SBI PO Syllabus 2020 PDF Download (Prelims & Mains)
The State bank of India has scheduled the preliminary examination for Probationary Officers in January 2021 tentatively. Gear up preparations for the examination by going through the detailed SBI PO Syllabus 2020.
In this post, we have provided the subject-wise SBI PO Exam Syllabus for Prelims and Mains along with important topics and their weightage of questions.
SBI PO Syllabus 2020 PDF
- The SBI PO Prelims Syllabus consists of three sections: Reasoning Ability, English Language, and Quantitative Aptitude.
- The SBI PO 2020 Syllabus for Mains Exam consists of four sections: English Language, Data Analysis & Interpretation, Reasoning & Computer Aptitude, and General Awareness.
- As per the experts, solving SBI PO Previous Year Question Papers will help candidates to know the difficulty level of the paper, exam pattern, marking scheme, and type of questions asked in the exam.
- Candidates can view or download the SBI PO Syllabus PDF from the link provided below and start their preparation accordingly.
- Know the important topics of both Prelims and Mains SBI PO 2020 Syllabus in the table provided below.
- Going through the SBI PO Free Study Materials will save your time and direct your preparation in the right direction.
SBI PO Prelims Syllabus 2020
Prelims Exam consists of mainly three sections-Reasoning, Quantitative Ability, and the English language. Go through the SBI PO Exam Pattern to get more understanding about the exam.
- The Prelims exam will take place in an online mode
- The medium of questions will be English and Hindi. The candidates will get a bi-lingual question paper
- Firstly, there are a total of three subjects that have to be covered to crack the exam
- Secondly, the topics in the table below must be mastered by the candidates
- Ensure to study each topic as per the SBI PO 2020 Syllabus. Also taking up FREE Banking Quiz regularly can help in analyzing your preparation levels.
Reasoning | Quantitative Aptitude | English Language |
Logical Reasoning | Simplification | Reading Comprehension |
Alphanumeric Series | Profit & Loss | Cloze Test |
Ranking/Direction/Alphabet Test | Mixtures &Alligations | Para jumbles |
Data Sufficiency | Simple Interest & Compound Interest & Surds & Indices | Miscellaneous |
Coded Inequalities | Work & Time | Fill in the blanks |
Seating Arrangement | Time & Distance | Multiple Meaning /Error Spotting |
Puzzle | Mensuration – Cylinder, Cone, Sphere | Paragraph Completion |
Tabulation | Data Interpretation | – |
Syllogism | Ratio & Proportion, Percentage | – |
Blood Relations | Number Systems | – |
Input-Output | Sequence & Series | – |
Coding-Decoding | Permutation, Combination &Probability | – |
Subject-Wise Weightage of Topics
Check out the topic-wise number of questions asked from each subject. This helps in concentrating on topics that have higher weightage and also studying only important topics.
Weightage of SBI PO Reasoning Topics
Here is the table showing the important topics and weightage of questions of the reasoning section. Attempting FREE Reasoning Quiz regularly can help in understanding each topic better and answer the questions correctly.
Reasoning | Weightage |
Logical Reasoning | 2 |
Alphanumeric Series | 2 |
Ranking/Direction/Alphabet Test | 2 |
Data Sufficiency | 2 |
Coded Inequalities | 3 |
Puzzle and Seating Arrangement | 19 |
Tabulation | 3 |
Syllogism | 4 |
Blood Relations | 4 |
Coding-Decoding | 3 |
Weightage of SBI PO Quantitative Ability Topics
The below table explains the list of important topics and the number of questions asked from each subject. Take up FREE Quant Quiz to know how much you are aware of each topic.
