Why SBI PO PYQs are different from IBPS PO
SBI PO and IBPS PO follow the same exam structure but have distinct difficulty patterns. SBI PO Prelims historically has harder Reasoning (complex puzzle setups, multi-variable arrangements) and trickier English (advanced idioms, contextual vocabulary) than IBPS PO.
If you are targeting SBI PO specifically, practice SBI PO PYQs — do not substitute IBPS PO PYQs. The difficulty calibration will undertrain you for SBI pace.
SBI PO PYQ bank content
8 years of SBI PO papers (2018-2025) — both Prelims and Mains. Prelims has 100 questions × 2 sessions/year × 8 years = approximately 1,600 PYQs. Mains adds another 1,600 questions including the descriptive paper topics (essay + letter writing prompts).
- SBI PO Prelims (English 30 + Quant 35 + Reasoning 35, 60 min, +1/-0.25)
- SBI PO Mains Objective (4 sections, 155 Q, 180 min)
- SBI PO Mains Descriptive (Essay + Letter, 30 min, 25 marks)
- Topic tags: Data Interpretation types, Puzzle types, English RC themes, Banking Awareness subtopics
- Toppers time estimates per question
- Shortcut methods highlighted where applicable
Mains Banking Awareness — where marks are won
SBI PO Mains has 40 Banking Awareness questions with moderate-to-hard difficulty. Topics: RBI monetary policy, banking history, financial inclusion schemes, digital payments, SBI-specific schemes, Basel norms, recent RBI circulars. The questions are time-sensitive — Banking Awareness from 2019 about "recent policy" is mostly useless now.
Our Banking Awareness PYQs are tagged with time-context: historical structural questions (always relevant) vs current-policy questions (aged by year). Focus 80% of your Banking Awareness study on the last 2 years of policy questions.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does SBI PO differ from IBPS PO?
Same structure, different difficulty. SBI PO Prelims has harder Reasoning and English (roughly 15-20% harder on average). SBI PO Mains includes a Group Exercise + Interview stage after the written exam (IBPS PO only has Interview). Cutoffs for SBI PO are historically higher than IBPS PO by 2-4 marks in each section.
Are SBI Clerk PYQs available?
Not in this specific page — see the general /pyq-bank page for SBI Clerk PYQs. SBI Clerk has a distinct pattern (no negative marking in Prelims, easier Quant) so we keep its PYQs in a separate filter to avoid confusion.
How is SBI PO Descriptive evaluated?
The Descriptive paper in Mains is 30 minutes, 25 marks, with one essay (150-200 words) and one letter (100-150 words). Qualifying mark is typically 10/25. We provide topper model answers plus structural templates that work reliably. Essay and letter topics are usually current-affairs-linked so read them alongside the daily current affairs digest.
What is SBI PO’s Group Exercise stage?
After clearing Mains, shortlisted candidates attend a 2-day Group Exercise + Interview. Group Exercise is 20-30 minutes of group discussion on a given topic. Interview is 15-25 minutes covering banking awareness, your background, and current affairs. No PYQ prep is directly useful for GE/Interview — but the current affairs digest and Banking Awareness from Mains both help.
How much PYQ practice for SBI PO?
For a 4-6 month prep window: solve 3-5 years of full Prelims papers (5 × 100 = 500 Prelims PYQs) plus 500-700 topic-specific PYQs. Total around 1,200 PYQs. Minimum viable is 2-3 years solved thoroughly if time is short.
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Free to try — no credit card, no signup required for your first attempts.
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