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What's the ideal score to crack IBPS Bank PO?

October 15, 2015 10:13 IST

"Prepare hard and stay ahead of others. Lakhs of people write banking examinations, a few thousands get selected."

"You should attempt to score more than 100 marks in Mains exam. You must get a total of 45 per cent marks to get selected."

Amit Jaiswal of MockBank.com offered advice on how to crack the IBPS Bank PO entrance examination.

The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) organises an entrance examination every year to select candidates for the post of probationary officers (PO) across public sector banks in the country.

On October 13, Rediff.com organised an online chat with Amit Jaiswal, head of academics, MockBank.com to help readers prepare for the IBPS Bank PO entrance examination.

For those who missed the chat, here's the unedited transcript:


Pinky Goud: Hello sir. I have solved 55 questions in IBPS PO prelims.

In English - 23, reasoning - 18, and in quant - 15. Is there any chance to clear the exam?

Amit Jaiswal: Hi, this depends on your category as well. If you are from general category with 90 per cent you will be able to get through


chinnu k: Hello , I solved 47 questions in IBPS PO with more than 90 per cent accuracy, is there having any possibility to clear PRE exam....... i belonging OBC category.

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Chinnu, You have very good chance of clearing the prelims. Let's hope for the best.Thanks


Rahul Dakhane: hi, I am rahul from nagpur, sir i want to know about the category wise cut off for IBPS PO/MT 2015

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Rahul, will you please let us know your category?

Rahul Dakhane: sir, my category is SC

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Rahul, it would be close to 30 to 32 marks.

Kindly refer to http://rediff.ly/52ko8 for cut off of IBPS PO Prelims exam


Bhumika: What is the expected date for results of ibps po prelims?

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Bhumika, They are expected to be declared in this week.Thanks


The results are expected by the end of this week.

laxmikantanayak: what is the minimum per cent required to crack the IBPS po?

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Laxmikant, You should attempt to score more than 100 marks in Mains exam. You must get a total of 45 per cent marks to get selected.


Gyanendra Kumar: Sir, what may be the minimum marks in mains to qualify for interview?

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Gyanendra, The total cutoff will be close to 90 marks in mains exam.


laxmikantanayak: what is the key lesson for newcomer?

Amit Jaiswal: Hi, Prepare hard and stay ahead of others is what you can work with. Lakhs of people write banking examinations, thousands get selected. Be in one of those thousands.


Gyanendra Kumar: Sir, how many questions may be asked from current affairs

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Gyanendra, There are about 12-15 questions about current affairs in GA section. 


Biswajit Dutta: Which portion I should skip in QA and Reasoning for ibps po exam?

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Biswajit, While going through the preparation, one comes to realize the areas where one does not feel comfortable. Identify yours and plan an exam taking strategy accordingly.


Manoj Sharma: My english is weak. what to do please suggest some good tips and books

Amit Jaiswal : Hi Manoj, for Vocabulary, you should go through "WORD POWER MADE EASY" by Norman Lewis.

For Grammar, follow "Better English" by Norman Lewis and Wren & Martin. Keep reading newspapers. Thanks for posting your question

Kindly refer the following link http://rediff.ly/52k2x


Prasenjit Paul: what should be the strategy for maths?

Amit Jaiswal: Dear Prasenjit, Your main aim for mains exam should be to score more than 100 marks. At the same time, you need to clear the sectional cut offs as well.

manikgupta020@rediffmail.com: Did not get extra time that i was lost due to system problem What to do?

Amit Jaiswal: Dear Manik, You can complain about it to examining body, IBPS, about it.


Gyanendra Kumar: Sir, after selection will the posting be in home state or any where in the country?

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Gyanendra,It depends on available vacancies and your rank.


shital: I hv attempted 54 question with 70 per cent accuracy and m obc .wt r d chances to get selected?

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Shital, It is very difficult to say anything right now. Let us hope for the best. Thanks


Bhumika: Expected results date for IBPS PO Prelims?

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Bhumika, They are expected by the end of this week.Thanks


Tayyab Ghaffar: It's difficult to find a question while answering and its time consuming process as compared to offline exam mostly in Mathematics and English.

