SBI SO (Specialist Cadre Officer) Free Mock Test
SBI SO (Specialist Cadre Officer) (SBI Specialist Officer) is part of India's Government Exams category, covering 4 topics. Kamiyab provides free SBI SO (Specialist Cadre Officer) mock tests with no signup or payment — two modes: Quick Practice (10 questions in ~10 minutes for daily topic-wise revision) or Full Mock (up to 100 questions matched to the official exam pattern). Both include instant scoring and per-question explanations. Eligibility: Graduate · specialist. Aligned to the current 2026 official syllabus.
SBI SO (Specialist Cadre Officer) mock test modes — at a glance
| Mode | Questions | Time | Best for | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quick Practice | 10 | ~10 minutes | Daily topic-wise warm-up | ₹0 (Free) |
| Full Mock | Up to 100 | ~2 hours | Pre-exam revision, full exam pattern | ₹0 (Free) |
Test mode
100 Qs · 60 minPick a topic
Start with Quantitative Aptitude / Data InterpretationAbout SBI SO (State Bank of India — Specialist Cadre Officer)
SBI Specialist Cadre Officer (SBI SO) recruitment is the lateral, qualification-specific hiring channel at India's largest public-sector bank. While SBI PO is a generalist management-cadre entry exam, SBI SO recruits domain experts directly into roles requiring professional credentials and prior experience — Chartered Accountants for credit analysis and finance functions, lawyers for legal and recovery, engineers and IT specialists for digital banking and infrastructure, MBAs for marketing and HR, statisticians and economists for risk and analytics, and security officers from defence backgrounds. SBI runs SO notifications multiple times in a year for different streams, sometimes on contract and sometimes on regular cadre.
Streams typically notified include: Deputy Manager (Credit Analyst), Deputy Manager (Statistician), Deputy Manager (Internal Audit), Manager (Marketing), Manager (Risk), Manager (Cyber Security), Manager (Data Scientist), Manager (Anywhere Banking Channels — Wealth/Digital), Manager (Law / Compliance), Assistant Manager (Engineer — Civil/Electrical), Specialist Officer (Information Security), Specialist Officer (Anti-Money Laundering), Specialist Officer (Tech Roles in DevOps/SRE/Cloud), Specialist Cadre Officer (Procurement / Vendor / Sourcing), Wealth Hub roles (Customer Relationship Executive, Investment Officer, Customer Service Manager) and Sportsperson / Departmental Cadre roles. Exact streams, grade levels, age bands and qualification thresholds vary notification by notification.
Selection is stream-specific. The most common pattern is: Online Written Test (objective + descriptive for selected streams) → Shortlisting → Personal Interview, with merit determined by a fixed weight between the written test and interview (commonly 75:25 or 60:40). Some streams (Wealth Hub roles, sportsperson cadre, certain contractual roles) skip the written test and proceed directly to interview after shortlisting on qualification and experience. Pay scale and grade are stream-specific: Deputy Manager and Manager roles in MMGS-II/III range from approximately Rs 64,820 to Rs 1,04,400 basic with DA, HRA and perks taking gross to Rs 1.1-1.6 lakh in a Tier-I metro. Senior Specialist (Scale IV / Scale V) and Chief Manager roles command higher emoluments.
Conducted by: State Bank of India Central Recruitment & Promotion Department (CRPD), Corporate Centre, Mumbai. Specialist Cadre recruitment is conducted by SBI under stream-specific notifications and does not run through the IBPS SO framework.
Eligibility
General eligibility framework (varies by stream)
- Age:
- Stream-specific. Common bands: Deputy Manager (Credit Analyst, Statistician, Internal Audit) — 25 to 35 years. Manager (Marketing, Risk, Cyber Security, Data Scientist, Anti-Money Laundering) — 25 to 35 years. Assistant Manager / Specialist Officer roles — 22 to 32 years. Wealth Hub roles — 22 to 35 years. Sportsperson cadre — 18 to 30 years. Age relaxation: SC/ST +5 years, OBC (non-creamy layer) +3 years, PwBD (General/EWS) +10 years, PwBD (OBC) +13 years, PwBD (SC/ST) +15 years, Ex-Servicemen +5 years subject to ceiling. EWS candidates receive NO age relaxation. Always read the stream-specific notification for the exact age window.
