The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) conducts annual exams for the recruitment of Specialist Officers (SO- Scale 2 and 3 Officers) every year. These officers are recruited to work with Regional Rural Banks (RRB). This year, IBPS RRB has released 199 vacancies for Scale 2 Specialist Officers, 925 vacancies for GBO and 211 openings for SO (Scale 3).
For the IBPS RRB Officer Scales 2 (GBO and SO) and 3 exams, candidates must note that there is only a single written examination. Clearing this exam will allow candidates to be eligible for the interview round and successive final listing.
IBPS RRB 2020 SO Exam Analysis
For Officer Scale 2 (GBO) and Scale 3, there were five subjects assessed in the examination. They were:
- Reasoning
- Computer Knowledge
- Financial Awareness
- Language-Hindi/English
- Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation.
There were a total of 200 questions asked- 40 from each section. The total marks were 200 and the time given was 2 hours or 120 minutes. There was no sectional division of time. That is why in such exams, candidates must divide their time properly so that they can attempt all sections.
For the Scale 2 Specialist Cadre exam, aside from the five aforementioned subjects, there was a sixth section assessed on Professional Knowledge. This section depended upon the particular specialist post the candidates were applying for, such as, Agriculture Officer, IT Officer and such. Here, the total number of questions asked was 240 and the time given was 150 minutes. However, the total number of marks for the paper was 200.
Let us begin a section-by-section analysis of the previous year’s paper.
English Language
| Topics | No. of Questions |
| Reading Comprehension | 10 |
| Error Detection | 5 |
| Sentence Connector | 4 |
| Para Jumble | 5 |
| Spelling mistake | 3 |
| Cloze Passage | 8 |
| Fillers | 5 |
| Total | 40 |
For the English language assessment, 10 marks were dedicated to Reading Comprehension. In this exam, Cloze Passage was also asked for 8 marks. Here, a passage was given from which words had been removed. Candidates are required to fill in the appropriate words in the blank to join the sentences together so that the passage becomes meaningful. The overall level of assessment was easy.
Reasoning
| Topics | No. of Questions |
| Seating Arrangement (Circular- 8 Person facing inside-outside), Linear Seating | 10 |
| Puzzles (Schedule, Comparison) | 7 |
| Coding Decoding (simple) | 5 |
| Inequality | 5 |
| Alphanumeric series | 5 |
| Alphabet and Number test (pair) | 3 |
| Input-Output | 5 |
| Total | 40 |
The highest number of questions was dedicated to Seating Arrangement where questions were asked from Circular and Linear Seating Arrangements. 7 questions were based on Puzzles. 5 questions were asked from all other topics except from Alphabet and Number test from which only 3 questions were asked. The overall level of assessment was moderate. No questions were asked from Blood Relations, Order & Ranking or Input and Output.
Quantitative Aptitude & DI
| Topics | No. of Questions |
| Data Interpretation (Bar Graph, table and Caselet) | 15 |
| Simplification | 5 |
| Series (Missing) | 5 |
| Arithmetic Word Problem | 15 |
| Total | 40 |
The Quants questions evaluated in this exam were moderate to difficult. As we can gather from the name of the section, several questions, 15 to be precise, were asked from Data Interpretation. From DI, questions were based on Bar Graphs, Tables and Caselets. Similarly, 15 questions were asked from Arithmetic Word Problems. 5 questions each were asked from Simplification and Missing Number Series. No questions were asked from Quadratic Equations, Percentage, Profit and Loss and such.
Financial Awareness
| Topics | No. of Questions |
| Banking Affairs (Static- Acronyms, taglines, Regulation related) | 18-20 |
| Current Financial Awareness (Scheme, Projects, Deals, Awards) | 20-22 |
| Total | 40 |
The questions asked from Financial Awareness were moderate to easy. The higher number of questions were asked from Current Financial Awareness. Questions were asked on ongoing financial schemes, projects, and deals. Questions on awards issued in the financial sector were also asked. From Static Banking GK, questions were asked on acronyms, taglines and banking regulations.
