The IBPS PO Prelims Exam 2026 (CRP PO/MT-XVI) is being held on 22nd and 23rd August 2026 across four shifts each day, for a reported 7,565 Probationary Officer / Management Trainee vacancies, with over 11 lakh applicants competing this cycle.
This page breaks the analysis into separate, non-overlapping sections — full 22nd August data (all four shifts, now complete), live 23rd August updates (today’s shifts as they conclude), historical difficulty trends, and a takeaway strategy section for candidates still waiting for their slot.
IBPS PO Prelims 2026 — Exam Snapshot
Before the shift-by-shift breakdown, here’s the exam’s basic shape in one place — useful for orientation, not for strategy (that comes further below).
| Particulars | Details |
|---|---|
| Conducting Body | Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) |
| Recruitment Cycle | CRP PO/MT-XVI (16th cycle) |
| Prelims Exam Dates | 22 & 23 August 2026 (4 shifts per day) |
| Approx. Vacancies | 7,565 PO/MT posts |
| Reported Applicants | Over 11 lakh candidates registered |
| Exam Mode | Online CBT, sectional timing |
| Questions / Marks | 100 questions, 100 marks |
| Duration | 60 minutes (20 min per section) |
| Negative Marking | -0.25 per wrong answer |
| Mains Exam Date | 4 October 2026 |
| Selection Stages | Prelims → Mains → Interview |
Vacancy and applicant figures are as reported by exam-prep portals citing IBPS communication; treat them as the latest publicly available estimate rather than an official final count.
IBPS PO Prelims Shift Timings 2026 (Both Days)
| Shift | Timing | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Shift 1 | 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM | 60 minutes |
| Shift 2 | 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM | 60 minutes |
| Shift 3 | 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM | 60 minutes |
| Shift 4 | 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM | 60 minutes |
Within each shift, the paper is answered as three strictly-timed sections of 20 minutes each — candidates cannot borrow time from one section to finish another, so section-wise pacing matters more here than in exams with a single composite timer. As per exam-day feedback, the on-screen sequence this year has run Reasoning → English Language → Quantitative Aptitude.
IBPS PO Prelims Exam Pattern 2026 — Marks & Marking Scheme
This section is distinct from the shift-wise analysis below — it covers the fixed structure that applies to every shift, on both days, regardless of difficulty variation.
| Section | Questions | Max Marks | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 30 | 30 | 20 minutes |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 35 | 30 | 20 minutes |
| Reasoning Ability | 35 | 40 | 20 minutes |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 60 minutes |
Important change this year: the question count per section is unchanged from previous cycles, but the marks-per-section weighting has been reshuffled — Reasoning Ability now carries the highest total marks (40) despite having fewer questions than before relative to its mark share, while English Language’s marks-per-question ratio remains 1:1. Candidates who prepared using older mark distributions should recalibrate their section-wise time investment accordingly.
Marking scheme: +1 mark for every correct answer, −0.25 marks deducted for every wrong answer. There is also a sectional cut-off — candidates must clear each section individually in addition to the overall cut-off to qualify for Mains.
22nd August 2026 — Complete Shift-Wise Exam Analysis
All four shifts on Day 1 have concluded. This section is based on candidate feedback collected after each shift and gives the fullest available picture of what this year’s paper looks like — treat it as a preview of likely trends for 23rd August rather than a shift-by-shift prediction.
