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100+ Free IBPS SO Practice Questions

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A pipe can fill a tank in 6 hours and another empties it in 9 hours. If both are opened together, how long to fill the tank?

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2026 Statistics

Key Facts: IBPS SO Exam

150 Q / 125 marks

Prelims Objective Test

IBPS CRP SPL Notification

60 Q / 60 marks

Mains Professional Knowledge

IBPS CRP SPL Notification

0.25

Negative Marking per Wrong Answer

IBPS

80:20

Mains : Interview Merit Weight

IBPS

Rs. 850

Application Fee (General)

IBPS

6 posts

Specialist Officer Streams

IBPS

IBPS SO recruits Scale-I Specialist Officers (IT, Agriculture, HR, Marketing, Law, Rajbhasha) for public sector banks in three stages. Prelims has 150 objective questions for 125 marks in 120 minutes; Mains is a 60-question, 60-mark Professional Knowledge paper in 45 minutes for most posts. Prelims is qualifying only; the final merit weights Mains and Interview 80:20, with 0.25 negative marking. The application fee is Rs. 850.

Sample IBPS SO Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to test your IBPS SO exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1Choose the option that best fills the blank: "The committee has decided to ______ the meeting until further notice."
A.postpone
B.postponement
C.postponing
D.postponed
Explanation: After the auxiliary 'to' an infinitive verb in its base form is required, so 'to postpone' is correct. 'Postpone' means to delay an event to a later time, which fits the context of a meeting put off until further notice.
2Identify the part of the sentence that contains an error: "Neither the manager nor the clerks (A)/ was able to (B)/ resolve the dispute (C)/ before closing time."
A.Part A
B.Part B
C.Part C
D.No error
Explanation: With 'neither...nor', the verb agrees with the nearer subject. Since 'clerks' (plural) is closest to the verb, it must be 'were able to', not 'was able to'. This proximity rule is frequently tested in IBPS English.
3Select the word that is most nearly OPPOSITE in meaning to 'PRUDENT'.
A.Cautious
B.Reckless
C.Thrifty
D.Sensible
Explanation: 'Prudent' means acting with care and good judgement about the future. Its antonym is 'reckless', meaning careless and without thought for consequences. Antonym questions appear regularly in the IBPS English section.
4In the sentence "Hardly had he entered the room ______ the lights went out", which word correctly completes the sentence?
A.than
B.when
C.then
D.that
Explanation: The correlative pair for 'Hardly had...' is 'Hardly...when'. So the correct completion is 'when'. This is a standard conjunction-pairing rule (Hardly/Scarcely...when; No sooner...than).
5Choose the correctly spelled word.
A.Accomodate
B.Acommodate
C.Accommodate
D.Acomodate
Explanation: 'Accommodate' is spelled with double 'c' and double 'm'. It means to provide lodging or to adjust to make room for something. Spelling questions test attention to commonly misspelled words.
6Read the passage and answer: "Digital banking has reduced branch footfall but increased the volume of low-value transactions. Banks must now invest heavily in cybersecurity to retain customer trust." What is the author's main point?
A.Branches should be closed entirely
B.Cybersecurity investment is essential as digital banking grows
C.Low-value transactions are unprofitable
D.Customers no longer trust banks
Explanation: The passage links the rise of digital banking and its risks to the need for cybersecurity investment to retain trust. The central idea is that security spending is essential as digital channels grow. Main-idea questions require identifying the author's overall argument, not a minor detail.
7Choose the option that correctly rearranges the jumbled sentence: (P) was approved (Q) the loan application (R) after verification (S) by the branch manager.
A.Q P R S
B.Q P S R
C.P Q R S
D.Q R P S
Explanation: The logical order is: 'The loan application (Q) was approved (P) by the branch manager (S) after verification (R)', giving Q-P-S-R. The subject precedes the verb, then the agent, then the time/condition clause.
8Fill in the blank with the appropriate preposition: "The auditor was not satisfied ______ the explanation provided by the branch."
A.from
B.with
C.about
D.to
Explanation: The adjective 'satisfied' takes the preposition 'with' when referring to being content about something. So 'satisfied with the explanation' is correct. Preposition collocations are tested frequently in bank exams.
9In a cloze passage, choose the best word: "The new policy aims to ______ financial inclusion among rural households."
A.hinder
B.foster
C.ignore
D.reduce
Explanation: A policy that 'aims to' help financial inclusion would 'foster' (promote or encourage) it. The positive context of a policy goal requires a positive verb. Cloze tests reward matching the tone and logic of the sentence.
10Choose the option that best expresses the meaning of the idiom 'to cut corners'.
A.To take a shortcut that lowers quality
B.To turn a vehicle sharply
C.To save money wisely
D.To divide work equally
Explanation: 'To cut corners' means to do something in the easiest, cheapest, or quickest way, often sacrificing quality or rules. It carries a negative connotation. Idiom questions test knowledge of fixed expressions.

About the IBPS SO Exam

The IBPS SO (Specialist Officer) Common Recruitment Process, conducted under CRP SPL, selects Scale-I Specialist Officers for participating public sector banks across six posts: IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer (AFO), HR/Personnel Officer, Marketing Officer, Law Officer, and Rajbhasha Adhikari. Selection is in three stages: an online Preliminary exam (150 objective questions for 125 marks in 120 minutes covering Reasoning, English, and either Quantitative Aptitude or banking-focused General Awareness), an online Mains exam (a 60-question, 60-mark Professional Knowledge paper in 45 minutes for most posts), and a personal Interview. The Prelims is only qualifying; the final merit list weights Mains and Interview in an 80:20 ratio. Both Prelims and Mains carry negative marking of one-fourth (0.25) of the marks per wrong answer.

