IBPS Clerk Syllabus 2026: Topic-Wise Prelims and Mains Breakdown
IBPS Clerk Syllabus 2026: Topic-Wise Prelims and Mains Breakdown
The IBPS Clerk syllabus is not long. What makes candidates struggle is that they treat every topic as equally important, then run out of time on the topics that actually repeat. Prelims has three subjects. Mains has four, and one of them cannot be prepared in a hurry.
This page lists the topics for both stages and marks what carries real weight in the paper. Since Mains was revised this cycle to 160 questions in 125 minutes with 40 Quant questions, the section-level planning has shifted slightly, and that is flagged where it matters.
What each stage covers
Numerical Ability in Prelims and Quantitative Aptitude in Mains cover the same ground, with Mains going deeper into Data Interpretation. Reasoning Ability picks up Computer Aptitude in the Mains. General and Financial Awareness appears only in the Mains, and it is the section that separates candidates who planned from candidates who reacted.
Prelims syllabus, topic-wise
English Language, 30 questions, 30 marks, 20 minutes
- Reading Comprehension with 7 to 10 questions from one or two passages, often on banking, economy or social themes
- Cloze Test, usually a single passage with 5 to 8 blanks
- Error Spotting and Sentence Correction
- Para Jumbles and sentence rearrangement
- Fill in the blanks, single and double
- Phrase replacement and sentence improvement
- Word usage, synonyms and antonyms in context
- Match the column and connectors, which appear occasionally
Reading Comprehension and Cloze together usually account for more than half the section. Grammar rules matter less here than reading speed. If you cannot finish a 400-word passage in under three minutes, that is the drill to fix first.
Numerical Ability, 35 questions, 35 marks, 20 minutes
- Simplification and Approximation, normally 10 to 15 questions and the easiest marks in the paper
- Number Series, missing or wrong term, 5 questions
- Data Interpretation, tables, bar graphs, pie charts, line graphs, 5 to 10 questions
- Quadratic Equations and comparison of two quantities
- Arithmetic word problems: Percentage, Profit and Loss, Simple and Compound Interest, Ratio and Proportion, Average, Age, Partnership
- Time and Work, Pipes and Cisterns
- Time, Speed and Distance, Boats and Streams, Trains
- Mixture and Alligation
- Mensuration, Permutation and Combination, Probability, usually one or two questions each
Simplification, Number Series and DI together can be 25 of the 35 questions. Arithmetic word problems are where time disappears, so attempt them last.
Reasoning Ability, 35 questions, 35 marks, 20 minutes
- Puzzles and Seating Arrangement, the largest block at 15 to 20 questions: linear, circular, floor, box, day and month based
- Syllogism, 3 to 5 questions
- Inequality, direct and coded
- Alphanumeric Series and number series
- Coding and Decoding
- Blood Relations
- Direction and Distance
- Order and Ranking
- Data Sufficiency, which appears in some shifts
Puzzles decide this section. A candidate who can solve a floor-and-flat puzzle in four minutes clears Reasoning comfortably. One who takes nine minutes on the same puzzle loses the section even with perfect accuracy elsewhere.
Mains syllabus, topic-wise
Reasoning Ability and Computer Aptitude, 40 questions, 60 marks, 35 minutes
All the Prelims Reasoning topics at a higher difficulty, plus:
- Input and Output machine questions
- Logical Reasoning: statement and assumption, cause and effect, course of action, statement and conclusion
- Critical Reasoning and passage inference
- Data Sufficiency, two and three statement
- Computer Aptitude: computer fundamentals and generations, hardware and software, operating systems, MS Office, internet and networking basics, database basics, computer abbreviations, shortcut keys, number systems, security and viruses
At 1.5 marks per question this is the heaviest section in the paper. Computer Aptitude is static, small and repetitive, which makes it the cheapest marks in the entire Mains.
General English, 40 questions, 40 marks, 35 minutes
- Reading Comprehension, longer and more analytical than Prelims
- Cloze Test, often double blanks
- Error Detection and sentence correction
- Para Jumbles and paragraph completion
- Sentence connectors and phrase replacement
- Vocabulary in context, idioms and phrases
- Word swap and word usage, which have appeared in recent cycles
Quantitative Aptitude, 40 questions, 50 marks, 30 minutes
This is the revised section. Forty questions in 30 minutes is 45 seconds per question, down from a little over 51 seconds in the previous pattern.