| Shift | Overall Difficulty | Good Attempts |
|---|---|---|
| Shift 1 (9–10 AM) | Easy to Moderate | 65–72 |
| Shift 2 (11:30 AM–12:30 PM) | Moderate | 65–72 |
| Shift 3 (2–3 PM) | Easy to Moderate | 64–73 |
| Shift 4 (4:30–5:30 PM) | Moderate | 65–70 |
22 August — Shift 1 (Section-Wise)
| Section | Difficulty | Good Attempts | Key Topics |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | Easy–Moderate | 23–26 | RC, Cloze Test, Error Detection, Word Swap, Sentence Rearrangement |
| Quantitative Aptitude | Easy | 18–21 | Table & Line DI, Approximation, Number Series, Quadratic Equation, Arithmetic (11–12 Qs) |
| Reasoning Ability | Easy–Moderate | 22–25 | Month-Date puzzle, Box-based puzzle, Parallel Row, Selection-based puzzle |
22 August — Shift 2 (Section-Wise)
| Section | Difficulty | Good Attempts | Key Topics |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | Easy–Moderate | 23–27 | RC, Word Swap, Phrase Replacement, Double Fillers, Parajumbles |
| Quantitative Aptitude | Moderate | 18–20 | Caselet DI, Double Line Graph DI, Approximation, Number Series, Arithmetic (11 Qs) |
| Reasoning Ability | Easy–Moderate | 23–26 | Floor-based puzzle, Circular seating, Chinese Coding, Selection-based puzzle |
22 August — Shift 3 (Section-Wise)
| Section | Difficulty | Good Attempts | Key Topics |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | Easy–Moderate | 22–25 | RC, Cloze Test, Error Detection, Phrase Replacement, Word Rearrangement |
| Quantitative Aptitude | Easy–Moderate | 19–22 | Caselet DI, Table & Line DI, Missing Number Series, Approximation, Arithmetic (13 Qs) |
| Reasoning Ability | Easy–Moderate | 23–26 | Box puzzle, Circular seating (7-person), Selection-based puzzle, Syllogism |
22 August — Shift 4 (Section-Wise)
| Section | Difficulty | Good Attempts | Key Topics |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | Moderate | 21–25 | RC, Cloze Test, Error Detection, Sentence Rearrangement, Phrase Replacement |
| Quantitative Aptitude | Moderate | 18–22 | Double Pie DI, Bar Graph DI, Missing Number, Approximation, Arithmetic (13 Qs) |
| Reasoning Ability | Easy–Moderate | 23–26 | Year-based puzzle, Flat & Floor puzzle, Uncertain seating, Designation-based puzzle |
23rd August 2026 (Today) — Live Shift-Wise Analysis
Today’s exam is being conducted in the same four-shift structure as Day 1. This section will fill in as each shift concludes and candidate feedback is collected — check back after each shift’s end time for updated figures.
| Shift | Timing | English | Quant | Reasoning | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shift 1 | 9:00–10:00 AM | Awaited | Awaited | Awaited | Awaited |
| Shift 2 | 11:30 AM–12:30 PM | Awaited | Awaited | Awaited | Awaited |
| Shift 3 | 2:00–3:00 PM | Awaited | Awaited | Awaited | Awaited |
| Shift 4 | 4:30–5:30 PM | Awaited | Awaited | Awaited | Awaited |
As of this update (23 August, late morning), today’s Shift 1 has just concluded or is still underway depending on your reading time. Candidate-feedback-based analysis for each shift typically surfaces 45–90 minutes after that shift ends — until then, use the complete 22nd August data above and the multi-year trend tables below as the most reliable available reference.
What to Expect in Today’s (23 Aug) Shifts — Based on Day 1 Trends
This section is different from the raw shift tables above — it translates Day 1’s pattern into practical expectations for candidates yet to appear today.
- Reasoning: Puzzles and seating arrangements dominated every Day-1 shift — expect box/floor-based, parallel row, circular seating, and selection-based puzzle sets to reappear in some combination, alongside smaller blocks of Syllogism, Inequality, and Blood Relation.
- Quantitative Aptitude: Arithmetic consistently carried the most questions (11–13 per shift) across Day 1, with Data Interpretation (in varying formats — table, line, caselet, bar, double pie) as the second-largest chunk. Expect a similar arithmetic-heavy mix today.
- English Language: Reading Comprehension, Cloze Test, and Error Detection appeared in nearly every Day-1 shift — these remain the safest, most predictable scoring areas to prioritise early in the section.
