IBPS SO 2021: Notification, Exam Date, Application, Eligibility, Syllabus, Pattern, Admit Card & Result

The schedule for IBPS SO 2021 recruitment is as under:

The IBPS SO 2021 exam will be conducted in two phases – Preliminary and Main. The preliminary exam will be conducted in December 2021 while the Main exam will be held in January 2022. Go through the table below and understand the exam structure of IBPS Specialist Officers.

Penalty for Wrong Answers

In the objective tests, candidates need to be careful while selecting the answers. There is a provision of negative marking. The test-takers will have to pay a penalty for the incorrect answers. 1/4^th marks will be deducted for every incorrect input. For the unattended questions, there will be no penalty.

IBPS SO Pre Exam Pattern

IBPS SO Exam Pattern for Law Officer (Scale-1) and Rajbhasha Adhikari (Scale-1)

IBPS SO Exam Pattern for IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR/Personnel Officer, Marketing Officer (Scale -1 for all officers)

IBPS SO Main Exam Pattern

IBPS SO Exam Pattern for Law Officer, IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR/Personnel Officer, Marketing Officer

IBPS SO Exam Pattern for Rajbhasha Adhikari (Scale-1)

IBPS SO Syllabus 2021:

The Institute conducts the exam in two stages – Preliminary and Main, which indicates that the applicants need to have a quick look at the IBPS SO syllabus for both prelims and mains.

IBPS SO 2021 Prelims Syllabus

• Reasoning
• English Language
• General Awareness
• Quantitative Aptitude

IBPS SO 2021 Main Syllabus

The Main syllabus encompasses subjects for IT Officer Scale-I, Agricultural Field Officer Scale-I, Marketing Officer Scale-I, Law Officer Scale-I, HR/Personnel Officer Scale-I and Rajbhasha Adhikari.

Nationality – 

• The candidate should be an Indian citizen.
• If an applicant is a subject of Bhutan, Nepal and Tibet and has migrated to India before January 1, 1962, with the intention of settling down in the country permanently, he certainly can apply for the test.
• A PIO who has migrated from Sri Lanka, Burma, Pakistan and East African countries, including Malawi, Vietnam, the United Republic of Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Zaire, Zambia and Ethiopia, to settle down in India permanently, he is also eligible to register for the exam.

Candidates other than Indian citizens will be required to produce the relevant documents in original to prove their claim.

Academic Requirements -

Read below to know about the relevant qualification for different posts for the IBPS Specialist Officers 2021 exam.

Age Limit (as on 26.11.2021) –

• The candidate should be between 20 - 30 years of age.
• He should have been born between 2nd November 1991 and 1st November 2001 (both dates inclusive).

The reserved category candidates are given age relaxation in the upper age limit as follows –

A substantial amount of measures will be taken into consideration to ensure that applicants seeking the age relaxation facility must submit the correct documents in copies or original during the Interview and subsequent stages.

Reservations for Candidates Standard Disability

The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (under section 34) states that applicants suffering from benchmark disabilities will avail the reservation facilities. Those who fall under the below-mentioned categories will be eligible for Reservation –

• Low vision or blindness
• Hearing disability
• A locomotor disability such as muscular dystrophy, leprosy cured, cerebral palsy, acid attack victims and dwarfism
• Mental illness, specific learning disability, intellectual disability and autism

The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) will invite online applications for the recruitment of Specialist Officers in participating organizations - (CRP SPL- X) on its official website. Interested and eligible candidates can apply for the positions online at ibps.in. The recruitment drive will conduct for the selection of Specialist Officers’ cadre posts – I.T. Officer (Scale-I), Agricultural Field Officer (Scale I), Law Officer (Scale I), Rajbhasha Adhikari (Scale I), HR/Personnel Officer (Scale I), and Marketing Officer (Scale I).

Like every year, the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection is expected to release the IBPS SO 2021 application form in November 2021 at the official website. The form should be filled and submitted online. Check out the steps below to register for the Specialist Officer posts.