- Data Interpretation, the dominant block: tabular, caselet, missing DI, bar, line, pie and mixed graphs
- Data Sufficiency in quantitative form
- Quantity comparison, two and three quantity
- Number Series, missing and wrong
- Approximation and Simplification
- Arithmetic: Percentage, Profit and Loss, Interest, Ratio, Average, Age, Partnership, Mixture and Alligation
- Time and Work, Time Speed Distance, Boats and Streams
- Mensuration, Permutation, Combination and Probability
DI is where the extra five questions are most likely to land. Practise caselet and missing DI specifically, because those are the formats that eat minutes.
General and Financial Awareness, 40 questions, 50 marks, 20 minutes
Fifty marks in twenty minutes. No section in the paper gives you marks faster, and none punishes late starters harder.
- Banking Awareness: RBI functions and monetary policy, repo and reverse repo, CRR and SLR, types of banks, NPA and SARFAESI, priority sector lending, Basel norms, NBFCs, payment banks and small finance banks
- Financial Awareness: capital and money market, SEBI, IRDAI, NABARD, SIDBI, EXIM Bank, mutual funds, insurance basics, financial abbreviations
- Current Affairs of the last six to eight months: banking and economy news, appointments, agreements, awards, summits, sports, obituaries, books and authors, defence, science and technology
- Static GK: bank headquarters and taglines, currencies and capitals, national parks and sanctuaries, dams and rivers, important days, government schemes
- Budget and Economic Survey highlights
Current Affairs is roughly half this section in most cycles. Six to eight months of daily reading cannot be compressed into the three weeks between the Prelims result and 27 December. Start now, alongside Prelims revision, using ExamAtlas daily current affairs practice sets.
Where to put your hours
An honest caveat about that table. It reflects how the paper has behaved across recent cycles, not a guarantee. IBPS moves question counts between topics shift to shift, so use it to allocate hours, not to skip whole topics.
How to use this syllabus with three weeks to the Prelims
You are not learning new chapters now. Take a timed mock, find the two topics where your accuracy sits below 70 percent, and fix those. Everything else gets revision only.
The free IBPS Clerk Prelims mock test series on ExamAtlas runs with the 20-minute sectional locks and reports topic-wise accuracy, which is what turns this list into a plan. Pair it with the IBPS Clerk preparation strategy guide, and check section marks against the IBPS Clerk exam pattern page.
Frequently asked questions
Is the IBPS Clerk syllabus the same for Prelims and Mains?
Largely, but not entirely. Prelims covers English, Numerical Ability and Reasoning. Mains covers the same three at higher difficulty, adds Computer Aptitude inside Reasoning, and adds General and Financial Awareness, which does not appear in the Prelims at all.
Did the syllabus change with the revised Mains pattern?
The topics did not change. Only the structure did: Quantitative Aptitude went from 35 questions to 40, the total from 155 to 160, and the duration from 120 to 125 minutes. The extra questions are most likely to appear in Data Interpretation.
Which topic carries the most questions?
Puzzles and Seating Arrangement in Reasoning, at 15 to 20 questions in the Prelims section alone. In the Mains Quant section, Data Interpretation is the largest block.
How much current affairs do I need for the Mains?
Roughly the last six to eight months up to the exam date, with a bias towards banking, economy and government schemes. Budget and Economic Survey highlights are worth a separate revision pass.
Is Computer Aptitude a separate section in the Mains?
No. It is combined with Reasoning Ability into one 40-question, 60-mark section of 35 minutes. The computer questions are static and repetitive, which makes them some of the most reliable marks in the paper.
Do I need to study Maths beyond class 10 level?
No. The Numerical Ability and Quantitative Aptitude syllabus stays within school-level arithmetic, algebra and basic geometry. The difficulty comes from speed and the 0.25 negative marking, not from advanced concepts.
Is there a separate syllabus for the Language Proficiency Test?
No. It tests practical reading, writing and speaking ability in the official language of the state you applied for. There is nothing to study for it if you genuinely know the language.
Which section should I start with if I am behind?
Whichever one is below 70 percent accuracy in your last timed mock. With sectional locks, a weak section cannot be covered by a strong one, so the section holding you back is the only correct answer to this question.
What most syllabus lists leave out
Coverage is not the problem for most candidates. Almost everyone eventually reads every topic on this page. The gap shows up in speed, and speed only improves when you practise a topic against a clock rather than at your own pace.
So take the list above, mark the three topics you are slowest at, and give each of them one timed set this week. The rest of the recruitment detail sits in the IBPS Clerk complete guide.