SBI PO Syllabus 2026: Prelims, Mains, Pattern + PDF Download

The SBI PO syllabus for 2026 is built around three subjects in Prelims — English Language, Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning Ability — and five areas in Mains: Reasoning & Computer Aptitude, Data Analysis & Interpretation, General/Economy/Banking Awareness, English Language and a Descriptive writing test. Phase 3 then adds a Psychometric Test, Group Exercise and Interview. Prelims carries 100 marks in 1 hour with a 20-minute sectional time limit, while Mains carries 200 objective marks plus a 30-mark descriptive paper, with 0.25 negative marking on every wrong objective answer. This guide breaks down the entire SBI PO syllabus 2026 subject-wise with the latest exam pattern, marks, timing, topic weightage, a 90-day study plan and a downloadable one-page checklist — fully on this page, no email wall.

How to use this page: the figures below reflect the pattern SBI has used across its recent Probationary Officer notifications. Exact marks and question counts can shift slightly from one recruitment cycle to the next, so always confirm the final numbers against the official SBI notification PDF for your batch before locking your revision plan.

SBI PO Syllabus 2026: What’s New This Cycle

Before the topic lists, note the three changes that most older pages still get wrong — getting these right is the difference between planning your revision on real numbers and on outdated ones:

• Descriptive test weightage: the Mains descriptive paper has been carried at 30 marks in recent cycles (some earlier years used 50). Verify the exact figure on your notification.
• Strict sectional timing in Prelims: each of the three Prelims sections has a fixed 20-minute lock; you cannot return to a section once its clock runs out.
• Phase 3 structure: the interview stage now bundles a Psychometric Test with the Group Exercise and Interview, worth 50 marks combined toward the final merit.

None of these change the topics you study — only how the marks are distributed — so the subject-wise syllabus below stays reliable regardless of minor cycle-to-cycle tweaks.

SBI PO Selection Process 2026: The Three Phases

State Bank of India recruits Probationary Officers through a three-stage selection process. You must clear each stage to move to the next, and only the Mains score plus Phase-3 score decide the final merit list — the Prelims score is qualifying only. Understanding this structure first makes the SBI PO syllabus far easier to sequence.

The final merit is prepared by converting the Mains marks to a base of 75 and the Group Exercise & Interview marks to a base of 25, giving a 100-point aggregate. A candidate must qualify each phase separately; there is no carry-forward of Prelims marks.

SBI PO Prelims Syllabus & Exam Pattern 2026

The SBI PO Prelims exam pattern has three sections totalling 100 questions and 100 marks, to be attempted in a composite time of 60 minutes. SBI enforces a strict 20-minute sectional time limit — you cannot move back to a section once its 20 minutes are over. Every wrong answer attracts a penalty of 0.25 marks (one-fourth).

To clear Prelims you must meet the SBI-decided sectional and overall cut-offs; roughly 10 times the number of vacancies are shortlisted for Mains. Below is the subject-wise SBI PO Prelims syllabus with the topics that historically appear.

Quantitative Aptitude (Prelims)

Simplification & Approximation, Number Series (missing/wrong term), Quadratic Equations, Data Interpretation (bar, line, pie, tabular, caselet), Arithmetic word problems — Percentage, Ratio & Proportion, Average, Age, Profit & Loss, Simple & Compound Interest, Time & Work, Time-Speed-Distance, Partnership, Mixtures & Alligation, Mensuration, Permutation-Combination & Probability, and Data Sufficiency.

Reasoning Ability (Prelims)

Puzzles & Seating Arrangement (linear, circular, floor, box, scheduling), Syllogism, Inequality (coded & direct), Blood Relations, Direction Sense, Order & Ranking, Alphanumeric Series, Coding-Decoding, Alphabet/Number Test, and Data Sufficiency. Puzzles alone can carry 20–25 of the 35 questions, so they are the single highest-weightage Prelims topic.

