The IBPS conducts national-level exams for various banking posts every year. Through these exams, the IBPS recruits both Grade A and B banking personnel. This year, IBPS has announced 6827 openings for the post of IBPS RRB Clerk (Group B Office Assistant).
IBPS RRB Clerk Mains 2020 Exam Analysis
In this article, we will explore the IBPS RRB Clerk 2020 Mains paper. First we will examine the section-wise standard of assessment of the paper which will be followed by reviewing the previous year’s maximum and minimum cut-offs.
English Language
In the Mains examination, ten questions were asked from Reading Comprehension. The Reading Comprehension test assesses a person’s ability to read and understand textual data swiftly and completely. A passage was given to the candidates to read. After this, they have to answer the subsequent questions based on the passage. A total of 40 questions were asked in this section for 40 marks. As you can see, excluding Comprehension, all other topics have been assessed quite evenly.
| Topics | No. of Questions |
| Reading Comprehension | 10 |
| Error Detection | 5 |
| Rearrangement | 5 |
| Connector | 5 |
| Fillers | 5 |
| Word Usage | 5 |
| Antonym/Synonym | 5 |
| Total | 40 |
Reasoning
The total number of questions was 40 and the maximum marks were 50. The greatest number of questions asked from this section were from different types of Puzzles. 5 questions were asked from Seating Arrangement Puzzles as well. Candidates must make a note that many questions from the Seating Arrangement Puzzles were also tested in the Prelims paper. As you can make out, this is an important topic and you should devote special attention toward solving them quickly and correctly in the examinations. Last year, no questions were asked from Data Sufficiency and Order and Ranking.
| Topics | No. of Questions |
| Seating Arrangement | 5 |
| Puzzles (Year based Puzzle (Floor Based Puzzle, Month-Date Based Puzzle, Box Based Puzzle, Selection-Based Puzzle) | 20 |
| Coding Decoding (Substitution Coding) | 4 |
| Reverse Inequality | 2 |
| Blood Relation | 3 |
| Direction | 3 |
| Alphabet based (Meaningful word) | 3 |
| Total | 40 |
Numerical Ability
| Topics | No. of Questions |
| Data Interpretation | 15 |
| Approximation | 5 |
| Wrong Number Series | 5 |
| Arithmetic Word Problem | 15 |
| Total | 40 |
A total of 40 questions were asked of which 15 were assessed from DI and Arithmetic Word Problems. From Approximation and Wrong Number Series, 5 questions each were asked. Data Interpretation and Arithmetic Word Problems were as important topics in the Mains paper as they were in the Prelims paper.
General Awareness
Of the 40 questions asked, the majority of the questions were from Current Affairs and Current Banking Affairs as compared to the other topics. The questions asked were moderate to easy. In general, the Current Affairs of the last 6 months before the exam are important for candidates. Candidates should have proper knowledge about important awards issued, important holidays or events, the Annual Budget and such.
| Topics | No. of Questions | Level |
| Banking Awareness | 6 | Easy |
| Current banking Affairs | 10-12 | Moderate |
| Current Affairs | 12-15 | Easy |
| Static Affairs | 6-7 | Moderate |
| Total | 40 | Moderate |
Candidates should be up-to-date with their Current Affairs to ensure they score well in this section. To get a headstart on your General Awareness preparation you can find weekly updates on all aspects of general awareness on our BeePedia page. Moreover, these BeePedia updates are comprehensive and free and you can download them from the ixamBee website. BeePedia is also available in Hindi.
IBPS RRB Clerk Mains Cut-Off
Minimum Cut-offs
Minimum cut-off marks are the lowest marks obtained by a qualifying candidate in a particular exam. They are also simply referred to as cut-off marks. Provided below is a detailed analysis of the State-wise cut-off for the Mains paper. Also, within the State-wise cut-off, a category-wise cut-off has also been provided.
