SBI PO Syllabus 2026 — Prelims, Mains, Descriptive & Interview (Topic-Wise)

Why the SBI PO syllabus deserves a strategy, not just a reading

Most aspirants skim the SBI PO syllabus once and move straight to solving papers. That is exactly why most plateau. The State Bank of India does not reward people who simply know the topics — it rewards people who know which topics carry the marks, where the time goes, and how to stay calm across three demanding stages. This guide is built around that idea: every section below tells you not only what is in the syllabus, but how much it matters and where to spend your hours.

The selection runs in three phases — a qualifying Preliminary test, a merit-deciding Main exam (objective plus descriptive), and a final round of psychometric testing, a group exercise and an interview. Clear each, and the marks that count toward your rank come almost entirely from the Mains and the interview stage.

The three stages at a glance

Stage	What it includes	Marks	Counts toward rank?
Phase I	Preliminary objective test	100	No — qualifying only
Phase II	Main objective test	200	Yes
Phase II	Descriptive writing test	30	Yes
Phase III	Psychometric test	—	No — qualifying only
Phase III	Group exercise	20	Yes
Phase III	Personal interview	30	Yes

So the people who get selected are the ones who treat Prelims as a gate to walk through quickly — and pour their real energy into Mains, the descriptive paper and the interview.

Stage 1 — The Preliminary test

Prelims is a 60-minute sprint across three separately-timed sections. It only decides whether you advance, but a poor Prelims ends your attempt before it begins, so speed and clean accuracy are non-negotiable here.

Section	Questions	Marks	Time
English Language	40	40	20 minutes
Quantitative Aptitude	30	30	20 minutes
Reasoning Ability	30	30	20 minutes
Total	100	100	60 minutes

Reasoning Ability — usually your highest-scoring section

For a prepared aspirant, reasoning is where marks are easiest to bank, because SBI leans so heavily on puzzles and seating arrangements. Get fluent with those sets first; everything else is secondary.

Area	Where to start
Puzzles & arrangements	Linear, circular and floor-based puzzles — your top priority
Supporting sets	Box puzzles, scheduling and month/date puzzles
Logical reasoning	Syllogism, inequality, coding-decoding, blood relations, directions
Quick-win topics	Alphanumeric series, ranking, order and analytical sets

Quantitative Aptitude — built on arithmetic and DI

SBI has shifted firmly toward application-based arithmetic and data interpretation rather than formula recall. Treat Data Interpretation and core arithmetic as the backbone of your Quant score.

Cluster	What to prioritise
Data Interpretation	Tables and caselets above all, then pie, bar and line charts and missing DI
High-value arithmetic	Percentage, profit & loss, time & work, speed-distance, mixtures
Steady arithmetic	Ratio, averages, interest, ages, partnership
Number-based sets	Number series, quadratic equations, simplification and approximation

English Language — reading habit beats memorisation

This section rewards consistent reading and grammar fundamentals far more than vocabulary cramming. Comprehension and the newer mixed-grammar formats carry the weight.

Focus	Topics
Lead with	Reading comprehension, cloze tests, word-swap and match-the-column
Grammar core	Error detection, sentence improvement, phrase replacement
Round it off	Para jumbles, single and double fillers, connectors

Stage 2 — The Main exam (where your rank is really made)

The Mains is longer, far more analytical and time-pressured than Prelims, and unlike Prelims it directly shapes your merit. Four objective sections feed your score, followed by a descriptive paper.

Section	Questions	Marks
Reasoning & Computer Aptitude	40	60
Data Analysis & Interpretation	30	60
General / Economy / Banking Awareness	60	60
English Language	40	20
Total	170	200

The most efficient section: Banking, Economy & Current Awareness

Here is the section most toppers quietly rely on. It needs reading and revision rather than calculation, so the marks-per-minute are unbeatable — a strong awareness game can rescue an average Quant day.

Banking & finance	Economy & current affairs
RBI functions, monetary policy, repo/reverse-repo, CRR, SLR	Union Budget and Economic Survey
NPA, financial inclusion, Basel norms, banking ombudsman	GDP, inflation, fiscal deficit, capital & money markets
Digital banking — UPI, NEFT, RTGS, IMPS, NPCI	Last six months of banking, national and international news

Data Analysis & Interpretation — the highest-ceiling section

This is typically where the strongest candidates pull ahead, but the questions are long and calculation-heavy. Raw calculation speed, not just method, decides your output here.

Backbone	Supporting
Caselet and table DI	Bar, pie and missing DI
Quantity comparison & data sufficiency	Probability, permutation & combination

Reasoning & Computer Aptitude

Mains reasoning steps up to high-level puzzles, decision-making and critical reasoning, bundled with a layer of computer fundamentals.

Reasoning depth	Computer aptitude
High-level puzzles & seating, input-output, critical reasoning	Hardware, software, operating systems
Decision-making, course of action, statement-based sets	Networking, internet, cyber security, MS Office, DBMS basics

English (Mains) & the Descriptive paper

The objective English here is tougher than Prelims, with editorial-grade comprehension. The descriptive paper, meanwhile, checks the professional writing a future officer is expected to produce — clear, structured and concise.

Objective English	Descriptive writing
Editorial reading comprehension, cloze, advanced vocabulary	Email and letter writing
Error detection, word-swap, connectors, para jumbles	Essays on banking, economy and current themes

Common descriptive themes worth practising: digital banking, financial literacy, cyber security, AI in banking, financial inclusion and sustainable development.

Stage 3 — Psychometric test, group exercise & interview

The final stage is about you, not your aptitude. The psychometric test has no fixed syllabus — it simply checks the temperament expected of a manager (leadership, integrity, teamwork, decision-making), and the honest, consistent answer is always the right one. The group exercise and interview then test how you think, communicate and carry yourself.

Interview area	How to prepare
Banking & economy	RBI, the banking system, budget and inflation basics
Current affairs	Last six months, with a banking lens
About you	Education, background, work experience, situational and ethics questions
SBI-specific	The bank's history, services and recent initiatives

A realistic preparation order

If you have limited time, attack the syllabus in the order the marks reward you — not topic by topic, but priority by priority.

Priority	Where to invest	Why
1	Puzzles & seating arrangement	Largest, most reliable reasoning yield
2	Data Interpretation	High ceiling in both Prelims and Mains
3	Banking & current awareness	Best marks-per-minute in Mains
4	Reading comprehension	Steady English marks across stages
5	Core arithmetic	Foundation everything else builds on
6	Descriptive writing	Often the difference at the merit margin
7	Interview readiness	Carries the final selection weight

How Veteran Mocks fits into this syllabus

Knowing the syllabus is step one. Turning it into a rank means practising under real exam pressure and fixing what each mock exposes. That is exactly what our platform is built for: an IBPS-style exam engine with section timers, a zone-based recovery plan after every test that pinpoints your weak topics, and AI-graded descriptive feedback. Take a free mock, see your zone, and let your weak areas — not a generic schedule — decide what you study next.

Quick answers to common questions

Is there negative marking? Yes — a quarter of a mark (0.25) is deducted for each wrong answer in the objective tests, so blind guessing hurts you.

What should a beginner study first? Reasoning puzzles and Quant DI in Prelims; banking awareness and DI in Mains. These give the fastest return on effort.

How is SBI PO different from IBPS PO? The subjects overlap, but SBI PO is generally regarded as tougher and more analytical, with its own pattern and weightage.

What happens after Mains? Shortlisted candidates move to Phase III — the psychometric test, group exercise and interview — which together finalise the merit list.