English Language (Prelims)

Reading Comprehension, Cloze Test, Para Jumbles, Sentence Improvement/Correction, Error Detection, Fillers (single & double), Word Swap, Word Usage/Vocabulary, and Sentence Rearrangement. Building daily reading and vocabulary early pays off — the same skills reappear in the Mains descriptive paper.

SBI PO Mains Syllabus & Exam Pattern 2026

The SBI PO Mains exam has two components: a four-section objective test of 200 marks (155 questions) in 3 hours, and a Descriptive Test of 30 marks in 30 minutes. Negative marking of 0.25 applies to the objective sections only. The objective and descriptive papers are attempted back-to-back on the same day in the same online window.

Freshness point most old pages miss: SBI has revised the descriptive test weightage in recent cycles, so verify the exact split of 30 vs 50 marks on the official notification for your batch before finalising your revision math. The topic areas below stay constant regardless of the marks tweak.

Reasoning & Computer Aptitude (Mains)

The reasoning half is puzzle-heavy and harder than Prelims: complex puzzles & seating arrangement, input-output (machine input), logical reasoning (statement-assumption, cause-effect, course of action, syllogism, blood relations, coding-decoding by conditions, data sufficiency), and critical/analytical reasoning. The Computer Aptitude half tests basics: history & generations of computers, hardware & software, memory & storage, operating systems, MS Office, networking & internet, database (DBMS) basics, number system, shortcut keys, and computer/networking security & abbreviations.

Data Analysis & Interpretation (Mains)

This is an advanced version of Prelims Quant: high-level DI (bar, line, pie, tabular, radar/web, missing DI, caselet), Data Sufficiency (two & three statement), Data Comparison, Quantity-1 vs Quantity-2, probability, permutation-combination, and arithmetic-based DI. Expect multi-set caselets that combine two topics — this section is the biggest scoring differentiator in Mains.

General / Economy / Banking Awareness (Mains)

Often given a single line on rival pages, this 40-mark section is high-weightage per minute. It covers: current affairs (last 6 months, national & international), banking & financial awareness (RBI, monetary policy, repo/reverse repo, CRR/SLR, NPAs, Basel norms, types of accounts, NEFT/RTGS/UPI, priority sector lending, financial inclusion schemes), static GK (capitals, currencies, national parks, important days, awards, books & authors), Indian economy & budget, banking history & abbreviations, government & RBI schemes, and financial markets (SEBI, money & capital markets). A regular current-affairs habit — using a monthly capsule such as the Vision IAS Current Affairs Magazine (January 2026) and building a backlog with the December 2025 edition — plugs directly into this section and into the interview.

English Language (Mains)

Reading Comprehension (business/economy passages, inference, tone, vocabulary in context), advanced Cloze Test, Para Jumbles, Error Spotting, Sentence Rearrangement, Word Association, Vocabulary, Phrase Replacement, and Fillers. The difficulty rises to descriptive-essay level, so treat English prep as one continuous track across both phases.

SBI PO Descriptive Test: Structure & Marking

The descriptive paper checks whether an officer can communicate clearly in writing. It is typed online and generally has two questions — one letter/email and one essay — with a combined weightage of 30 marks and a 30-minute window. Situation analysis, report writing and precis-style prompts also appear in some cycles.

Sample essay themes: digital banking & UPI adoption, financial inclusion, artificial intelligence in banking, cashless economy, women in the workforce, and rural credit. Sample letter prompts: writing to a bank manager about a defective ATM, an application for a duplicate passbook, or an email to a customer explaining a new scheme. Practising 3–4 essays a week using a structured resource like the Vajiram Essay Notes sharpens the introduction-body-conclusion discipline that scores here.

SBI PO Phase 3: Psychometric Test, Group Exercise & Interview

Candidates who clear Mains are called for Phase 3, worth 50 marks. It has three parts:

• Psychometric Test: A personality-profiling questionnaire (not separately marked in merit) that the interview panel uses to understand your traits — answer honestly and consistently.
• Group Exercise / Group Discussion: Around 20 marks; you discuss a banking, economic or social topic in a group, assessed on clarity, listening, leadership and content.
• Personal Interview: Around 30 marks; expect questions on banking awareness, your bio-data, current affairs, and situational judgement.

