PO (Probationary Officer) syllabus for 2026 — 5 sections and 60 topics in all, organised exactly as the State Bank of India Central Recruitment & Promotion Department (CRPD) prescribes. Use it as your revision checklist, then test yourself with a free SBI PO (Probationary Officer) mock below.

English Language (Prelims + Mains)9 topics

Reading Comprehension — Mains-level passages on monetary policy, BASEL III/IV, financial inclusion, fintech regulation, IBC, CBDC, ESG investing, climate finance (350-500 words)
Cloze test (single and double cloze formats) on banking and economic themes
Para jumble / parajumble / sentence rearrangement (6-7 sentences with strong opener-closer logic)
Error spotting — subtle subject-verb agreement, parallel structure, conditionals, modifier placement
Sentence improvement and sentence connectors (linkers, contrast, cause-effect)
Fill in the blanks (single, double and triple blank formats)
Vocabulary in context — synonym/antonym, one-word substitution, idioms and phrases
Word usage / word swap / phrase replacement
Descriptive English (Mains only) — formal letter writing (complaint, request, regulatory) + essay (300 words on banking/economy/social-policy themes)

Quantitative Aptitude (Prelims)12 topics

Number system — divisibility, HCF/LCM, surds, indices, simplification, approximation
Percentages, profit-loss-discount, partnership, average
Ratio and proportion, mixture and alligation (including replacement)
Simple interest and compound interest (mixed, half-yearly compounding, instalment)
Time and work, pipes and cisterns, time-speed-distance (boats, trains, relative speed)
Ages, problems on ratio of ages and successive change
Permutation, combination and probability (basics)
Quadratic equations (factor method and comparison of two quadratics)
Mensuration — area and volume of 2D and 3D figures (triangle, circle, cylinder, cone, sphere)
Data Interpretation — bar, line, pie, table (Prelims-level — 1-2 sets)
Number series (missing number and wrong number)
Simplification and approximation drills

Data Analysis & Interpretation (Mains — the section that decides merit)10 topics

Caselet DI — 4-5 sentence banking-context scenarios with 5 sub-questions per set (deposits, NPAs, CASA, PSL, branches, employees)
Missing-data DI — table or bar chart with one or more missing cells, derivable through constraints
Mixed DI — bar + line, table + pie, bar + table chart combinations
Pie chart DI — single and multi-level pies, percent and absolute conversions
Radar / spider / hexagonal chart DI — multi-KPI comparisons across banks or branches
Table-based DI with multiple constraints (averages, ratios, percent change)
Data sufficiency (single statement, two statements, three statements)
Quadratic comparison (find relation between x and y; including 'cannot be determined')
Probability and permutation-combination (1-2 standalone Q)
Letter and symbol series, age and average problems set in banking contexts

Reasoning Ability (Prelims) and Reasoning + Computer Aptitude (Mains)12 topics

Puzzles — floor-based (5-12 floors), day-based, month-based, year-based, hybrid floor+flat
Seating arrangement — linear, parallel rows facing each other, circular facing centre/outward, square (2-per-side)
Blood relations (including coded relations using @/#/$/&)
Syllogisms (three statements, only-some, possibility cases)
Statement and assumptions, statement and conclusions, course of action, cause and effect
Coded inequalities (mathematical with =, ≥, ≤) and direct inequalities
Direction and distance (multi-turn with back-tracking)
Coding-decoding (single-letter, double-letter, banking-context word-based)
Alphanumeric series and number-letter analogy
Input-output machine (alternating sort, word-number hybrid)
Data sufficiency in reasoning context
Computer Aptitude (Mains only) — generations of computers, hardware/software, MS Office basics, internet/networking fundamentals, programming language types, DBMS basics, security (firewall, antivirus, phishing), abbreviations

General / Banking / Economy Awareness (Mains — highest mark weight)17 topics

RBI Act 1934 — specific sections (Sec 22 currency issuance, Sec 42 CRR, Sec 17 RBI functions)
Banking Regulation Act 1949 — Sec 22 licensing, Sec 35A directions, Sec 45 moratorium/amalgamation
Negotiable Instruments Act 1881 — Sec 138 cheque dishonour, crossing, endorsements
SARFAESI Act 2002, IBC 2016 (CIRP 270-day + 330-day cap, Sec 53 waterfall, pre-pack for MSMEs)
BASEL III norms — CET1, AT1, Tier 1, Tier 2, CCB 2.5%, leverage ratio, LCR, NSFR
RBI monetary policy — repo, reverse repo, SDF, MSF, CRR, SLR, OMO, MPC composition (4±2% CPI target)
Priority Sector Lending — 40% target with sub-targets (Agri 18%, Weaker Sections 12%, Micro Ent 7.5%, SMF 10%)
PSL Certificates (PSLCs — General, Agri, SF&MF, Micro Enterprises)
Financial inclusion schemes — PMJDY, PMSBY, PMJJBY, APY, PM Vishwakarma, PM Vidyalaxmi, MUDRA, Stand-Up India
Payment systems — UPI, NEFT, RTGS, IMPS, BBPS, NETC FASTag, AePS, BHIM, account aggregator (NBFC-AA)
CBDC (e-rupee) — wholesale pilot (Nov 2022), retail pilot (Dec 2022), token-based two-tier model
Indian financial regulators — RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, PFRDA, IFSCA, IBBI, FSDC architecture
Banking history — bank nationalisations 1969/1980, SBI Act 1955, RBI Act 1934, merger of associate banks (2017), 10 PSB consolidation (2019-20)
Recent Union Budget banking sector announcements and Economic Survey themes
International — IMF, World Bank, BIS, FATF (Mutual Evaluation 2024), WTO, ADB, AIIB, NDB
Current affairs (last 4-6 months) — RBI MPC decisions, regulatory circulars, fintech announcements, awards, sports, books, defence, science, government schemes
Static GK — capitals, currencies, dams, national parks, stadiums, important dates, RBI Governors chronology

Know the syllabus — now see where you stand.

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