- Education:
- Stream-specific qualification + experience. Examples: Deputy Manager (Credit Analyst) — CA or CMA or MBA Finance from premier institutes with 2-3 years' relevant experience. Deputy Manager (Statistician) — Master's degree in Statistics or Operations Research with 60%+ aggregate. Manager (Risk) — Master's in Statistics/Mathematics/Economics or MBA Finance plus FRM/PRM certification preferred. Manager (Cyber Security) — BE/BTech in CS/IT plus relevant certifications (CISSP, CISM, CEH) and 3-5 years' experience. Manager (Data Scientist) — MTech/BE+MSc in Data Science/AI/ML/Analytics with relevant publications or industry experience. Manager (Law) — LLB with 3-5 years' practice at Bar or in-house legal. Manager (Marketing) — MBA Marketing from a recognised institute with 3-5 years' experience. Wealth Hub roles — graduation plus relevant banking/finance experience and NISM certifications (Mutual Fund, Investment Adviser, Equity Derivatives) as applicable.
- Nationality:
- Citizen of India, or subject of Nepal or Bhutan, or Tibetan refugee who came to India before 1 January 1962 with intent to permanently settle, or person of Indian origin who has migrated from specified countries to permanently settle in India. Non-Indian citizens must produce an eligibility certificate from the Government of India.
- Attempts:
- SBI does not publicly cap attempts for SO recruitment — candidates can apply across stream notifications as long as they remain within the upper age limit (with relaxation) and meet the experience cut-off. Application fee is typically Rs 750 for General/EWS/OBC and NIL for SC/ST/PwBD candidates per notification.
Exam Pattern
Stage-by-stage breakdown of the recruitment process.
Online Written Test (where applicable — varies by stream)
- Mode
- Online objective test (some streams add a descriptive paper) at SBI/IBPS test centres
- Sections
- Objective: Reasoning · Quantitative Aptitude · English Language · Professional Knowledge of the stream (the heaviest-weighted section). Streams with a descriptive paper add a Professional Knowledge essay/case-study component.
- Questions
- Stream-specific. Typical Specialist Cadre objective papers carry 120-150 multiple-choice questions across Reasoning (50 Q), Quant (35-50 Q), English (35-50 Q) and stream-specific Professional Knowledge (50-60 Q).
- Marks
- Stream-specific. Typical total: 120-200 marks objective; descriptive (if applicable) carries an additional 50-60 marks.
- Duration
- Stream-specific. Typical duration: 2 hours to 2 hours 45 minutes for the full objective paper; an additional 30-45 minutes for descriptive where applicable.
- Negative marking
- 0.25 marks deducted per wrong objective answer; descriptive components are evaluated subjectively.
Sectional cutoffs apply for each section AND an overall category cutoff applies. Professional Knowledge is the highest-weighted section and is invariably the differentiator between shortlisted and rejected candidates. Streams using direct shortlisting (Wealth Hub roles, sportsperson cadre, certain contractual roles) skip this stage and move from application screening to interview.
Shortlisting / Application Screening
- Mode
- Document and credential verification by SBI CRPD
- Sections
- Verification of degree mark-sheets, professional certifications, experience certificates, employer-issued service records and category/PwBD/Ex-Servicemen documents as applicable.
- Questions
- Not applicable — credential review.
- Marks
- Qualifying (pass/fail).
- Duration
- Conducted offline by CRPD between the written test result and interview call dates.
- Negative marking
- Not applicable.
Mismatched experience claims, expired professional certifications and ambiguous degree equivalences are the most common reasons for shortlisting rejection. Maintain a clean document file with originals and self-attested copies of all required certificates.
Personal Interview
- Mode
- Offline at SBI Local Head Office / Administrative Office / Corporate Centre Mumbai
- Sections
- Panel interview with 4-5 senior SBI officers covering stream-specific Professional Knowledge in depth, banking awareness, situational judgement and behavioural questions.
- Questions
- Not applicable — structured interview.
- Marks
- Stream-specific. Typical weight in final merit: 25% to 40% (e.g., written test 75:25 PI for some streams; 60:40 for streams emphasising domain expertise).
- Duration
- Approximately 20-40 minutes per candidate.
- Negative marking
- Not applicable.
Final merit is computed per the stream-specific normalised weight published in each notification. Candidates skipping the interview are disqualified. Stream-specific Professional Knowledge depth is the most heavily probed area — recent regulatory circulars, BIS frameworks (BASEL III/IV), domain-specific Indian laws (e.g., SARFAESI for credit/recovery, IBC 2016 for resolution, Information Technology Act 2000 for cyber/security streams) and current technology stack questions for digital roles dominate.
Syllabus
Tap any section to see the full list of subtopics.