- Difficulty pattern: Day 1 showed later shifts (Shift 2, Shift 4) trending slightly tougher in Quant than earlier shifts (Shift 1, Shift 3) — candidates in afternoon/evening slots today should budget a little extra time-buffer for Quant accordingly.
- Overall good-attempt target: Based on Day 1’s range of 64–73 across all shifts, aim for roughly 65–72 attempts with high accuracy as a safe benchmark, rather than maximising raw attempt count.
IBPS PO Prelims — 5-Year Historical Trend (2021–2025)
This section is distinct from this year’s shift analysis — it looks across previous cycles to show which topics have proven consistently important over time, which is useful for building a durable preparation base rather than chasing this year’s specific pattern alone.
Good Attempts & Difficulty Trend
| Year | English | Quant | Reasoning | Overall Good Attempts | Overall Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 20–25 | 18–24 | 23–30 | 63–76 | Moderate |
| 2024 | 20–25 | 16–29 | 20–28 | 60–75 | Moderate |
| 2023 | — | — | — | — | Moderate |
| 2022 | — | — | — | — | Moderate |
| 2021 | — | — | — | — | Moderate |
Across every tracked year, the overall difficulty has settled into a consistent Easy-to-Moderate-to-Moderate band — IBPS PO Prelims rarely swings to extremes, which means steady, well-rounded preparation across all three sections outperforms betting heavily on one section being “the easy one” this year.
English Language — Topic Trend (2021–2025)
| Topic | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | 8–10 | 8–11 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Error Detection | 4–5 | 3–5 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| Cloze Test | 5–6 | 6 | – | 6 | – |
| Para Jumble | 5–6 | 5 | 5 | – | 5 |
| Sentence Rearrangement | 3–5 | 5 | – | 4 | – |
| Total | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
Quantitative Aptitude — Topic Trend (2021–2025)
| Topic | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arithmetic | 10–15 | 10–11 | 13 | 10 | 10 |
| Table-based DI | 5 | 4–6 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| Missing/Wrong Number Series | 2–5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Quadratic Equation | 3–5 | 5 | – | 5 | 5 |
| Caselet DI | 4–5 | 4–5 | – | 5 | 5 |
| Total | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 |
Arithmetic and Data Interpretation have consistently made up the bulk of Quantitative Aptitude across all five years — this remains the single highest-leverage area to master, since it recurs regardless of which specific DI format (bar, pie, line, caselet) shows up in a given shift.
Reasoning Ability — Topic Trend (2021–2025)
| Topic | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seating Arrangement & Puzzles (total) | 20–25 | 24–25 | 17–20 | 18–20 | 20–25 |
| Syllogism | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Inequality | 3–4 | 3–4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Direction & Distance | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | – |
| Chinese Coding-Decoding | 4–5 | 5 | – | – | 1 |
| Total | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 |
Puzzles and seating arrangements have consistently absorbed more than half of the Reasoning section’s questions every year — this makes puzzle-solving speed the single most valuable reasoning skill to drill, ahead of any individual topic like Syllogism or Inequality.
How Good Attempts Are Calculated — And Why They’re Only a Guide
This section explains the methodology behind the numbers above, which is distinct from the numbers themselves — understanding this helps you use the analysis correctly rather than treating it as a fixed target.
- Good attempts are an estimated range — not an official cutoff — based on aggregated candidate feedback, expected accuracy, and the section’s overall difficulty for that specific shift.
- Because IBPS PO carries a -0.25 negative marking penalty, the “good attempt” figure already accounts for a realistic accuracy rate (typically 85–90%+) rather than raw questions attempted — attempting more than the suggested range with lower accuracy can actually reduce your net score.
- Figures vary shift-to-shift because IBPS uses normalisation across shifts to adjust for difficulty differences — a harder shift’s raw cutoff is adjusted upward relative to an easier shift’s, so no single shift is inherently advantaged in the final merit calculation.
- Use these ranges as a reference for expectation-setting and self-assessment after your own shift, not as an in-exam target to chase question-by-question.
