Banking · State Bank of India (SBI)
SBI Clerk — State Bank of India — Junior Associate (Customer Support & Sales) recruitment
The complete SBI Clerk blueprint: tier-wise pattern, topic weightage from previous-year analyses, and free chapter-by-chapter study material.
5 subjects200 Mains marks = your entire merit2 stages: Prelims · Mains — no interview Free · tutor-verified
SBI Clerk at a glance
Conducted byState Bank of India (SBI)
CycleOnce a year — exact notification/exam months shift cycle to cycle; check sbi.co.in/web/careers for the current cycle's dates
ModeOnline CBT — Prelims + Mains, both fully objective (no descriptive test, no interview)
EligibilityGraduation in any discipline (or final year, subject to completing by the cycle's deadline); age 20–28 as of the cycle's cut-off date
LanguagesEnglish & Hindi in every section except the General English paper
Pay bandBasic pay ₹26,730/month (₹24,050 + 2 advance increments for a graduate); in-hand salary approx. ₹42,584/month
Posts you can get
Junior Associate (Customer Support & Sales)State Bank of India — India's largest public-sector bank by branch network and assetsSingle-employer exam — every selected candidate joins SBI itself, unlike IBPS Clerk's 11-bank pool~9,700 vacancies in a typical annual cycle (regular + backlog combined)
⚡ What changed recently
- SBI Clerk Mains is 190 questions for 200 marks in 160 minutes (2h40m) — a larger question count and longer duration than IBPS Clerk's 160Q/125min for the same 200 marks, since SBI Clerk's General/Financial Awareness and Quantitative Aptitude sections carry more questions each.
- The Mains numerical section is officially called 'Quantitative Aptitude' at SBI Clerk (versus IBPS Clerk's mixed 'Numerical Ability'/'Quantitative Aptitude' labelling) — same underlying syllabus either way.
- Like IBPS Clerk, there is no descriptive test and no interview: the 200-mark Mains objective score alone decides final selection.
- There is no individual sectional qualifying mark within Mains — candidates only need to clear SBI's prescribed overall aggregate cut-off, unlike Prelims where each section has its own cut-off.
How SBI Clerk selection works
Know what each stage is for before you spend a single hour preparing.
QUALIFYING SCREEN
Prelims
100 questions · 100 marks · 60 min with 20-min sectional locks (English 30, Numerical Ability 35, Reasoning 35). Clear each section's cut-off AND the overall cut-off — these marks are NOT added to the final merit.
100% OF YOUR FINAL MERIT
Mains
190 objective questions, 200 marks, 160 minutes across 4 sectional-locked sections. This is the ONLY score that decides your rank — there is no interview stage. Only the overall aggregate cut-off applies here, not a per-section one.
QUALIFYING ONLY
Local Language Proficiency Test (where applicable)
Candidates allotted to a state whose local language they have not already studied or certified must clear a proficiency test after Mains — a pass/fail condition, not a marks-adding stage.
The exam pattern, tier by tier
Marks, timing and negative marking exactly as per the official notification.
Preliminary Exam (Phase 1)
Qualifying only100 marks · 100 Q
60 min (20 min per section, locked) · −0.25 per wrong answer
| Section | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 30 | 30 | 20 min |
| Numerical Ability | 35 | 35 | 20 min |
| Reasoning Ability | 35 | 35 | 20 min |
💡 Each of the three sections is a separate 20-minute sprint — no time borrowing between them.
Main Exam (Phase 2) — your entire merit
Merit — 100% of the final rank, no interview follows200 marks · 190 Q
160 min (each section separately timed) · −0.25 per wrong answer
| Section | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| General/Financial Awareness | 50 | 50 | 35 min |
| General English | 40 | 40 | 35 min |
| Quantitative AptitudeAlso called Numerical Ability — same syllabus | 50 | 50 | 45 min |
| Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude | 50 | 60 | 45 min |
💡 Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude is the single heaviest section at 60 marks. Only an overall aggregate cut-off applies at Mains — there is no individual sectional qualifying mark, unlike Prelims.
Where your rank actually comes from
Prelims is only a gate — its marks are NOT counted in the final merit. There is no interview for SBI Clerk: your entire rank comes from the 200-mark Mains exam alone, followed (for some candidates) by a qualifying Local Language Proficiency Test. Here is how the 200 Mains marks split — click any block to open its chapters:
Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude60 marks · 30%
50 questions, 45 minutes — the single heaviest section. Puzzles & seating arrangement carry the largest individual share.
General/Financial Awareness50 marks · 25%
50 questions, 35 minutes — the largest question count on the paper, pure recall with zero calculation.
Quantitative Aptitude / Numerical Ability50 marks · 25%
50 questions, 45 minutes. Same narrow 6-topic syllabus as IBPS Clerk — no ratio/partnership, mensuration or P&C at this level.
General English40 marks · 20%
40 questions, 35 minutes, fully objective — no descriptive component at all.
Subjects in SBI Clerk
Chapter-by-chapter study material built to the exam's own blueprint.