Reasoning Ability (Online Written Test)11 topics
- Puzzles — floor-based, day-based, year-based, hybrid floor+flat
- Seating arrangement — linear, parallel rows, circular, square
- Blood relations (including coded relations)
- Syllogisms (two and three statements, possibility cases)
- Statement and assumptions, statement and conclusions, course of action, cause and effect
- Coded and direct inequalities
- Direction and distance
- Coding-decoding
- Alphanumeric series
- Input-output machine
- Data sufficiency in reasoning
Quantitative Aptitude (Online Written Test)12 topics
- Number system, simplification, approximation
- Percentages, profit-loss-discount, partnership, average
- Ratio and proportion, mixture and alligation
- Simple interest and compound interest (including mixed)
- Time and work, pipes and cisterns, time-speed-distance (boats, trains, relative speed)
- Ages, problems on ages with successive change
- Permutation, combination and probability
- Quadratic equations and quadratic comparison
- Mensuration — 2D and 3D figures
- Data Interpretation — bar, line, pie, table, caselet DI, mixed DI
- Number series
- Data sufficiency
English Language (Online Written Test)8 topics
- Reading comprehension — domain-relevant passages (banking, finance, technology, legal, marketing as per stream)
- Cloze test
- Para jumble
- Error spotting and sentence correction
- Fill in the blanks (single and double)
- Sentence improvement
- Vocabulary in context — synonym, antonym, one-word substitution, idioms
- Word usage and phrase replacement
Professional Knowledge — Credit Analyst / Risk / Finance streams8 topics
- Financial statement analysis — Balance Sheet, P&L, Cash Flow Statement, ratio analysis (liquidity, solvency, profitability, efficiency, market-value ratios)
- Credit appraisal — CMA data, Tandon and Chore committees, working capital assessment (Operating Cycle, Turnover, Cash Budget methods)
- Term loan appraisal — DSCR, IRR, NPV, sensitivity analysis, risk assessment
- BASEL III/IV norms — capital adequacy, CET1, AT1, Tier 1, Tier 2, CCB, leverage ratio, LCR, NSFR, RWA computation
- Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS), IFRS basics, ECL provisioning under Ind AS 109
- SARFAESI Act 2002, IBC 2016 (CIRP, waterfall under Sec 53, pre-pack), DRT/DRAT
- Risk types — credit, market, operational, liquidity, interest-rate, FX, model risk; risk-management frameworks (3 lines of defence)
- RBI prudential norms — Income Recognition and Asset Classification (IRAC), provisioning, restructuring (PCA Framework 2021)
Professional Knowledge — IT / Cyber Security / Data Scientist streams9 topics
- Computer networks — OSI/TCP-IP, routing, switching, VLAN, firewall, IDS/IPS, VPN, zero-trust architecture
- Operating systems and virtualisation, container orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes), cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP)
- Database management — relational and NoSQL, ACID, normalisation, indexing, query optimisation
- Cyber security — CIA triad, vulnerability management, OWASP Top 10, SOC, SIEM, threat intelligence, incident response
- Cryptography basics — symmetric/asymmetric encryption, PKI, hashing, digital signatures, TLS
- Information Technology Act 2000 (with 2008 amendment), DPDP Act 2023, RBI Cyber Security Framework (2016, with updates)
- Data science fundamentals — statistics, probability, regression, classification, clustering, NLP basics, deep learning (CNN, RNN, transformers)
- Machine learning lifecycle — data engineering, feature engineering, model evaluation (precision, recall, F1, ROC-AUC), MLOps
- Banking-specific AI/ML applications — fraud detection, credit scoring, customer churn, AML pattern recognition, conversational banking
Professional Knowledge — Law / Marketing / HR / other streams6 topics
- Law stream — Negotiable Instruments Act 1881, Contract Act 1872, SARFAESI 2002, IBC 2016, Companies Act 2013, PMLA 2002, RBI Act 1934, Banking Regulation Act 1949, Consumer Protection Act 2019
- Law stream — recovery of debts (DRT, DRAT), arbitration and conciliation, civil procedure basics, banking ombudsman (RB-IOS 2021)
- Marketing stream — 4P/7P framework, segmentation-targeting-positioning, consumer behaviour, digital marketing, brand management, retail banking products and cross-sell
- Marketing stream — banking product knowledge (savings, fixed deposit, home loan, car loan, credit card, wealth management, mutual funds, life and general insurance, SBI Cards)
- HR stream — labour laws, industrial relations, performance management, learning and development, compensation, HR analytics