In English, while solving a passage it takes more time to scroll the screen again and again, so at least try to give the complete passage in single screen which is helpful for us.

Amit Jaiswal: Dear Tayyab, It is clear that you have not worked much on computers.

Kindly practice through online mock tests to get comfortable with computers, because ultimately you need to answer the questions there only on the exam day.


Gyanendra Kumar: Sir how to prepare for banking section

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Gyanendra, For banking theory you can refer to "Money Banking and Finance by NK Sinha".Thanks


Biswajit Dutta: I have attended 57 questions in ibps po prelim. What is my chance to clear the exam

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Biswajit,It also depends on accuracy level. If yours is around 80 per cent , you will certainly be through.Thanks


vineet ojha: what is the salary of po?

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Vineet, Please go through this article http://rediff.ly/52k5fThanks


Sneha: [SKB] Sir I want to know the expected cutoff for ibps po pre as i attempted only 53

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Sneha, For general expected cut off is 45-48.Thanks


rahul: How many vacancies we can expect this year ????

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Rahul, total number of vacancies will be around 20,000 to 21,000


hezal: Do [previous year IBPS Sample Papers helpful so that we may be aware that what type of question comes in exam.

Amit Jaiswal: Dear Hezal, Previous year question papers will help you to understand the type of questions and their difficulty level. You can accordingly you can customize your preparations. Thanks


Gyanendra Kumar: how many questions from DI

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Gyanendra, There will be three to four sections in DI having 5 questions each.Hence, prepare accordingly


Varsha Singhe: Every type of exam has its different pattern. How we have to prepare set well time table

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Varsha, Each exam tests different set of skills in the candidates.

Therefore you need to customize your preparation accordingly.


divya srivastava: what questions should not be dealt while preparing QA

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Divya,Avoid Permutations and Combinations as there is only 1 question.Thanks


Vinit Araj: Is there any age relaxation for SC/ST ?

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Vinit, There is 5 years age relaxation for SC/ST candidates. Thanks


sweta Bhagat: Hello, I solved only 40 questions in ibps po pre exams belongs to sc category.. Is there any chances for me to clear exam & what will b d probabl cut off for sc category students..

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Sweta, If your accuracy is more than 90 per cent you have good chance of clearing the prelims. Thanks


ved: what to do for reasoning?which book should to prefer?also suggest me that which book should prefer for seating arrangement with puzzle and family tree

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Ved, Reasoning is scoring subjects in Bank PO exams. However you need to practice to answer more questions in stipulated time with high accuracy.

You can refer to books like RS Agarwal and Arihant. You will get adequate number of problems to practice for family tree and sitting arrangement problems. Thanks


rahul: Any tips for rbi assistant interview ????

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Rahul,Please go through http://rediff.ly/52k46Thanks


shruti: sir how much is the safe attempts to get called for po. interview for general category ... will just qualifying be enough

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Shruti, Prelims is only a qualifying round. Your final selection would depend on marks in mains exam and interview round.


PANKAJ KUMAR: what the ideal score to crack ibps

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Pankaj, For general category - 45 to 47 marks; For OBC - 42 to 45 marks; For SC - 30 to 32 marks

Ideal Score is 100 marks


Biswajit Dutta: How many questions I should attempt in ibps po main? Which area I should focus?What will be cutoff of ibps po prelim?How to score 20 in English section of ibps po main??

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Biswajit, Your aim should be to get more than 100 marks in the exams. So number of attempts will depend on your accuracy. Thanks, Amit

You should focus on all five sections, since each has own sectional cut off.

You can easily score more than 20 marks in English by working on easy topics like sentence correction, vocabulary, cloze passage and vocab questions in RC


Deepthi: How can i download call letters for online examination?

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Sneha, Please follow the instructions and link provided on the website.


kamal raghav: sir what to study for ibps po general awareness section

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Kamal, refer these 1. Pratiyogita Darpan 2. A year book 3. Newspapers. These would help.


Ansh: Hi, I want to know that what will be the ideal score to crack the IBPS PO Mains?

Amit Jaiswal:Hi Ansh, Ideal score is expected to be 100 marks.Thank

Ashish Gupta:Is there negative marking in this exam?