Quantitative Ability | Number of Questions |
Quadratic Equation | 5 |
Profit & Loss | 1 |
Simple Interest & Compound Interest & Surds & Indices | 1 |
Work & Time | 2 |
Time & Distance | 1 |
Mensuration – Cylinder, Cone, Sphere | 1 |
Data Interpretation | 15 |
Ratio & Proportion, Percentage | 2 |
Missing Number Series | 5 |
Sequence & Series | 2 |
Miscellaneous Word Problem | 10 |
Weightage of SBI PO English Topics
The below table explains the important topics in the SBI PO Syllabus 2020 PDF for English along with the number of questions asked from each topic. Our FREE English Quiz can help candidates to know the difficulty level of the paper and know which type of items can be asked.
English Topics | Weightage |
Reading Comprehension | 5 |
Cloze Test | 5 |
Match the following based on Sentence Formation | 2 |
Miscellaneous | 6 |
Sentence Correction | 5 |
Multiple Meaning /Error Spotting | 6 |
Single Fillers | 7 |
sentence correction | 5 |
SBI PO Syllabus in Hindi PDF Download 2020
For all aspirants reference, here is the detailed Syllabus PDF in Hindi and English. Download the free SBI PO 2020 Syllabus PDF in Hindi and English below and gear up your preparations for the upcoming examination.
SBI PO 2020 Syllabus PDF Download Here
SBI PO Prelims Question Type
It is obvious that candidates are worried about the type of questions asked in the exam. Hence, for the aspirant’s reference, we have provided what type of questions are asked from each subject.
Type of Questions asked in the Reasoning Section
Generally, the following type of questions has been asked from each topic of the SBI PO Reasoning section.
- Syllogism – Conventional, Coded, and Reverse questions
- Ordering and Ranking – Mostly Puzzle on ordering by age, floor, and
- Inequalities – General & Coded inequalities
- Coding & Decoding – Coding by Fictitious Language, Coding by analogy, coding by words, coding-decoding by letter shifting, etc.
- Blood Relations – Family tree and Blood relation problems
- Direction & Distance – Problems based on Turns, stops, and angles
- Puzzles – Seating Arrangement, Double Line up Arrangement, Floor Puzzle, Scheduling, Boc Based, etc.
- Data Sufficiency – Coding-Decoding, Scheduling, Seating Arrangement, Direction & Distance, Blood Relation, etc.
- Input and Output – Less likely to appear. Conventional or Coded
- Arrangement and pattern – Less likely to appear. Number and Letter Based(Based on Series & Groups)
Type of Questions asked in the Quantitative Section
Let us have a look at the type of questions asked from each topic of the quantitative section.
- Simplification – BODMAS, Approx.
- Ratio & Proportion – Simple Ratios, Compound Ratios
- Mixture Problems – Questions based on Mixture of two or three quantities and their ratio
- Number System – LCM, HCF, Integers, Rational Irrational Numbers
- Algebra – Quadratic Equations and Linear Equations
- Profit & Loss – Problem-related to Dishonest Dealings, Successive Selling, Partnership & Discount, and M
- Average – Average Weight/Height/Age/Marks, Average Money Expenditure, Average Temperature, etc.
- Percentage – Calculation-oriented basic percentage Questions
- Time & Work – Work Efficiency, Work & wages, Pipe & Cistern
- Interest – Simple Interest, Compound Interest, Simple a7 Compound Interest both & Installments
- Speed, Time & Distance – Problems on Trains, Boats, Rivers, Relative Speed, Average Speed, and Partial Speed
- Permutation & combination – Problems based on Basic selection and Arrangement Problems
- Probability – Very Basic problems on Probability
- Mensuration – Problems related to Area, surface area & volume of various geometrical shapes
- Number Series – Finding the missing term and wrong term
- Data Sufficiency – Data Sufficiency problems
- Data Interpretation – Pie Chart, Line chart, bar graph, table & caselet
- Comparison of Quantities – General Arithmetic topics
Type of Questions asked in the English Section
Go through the type of questions asked from each topic of the English section in the SBI PO Exam.
- Reading Comprehension – The passage will focus on topics like moral stories, humanities, social issues, economy, and business. Vocabulary based and Idiom based questions.
