IBPS (Institute of Banking and Personnel Selection) is an exam-conducting body which governs recruitment to various positions in multiple public sector banks and RRBs (Regional Rural Banks).
Generally, IBPS conducts four in-demand banking professional recruitment examinations– PO/MR (Probationary Officers/ Management Trainees), Common Recruitment Process (CRP) for RRB Scale I, II, and III officers, and Office Assistants (Multipurpose), SO (Specialist Officers), and Clerks.
If your dream job lies hidden in the treasure troves of the banking sector, you may give the IBPS exam a whirl.
However, before making up your mind to give these exams, ensure that you meet the prerequisites explained in this article. After ascertaining your eligibility, you can apply online for IBPS after they release the respective notification.
IBPS Exam Eligibility: Nationality/ Citizenship
To be eligible for the IBPS exam, the candidate must either be:
- An Indian citizen
- A Nepalese subject
- A Bhutanese subject
- A Tibetan refugee (must have come to India, intending to settle permanently before 01-01-1962)
- An Indian-origin individual migrated from any of the following countries, intending to settle permanently:
- Burma
- Ethiopia
- Kenya
- Malawi
- Pakistan
- Sri Lanka
- Tanzania
- Uganda
- Vietnam
- Zaire
- Zambia
IBPS Exam Eligibility: Age
| Sl. No. | Examination | Lower age limit | Upper age limit |
| 1 | Clerk | 20 | 28 |
| 2 | SO | 20 | 30 |
| 3 | PO | 20 | 30 |
| 4 | RRB | ||
| Group A | |||
| Officer Scale I (Assistant Manager) | 18 | 30 | |
| Officer Scale II (Manager) | 21 | 32 | |
| Officer Scale III (Senior Manager) | 21 | 40 | |
| Group B | |||
| Office Assistants | 18 | 28 |
IBPS Eligibility: Educational Qualification
IBPS Exam (Clerk)
Candidates aspiring for IBPS Clerk shall possess the following educational qualifications:
- A university degree in any discipline
- Certificate/ Diploma/ Degree in Computer Operations or Language (or) Computer/ Information Technology shall be one of the subjects in High School/ College.
- Proficiency (reading, writing, and speaking) in the official language of the respective state/ UT.
[OR]
- Matriculate ex-service personnel with Army Special Certificate of Education or equivalent with 15 or more years of service in the armed forces.
IBPS Exam (SO)
The prerequisites for IBPS SO vary from post to post. Let’s look at each of them in detail.
IT Officer
- A four-year Engineering degree in any of the following:
- Computer Application
- Computer Science
- Electronic
- Electronics and Communication
- Electronics and instrumentation
- Electronics and Telecommunications
- IT
[OR]
- Post Graduate Degree in any of the following:
- Computer Applications
- Computer Science
- Electronics
- Electronics and Communication
- Electronics and Instrumentation
- Electronics and Telecommunication
- IT
[OR]
- Graduation with DOEACC ‘B’ level certificate
Agricultural Field Officer
Candidates aspiring for this post shall possess a four-year degree in any of the following disciplines:
- Agricultural Biotechnology
- Agricultural Engineering
- Agricultural Marketing and Cooperation
- Agriculture
- Agriculture Business Management
- Agroforestry
- Animal Husbandry
- Cooperation and Banking
- Dairy Science
- Dairy Technology
- Fishery Science
- Food Science
- Food Technology
- Forestry
- Horticulture
- Pisciculture
- Sericulture
- Veterinary Science
Rajbhasha Adhikari
Candidates aspiring for this post shall have a:
- Post-graduate degree in Hindi with English as a graduation-level subject
[OR]
- Post-graduate degree in Sanskrit with English and Hindi as graduation-level subjects
Law Officer
Candidates aspiring to be Law Officers shall be enrolled advocates with an LLB degree.
HR Personnel Officer
Candidates aspiring for this post shall have:
- A university degree in any discipline, and
- A two-year full-time post-graduate degree/ diploma in any of the following:
- HR
- HRD
- Industrial Relations
- Labour Law
- Personnel Management
- Social Work
Marketing Officer
Candidates aspiring for this post shall have:
- A university degree in any discipline, and
- A two-year full-time MMS (Marketing)/ MBA (Marketing)/ PGDBA (Marketing) / PGDBM (Marketing)/ PGDM (Marketing).
IBPS Exam (SO) Additional Qualification
Moreover, for all posts except IT Officer, the aspiring candidates shall be proficient in computer applications with a Certificate/ Diploma/ Degree in Computer Operations or Language (or) Computer/ Information Technology shall be one of the subjects in High School/ College.
IBPS Exam (PO)
IBPS PO aspirants shall possess a university degree in any discipline.
IBPS Exam (RRB)
- Office Assistant
- A Bachelor’s degree in any discipline
- Proficiency in the local language.
- Assistant Manager or RRB Officer Scale I
- A bachelor’s degree in any discipline
- Proficiency in the local language.
- Officer Scale II
- Manager/ General Banking Officer
- Bachelor’s degree in any discipline with 50% aggregate marks.
- Not less than two years of experience as an officer in a bank/ financial institution.
- Specialist Officers (Managers)
- Information Technology Officer
- Not less than one year of experience in the relevant field
- A bachelor’s degree with not less than 50% aggregate in any of the following:
- Communication
- Computer Science
- Electronics
- IT
- Chartered Accountant
- CA from ICAI and one year of experience as a CA.
- Law Officer
- LLB with 50% aggregate
- Two years of experience as a practising lawyer or Law Officer in banks/ financial institutions.
- Treasury Manager
- CA or MBA (Finance) with one year of experience.
- Marketing Officer
- MBA (Marketing) with one year of experience.
- Agricultural Officer
- Two years of experience in the relevant field with a bachelor’s degree with 50% aggregate in any of the following:
- Agricultural Engineering
- Agriculture
- Animal Husbandry
- Dairy
- Forestry
- Horticulture
- Pisciculture
- Veterinary Sciences
- Senior Manager or RRB Officer Scale III
- Bachelor’s degree in any discipline with 50% aggregate
- Not less than five years of experience as an officer in a bank/ financial institution.
Conclusion
IBPS exams, known for their versatility and comprehensiveness, recruit eligible candidates to various positions in different public sector banks and RRBs. The laurels of the IBPS exam might make you jump on the bandwagon. However, before you IBPS apply online, ensure that you meet the eligibility criteria you just read in this article.