- General Banking Awareness across all streams — RBI structure, monetary policy, financial-inclusion schemes, payment systems, regulatory architecture, BASEL III, BCBS, FATF, Indian financial regulators
Banking Awareness (cross-stream)9 topics
- RBI structure and functions, monetary policy (repo, reverse repo, CRR, SLR, MSF, SDF), MPC composition, inflation targeting framework
- Banking sector architecture — Public Sector Banks, Private Banks, Foreign Banks, RRBs, SFBs, Payments Banks, Cooperative Banks, NBFCs
- Recent RBI circulars on digital lending, FLDG, co-lending, securitisation, IRAC norms, FX volatility management
- Financial inclusion schemes — PMJDY, PMSBY, PMJJBY, APY, MUDRA, Stand-Up India, PM Vishwakarma, PM Vidyalaxmi
- Payment systems and CBDC — UPI, NEFT, RTGS, IMPS, BBPS, e-rupee wholesale + retail
- Indian regulators — RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, PFRDA, IFSCA, IBBI, FSDC
- International — BCBS, BIS, FATF, IMF, World Bank, OECD, FSB
- Recent Union Budget banking sector announcements and Economic Survey themes
- Current affairs (last 4-6 months) — RBI MPC decisions, regulatory circulars, fintech announcements, awards, sports, books, defence, science
Preparation Strategy
Confirm the stream-specific notification before locking in your study plan. SBI SO is NOT a single exam — it is a family of stream-specific selection processes. Read the notification end to end and map the exam pattern, sections, marking scheme, professional-knowledge syllabus and PI weight before deciding your prep mix.
Professional Knowledge is the single biggest determinant of selection in every SBI SO stream. Spend 60-65% of your study time on stream-specific PK — the remaining 35-40% goes to Reasoning, Quant, English and Banking Awareness combined. Recent regulatory updates (RBI circulars from the last 6 months, BASEL III/IV nuances, IBC amendments, DPDP Act 2023 for IT/Cyber streams, Ind AS for Finance streams) typically appear directly in both the written test PK section and the interview.
Reasoning, Quant and English follow the IBPS/SBI banking-exam pattern with reduced negative marking and slightly easier difficulty than SBI PO Mains for most streams. Use the same toolkit as SBI PO Prelims preparation — RS Aggarwal Quant and Reasoning, SP Bakshi Objective English, and 2 full sectional mocks per week.
Mock test analysis is critical because most streams release very limited number of PK mock papers. Use stream-specific previous-year papers + 2-3 high-quality professional-knowledge mocks. For Credit Analyst and Risk roles, JAIIB-CAIIB Bank Financial Management textbook + IIBF Advanced Bank Management cover 70% of PK content. For IT and Cyber roles, NIST/RBI cyber security framework documents + CISSP / CISM domain notes are high yield.
Personal Interview accounts for 25-40% of the final merit. Build a PK interview prep file with 50-100 stream-specific questions, all major recent regulatory updates, your full professional history with specific projects/achievements, and a clear answer to 'Why SBI and why this stream' that links your prior experience to the SO role. Mock interviews with senior bankers or coaching-institute panels are highly recommended in the 2 weeks before PI.
Document file readiness can decide selection. SBI SO shortlisting rejects 5-10% of written-test qualifiers due to mismatched experience claims, expired professional certifications, ambiguous degree equivalence or missing employer service records. Maintain a clean folder with originals + self-attested copies of every degree, professional certificate, experience letter and identity/category proof. Verify professional-certification validity dates well before the interview.
Cross-stream banking awareness is the second-highest-yield area after PK. RBI's About-Us pages, latest Monetary Policy Statement, Financial Stability Report and the Banking & Finance chapter of the Economic Survey give 80% of the banking awareness content asked across SO streams. Read these end-to-end at least once during preparation.
Recent Changes to Know
- SBI SO notifications have moved to a more frequent, stream-specific release pattern — 6-10 separate notifications across a year are now common, replacing the older once-a-year omnibus SO recruitment cycle.
- Digital and Data Science streams have expanded significantly in line with SBI's YONO/Anywhere Banking strategy. Manager (Data Scientist), Manager (AI/ML), Manager (DevOps/SRE/Cloud) and Specialist Officer (Information Security) are now recurring notifications.
- Wealth Hub recruitment for Customer Relationship Executive (CRE), Investment Officer (IO) and Customer Service Manager (CSM) roles is contractual (3-5 year terms) and uses direct interview shortlisting on qualifications and NISM certifications — no written test.