- Cloze Test – Questions based on a passage containing a particular idea
- Error Detection – Questions based on finding an error in a sentence
- Fill in the Blanks – Questions covering vocabulary and Grammar
- Verbal ability – Questions based on para jumbles, Match the following, etc.
SBI PO Mains Syllabus 2020
The SBI PO Syllabus for Mains consists of five sections-Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude, English Language, General Awareness, Data Analysis.
Data Analysis & Interpretation | Tabular Graph | Line Graph/Bar Graph | Probability |
Data Sufficiency | Permutation and Combination | Pie Charts | |
Reasoning | Verbal Reasoning | Syllogism | Circular Seating Arrangement |
Linear Seating Arrangement | Blood Relations, Critical Reasoning | Input-Output, Analytical and Decision Making | |
Data Sufficiency | Coding-Decoding, Course of Action | Critical Reasoning | |
Computer Aptitude | Internet | Memory | Computer Abbreviation |
Keyboard Shortcuts | Computer Hardware | Number System | |
Networking | Operating System | – | |
General/Economy/Banking Awareness | Current Affairs | Financial Awareness | General Knowledge |
Static Awareness | Banking Terminologies Knowledge | Banking Awareness | |
English Language | Reading Comprehension | Grammar | Verbal Ability |
Vocabulary | Error Spotting | Cloze Test | |
Fill in the blanks | – | – |
Weightage off SBI PO Mains Reasoning
Check out the below table to know the SBI PO Detailed Syllabus for Reasoning and also the number of questions asked from each topic.
Topic | Number of Questions |
Direction – Symbol based | 3 |
AR (Linear Seating Arrangement | 5 |
AR (Circular/Pentagon Seating Arrangement) | 5 |
AR (Data Arrangement – Stacks A, B, C based) | 5 |
AR (Concentric Square-based) | 1 |
Direction – Puzzle based | 1 |
Data Sufficiency | 1 |
Coding-Decoding | 5 |
Input-Output | 5 |
Logical Reasoning (Statement-Inference, Critical Reasoning, Course of Action, etc.) | 9 |
Weightage of SBI PO Mains Quantitative Aptitude
Go through the below table to know the number of questions asked from the SBI PO Maths Syllabus.
Topics | Number of Questions |
Data Interpretation (Table – Time and work-based) | 3 |
Data Interpretation (Caselet – Probability-based) | 5 |
Data Interpretation (Funnel Shape) | 5 |
Data Interpretation (Caselet) | 4 |
Data Interpretation (Scattered Graph) | 3 |
Comparison of quantities – Quantity I. Quantity II and Quantity III | 3 |
Data Sufficiency | 3 |
Number Series | 2 |
Profit, Loss & Discount | 1 |
Mensuration | 3 |
Ages | 1 |
Miscellaneous | 2 |
Weightage of SBI PO Mains English Language
Know the important topics of SBI PO English Syllabus for Mains here and the number of questions asked from each topic.
Topics | Number of Questions |
Reading Comprehension | 20 |
Phrase Replacement | 5 |
Para jumbles /Sentence Rearrangement | 5 |
Fill in the blanks – Double FIB | 5 |
SBI PO Mains Syllabus for the Computer Awareness Section
Here is the table consisting of important topics from SBI PO Syllabus for computers and the weightage of questions.
Computer Awareness | Weightage |
Internet | 5 |
Memory | 2 |
Keyboard Shortcuts | 2 |
Computer Abbreviation | 2 |
Microsoft Office | 1 |
Computer Hardware | 3 |
Computer Software | 3 |
Operating System | 4 |
Networking | 3 |
Miscellaneous | 8 |
SBI PO Syllabus – Group Discussion & Interview
Group Discussion & Interview is the final stage of the selection process of the SBI PO Exam 2020. Candidates who qualify in both prelims and Mains exams are called for the final selection process of the exam. Candidates will receive the Letter of Appointment from SBI after clearing all the phases of the exam. The Letter of Appointment contains joining formalities, joining date, place of joining, etc.