Questions

150 scored questions

Time Limit

Prelims: 120 minutes; Mains: 45 minutes

Passing Score

Sectional and overall cut-offs set per cycle by IBPS; Prelims qualifying, final merit on Mains and Interview (80:20)

Exam Fee

Rs. 850 (General/OBC/EWS); Rs. 175 (SC/ST/PwBD) (Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS), on behalf of participating public sector banks)

IBPS SO Exam Content Outline

~33%

Reasoning Ability (Prelims)

50 questions for 50 marks: coding-decoding, blood relations, syllogism, seating arrangement, series, direction sense, ranking, and analytical puzzles.

~20%

English Language (Prelims)

50 questions for 25 marks: reading comprehension, cloze tests, error detection, sentence rearrangement, vocabulary, and grammar.

~33%

Quantitative Aptitude / General Awareness (Prelims)

50 questions for 50 marks: Quantitative Aptitude for IT/AFO/HR/Marketing posts, or banking-focused General Awareness for Law and Rajbhasha posts.

Mains paper

Professional Knowledge (Mains)

60 questions for 60 marks (45 minutes) post-specific: IT, Agriculture, Marketing, HR, Law, or Rajbhasha (Rajbhasha has 45 objective plus 2 descriptive questions).

How to Pass the IBPS SO Exam

What You Need to Know

  • Passing score: Sectional and overall cut-offs set per cycle by IBPS; Prelims qualifying, final merit on Mains and Interview (80:20)
  • Exam length: 150 questions
  • Time limit: Prelims: 120 minutes; Mains: 45 minutes
  • Exam fee: Rs. 850 (General/OBC/EWS); Rs. 175 (SC/ST/PwBD)

Keys to Passing

  • Complete 500+ practice questions
  • Score 80%+ consistently before scheduling
  • Focus on highest-weighted sections
  • Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

IBPS SO Study Tips from Top Performers

1Master the three common Prelims sections first — Reasoning, English, and Quantitative Aptitude or banking General Awareness — because every post must clear sectional cut-offs to reach Mains.
2Build deep Professional Knowledge in your chosen stream early; the Mains paper carries 80% of the final merit and is the true differentiator.
3Practise under negative marking: skip low-confidence guesses, since each wrong answer costs 0.25 marks in both Prelims and Mains.
4For banking General Awareness (Law and Rajbhasha posts), revise RBI policy rates, banking acts (BR Act, NI Act, SARFAESI, IBC), and current financial-inclusion schemes.
5Take full-length timed mocks for the 120-minute Prelims and the 45-minute Mains to build speed and sectional time management.
6Track recent IBPS notifications on www.ibps.in for exam-date, syllabus, and pattern changes for the current CRP SPL cycle.
7Revise standard formulas (simple/compound interest, ratio, percentage, time-and-work) and reasoning shortcuts to maximise accuracy per minute.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the IBPS SO exam?

IBPS SO is the Specialist Officer Common Recruitment Process (CRP SPL) run by the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection to select Scale-I officers for participating public sector banks in six streams: IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR/Personnel Officer, Marketing Officer, Law Officer, and Rajbhasha Adhikari.

What is the IBPS SO exam pattern?

There are three stages. Prelims has 150 objective questions for 125 marks in 120 minutes (Reasoning, English, and either Quantitative Aptitude or banking General Awareness). Mains is a 60-question, 60-mark Professional Knowledge paper in 45 minutes for most posts. The Interview follows. Both objective stages have 0.25 negative marking.

How is the final IBPS SO merit list calculated?

The Preliminary exam is only qualifying and its marks are not counted in the final merit. The final merit list is based on the Mains exam and the Interview combined in an 80:20 ratio.

How much does the IBPS SO exam cost?

The application fee is Rs. 850 for General, OBC, and EWS candidates and Rs. 175 (intimation charges only) for SC, ST, and PwBD candidates. The fee is paid online and is non-refundable.

What is the eligibility for IBPS SO?

Candidates must be Indian citizens aged 20 to 30 years (with category relaxations) and hold a post-relevant degree, which varies by post — for example, an engineering/PG degree in CS/IT for IT Officer, an agriculture or allied science degree for AFO, an LLB with Bar Council enrolment for Law Officer, and a PG in Hindi for Rajbhasha Adhikari.

What does the Professional Knowledge paper cover?

The Mains Professional Knowledge paper is specific to the chosen post: IT (networking, DBMS, OS, security, software engineering), Agriculture (agronomy, soil science, animal husbandry, economics, plant protection), Marketing (marketing mix, branding, consumer behaviour, digital marketing), HR (HRM, organizational behaviour, labour laws), Law (banking law, contract, constitutional, NI Act), or Rajbhasha (Hindi language and translation).

Is there negative marking in IBPS SO?

Yes. In both the Preliminary and Mains objective tests, one-fourth (0.25) of the marks assigned to a question are deducted for each wrong answer. Unattempted questions carry no penalty.

How many banks participate in IBPS SO recruitment?

Eleven public sector banks participate, including Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India, Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Punjab National Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, UCO Bank, and Union Bank of India.