SBI PO EXAM 2023-24

Chennai School of Banking (CSB), the Leading Training Institute in Chennai, offers specialized coaching to candidates appearing for the competitive examination conducted by the State Bank of India for the post of probationary officers. Join CSB today to take the preliminary and mains examinations with ease and crack the personal interview round also successfully. 

What is SBI PO Exam?

SBI PO Full Form is State Bank of India Probationary Officer exam. SBI PO is a competitive examination conducted by the State Bank of India (SBI) for the recruitment of Probationary Officers (POs) in the bank. SBI PO exam is held annually and is open to Indian citizens who hold a bachelor’s degree in any discipline from a recognized university.

SBI Notification:

• At the time of recruitments for the various posts, separate notifications are released.
• In the SBI clerk notification, all the details about the clerical recruitment are given.
• Candidates can know about any information such as selection process, vacancy, exam dates, exam pattern, etc.
• Similarly SBI PO notification and SBI SO notification will release separately and exams are conducted in a separate manner.
• For each posts there will be slight differences in exam pattern, selection process, etc.

SBI PO Eligibility Criteria

To get eligible for the SBI PO Exam, a candidate needs to pass through various parameters, these include the Educational Qualification of the candidate and Maximum Age Limit to be eligible for the SBI PO Exam

Age Limit:- The candidates should fulfill the upper and lower age limits without fail.

Educational Qualification:–

• The applicant has to possess an Undergraduate Degree from a UGC-recognized University.
• All the final year University Students who are interested can also apply, however, if they get selected for the personal interview they have to produce proof of being graduate.
• Candidates having Integrated Dual Degree or Integrated Masters have to submit proof of getting graduation certificates. Candidates qualifying for Chartered Accountancy can also apply for the SBI PO Exam.
• For SBI PO and Clerk Exams, the minimum educational qualification is any graduate degree. At least a graduate degree from a recognized institute or its equivalent is more than enough.

SBI PO Selection Process

• The selection process for the SBI PO will be of Four – Tier – Selection – Process. Where in every stage, the organizing committee will shortlist candidates based on the previous performance scored by them. Stage wise Selection Process:

Stage 1:- All the candidates need to appear for the SBI PO Preliminary Examination to qualify for the second stage. After the result declaration of the Preliminary round, SBI will prepare a merit list containing all the categories. Once the merit list is out, SBI will call approximately 10 times more no of a candidate than the vacancy, for the SBI PO Mains Examination.

Stage 2:- All the candidates who got a call letter for the Mains Examination need to attempt and clear to be eligible for the third stage. After the result declaration of the Mains round, SBI will prepare a merit list containing all the categories. Once the merit list is out, SBI will call approximately 3 times more no of candidates than the vacancy, for the Group Discussion / Personal Interview Round.

Stage 3:- Once the candidate completes their SBI PO Prelims and SBI PO Mains Examination and got their Call Letter for the GD / PI will be eligible for this round. Based on the previous performance SBI will select candidates either for Personal Interview comprising (50 Marks) or both Personal Interview (30 Marks) and Group Discussion (20 Marks). Candidates need to qualify minimum marks to become eligible for the Final Stage.

Final Stage:- After successfully appearing in all the stages, the SBI PO Exam organizing committee will finalize the list of qualified candidates who will join the Bank as Probationary Officer.

To finalize the list, the SBI PO Exam organizing committee will convert the SBI PO Mains marks (Out of 250) into 75%. And for the rest of 25%, they will screen the marks got by the candidate in the GD / PI Round (Out of 50).

Once the committee converts all the marks, they will prepare and publish the final list.

Selection will be made from the top list of candidates from each category.

Every selected candidate will receive their Joining Letter from the State Bank of India. They have to backpack and join the allotted branch in the framing time.

SBI PO Syllabus

SBI PO Exam Pattern

• SBI PO Examination follows Three – Tier – Processes, where candidates need to qualify for a Preliminary Examination to be got eligible for SBI PO Main Examination which is called SBI PO Mains. After qualifying for the Mains Examination candidates will be shortlisted for further Group Discussion / Personal Interviews.

SBI PO Prelims Exam Pattern:

• The SBI PO prelims exam pattern will have 3 sections. They are English language, quantitative aptitude and reasoning ability. The information about the SBI PO prelims exam pattern are given below.
• The reasoning ability and quantitative aptitude section have 35 questions each.
• The English language section has 30 questions. 
• Totally the exam has 100 questions. Each question carries one mark. So the maximum marks for the exam is 100.
• The sectional timing for each section is 20 minutes. Also for each wrong answer, you will lose 0.25 marks as penalty.
• There is no sectional cut off for this exam. Candidates clearing the overall cut off can take on the mains exam.

SBI PO Mains Exam Pattern:

• For each wrong answer, 1/4th of marks assigned to the question will decrease for negative marking.
• In SBI PO mains exam there is no sectional cut off. To qualify for the group exercise and interview phase, candidates should clear the overall cut off.
• As there are sectional timings, you can attend the next section, only when the ongoing section gets completed.
• In the descriptive test you have to type letter writing and an essay. The time duration for the descriptive test is 30minutes. The total marks for the descriptive test is 50.
• Including descriptive test, the maximum marks for the SBI PO mains exam is 250

SBI PO Group Discussion and Personal Interview: 

This is the final stage of the SBI PO exam. Here the shortlisted candidates have a face-to-face interaction with the interview panel of the respective bank.

SBI PO Results

• The SBI PO Results are declared on the official website of State Bank of India, the administering body of the Probationary Officer exam.
• There is a phase-wise declaration of results in this exam. The final cumulative score of the exam reflects the final list of selected candidates on merit basis. They receive the appointment letter from the SBI and confirmation of their deputation.

SBI PO Cut-Off

• SBI PO Cut-Off is usually the minimum marks that a candidate needs to score to meet the designated limit to become eligible and move to the next stage of selection. To determine the level of difficulty and the amount of preparation needed to pass the exam, candidates should review the SBI PO Cut offmarks from the previous year.

SBI PO Preparation

• Candidates should plan their study time efficiently in order to succeed in the SBI PO exam. They should try to cover all the essential topics and keep the SBI PO exam pattern in mind while prepping up for the exam.
• Aspirants should refer to the SBI PO previous year papers to get a feel of the actual test and undertake a wide variety of practice questions too. The increase in the number of applicants has intensified the competition. So candidates must keep themselves entirely prepared for the upcoming SBI PO exam to qualify it in a single attempt.
• By practising SBI PO previous papers, they are in a better position to grasp the concepts and stay updated with the question pattern of the exam.
• Solving SBI PO mock tests and SBI PO previous year question papers will also be of great help to candidates preparing for the upcoming SBI PO exams.
• As a matter of fact, having a study plan and taking a few SBI PO mock tests before the main exam would be highly beneficial for end-to-end preparation.

Salient Features of SBI PO

Being one of the most coveted bank jobs in India, there are multiple other reasons why succeeding in the SBI PO exam is considered in high regard. These include:

• SBI is one of the largest and oldest banks of reputation and popularity across the length and breadth of the country.
• Having an SBI PO job is considered a matter of pride and honour for new entrants in the banking industry.
• It offers a well-paid pay scale in comparison with other PSU Banks. Apart from the salary, SBI Bank PO job also provides various perks and benefits to its employees.
• The scope of growth opportunities in a PO role in the SBI is immense. There are chances that an eligible person can progress to the highest hierarchical level.
• Along with the job comes certain responsibilities that bring job satisfaction and dignity.