SBI PO Bank Exam......

State Bank of India conducts SBI PO exam for recruitment of candidates to the post of Probationary Officers in different branches of the bank across India and abroad. This is a Junior Management Level direct entry point for dynamic young graduates. SBI PO exam is held in three stages - Prelims, Main, Group Exercises & Interview. The candidates who are shortlisted after Preliminary examination will have to appear for Main examination. The candidates shortlisted after the main examination have to appear in a Group Exercises & Interview for final selection. A probationary officer gets exposed to challenging assignments and also gets the opportunity to involve in pioneering technological and financial activities for the Indian Banking industry. They get opportunities to work in the various departments of SBI in India and abroad ranging from Personal Banking to Rural Banking.

Eligibility criteria:

All Indian Citizens are eligible to apply for the interview. Candidates selected are liable to be posted anywhere in India.

Essential academic qualifications:

Candidate must have Graduation in any discipline from a recognised University or any equivalent qualification recognised as such by the Central Government. Those who are in the Final year/ Semester of their Graduation may also apply provisionally subject to the condition that, if called for interview, they will have to produce proof of having passed the graduation examination on or before eligibility date as given in related advertisement. Candidates having integrated dual degree (IDD) certificate should ensure that the date of passing the IDD is on or before eligibility date as given in related advertisement.

Age limit:

Age of the candidate should not below 21 years and not above 30 years.  Reservation rules apply to SC/ST/ExS/J&K Migrants/OBC/PwD candidates.

Number of chances:

General category candidate can attempt maximum 4 times in SBI PO exam. There is no restriction in the number of attempts for SC/SC (PWD)/ ST/ ST (PWD) candidates. Other categories like General (PWD), OBC and OBC (PWD) can attempt maximum 7 times.

Selection Procedure:

The SBI PO examination held in two phases: preliminary and main. Both the exam held online only in selected exam centres across India. Candidates who qualify in the preliminary examination are shortlisted for the Main examination. Once candidates qualify in the main examination will subsequently be called for a Group Discussion & Interview.

Phase-I: Preliminary Examination

The Preliminary Examination held online at selected examination centre each year. Preliminary Examination is consisting of Objective Tests for 100 marks.  The exam duration is of 1 hour and consisting of 3 Sections as follows: English Language (30 mark), Quantitative Aptitude (35 marks) and Reasoning Ability (35 marks).  Candidates have to qualify in each of the three tests. Approximately 20 times numbers of candidates against vacancies are short listed for the Main Examination. 

Phase - II: Main Examination

Main Examination consists of both objective (200 marks) and descriptive questions (50 marks) and held online. The objective test is of 3 hours duration consisting of 4 Sections.  Each section has fixed timing to complete. The four sections are: Reasoning & Computer Aptitude (60 marks), Data Analysis & Interpretation (60 marks), General Awareness about Economy/ Banking (40 marks) and English Language (40 marks).

Immediately after completion of Objective Test, Descriptive Test is administered. The Descriptive Test is of 30 minutes duration with 50 marks. It is a Test of English Language (Letter Writing & Essay).

Negative marking is applicable to both preliminary and Main examination for wrong answer.  One fourth of the marks assigned to that question will be deducted as penalty to arrive at corrected score.

Phase - III: Group Discussion & Interview

Once candidates qualify the main examination, Sate Bank invites them for Group Discussion and Interview. The qualifying marks in Group Discussion &Interview are decided by the Bank.

Final Selection:

Only the marks obtained in Main Examination (Phase-II) and in GD & Interview (Phase-III) are considered for the preparation of the final merit list. The candidates have to qualify both in Phase-II and Phase-III separately. The selection is made from the top merit ranked candidates in each category.

Career Path:

After qualify in the PO Exam, in SBI a probationer joins in the scale of JMGS-I (Assistant Manager). The Probationary Officers will be on probation of two years during which they are given training. Towards the end of training period, they have to go through a screening process. If they successfully qualify the screening test, they are directly become Scale 2 (MMGS-II). others who qualify  but fail to achieve the standards set for placement in Middle Management Grade Scale-II, will be confirmed as Officer Junior Management Grade Scale-I. Others who fail to qualify in this process will be terminated. As regards the salary at each grade, the scales are revised once in 5 years with merger of DA.

How to apply:

Candidates have to register themselves online through Bank's website www.statebankofindia.com or www.sbi.co.in. After registration, application fees can be paid through online by using debit card, credit card or Internet Banking during specified dates given in respective advertisement. Fee/Intimation charges once paid are not be refunded. For more information, you can visit SBI website.