Topic-wise weightage — what to study first
Question counts per topic, distilled from previous-year paper analyses. Click any topic with a link to open its full chapter.
| Topic | Prelims Q | Mains Q | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Puzzles & Seating Arrangement (linear, circular, floor, box, scheduling) | 14–18 | Very high | |
| Syllogism | 3–4 | High | |
| Inequality (direct & coded) | 3–4 | High | |
| Coding–Decoding | 4–5 | High | |
| Blood Relations | 3 | Medium | |
| Direction & Distance | 3 | Medium | |
| Order & Ranking | 2–3 | Medium | |
| Alphanumeric / Alphabet Series | 3–4 | Medium | |
| Data Sufficiency (Mains) | 0–3 | Medium | |
| Input–Output (machine, Mains) | 0–3 | Low | |
| Logical / Verbal Reasoning (Mains) | 0–3 | Low | |
| Computer Aptitude (in Reasoning, Mains) | 0–3 | Medium |
🎯 Puzzles and seating arrangement dominate this section at clerk level just as at PO level — master the standard grids (linear, circular, floor, box, scheduling) first. Syllogism, coded inequality, coding-decoding, blood relations and direction sense are shorter, single-step questions worth securing quickly; alphanumeric series and order/ranking round out Prelims, while Mains adds data sufficiency, input-output and a handful of computer-aptitude questions on the same core technique set.
| Topic | Prelims Q | Mains Q | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simplification & Approximation | 10–12 | Very high | |
| Data Interpretation | 7–9 | Very high | |
| Arithmetic Word Problems (Percentage, Profit & Loss, Interest) | 9–11 | Very high | |
| Number Series | 5–7 | High | |
| Quadratic Equations | 4–5 | Medium | |
| Time, Speed, Distance & Work | 5–6 | High |
🎯 Identical scope to IBPS Clerk's clerk-level Numerical Ability — 6 topics, no ratio/partnership, average/mixture, permutation-combination or mensuration at this level. Simplification & Approximation is the heaviest, fastest-to-master topic; Data Interpretation and Arithmetic Word Problems (percentage, profit & loss, interest) follow closely. Number Series, Quadratic Equations and Time-Speed-Distance-Work complete a syllabus that rewards drilled speed over broad coverage — 50 questions in 45 minutes leaves little room for slow, first-principles working.
| Topic | Prelims Q | Mains Q | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | 6–8 | Very high | |
| Cloze Test | 5–6 | High | |
| Error Spotting / Sentence Correction | 4–5 | High | |
| Para Jumbles / Sentence Rearrangement | 4–5 | High | |
| Sentence / Double Fillers | 4–5 | High | |
| Word Swap / Word Usage / Word Rearrangement | 3–4 | Medium | |
| Vocabulary (synonyms, antonyms, idioms) | 2–3 | Medium | |
| Sentence Improvement / Phrase Replacement | 0–3 | Low | |
| Column-based / Connectors / Match the Following | 0–3 | Low |
🎯 Reading Comprehension anchors the section, rewarding accurate literal reading over vocabulary memorisation alone. Cloze Test, Error Spotting, Para Jumbles and Fill in the Blanks are the section's learnable grammar core. Exactly like IBPS Clerk, there is no descriptive writing component at all — every English mark comes from the objective paper.
| Topic | Prelims Q | Mains Q | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current Affairs (last 4–6 months, national & international) | 18–22 | Very high | |
| Banking & Financial Awareness (RBI, rates, terms, schemes, digital banking) | 12–16 | Very high | |
| Static Banking & Economy (CRR/SLR/Repo, apex bodies, HQs, taglines) | 6–8 | High | |
| Budget & Economic Survey | 2–4 | Medium | |
| Static GK (awards, sports, books, days, capitals & currencies) | 5–7 | Medium |
🎯 The largest question count on the SBI Clerk Mains paper, and every question is fast once known — zero calculation, pure recall. Roughly 60-70% is current affairs and banking developments from the preceding 4-6 months; the rest is static banking terms, rates and apex bodies plus general static GK. Daily short revision loops beat occasional long sessions here.
| Topic | Prelims Q | Mains Q | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer fundamentals, generations & hardware | 1–2 | High | |
| MS Office & keyboard shortcuts | 1–2 | High | |
| Networking, internet & security | 0–1 | Medium | |
| Abbreviations, memory & number systems | 0–1 | Low |
🎯 The same shallow, finite syllabus as every other banking exam — computer generations & fundamentals, hardware, MS Office & shortcuts, networking & internet, and common abbreviations. Worth a single focused revision session for close-to-guaranteed marks.
SBI Clerk resources
Everything you need to prepare.
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FAQs
Frequently asked questions
No. Prelims is qualifying only — clear the sectional and overall cut-offs to reach Mains, but the marks are then discarded. There is also no interview: the 200-mark Mains score alone is your entire final merit.
No. Selection is Prelims (qualifying) + Mains (100% of merit), plus a qualifying Local Language Proficiency Test for some candidates. There is no interview panel anywhere in the process.
No — Mains has only an overall aggregate cut-off; there is no individual sectional qualifying mark, unlike Prelims where each of the three sections has its own cut-off.
The syllabus and techniques are essentially identical, and this site's chapters are shared between the two exams for exactly that reason. The pattern differs slightly: SBI Clerk Mains is 190 questions in 160 minutes versus IBPS Clerk's 160 questions in 125 minutes, both for 200 marks — and the two exams recruit for different employers (SBI alone, versus IBPS's 11-bank pool).
Graduation in any discipline, age 20-28. Selected candidates join as Junior Associates (Customer Support & Sales), basic pay ₹26,730/month, with an in-hand salary of roughly ₹42,584/month.
No — SBI Clerk is a single-employer exam. Every selected candidate joins the State Bank of India itself, unlike IBPS Clerk's pool of 11 participating public-sector banks.
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