IBPS SO Exam Analysis 2026 Shift 1 and 2 (29 August), Check Difficulty Level and Good Attempts

The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) is conducting the IBPS SO 2026 Prelims exam today, 29th August 2026, in 2 shifts. Each shift duration is 1 hour 20 minutes. Interested candidates can check the complete analysis here. This IBPS SO Exam analysis will help in knowing the difficulty level and questions asked in Shift 1 and 2.

IBPS SO Exam Analysis 2026 Today

IBPS is conducting the Prelims exam for Specialist Officer posts in IT, Marketing, HR/Personnel, Law, Agriculture, and Rajbhasha streams. A total of 1043 vacancies are to be filled this year and those who qualify in Prelims will be called for the Mains exam, which is also an online test comprising both an objective and descriptive part.

This article covers both Shift 1 and Shift 2 analysis for a better understanding. Our team of experts is preparing the analysis by taking feedback from students who appeared for the exam.

IBPS SO Prelims Difficulty Level

Sr. No.	Section	Shift 1 Difficulty Level	Shift 2 Difficulty Level
1.	Reasoning	Easy to Moderate	Easy to Moderate
2.	English Language	Easy to Moderate (Doable)	Easy to Moderate
3.	General Awareness with Special Reference to Banking Industry (For Law and Rajbhasha)	Easy to Moderate	Easy to Moderate
3.	Quantitative Aptitude (AFO, Marketing, IT, HR/Personnel)	Easy to Moderate	Easy to Moderate
4	Professional Knowledge	Easy to Moderate	Easy to Moderate
Overall		Moderate (Neither too easy, nor difficult)	Moderate

IBPS SO Question Paper 2026

IBPS SO Prelims Good Attempts

Sr. No.	Section	No. of Questions	Shift 1 Attempts	Shift 2 Good Attempts
1.	Reasoning	25	20-22	18-20
2.	English Language	25	20-23	19-21
3.	Quantitative Aptitude (AFO, Marketing, IT, HR/Personnel)	25	18-20	17-19
3.	General Awareness	25	19-21	18-20
4	Professional Knowledge	25	16 -17	15-18

IBPS SO 1st Shift Section-wise Analysis 2026

The IBPS SO Prelims Exam Analysis 2026 gives a clear picture of how each section was structured and the type of questions asked. As discussed above, there are three sections in the Prelims exam, such as Reasoning, English Language, and General Awareness with Special Reference to the Banking Industry. We will update the section-wise questions asked in the exam here.

Questions Asked in the English Section

Topics	Questions
Reading Comprehension (AI)	8
Connector	1
Error Detection	4
Phrase Replacement	4
Misspelt	4

Questions Asked in Quantitative Aptitude

Name of the Topics	Number of Questions
Approximation	5-6
Wrong Number Series	5
Caselet Data Interpretation	3
Bar Graph DI	5
Arithmetic	7-8

Questions Asked in Reasoning Section

Topics	No. of Questions
Alphanumeric	2
Pair formation – number	2
Blood Relation (tricky)	3
Seating Puzzle (North facing – 7 persons)	5
Circular seating arrangement (5 inside, 3 outside)	5
Fruit Box Puzzle (8 boxes)	5
Syllogism ( 3 statements, 3 conclusions)	3

Questions Asked in Professional Subject

KYC
RAID
Neural Network
ARP
Python Generator
Agile Model
Final Keyword
Cyber Law
JAVA Specifier
C++ Default Access Modifier
b + tree
DNS Port Number
Page Replacement Numerical
Page Replacement + Theory LRU
Same Key Used encryption tech.
Numerical
Quantum computing Union
Union
In order
oops Polymorphism
/etc
SAAS
AI (Statement Wise)

IBPS SO Shift 2 Section-wise Analysis 2026

Questions asked in Quantitative Aptitude Shift 2

Missing Number Series: 5 questions
Approximation: 5 questions
Table Data Interpretation (DI): 5 questions
Caselet DI: 2 questions
Arithmetic (Boat, Partnership, Profit & Loss, Mensuration, Train, Time & Work): 7 questions

Questions asked in Reasoning Shift 2

Linear Arrangement (7 Persons) – Bidirectional: 5 questions
Floor Puzzle + Variable: 5 questions
Box-Based Puzzle (6 Boxes): 5 questions
Syllogism: 3 questions
Inequality: 3 questions
Direction: 3 questions
Alphanumeric Test: 1 question

Questions asked in English Language Shift 2

Reading Comprehension (Self-Employment): 5 questions
Fillers: 5 questions
Phrase Replacement: 5 questions
Error Detection: 2 questions
Misspelt Words: 5 questions
Word Rearrangement: 3 questions

Questions asked in General Awareness Shift 2

Bank HQ in Chennai
Worlds Largest Archipelego
Minimum age for opening Savings Account
Ministry of Corporate Affairs
FIFA – Won
IEA
Aadhar + Email
DICGC – RBI Wholly Owned Subsidiary
Best Feature Film
Dholavira
White City
KYC Documents
Raj Sabha Retired Person in every 3 year
Hydrogen Drain
Dappu Festival
River – Flow in 1 Country
Nobel Prize Author of the The Vegetarian
ISS – Shantanu Shukla
24 October
Mahesh Dixit
NSFR
Agri Loan

IBPS SO Prelims Exam Pattern 2026

Sr. No.	Section	No. of Questions	Total Marks	Duration
1.	Reasoning	25	25	20 mins
2.	English Language	25	25	20 mins
3.	General Awareness with Special Reference to Banking Industry (For Law and Rajbhasha)	25	25	20 mins
3.	Quantitative Aptitude (AFO, Marketing, IT, HR/Personnel)	25	25	20 mins
4	Professional Knowledge	25	50	20 mins
Total		100	125	80 Minutes