SBI PO Exam pattern
Before going through the SBI PO syllabus, it is important for candidates to check the SBI PO Exam Pattern in order to get more understanding about the exam. The three phases of the Exam Pattern of the SBI PO Exam is as follows:
- Prelims (Phase-1)
- Mains (Phase-2)
- Group Discussion and Interview (Phase-3)
Go through the detailed pattern of the SBI PO 2020 Exam to know the number of questions asked form each section, marking scheme, and sectional time limit.
SBI PO Prelims Exam Pattern 2020
The following table has the detailed Exam Pattern for SBI PO Prelims 2020:
- Firstly, the exam lasts for 1 hour
- The Question paper comes in Objective type
- There is also negative marking of 1/3 for every wrong answer
Mode of Exam | Online |
The medium of Question Paper | English / Hindi |
Type of Exam | Online |
Duration | 1 hour |
Type of Questions | Objective Type |
Total Number of Questions | 100 |
Marks Obtained for Correct Answer | +1 |
Marks Deducted for Incorrect Answer | -0.25 |
Sections in the exam | English Language, Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning Ability |
Weightage of English Language | 25-30 Questions |
Weightage of Quantitative Aptitude | 30-35 Questions |
Weightage of Reasoning Ability | 30-35 Questions |
The following table has the Section-wise Exam Pattern for Prelims exam:
- The candidates have to complete the exam in 1 hour
- Secondly, there would be questions from three subjects: English, Maths, and Reasoning
- There would be a total of 100 questions and each question carries equal marks.
Section Name | No. of Questions | Total Marks |
English Language | 30 | 30 |
Quantitative Ability | 35 | 35 |
Reasoning Ability | 35 | 35 |
Total | 100 questions | 100 marks |
SBI PO Mains Exam Pattern 2020
The following table has the detailed SBI PO Exam Pattern of Mains exam:
Section | Objective Test | Descriptive Test |
Exam-duration | 3 hours or 180 minutes | 30 minutes |
Total Questions | 155 questions | Letter Writing/ Essay Writing |
Maximum marks | 200 marks | 25 marks |
Negative Marking | 1/3 marks will be deducted for every wrong answer | NA |
Exam-mode | Hindi and English (Hindi will not be applicable for English language section) | English |
The following table has the Section-wise Exam Pattern of the SBI PO Mains Objective Exam:
- Firstly, the exam lasts for 3 hours
- There is negative marking of 1/3 for every wrong answer
- There will be a total of 155 questions in the exam
Section | Total Questions | Maximum Marks | Duration (minutes) |
Reasoning & Computer Aptitude | 45 | 60 | 60 |
Data Analysis & Interpretation | 35 | 60 | 45 |
General Awareness (Economy & Banking) | 40 | 40 | 35 |
English Language | 35 | 40 | 40 |
Total | 155 Questions | 200 Marks | 3 hours |
SBI PO Preparation Tips 2020
Go through the detailed experts suggested preparation tips for the SBI PO Preliminary examination below.
How to Prepare for Reasoning Section?
- Before starting their preparation candidates are advised to separate the easy topics and tricky topics.
- First, start with easy topics and then proceed to tricky topics.
- Focus on the more difficult concepts in Syllogism and that will help you score maximum marks in the exam.
- While solving direct & distance problems, try to solve more difficult questions on your own without searching for solutions.
- Daily solve at least 10-15 puzzles.
- Also, be sure to solve the easier questions first in the exam and do not waste spending more time on topics like syllogism, coding-decoding, inequalities, analogies, etc.
How to Prepare for Quantitative Ability Section?
- It is important for candidates to learn all the basic mathematical formulae.
- candidates are advised to take out at least 3-4 hours daily to devote to the Maths section.
- Try solving and understanding the questions and concepts from the book titled Quantum CAT by Sarvesh K Verma.
- Practice as many as sample papers to get a clear idea about the type of questions asked in the Maths section and the difficulty level of the questions.