IBPS SO Exam Form Filling Guide -

• Visit IBPS official website
• Click on CWE-Specialist Officers XI exam
• Create an account by clicking on the option ‘New registration’
• For registration, provide basic details like the name, mobile number and address
• Once the registration is done, the applicant is given a provisional registration number and password which should be retained until the completion of the selection process
• Access the application form using the provisional registration number and password
• Upload the scanned copies of the passport-size photo, signature, thumb impression and  handwritten declaration with the prescribed size and dimension
• Pay the Application Fee
• Submit and get a printout of the confirmation page

Document Specifications

Application Fee

• SC/ST/PWD candidates should pay ₹ 100/-
• General candidates should pay ₹ 600/-
• The application fee can be paid through the Internet Banking, IMPS, Mobile wallet, Cash Cards, Debit Cards (RuPay/Visa/Master Cards/Maestro)
• Keep the proof of the application fee payment (e-receipt)
• Keep a copy of the submitted application form

IBPS SO 2021 Vacancy

IBPS SO 2021 vacancies will be known after the release of the notification. The SO exam is conducted for different posts. Last year, the total number of vacancies announced by IBPS was 647. Check all vacancy related information for 2020 here.

IBPS SO Exam Centres

The IBPS Specialist Officers 2021 Exam will be held in almost every capital city in India. The candidates can opt for the exam centre of their choice. However, the exam conducting authority reserves the right to change the examination centre. Check out the state/UT/NCR where the IBPS SO preliminary and main exams will be administered -

IBPS SO 2021 Admit Card

The IBPS SO admit card 2021 for the Preliminary and Main stages will be released separately. Candidates can go to the ibps.in (official website) and download IBPS SO Prelims admit card till the last date. The Institute will not send any hard copy. Remember, the exam-conducting body will release two separate admit cards for the preliminary (December 2021) and Main exams (January 2022). To access the call letter, you must possess the registration/roll number, password, and date of birth.

Admit Card is a mandatory document to enter the examination center, so candidates must check that all the information mentioned in the hall ticket is correct and matches with the details filled in the application form. Also, candidates should carry the admit card along with photo ID proof on the day of the exam. Without these, they will not be allowed to take the exam.

Steps to download IBPS SO hall ticket online –

• Go to the IBPS official website.
• Move your cursor and click on the Tab titled CRP Specialist Officers.
• There you will get a link titled Common Recruitment Process For Specialist Officer XI.
• Click on the tab to access various related links.
• Now, Click on the tab with “Online Preliminary Exam Call Letter For CRP Specialist Officers- XI”.
• On the next page, you will find important dates related to IBPS SO admit card and a portion to fill in the details.
• Choose your preferred Language from Hindi or English.
• Fill in the Registration number and Date of Birth in DD-MM-YY format as the password.
• There will be a captcha code as well, fill it correctly to verify your identity. You must fill numbers/ alphabets or both as per the image.
• Now the IBPS SO Admit Card will be accessed in a PDF Format.
• Download the PDF For later references.
• Take a printout to carry to the IBPS SO Exam Centre.

Details Imprinted in IBPS SO Prelims Admit Card

Check complete IBPS SO exam day guidelines here.

IBPS SO 2021 Results

The IBPS Specialist Officers 2021 preliminary result will be declared in the month of January 2022, while the Institute will announce the Main exam result in February 2022. The Main exam result will remain available on the official website. The combined result for Main exam and Interview is announced in the month of March/ April 2022. The sarkari result will remain available till June 2022. Candidates can check their scores.

Interview and Selection

The candidates who qualify the CWE stages (Prelims and Main) are called for the interview round. This is the last stage of the IBPS recruitment procedure for the Specialist Officers’ posts. The IBPS SO interview round will likely be conducted in March 2022. The provisional allotment process will be held in April/ May 2022.

Click here to check the IBPS Specialist Officer 2021 exam frequently asked questions.