English Language syllabus
30 questions · 30 marks · 25 minutes
As per 2026 (CRP SPL-XVI)
IT Officer Mains exam
Four objective tests, then a typed descriptive paper in the same sitting. Only Professional Knowledge (50 questions, 100 marks) decides your merit; the other tests are qualifying.
- 150 objective questions
- 200 + 25 marks
- 155 minutes
- Merit: Professional Knowledge
As per 2026 (CRP SPL-XVI); 2027 notification awaited
Official
Mains format
The objective tests come first, then the descriptive paper, all online in one sitting.
| Test | Questions | Marks | Minutes |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 30 | 30 | 25 |
| Reasoning | 40 | 40 | 35 |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 30 | 30 | 25 |
| Professional Knowledge | 50 | 100 | 40 |
| Total | 150 | 200 | 125 |
Source: IBPS official notification CRP SPL-XVI (1 Jul 2026), “D. Structure of Examination”
| Test | Questions | Marks | Minutes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Descriptive (Essay + Comprehension, typed, no spellcheck) | 2 | 25 | 30 |
- It starts immediately after the objective tests.
- You type your answers on the computer keyboard.
- There is no spellcheck.
- You can submit only when the 30 minutes are over.
Source: IBPS Information Handout, Online Main Exam CRP SPL-XVI, “Details about Descriptive Paper”
Marking and cut-off
- Wrong answer: minus one-fourth of that question’s marks (−0.25; −0.50 in Professional Knowledge). A blank answer costs nothing.
- Only Professional Knowledge counts for merit; the other tests are qualifying.
- You need a minimum score in each Mains test and a sufficiently high Professional Knowledge score to be shortlisted for interview.
- Only Mains marks count for shortlisting for interview and for the final merit list (Mains 80 : 20 interview).
- If the exam is held in more than one session, scores are normalised using the equi-percentile method; scores are taken up to two decimal places.
- English Language and the descriptive paper are in English only; the other tests are in English and Hindi.
- For the Mains, bring the authenticated (stamped) Prelims call letter with a stamped copy of your ID proof, as well as the Mains call letter and your original photo ID.
Source: IBPS official notification CRP SPL-XVI (1 Jul 2026), “D. Structure of Examination; E. Penalty for wrong answers; F. Cut-off score; G. Scores”
What’s tested
Each test has its own syllabus page with every topic, study notes where we have them and a 5-question quiz.
Reasoning syllabus
40 questions · 40 marks · 35 minutes
Quantitative Aptitude syllabus
30 questions · 30 marks · 25 minutes
Professional Knowledge (IT) syllabus
50 questions · 100 marks · 40 minutes
Weightage
Official
Marks per test
| Test | Marks | Share of 200 | Counts for |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 30 | 15% | Qualifying |
| Reasoning | 40 | 20% | Qualifying |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 30 | 15% | Qualifying |
| Professional Knowledge | 100 | 50% | Merit |
| Descriptive (Essay + Comprehension) | 25 | – | Qualifying |
Source: IBPS official notification CRP SPL-XVI (1 Jul 2026), “D. Structure of Examination”
Shares are worked out from the marks.
Our analysis, not official
English, Reasoning and Quant: topics
Expected questions per topic, from past IBPS SO papers. IBPS publishes only the marks per test; it can change the topic mix any year. These three tests are the same for every IBPS SO post that takes them, so the same past papers apply.
English Language: 30 questions
| Topic | Expected questions |
|---|---|
| Reading comprehension (2 passages) | 10 |
| Cloze test | 5 |
| Error detection | 4 |
| Sentence rearrangement / para jumble | 4 |
| Fillers (double / triple) | 3 |
| Word swap / phrase replacement | 2 |
| Connectors / column-based | 2 |
Reasoning: 40 questions
| Topic | Expected questions |
|---|---|
| Puzzles and seating (3 sets) | 15 |
| Input–output | 5 |
| Syllogism | 3 |
| Inequality (direct and coded) | 3 |
| Blood relations | 3 |
| Direction & distance | 3 |
| Data sufficiency | 3 |
| Logical reasoning (assumption, inference, course of action) | 3 |
| Alphanumeric series / coding–decoding | 2 |
Quantitative Aptitude: 30 questions
| Topic | Expected questions |
|---|---|
| Data interpretation (2 sets: chart/table, caselet/missing) | 10 |
| Arithmetic (percentage, profit & loss, interest, ratio, mixture, speed, work, averages, probability) | 9 |
| Quantity I vs II / quadratic equations | 3 |
| Number series (missing / wrong) | 3 |
| Data sufficiency | 3 |
| Simplification / approximation | 2 |
Last reviewed 31 October 2026.
Not official · based on previous papers
What was asked in Professional Knowledge
IBPS publishes no IT syllabus and no subject split. The subjects below had questions in the two memory-based Mains papers we read (January 2023 and December 2024). We give no counts: two recalled papers are too few to predict how many questions a subject gets.