- Solve SBI PO Mock Tests and on a daily basis and try to analyze the question from these test series.
- Do not cramp all the formulas in a single day.
How to Prepare for English Section?
- If the students have a clear concept on the use of basic elements such as prepositions and adjectives, they can easily get through this section with a heavy score.
- Candidates can brush up their grammar and vocabulary skills by reading newspapers, magazines daily.
- Try to learn at least 20 new English words daily and note down the meaning of each word you find unfamiliar or difficult to remember.
- Try to make sentences out of the idioms/phrases. This trick will help remember what was learned.
- One of the easiest ways to remember vocabulary is the use of mnemonics, which means creating shortcuts to remember more complex words.
- Revise all the words you have learned on a weekly basis.
SBI PO Syllabus – Group Discussion & Interview
Candidates who clear the cutoff score for the mains exam will be called for the group discussion and personal interview test where candidates will be interviewed by the interview board. The Group exercise will carry 30 marks, while the interview will carry 20 marks. Candidates are advised to go through the topics mentioned below that help them to clear the SBI PO Group Discussion and Personal Interview round easily.
- Impact of COVID-19 in the World
- Reservation System in Government Jobs.
- Water disputes
- FDI in India
- Gold Monetisation Scheme
- Women Empowerment
- Impact of Brexit
- Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal
- Digital India
- Should cryptocurrency be made legal?
SBI PO Final Selection
The final selection of the candidate will be based on the points discussed below:
- Candidates must qualify in both the Phase-2 and Phase-3 rounds in order to get shortlisted in the final merit list.
- Marks secured by the candidates in the SBI PO Mains Exam (out of 250 marks) are converted to out of 75 and marks secured in Group Exercises & Interview (out of 50 marks) are converted to out of 25. This makes the new total score (Mains + GD/PI) to be 100
- The aggregate score out of 100 is used for the final merit list for each category.
- Candidates with top merit rank in each category are finally selected.
- As parents must note that those who clear all the rounds of the exam will receive the letter of appointment from SBI that contains joining formalities, joining date, place of joining, etc.
SBI PO Preparation Books
The candidates always search for the best pile of books they can prepare from. We have personalized some books for the candidates. Candidates can check the SBI PO Preparation Books form the table below and better prepare for the exam.
Book Name | Author/Publisher |
Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations | RS Aggarwal |
Shortcuts in Quantitative Aptitude with 4 eBooks for Competitive Exams | Disha Experts |
Bank PO Quantitative Aptitude Chapter-wise Solved Papers | Arihant Experts |
Chapter-wise Solved Papers 2000-2015 Bank PO QUANTITATIVE APTITUDE | Arihant Experts |
SBI PO Preparation Tips 2020
Once you are aware of the syllabus, follow the expert’s SBI PO Preparation Tips to crack the exam in one attempt.
- Go through the detailed exam pattern and syllabus for SBI PO Exam 2020.
- Make a proper study plan and begin your preparation.
- Study each and every topic by referring to the right SBI PO Books.
- Ensure to complete studying the topics planned for each day without fail.
- Take up the SBI PO Mock Test Series regularly to analyze your preparation.
- Solve previous year papers to know the difficulty level of the paper and estimate the different types of questions.
SBI PO Exam Analysis 2020
On the day of the exam, by taking the feedback from students, a detailed SBI PO Exam Analysis is prepared. The analysis helps candidates to know the difficulty level of the exam, the number of good attempts, and also which questions were asked in the exam. Go through the brief information about SBI PO 2019 Paper Analysis below and enhance your preparations.
SBI PO Paper Analysis 2019
- Reasoning & Computer Aptitude was the toughest section while English was the easiest section.
- The Reasoning & Computer Aptitude section involved many new questions.
- Also, a new type of Data Interpretation question dominated the Data Analysis & Interpretation section.
- Most of the questions in the English Language section were from Reading Comprehension.
