SBI PO Syllabus & Exam Pattern

SBI PO (Probationary Officer) runs across three stages, specifically for State Bank of India. Here’s the stable shape of it, with a link to the official SBI careers page for this cycle’s exact marks and timing.

The stages

Preliminary exam
A screening-stage computer-based test across Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude and English — clearing it is what gets you to the Main exam.
Main exam
A more in-depth computer-based test covering Reasoning & Computer Aptitude, Data Analysis & Interpretation, General/Economy/Banking Awareness, and English — plus a descriptive paper (essay and letter writing).
Group Exercise & Interview
Candidates who clear the Main exam go through a Group Exercise and Interview before the final merit list.

What’s tested

Reasoning & Computer Aptitude
Puzzles, seating arrangement, syllogism, coding-decoding, inequalities, and basic computer-aptitude topics.
Quantitative Aptitude / Data Analysis
Number series, simplification, data interpretation, data sufficiency, and arithmetic word problems.
English Language
Reading comprehension, cloze test, error spotting, sentence rearrangement, vocabulary, plus a descriptive essay/letter-writing component at Mains.
General / Economy / Banking Awareness
Banking terms and regulations, economic and financial current affairs, and general static GK relevant to the sector.

Exact number of questions, marks per question, section-wise timing and the negative-marking fraction are set by each cycle’s own official notification and can change between cycles. Treat the subjects above as the stable shape to study toward, and check SBI’s own careers page.

Who SBI PO recruits for

SBI PO recruits Probationary Officers specifically for State Bank of India — you know which bank you’re joining before you even apply. See our IBPS PO vs SBI PO comparison for how that differs from the IBPS-run process.

What Pariksha Saathi offers for SBI PO

Topic-wise lessons and practice across Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude and English, sectional tests by subject, full-length mock tests in the real pattern with negative marking, a Mistake Notebook that tracks your weak topics automatically, and dated current-affairs capsules for Banking & Economy Awareness — all free, with no paywalled content.

Official source & latest updates

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