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Ashish, There is 0.25 negative marks for each wrong answer. Thanks, Amit

It is -0.25 marks for every wrong answer.


ved: how to prepare for reasoning section?

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Ved, Please go through this article http://rediff.ly/52k3cThanks


vinyak:[SKB] sir what is your view about rrb po.....is ibps change the selection pattern

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Vinayak, More or less, IBPS keeps its syllabus and difficulty level same in all the banking examinations.

Please go through one or two mock tests from these examinations and you will realize what I am talking about.


Shaadik Choudhary: Sir can you give some tips for the preoaration of english and quantitative aptitute .

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Shaadik, Please go through http://rediff.ly/52k2x for Englishand http://rediff.ly/52k2y for Quant. Thanks


rakesh: What books or study material should I refer to to prepare for this bank exam?

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Rakesh, You are refer to RS Agarwal and Arihant for QA and Reasoning and Wrein & Martin for English. Thanks, Amit


Simon Xavier: When is the IBPS main exam? 

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Simon, IBPS Mains 2015 is on 31st October, 2015. Thanks, Amit

Hi Simon, It is on 31st October, 2015.


rittika negi: Sir I am 25 yrs old, BCom graduate from Noida. Can I appear for IBPS Bank PO? What is the eligibility?

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Rittika, You're eligible for IBPS PO exams. Age limit is 21-30 and you need to be a graduate to appear in the exams. Thanks, Amit


rahul: my question is that why IBPS changes its difficulty level in every exams i mean generally during 1st day and 1st slot the questions and its patterns are relatively easier and it becomes tougher afterwards .....

so i dont think there is not any equality during all days exam so person who wrote 1st day has easy question and later students have difficult questions

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Rahul, They use normalization process to formulate the cut off marks. Please do not worry about the level of difficulty.All the candidates will be treated equally.


Raj: Thnk you amit ... when will prelims result be out?? 

Amit Jaiswal: We expect them to be announced in this week.


Riyaz Sheikh: I have completed B.E in CSE so is there any risk of getting less marks? because of Non commerce Branch

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Riyaz, what matters the most is the cut off mark ( sectional and total).You need to prepare for these questions while you are preparing for Interview process


Raju Vohra: Is state really matters while preparing Final results in PO (Because It matters in clerical)?

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Raju, Not much. Please do not worry about it.Thanks


Jaipal Sahani: Sir i hade done some mistakes in my application in the credentials section, is it possibkle for me to change my credentials after submission of application?

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Jaipal once the prelims result is announced and you are through,out please get in touch with IBPS. You cannot do it on your own now.Thanks Amit


Arvind Irani: Hi Amit, my question to you is will my preliminary scores be considered also or will it only be my main examination for te selection?

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Arvind, Scores in mains and interview round will be considered for the final selection process.


shweta: Hi I have problem with quantitative Aptitude section....plz suggest me to solve this section easily..........

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Shweta, QA has four main components to be prepared for 1) Arithmetic - Percent, Ration and Proportion, Averages, Profit and Loss.

These will also help you in solving DI problems.

QA by RS Aggrawal and level one questions of Arun Sharma book should be sufficient to prepare for this2) Quadratic Equations ( Inequality problems) - Solve NCERT book on factorisation.


Anu Jain: what will be the cut off of IBPS PO 2015?

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Anu, for General category, it should be very close to 45 to 47. For OBC, it should be in the range of 40 to 42.Thanks for posting your questionAmit


Manoj Sharma: My English is weak. what to do please suggest some good tips and books 

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Manoj, for Vocabulary, you should go through "WORD POWER MADE EASY" by Norman Lewis.

For Grammar, follow "Better English" by Norman Lewis and Rein & Martin. Keep reading newspapers. Thanks for posting your question


Raj: What will be the prelims cutoff? What possible questions could come from banking section ...

Amit Jaiswal: Hi Raj, for General category the cutoff will be very close to 45 to 47. For OBS candidates, it should be 40 to 42.

RBI terminologies - Policy rates like CRR, SLR, REPO, Reverse REPO etc and their impact on the economy.

SEBI norms, Banking terminologies, Budget analysis, Planning commission and NITI aayog reports


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ALSO SEE: IBPS PO Prelims 2015: Exam analysis

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