A strong grip on the economy and banking sections of the SBI PO syllabus doubles up as interview preparation — a resource such as the Vision IAS Economics Notes builds the macro-economic vocabulary (fiscal deficit, inflation, monetary policy transmission) that interviewers probe.

SBI PO Syllabus Subject-Wise Topics: Full Weightage Table

This is the on-page, subject-wise SBI PO syllabus with indicative question counts and difficulty — the part most gated PDFs hide. Use it to decide what to study first.

Scoring vs Time-Consuming Topics: Where to Spend Your Hours

Not every topic gives equal return. The table below separates high-ROI “scoring” topics from “time-consuming” ones so you allocate hours smartly — a gap most raw topic lists never address.

Banking/GA and Computer Aptitude are the fastest scoring per minute in Mains — you can answer them in seconds if you have revised — yet aspirants under-prepare them. Flip that habit and you gain a decisive edge.

90-Day SBI PO Study Plan Mapped to the Syllabus

Rival pages list topics but rarely tell you the order. Here is a stage-wise, syllabus-mapped plan you can follow whether you are starting fresh or revising.

Golden rule: keep Prelims and Mains prep overlapping, not sequential. English and GA are common to both phases, so run them as continuous tracks from Day 1 while you layer Mains-specific DI and Computer Aptitude on top after Day 55.

Best Books, Mock Tests & Previous-Year Papers

Standard references most toppers use include R.S. Aggarwal / Arun Sharma for Quantitative Aptitude, a Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning book for logic, Wren & Martin plus a word-list for English, and a monthly banking & economy current-affairs capsule for GA. Beyond books, three habits move the needle most:

• Previous-year papers: Solve at least 5 years of SBI PO Prelims and Mains papers to internalise the pattern and difficulty.
• Sectional + full mock tests: Take timed mocks weekly and review every mistake — analysis matters more than volume.
• Current-affairs consolidation: A dated monthly magazine keeps your banking/economy awareness exam-ready. Competer prints and delivers current-affairs and economy study material such as the January 2026 Current Affairs Magazine and Economics Notes that map neatly onto the SBI PO GA and interview requirements.

SBI PO Syllabus PDF Download & One-Page Checklist

You do not need to hand over your email to get the syllabus — the entire subject-wise SBI PO syllabus is already laid out on this page, so you can print it directly (use your browser’s Print → Save as PDF). To create a personal revision tracker, copy the checklist below into a document and tick each topic as you finish it:

• Prelims – Reasoning: Puzzles, Seating, Syllogism, Inequality, Blood Relations, Direction, Coding-Decoding, Order & Ranking, Series
• Prelims – Quant: Simplification, Number Series, Quadratic Eq., DI, Arithmetic (Percentage, Ratio, SI/CI, Time-Work, Speed, P&L), Data Sufficiency
• Prelims – English: RC, Cloze, Para Jumbles, Error Spotting, Fillers, Sentence Improvement, Word Swap, Vocabulary
• Mains – Reasoning & Computer: Complex Puzzles, Input-Output, Logical Reasoning, MS Office, Networking, OS, Hardware, Security, Abbreviations
• Mains – DI: High-level DI, Caselet, Data Sufficiency, Quantity comparison, Probability, P&C
• Mains – GA/Economy/Banking: Current Affairs (6 months), Banking Awareness, RBI & Monetary Policy, Static GK, Schemes, Financial Markets
• Mains – English & Descriptive: Advanced RC, Vocabulary, Essay writing, Letter/Email writing
• Phase 3: Group Exercise topics, Interview bio-data, Banking current affairs

Common Mistakes SBI PO Aspirants Make

• Ignoring sectional timing: Practising without the 20-minute Prelims sectional lock leaves you unprepared on exam day.
• Under-preparing GA & Computer Aptitude: These are the fastest-scoring Mains sections yet the most neglected.
• Leaving descriptive for the end: Writing improves slowly — start essays and letters early.
• Skipping negative-marking discipline: Blind guessing at 0.25 penalty erodes your net score; attempt only when confident.
• No mock analysis: Taking mocks without reviewing errors repeats the same mistakes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the syllabus of SBI PO 2026?