Database management (DBMS)
- Derived attribute
- Shared lock
- Lock compatibility (S and X)
- Third normal form (3NF)
- NoSQL databases
- Data mart
- OLAP slice
- Fact constellation schema
- SQL LIKE patterns
- MySQL BEFORE INSERT trigger
- Foreign key on insert
- Tuple relational calculus
- GROUP BY
- Natural join
- Window functions (PARTITION BY)
- n-th highest salary (LIMIT / OFFSET)
- SQL INSTR()
- Atomicity (ACID)
- Highest normal form from FDs
- TRC existential quantifier (∃)
- DROP vs TRUNCATE
- ON DELETE CASCADE
Networking
- Number of networks in a class (Class C)
- 100BASE-TX segment length
- Subnet mask for N subnets (borrowing bits)
- Protocols of the web (HTTP/HTTPS family)
- Bit-oriented protocol
- Class C first-octet range
- PDU names per OSI layer
- Full duplex
- traceroute -n
- Trunk link / VLAN
- SMTP uses TCP
- OSI layer functions
- Private IPv4 addresses
- Store-and-forward delay
- ARP
- FTP compressed mode
- IMAP
- Port mirroring
Operating systems
- uname (kernel version)
- Banker's algorithm and safe sequences
- Starvation
- Hyper-V (Microsoft)
- BitLocker
- FCFS scheduling (waiting / turnaround time)
- Disk scheduling head movement
- Partition styles (MBR and GPT)
- uname -s (kernel name)
- Dirty bit
- ls -t (sort by modified time)
- File system formats (NTFS, FAT, ext)
- Bash for loop syntax
- Repairing the MBR (bootrec)
- $ in shell scripts (variables)
- /bin/bash
Data structures and algorithms
- Linear vs non-linear data structures
- AVL tree height for n nodes
- Divide and conquer
- DP time complexity (LIS)
- Infix to postfix
- Hash table load factor
- Sort with the same time in every case
- BST insertion and traversal
- Fewest swaps (selection sort)
- Memoization
Software engineering
- Unit testing
- Acceptance testing
Information and cyber security
- DES effective key length (56 bits)
- Cross-site scripting (XSS)
- Snooping attack (eavesdropping / sniffing)
- Offsite recovery (hot, warm, cold sites)
- Server hardening practices
- Network-based IDS
- Allowlisting (deny by default)
- Firewall blocking ports
- HTTP flood
- What a firewall does not stop (insiders)
- Cyber Kill Chain: weaponization
- CSRF
- Stateful firewall
- Evil twin
Web technologies
- HTML table element
Computer organisation
- Intel 8089 pin count
- General-purpose register
- Decimal to binary
- CISC characteristics
- Binary to hexadecimal
OOP and programming
- C++ boolean output
- Python identifier rules
- C program output
- Ternary (conditional) operator in C
- Reserved words (keywords) in C
- Code snippet output (programming)
- Java static keyword
- Namespaces
- Nested loop final value (programming)
- C++ pointer operations
- Python file append mode
- C++ endl and setw
- Abstraction / encapsulation (OOP)
- Python list output
- Composition vs aggregation
- Strings (sequence of characters)
- Python re module
- Python in operator on dictionaries
- sys.argv (command-line arguments)
Cloud and emerging tech
- SaaS (cloud service model)
Computer fundamentals
- NFA to DFA (subset construction)
Our suggestion
Attempt order and time
Time per question is the test’s time divided by its questions. The order is our suggestion: quick, sure marks first, long sets last.
| Test | Time per question | Attempt order |
|---|---|---|
| English Language | 50 s | Fillers and word swap first, then error detection, para jumbles and cloze; reading comprehension last. |
| Reasoning | 53 s | Syllogism and inequality, then coding–decoding and input–output, blood relation and direction; puzzles last. |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 50 s | Simplification and series, quadratic equations, familiar arithmetic; DI and data sufficiency last. |
| Professional Knowledge | 48 s | Your strongest subjects first; mark doubtful questions and come back. This test decides your merit, so accuracy matters more than attempts. |
| Descriptive | 15 min | Read both questions, then plan before you type: there is no spellcheck. IBPS does not split the 30 minutes, so budget your own time for the essay and the comprehension. |
Practise for the Mains
Topic quizzes are live now: 5 random questions, answers after you submit, no login needed.
- English Language quizzes
- Quantitative Aptitude quizzes
- Reasoning quizzes
- Professional Knowledge quizzes Coming soon
- Full mock tests Coming soon
Mains FAQ
Which Mains test decides the merit list?
Professional Knowledge (50 questions, 100 marks). All the other tests are qualifying. You need a minimum score in each Mains test and a sufficiently high Professional Knowledge score to be shortlisted for interview.
What is the descriptive paper in the IT Officer Mains?
2 questions (Essay and Comprehension), 25 marks, 30 minutes, in English. It starts immediately after the objective tests. You type your answers on the computer keyboard. There is no spellcheck. You can submit only when the 30 minutes are over.
Is the descriptive paper typed or handwritten?
Typed: you answer on the computer keyboard, and there is no spellcheck.
How is the final merit list made?
Online Main exam and interview are combined in the ratio 80 : 20. You must qualify in both and be high enough in the merit for provisional allotment.
Are Prelims marks added to the Mains?
No. Only the marks of the Online Main exam count for shortlisting for interview and for the final merit list.
Which IT subjects were asked in the Mains?
IBPS doesn’t publish an IT syllabus or a subject split. The two memory-based papers we read (January 2023 and December 2024) had questions from the subjects listed under “What was asked in Professional Knowledge” above; that list is not official.
Related pages
IBPS SO IT Officer exam pattern
Prelims, Mains, descriptive and interview
IBPS SO IT Officer Prelims exam
Format, cut-offs, weightage and strategy
IBPS SO IT Officer interview
Marks, minimum, final merit, documents
IBPS SO IT Officer syllabus
Every tested section, Prelims and Mains
IT Officer Professional Knowledge syllabus
Professional Knowledge topics by subject
IBPS SO IT Officer 2026
CRP SPL-XVI: where the cycle stands