| State/UT | SC | ST | OBC | EWS | General |
| Andhra Pradesh | 52.41 | 46.47 | 60.22 | 60.91 | 64.16 |
| Arunachal Pradesh | NA | 37.38 | NA | NA | 48.10 |
| Assam | 49.38 | 43.88 | 47.63 | 53.03 | 59.60 |
| Bihar | 46.19 | 45.66 | 57.03 | 58.94 | 61.60 |
| Chhattisgarh | 52.88 | NA | NA | 55.22 | 57.85 |
| Gujarat | 40.75 | 36.13 | 46.32 | 40.75 | 56.32 |
| Haryana | 48.50 | NA | 57.63 | 60.88 | 63.78 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 48.50 | 47.32 | 53.66 | 58.41 | 63.72 |
| Jammu & Kashmir | 49.32 | 41.57 | 50.72 | 54.91 | 62.97 |
| Jharkhand | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Karnataka | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Kerala | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Madhya Pradesh | 48.25 | 39.66 | 54.82 | 55.63 | 60.94 |
| Maharashtra | 56.07 | 40.53 | 56.10 | 53.85 | 60.50 |
| Manipur | NA | 47.88 | 55.75 | NA | 56.44 |
| Meghalaya | NA | 38.22 | 49.85 | NA | 56.44 |
| Mizoram | NA | 40.44 | NA | NA | 42.22 |
| Nagaland | NA | 47.47 | NA | NA | 56.97 |
| Odisha | 45.47 | 41.88 | 61.78 | 58.07 | 63.10 |
| Puducherry | 57.38 | NA | 59.97 | NA | 61.91 |
| Punjab | 49.47 | NA | 58.66 | 56.94 | 63.10 |
| Rajasthan | 43.82 | 31.38 | 55.82 | 50.60 | 60.25 |
| Tamil Nadu | 52.35 | 48.16 | 64.78 | 52.75 | 66.38 |
| Telangana | 51.47 | 51.85 | 60.60 | 60.03 | 62.13 |
| Tripura | 47.32 | 39.66 | NA | 51.10 | 56.57 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 42.44 | 37.63 | 52 | 55.78 | 59.82 |
| Uttarakhand | 51.97 | NA | 63.38 | NA | 70.19 |
| West Bengal | 48.69 | 36.03 | 48.10 | 53.97 | 59.97 |
As we can gather from the table above, the cut-offs range from the 40s to the 60s. The highest cut-off marks were 70.19 for the general category in the state of Uttarakhand. Across all categories, the lowest cut-off mark obtained by a qualifying candidate was 36.03 for the Scheduled Tribes from West Bengal. The low cut-off marks reflect the relatively difficult level of assessment of the Mains paper.
Maximum Cut-off
| State/UT | SC | ST | OBC | EWS | General |
| Andhra Pradesh | 63.22 | 53.53 | 64.38 | 64.16 | 78.44 |
| Arunachal Pradesh | NA | 44.03 | NA | NA | 59.91 |
| Assam | 63.13 | 50.69 | 57.91 | 59.50 | 69.72 |
| Bihar | 58.22 | 54.94 | 64.13 | 63.63 | 79.69 |
| Chhattisgarh | 53.97 | NA | NA | 57.57 | 74.16 |
| Gujarat | 62.72 | 52.10 | 64.19 | 57.13 | 82.44 |
| Haryana | 69.19 | NA | 72.35 | 63.32 | 74 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 62 | 52.13 | 62.28 | 77.72 | 81.19 |
| Jammu & Kashmir | 63.38 | 50.25 | 63.72 | 62.75 | 73.91 |
| Jharkhand | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Karnataka | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Kerala | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Madhya Pradesh | 61.16 | 55 | 66.28 | 61.16 | 75.69 |
| Maharashtra | 72 | 54.03 | 72 | 60.28 | 73.50 |
| Manipur | NA | 48.47 | 62.28 | NA | 65.63 |
| Meghalaya | NA | 48.66 | 53.66 | NA | 63.63 |
| Mizoram | NA | 44.63 | NA | NA | 53.22 |
| Nagaland | NA | 55.35 | NA | NA | 56.97 |
| Odisha | 54.75 | 55.16 | 62.82 | 59.41 | 72.47 |
| Puducherry | 57.38 | NA | 60.13 | NA | 66.22 |
| Punjab | 63.78 | NA | 65.97 | 62.47 | 74.32 |
| Rajasthan | 65.60 | 68.66 | 62.44 | 60.78 | 79.60 |
| Tamil Nadu | 64.91 | 55.19 | 75.47 | 61.72 | 74.97 |
| Telangana | 70.85 | 64.25 | 75.78 | 64.78 | 70.94 |
| Tripura | 52.75 | 53.41 | NA | 53.41 | 66.16 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 60.66 | 53.28 | 64.25 | 61.75 | 76.07 |
| Uttarakhand | 52.19 | NA | 63.38 | NA | 73.53 |
| West Bengal | 65.63 | 48.16 | 65.97 | 64.63 | 77.32 |
The maximum cut-off marks refer to the highest marks obtained by a candidate from a particular category from each state. This data is just provided for information purposes. While it is important for candidates to score the minimum cut-off marks to qualify, the knowledge of maximum cut-off marks encourages candidates to outperform themselves. The highest mark obtained in this exam was 79.69 by a candidate from Bihar hailing from the Unreserved category. The lowest maximum marks obtained by a qualifying candidate were 50.25 by a candidate from Jammu & Kashmir belonging to a Scheduled Tribe.
After having studied the minimum cut-offs and the maximums marks obtained by the candidates, we can see that the level of assessment of the Mains paper was relatively more difficult as compared to the Prelims paper. While candidates scored in the 70s in an 80-mark paper, on average candidates also scored in the 70s in the 200-mark Mains paper. This should give you a fair idea about how you need to perform in your exam to ace both stages of assessment.
Preparing for IBPS RRB Office Assistant Exam and don’t know where to begin? Don’t worry, we have got you covered. At ixamBee you can find all the study material coupled with guidance from subject experts in our online courses. If you are on the edge about whether you should prepare for this exam or not, take a free mock test to evaluate your standing.
Also read:
IBPS RRB Notification 2021: Check All Details
IBPS RRB PO 2020 Prelims Exam Analysis
IBPS RRB PO 2020 Mains Exam Analysis
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