The SBI PO syllabus 2026 covers Reasoning Ability, Quantitative Aptitude and English Language in Prelims; and Reasoning & Computer Aptitude, Data Analysis & Interpretation, General/Economy/Banking Awareness, English Language and a Descriptive writing test in Mains. Phase 3 adds a Psychometric Test, Group Exercise and Interview.

What is the exam pattern for SBI PO Prelims and Mains?

Prelims has 3 sections, 100 questions, 100 marks, 1 hour, with a 20-minute sectional time limit. Mains has 4 objective sections of 200 marks (about 155 questions, 3 hours) plus a 30-mark descriptive test in 30 minutes. Both objective papers carry 0.25 negative marking.

How many sections are there in SBI PO exam?

SBI PO Prelims has 3 sections (English Language, Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning Ability). SBI PO Mains has 4 objective sections (Reasoning & Computer Aptitude, Data Analysis & Interpretation, General/Economy/Banking Awareness, English Language) plus a separate Descriptive Test.

Is there negative marking in SBI PO exam?

Yes. Every wrong answer in the objective sections of both Prelims and Mains deducts 0.25 marks (one-fourth of the marks assigned to that question). There is no negative marking in the descriptive test or the interview.

What is the descriptive paper in SBI PO Mains?

The descriptive paper is a typed English writing test of 30 marks in 30 minutes, usually with one letter/email and one essay. It checks format, tone, structure, grammar and clarity. Situation analysis, report and precis prompts appear in some years.

How many marks is the SBI PO Prelims and Mains exam?

Prelims is 100 marks (qualifying only). Mains is 250 marks in total — 200 objective plus a 30-mark descriptive test (the descriptive weightage was revised down from 50 in recent cycles). Only Mains and the 50-mark Phase 3 count toward the final merit.

Which subjects are most important or high-weightage in SBI PO?

In Prelims, Reasoning puzzles and Data Interpretation carry the most weight. In Mains, Data Analysis & Interpretation and Reasoning & Computer Aptitude (60 marks each) are decisive, while the General/Economy/Banking Awareness section is the fastest-scoring per minute and should never be skipped.

How can I download the SBI PO syllabus PDF?

The complete subject-wise SBI PO syllabus is on this page — simply use your browser’s Print option and choose “Save as PDF” to keep it offline, or copy the one-page checklist above into a document as a revision tracker. No email or login is required.

Is the SBI PO syllabus the same as IBPS PO?

The core subjects overlap heavily — Reasoning, Quant/DI, English, Banking & Computer Awareness appear in both. The key differences are that SBI PO Mains leans harder on high-level Data Analysis & Interpretation and complex reasoning, and SBI PO Phase 3 includes a Group Exercise and Psychometric Test alongside the interview. If you prepare thoroughly for SBI PO, you are well covered for IBPS PO.

Which is the most difficult section in SBI PO Mains?

Most aspirants find Data Analysis & Interpretation the toughest because of multi-set caselets and calculation load, followed by the reasoning half of Reasoning & Computer Aptitude. These two sections carry 60 marks each and typically decide the Mains merit, so prioritise consistent daily practice on them.

Does the SBI PO syllabus change every year?

The topic-level syllabus stays largely stable year to year. What can change are the marks, question counts, timing and descriptive-test weightage — for example, the descriptive paper has recently been carried at 30 marks. Always cross-check the exact pattern in the official SBI notification for the cycle you are applying to.

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