What Happens After Prelims — Mains & Beyond
This section moves past today’s exam to the next stage of the selection process, which candidates should start planning for immediately after finishing Prelims rather than waiting for results.
- IBPS PO Mains 2026 is scheduled for 4 October 2026, in a single shift across centres nationwide.
- The Mains paper consists of 145 objective questions plus 2 descriptive questions, totalling 225 marks, across a 3 hour 10 minute duration.
- Mains covers Reasoning & Computer Aptitude, Data Analysis & Interpretation, General/Economy/Banking Awareness, and English Language (including the descriptive Letter & Essay writing component).
- Only candidates clearing both the overall and sectional Prelims cut-offs advance to Mains — Prelims marks themselves are not added to the final merit; Mains and Interview scores decide the final selection.
- Selected candidates receive a reported pay scale of approximately ₹48,480 – ₹85,920 as Probationary Officer / Management Trainee.
Tips for Candidates Appearing in Later Shifts Today
Distinct from the section-wise expectations above, these are process-level, exam-day tips that apply regardless of which section or topic shows up.
- Attempt the easiest section first within its own 20-minute window — since sections are individually timed, you can’t carry time between them, but you can choose your internal question order within each section.
- Skip lengthy DI/puzzle sets early if the initial read-through feels unclear — come back to them only after securing quicker, standalone questions in that section.
- Don’t chase other shifts’ exact good-attempt numbers — your own shift’s paper may differ meaningfully in difficulty; use the ranges as a ballpark, not a scoreboard.
- Avoid discussing exam content on social media during exam days — sharing or seeking live shift content while other shifts are still ongoing can violate exam conduct rules.
- Keep your admit card and a valid photo ID ready well before your reporting time — late entry is not permitted under any circumstances.
IBPS PO Prelims Exam Analysis 2026 — Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: On which dates is the IBPS PO Prelims 2026 exam being conducted?
The exam is being held on 22nd and 23rd August 2026, in four shifts each day.
Q2: What is a good overall attempt for IBPS PO Prelims 2026?
Based on Day 1 (22 August) data across all four shifts, a safe range is approximately 65–72 questions with high accuracy.
Q3: Is there negative marking in IBPS PO Prelims?
Yes, 0.25 marks are deducted for every wrong answer.
Q4: How many questions and marks does the exam carry?
A total of 100 questions for 100 marks, across English Language (30), Quantitative Aptitude (35), and Reasoning Ability (35), completed in 60 minutes with 20 minutes per section.
Q5: Has the marking distribution changed this year?
Yes — while the question count per section is the same as previous cycles, the marks-per-section weighting has been reshuffled, with Reasoning Ability now carrying 40 total marks against English’s and Quant’s 30 each.
Q6: What was the overall difficulty level on 22nd August?
Difficulty ranged from Easy-to-Moderate to Moderate across the four shifts, with Shift 2 and Shift 4 rated comparatively tougher than Shift 1 and Shift 3.
Q7: When will 23rd August shift analysis be updated?
Analysis for each shift is typically compiled and published within roughly an hour of that shift’s conclusion, based on aggregated candidate feedback — check back after each shift’s end time.
Q8: When is the IBPS PO Mains exam?
The Mains exam is scheduled for 4 October 2026.
Q9: Do Prelims marks count toward the final merit list?
No — Prelims is qualifying in nature. Only candidates who clear the Prelims cut-off advance to Mains, and final selection is based on Mains plus Interview scores.
Q10: Which topics were most common across all Day-1 shifts?
Puzzles & seating arrangements (Reasoning), Arithmetic & Data Interpretation (Quant), and Reading Comprehension & Cloze Test (English) appeared consistently across all four shifts on 22nd August.
This page will continue to be updated through the day as 23rd August shift analysis becomes available. Good-attempt and difficulty figures are based on aggregated candidate feedback and should be treated as indicative estimates, not official IBPS cut-offs.