- Several Specialist Cadre roles are now on contractual / fixed-term basis (typically 3 to 5 years) rather than regular PSU cadre. The notification clearly distinguishes 'Regular Cadre' from 'Contractual' — read this carefully before applying.
- Professional Knowledge sections increasingly reference current regulatory and policy updates — RBI's Co-Lending Framework, Digital Lending Guidelines (2022), FLDG Guidelines (2023), DPDP Act 2023, RBI's Cyber Security & Resilience Framework updates, and Ind AS 109 ECL provisioning are recurring areas across relevant streams.
Important Dates
- Notification
- SBI SO notifications are released stream-by-stream throughout the year on sbi.co.in/careers. There is no single fixed annual calendar — stream-specific notifications are timed to staffing needs. The application window per notification stays open for approximately 2-3 weeks.
- Exam
- Online Written Test (where applicable) is typically conducted 4-6 weeks after the application window closes. Interview is typically 4-6 weeks after the written-test result. Streams using direct shortlisting move from application closure to interview in 4-6 weeks without a written test.
- Results
- Online written test result: approximately 2-4 weeks after the test. Final merit list with offer letters: typically 4-6 weeks after the interview.
Stream-specific notifications, dates, vacancy counts, age bands, qualification thresholds and experience requirements differ significantly. Always confirm against the latest notification on sbi.co.in/careers Current Openings page before applying or scheduling preparation.
Widely-Used Reference Books
Popular books many aspirants use — pick what fits your level.
- Stream-specific Professional Knowledge — IIBF JAIIB and CAIIB textbooks (Principles & Practices of Banking, Accounting & Finance for Bankers, Legal & Regulatory Aspects of Banking, Advanced Bank Management, Bank Financial Management, Banking Code & Practice)
- Quantitative Aptitude — RS Aggarwal (S. Chand)
- Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning — RS Aggarwal
- Objective General English — SP Bakshi (Arihant)
- Banking Awareness — Arihant or Disha banking awareness compendium
- Stream-specific: for Credit/Risk — IIBF Bank Financial Management, BASEL III/IV PDFs from BIS; for IT/Cyber — CISSP / CISM domain notes, NIST CSF, RBI Cyber Security Framework; for Law — Bare Acts (NI Act 1881, SARFAESI 2002, IBC 2016, RBI Act 1934, Banking Regulation Act 1949); for Marketing — Kotler's Principles of Marketing + SBI product brochures; for Data Science — Hands-On Machine Learning by Aurélien Géron
- RBI Bulletin, Financial Stability Report, Monetary Policy Statement (free PDFs from rbi.org.in) — cross-stream awareness
SBI SO (Specialist Cadre Officer) mock test — frequently asked questions
Is the SBI SO (Specialist Cadre Officer) mock test on Kamiyab really free?
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No. You can start any SBI SO (Specialist Cadre Officer) quick practice or full mock without signing up. Just pick a topic and begin.
How many questions are there in the SBI SO (Specialist Cadre Officer) mock test?
Quick Practice gives you a focused 10-question, ~10-minute test on a single topic. Full Mock is a longer paper of up to 100 questions built to match the SBI SO (Specialist Cadre Officer) exam pattern and timing.
Which subjects and topics are covered for SBI SO (Specialist Cadre Officer)?
4 topics are covered for SBI SO (Specialist Cadre Officer), including Reasoning Ability, English Language, Quantitative Aptitude / Data Interpretation and more. Each topic can be practised on its own as a quick test or combined into a full-length mock.
Are the SBI SO (Specialist Cadre Officer) questions reliable and up to date with the latest syllabus?
Quick Practice questions are hand-curated and kept aligned with the current official SBI SO (Specialist Cadre Officer) syllabus, each with a short explanation. When the exam body revises the syllabus, the question bank is updated so you are not practising removed or out-of-syllabus topics.
Do I get the correct answers and explanations for SBI SO (Specialist Cadre Officer)?
Yes. After you submit the test, every question shows the correct option along with a short explanation, so you can review and fix weak areas immediately.
Will the SBI SO (Specialist Cadre Officer) mock test work on a low-end phone or slow connection?
Yes. Kamiyab runs in any modern mobile browser with no app install. The timer, scoring and explanations all work on basic Android phones and on slow networks.
How should I use Kamiyab to prepare for SBI SO (Specialist Cadre Officer)?
Use Quick Practice daily for topic-wise revision, then take a Full Mock to simulate the real SBI SO (Specialist Cadre Officer) timer and pressure. Read the explanations after every test and re-practise the topics where you score low.
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