IBPS RRB Exam Pattern 2025: Detailed Paper Structure for PO & Clerk

The Pattern of IBPS RRB Exam 2025 effectively outlines how the Prelims, Mains, Single online exam, and Interview are conducted in various posts. Although the topics in the PO exam and the Clerk exam are more or less similar, the weightage, the number of questions to be asked, and the level of difficulty between the two roles are varied. All questions are objective-based and have a stringent negative mark system of deduction of 1/4 marks on each wrongly answered question. The involvement of English, Hindi, and some selected regional languages helps the candidates to write the exam in their favorite language to ensure accuracy and comfort.

The IBPS RRB Exam Pattern 2025 of Clerk has Prelims and Mains, unlike PO, which has Prelims, Mains, and Interview hence, it is a bit more competitive. The pattern of the exam also puts emphasis on the total distribution of marks, normalization of the marks, and the timeline available to each stage, per section. By knowing these differences, candidates can design their study plan on how to address these differences productively by prioritizing accuracy, time, and subject-weighting to succeed in the IBPS RRB recruitment drive in 2025.

IBPS RRB Exam Pattern 2025: OVERVIEW

IBPS RRB 2025 Exam is an examination conducted to hire capable individuals for different jobs in the Regional Rural Banks of the nation. Candidates who are recruited under this process are able to apply to jobs like Office Assistant (Clerk), Officer Scale-I (PO), Officer Scale-I, Scale-II, and Officer Scale-III. The test presents a good platform to those who desire to have a stable and respected career in banking in the rural areas of India.

IBPS RRB 2025 Highlights

Particulars	Details
Name of Exam	Institute of Banking Personnel Selection – Regional Rural Banks (IBPS RRB)
Posts Included	• Officer Scale I, II & III • Office Assistant (Multipurpose)
Groups Covered	Group A & Group B
Participating Banks	43 Regional Rural Banks
Exam Level	National-Level Exam
Educational Qualification	Graduation Required
IBPS RRB Selection Stages	• Officer Scale I: Prelims → Mains → Interview • Office Assistant: Prelims → Mains • Officer Scale II & III: Single Exam → Interview
Exam Mode	Online (Computer-Based Test)
Official Website	www.ibps.in

IBPS RRB Exam Pattern 2025 

Both Office Assistant (Clerk) and Officer Scale-I (PO) IPBS RRB Prelims Exam Pattern 2025 include two sections: Reasoning Ability and Quantitative Aptitude. The exam is organized electronically and takes 45 minutes in total, and the candidate has to clear sectional as well as overall cut-offs to qualify for the Mains exam.

IBPS RRB Clerk Exam Pattern 2025

Separated into two parts, the IBPS RRB Office Assistant (Clerk) selection procedure includes the Preliminary Exam and the Mains Exam. No interview is required for this post, and final merit is only based on the Mains examination. The step-by-step outline of both stages is outlined below.

IBPS RRB Prelims Exam Pattern – Office Assistant (Clerk)

Section	No. of Questions	Maximum Marks	Duration
Reasoning Ability	40	40	45 minutes (overall)
Numerical Ability	40	40
Total	80	80

IBPS RRB Mains Exam Pattern – Office Assistant (Clerk)

Section	No. of Questions	Maximum Marks	Duration
Reasoning Ability	40	50	2 hours
Numerical Ability	40	50
General Awareness	40	40
English/Hindi Language*	40	40
Computer Knowledge	40	20
Total	200	200

(*Candidates can choose either English or Hindi section.)

Section	No. of Questions	Maximum Marks	Duration
Reasoning Ability	40	40	45 minutes (overall)
Quantitative Aptitude	40	40
Total	80	80

IBPS RRB PO Exam Pattern 2025

IBPS RRB Officer Scale-I (PO) recruitment is segmented into three phases, which are Prelims, Mains as well and Interview. The last one will be selected through the results of a combination of the scores of the Mains exam and the Interview.

IBPS RRB Prelims Exam Pattern – Officer Scale-I (PO)

Section	No. of Questions	Maximum Marks	Duration
Reasoning Ability	40	40	45 minutes (overall)
Quantitative Aptitude	40	40
Total	80	80

IBPS RRB Mains Exam Pattern – Officer Scale-I (PO)

Section	No. of Questions	Maximum Marks	Duration
Reasoning	40	50	2 hours
Quantitative Aptitude	40	50
General Awareness	40	40
English/Hindi Language*	40	40
Computer Knowledge	40	20
Total	200	200

IBPS RRB Officer Scale-II Exam Pattern (Single Exam + Interview)

Individuals wishing to join under the Officer Scale-II positions are required to take only one online test and then an Interview. Scale-II has General Banking Officer (GBO) as well as Specialist Cadres.