- In the General Awareness section, 35 questions were asked from current affairs related to economy and finance world while only 5 questions were asked from static GK.
Sections | Good Attempts |
Data interpretation and analysis | 14-15 |
Reasoning and computer amplitude | 15-18 |
English language | 24-28 |
General/Economy/Banking Awareness | 30-32 |
Overall good attempts | 74-84 |
Section-Wise Exam Analysis
Go through the topic-wise number of questions asked and difficulty level for each subject tabulated below:
Data Analysis and Interpretation
Topics | No. of Questions | Difficulty level of Questions |
Data Interpretation | 20 | Difficult |
Data Sufficiency | 2 | Moderate |
Number Series | 2 | Moderate |
Statement Condition | 2 | Difficult |
Mensuration | 3 | Moderate |
Probability | 5 | Moderate |
Ages | 1 | Difficult |
Reasoning and Computer Aptitude
Topics | No. of Questions | Difficulty level of Questions |
Puzzle and Seating Arrangement | 25 | Difficult |
Data Sufficiency | 3 | Moderate |
Logical Reasoning | 8 | Moderate |
Input-Output | 3 | Easy |
Direction sense | 2 | Moderate |
Coding-Decoding | 4 | Difficult |
English Language
Topics | No. of Questions | Difficulty level |
Reading comprehension | 15 | Moderate-Difficult |
Para jumbles | 8 | Moderate |
Fillers | 6 | Moderate |
Miscellaneous | 3 | Moderate-Difficult |
Phrase replacement | 3 | Easy |
General Awareness
Topics | No. of Questions | Difficulty level |
Budget | 7 | Moderate-Difficult |
Government Schemes | 8 | Moderate |
RBI and Banking | 12 | Moderate |
Sports | 5 | Moderate-Difficult |
Corporate news | 8 | Easy |
SBI PO Syllabus FAQ’s
Q) What is the weight of the Reasoning section in the SBI PO Preliminary Exam?
Around 30-35 questions will be asked in the Reasoning section of the SBI PO Preliminary Exam. Candidates have to focus on topics like Verbal/Non-Verbal Reasoning, Syllogism, Circular & Linear Seating Arrangement, Data Sufficiency, Coding, and Decoding, etc to score more marks in the exam.
Q) How many subjects are there in the SBI PO 2020 Prelims Exam?
The SBI PO Prelims Exam comprises three subjects and those are as follows:
- Quantitative Aptitude
- Reasoning Ability
- English Language
Q) What are the topics that need to prepare under the English section of the SBI PO Syllabus 2020 of the Prelims Exam?
The important topics that need to prepare under the English Section of the SBI PO Prelims Exam as follows: Reading Comprehension, Grammar, Vocabulary, Fill in the blanks, Multiple Meaning /Error Spotting, Paragraph Completion, Miscellaneous, and Grammar.
Q) What is the SBI PO Syllabus for the Mains Exam?
The SBI PO 2020 syllabus for Mains Exam consists of five sections: Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude, English Language, General Awareness, Data Analysis.
Q) How can I better prepare for SBI PO Exam?
Candidates have to follow expert preparation tips to score more marks in the exam. Before starting your preparation, go through the detailed exam pattern and syllabus for SBI PO Exam 2020 and make a proper study plan. Study each and every topic by referring to the right SBI PO Books and ensure to complete studying the topics planned for each day without fail. Take up Mock Test Series regularly to analyze your preparation and Solve previous year papers to know the difficulty level of the paper and estimate the different types of questions.
Q) Which is the best book for the preparation of SBI PO Syllabus of Quantitative aptitude questions?
Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations by RS Aggarwal is the best book for preparing SBI PO Quantitative Aptitude Questions.
Q) How many questions are asked from the English section in the SBI PO Prelims Exam?
As per the exam pattern, 30 questions will be asked from the English section in the SBI PO Prelims Exam. To score more marks in this section, candidates are advised to solve as many mock tests as possible.

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