Computer Awareness
| Topics | No. of Questions |
| Software, Application | 8-10 |
| I/O Devices and Processing unit | 11-12 |
| Miscellaneous | 14-15 |
| Total | 40 |
This section tests the candidate’s knowledge of operating computer systems. The questions asked from the Computer Awareness section were easy. Questions were asked on operating systems, and MS Office- Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
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IBPS RRB 2020 SO Cut-offs
The exam and category-wise cut offs have been given below. Study the cut-off tables carefully to understand approximately what score you need to obtain to ensure that you have made the cut. For the IBPS RRB 2020 exams, you will notice that the range of cut-offs is very vast across all categories in all exams. Study the tables below to understand which cut-off is most applicable to you.
IBPS RRB SO (GBO)
| SC | ST | OBC | EWS | GENERAL | HI | OC | VI | ID & OTHERS |
| 48.38 | 40.19 | 63.81 | 55.00 | 65.19 | 34.75 | 49.06 | 29.63 | 12.50 |
The highest cut-off mark was 65.19 for the General category and 12.50 for ID & Others for the General Banking Officer post.
IBPS RRB (SO) Specialist Officers
IT Officer
| SC | ST | OBC | EWS | GENERAL | HI | OC | VI | ID & OTHERS |
| 57.25 | 40.38 | 65.63 | 71.50 | 74.63 | 22.38 | 40.25 | 34.88 | 18.50 |
The highest cut-off mark was 74.63 for the General category and the lowest mark was 18.50 for ID and Others.
CA Officer
| SC | ST | OBC | EWS | GENERAL | HI | OC | VI | ID & OTHERS |
| 39.38 | NA | 39.38 | 39.38 | 39.38 | NA | NA | NA | NA |
The cut-off mark across all categories (wherever applicable) was 39.38
Law Officer
| SC | ST | OBC | EWS | GENERAL | HI | OC | VI | ID & OTHERS |
| 38.00 | 42.13 | 54.38 | 57.38 | 57.38 | NA | 27.00 | NA | NA |
For the Law Officer’s exam, the highest cut-off mark was 57.38 for General and EWS categories. The highest mark scored by a qualifying Orthopaedically Challenged candidate was 27.00.
Treasury Manager
| SC | ST | OBC | EWS | GENERAL | HI | OC | VI | ID & OTHERS |
| 30.63 | NA | 30.63 | NA | 30.63 | NA | 66.75 | NA | NA |
Interestingly, the highest cut-off mark was 66.75 for the Orthopaedically Challenged category. The lowest cut-off mark was 30.63 for SC, OBC and General categories.
Marketing Officer
| SC | ST | OBC | EWS | GENERAL | HI | OC | VI | ID & OTHERS |
| 56.63 | 64.25 | 61.25 | 61.88 | 64.25 | NA | NA | NA | NA |
The lowest mark scored by a qualifying candidate in the Marketing exam was 56.63 from a Scheduled Caste. The highest cut-off across all categories was 64.25 for General and Scheduled Caste candidates.
Agriculture Officer
| SC | ST | OBC | EWS | GENERAL | HI | OC | VI | ID & OTHERS |
| 35.50 | 34.88 | 35.50 | 35.50 | 35.50 | 32.13 | 53.00 | 59.63 | NA |
The highest cut-off mark across all categories was 59.63 obtained by a Visually Impaired candidate.
IBPS RRB Officer SO (Scale 3)
| SC | ST | OBC | EWS | GENERAL | HI | OC | VI | ID & OTHERS |
| 56.25 | 50.63 | 68.50 | 52.44 | 74.19 | NA | 40.38 | 21.56 | 99.63 |
The highest cut-off mark across all categories was 99.63 for the ID and Others category. It was also the highest cut-off mark for any category across all SO examinations.
As we have seen from the tables above, the cut-off marks have a vast range within examinations. For example, for the IBPS RRB SO (Scale 3) exam, the lowest cut-off mark was 21.56 (VI) and the highest was 99.63 (ID & Others). Candidates applying for respective posts should study the cut-offs carefully to understand which is most applicable to them. Studying these cut-offs helps us to form an idea about the level of assessment of the examinations and the approximate marks they should aim toward obtaining.
To prepare yourself for the upcoming IBPS RRB SO examinations, it would be prudent to review the previous year’s questions paper as well. This will allow you to study the exam pattern carefully while also understanding where you stand in your exam preparation.
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