Officer Scale-II – General Banking Officer (GBO)

Section	No. of Questions	Total Marks	Duration
Reasoning	40	50	2 hours
Quantitative Aptitude & Data Interpretation	40	50
Financial Awareness	40	40
English/Hindi Language	40	40
Computer Knowledge	40	20
Total	200	200

Officer Scale-II – Specialist Cadre

Section	No. of Questions	Total Marks	Duration
Reasoning	40	40	2 hours 30 min
Quantitative Aptitude & Data Interpretation	40	40
Financial Awareness	40	40
English/Hindi Language	40	20
Computer Knowledge	40	20
Professional Knowledge	40	40
Total	240	200

IBPS RRB Officer Scale-III Exam Pattern (Single Exam + Interview)

The Officer Scale-III candidates undergo one online test and an Interview.

Officer Scale-III – Exam Pattern

Section	No. of Questions	Total Marks	Duration
Reasoning	40	50	2 hours
Quantitative Aptitude & Data Interpretation	40	50
Financial Awareness	40	40
English/Hindi Language	40	40
Computer Knowledge	40	20
Total	200	200

IBPS RRB Prelims vs Mains Exams Key Difference (PO & Clerk)

The IBPS RRB 2025 test of officer scale one (PO) and officer assistant (Clerk) will have two significant written phases, including Prelims and Mains. These phases operate differently in the selection cycle. The Prelims examination is also the screening phase for the two posts, and the Mains examination is the final determinant in the final selection of Clerk and shortlisting in the Interview stage in PO. The comparison of both stages is elaborated in the table given below.

IBPS RRB Prelims vs Mains Exam 2025 (PO & Clerk)

Aspect	IBPS RRB Prelims Exam 2025	IBPS RRB Mains Exam 2025
Purpose	Screening stage: scores are not counted in the final merit.	Clerk: Final selection based on Mains. PO: Used to shortlist candidates for the Interview.
Number of Sections	Two sections: Reasoning Ability, Quantitative Aptitude.	Five sections: Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude, General Awareness, English/Hindi Language, and Computer Knowledge.
Number of Questions	80 questions in total.	200 questions in total.
Total Marks	80 marks.	200 marks.
Exam Duration	45 minutes overall.	2 hours (120 minutes).
Difficulty Level	Easy to moderate; focuses on speed and accuracy.	Moderate to difficult; tests deeper knowledge and analytical skills.
Negative Marking	0.25 marks deducted per wrong answer.	0.25 marks deducted per wrong answer.
Role in Selection	Only qualifying; candidates must clear the sectional & overall cut-offs.	Clerk: Final merit based on Mains only. PO: Final merit prepared from Mains + Interview performance.

Key Takeaways:

The IBPS RRB prelims are given to check simple aptitude skills required in the ability to solve problems quickly, and the Mains exam is given to test the broader subject knowledge.
Prelims marks are not taken into consideration in the final merit list, but to continue, Prelims have to qualify for the Prelims.
The final selection of clerks is based purely upon the Mains performance, whereas candidates for PO have to pass Mains + Interview.
The preparation needs to be based on three factors: knowing the whole pattern, time management, and preparation to go fast (Prelims) and deep (Mains).

IBPS RRB Marking Scheme 2025

The IBPS RRB Exam Pattern 2025 has a stiff and clear penalty scheme for marking. Each time an incorrect response is made, a penalty of 1/4th of the marks the question is valued is deducted, but no negative marks are deducted for unanswered questions. This fact renders speed as important as accuracy during the exam.
The applicants should only try to answer well-calculated questions to reduce the unwarranted loss of points.
This smart choice of questions can be helpful to consider in general performance at Prelims and Mains considerably.

IBPS RRB Exam Pattern 2025: Normalisation of Marks

The IBPS RRB Exam Pattern 2025 has also provided the process of normalisation so as to provide fairness to different shifts having diverse levels of difficulty. Based on equi-percentile score, the corrected scores of the various sessions are corrected, and the resulting normalised marks are rounded off to two decimal places.
Normalisation will mean that candidates are not at a disadvantage since they have harder exam shifts.
This is one way of ensuring consistency and equity in the preparation of the merit list.

IBPS RRB Selection Process 2025

Those who apply to be hired under IBPS RRB Office Assistant (Clerk) and Officer Scale-I (PO) have to pass various steps of the selection process. The process of the Clerk selects Prelims and Mains without an interview, whereas PO selects Prelims, Mains, and an Interview. Shall has to be qualified separately as one of the stages to get ultimate placement in the Regional Rural Banks throughout India.

Selection Process Stages (PO & Clerk):

• Preliminary Examination (Prelims): Prelims, which is conducted on both the Clerk and PO posts, is an objective-based exam that is used as a qualifying test to reduce the number of candidates to Mains.
• Mains Examination: In the case of Clerks, the final stage of the decision is the Mains. In the case of PO candidates, Mains is the preliminary phase of the interviewing round. It has a wider scope of subjects such as Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude, General Awareness, English/Hindi Language, and Computer Knowledge.
• Interview (Only for PO): Only for the candidates of the Officer Scale-I who pass the Mains exam. The interview measures skills of communication, knowledge of banking, and leadership, as well as officer suitability.

Final Selection

In the case of Clerks, Mains is the only basis upon which an individual is finalized. In the case of PO, the provision of the final merit list is done after taking Mains + Interview score in addition, and then verifying documents, and the provisional allotment is done.

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