IBPS SO 2017 (CRP SPL-VII) – Notification FAQs |

Dear Readers,

IBPS has released the much-awaited notification for the recruitment of Specialist Officers in 2017-18. In its Calendar earlier IBPS mentioned that from this year it will conduct the recruitment exam for Specialist Officers in two phases- Prelims and Mains, thus, many aspirants must to eager to know about the new exam pattern of IBPS SO Recruitment. Keep on reading answers to some frequently asked questions to understand the changes in this year’s IBPS SO Recruitment along with vacancies for various posts.

☛ What are the posts available under this recruitment project?

A total of 6 posts are available under this recruitment project:

I.T. Officer (Scale-I)
Agricultural Field Officer (Scale I)
Rajbhasha Adhikari (Scale I)
Law Officer (Scale I)
HR/Personnel Officer (Scale I)
Marketing Officer (Scale I)

☛ When will the registration start?

Registration will start from 7th November 2017 and will end on 27th November 2017.

☛ How many vacancies are there?

This year IBPS has released a total of 1315 for recruitment of Specialist Officers under various posts. Following is the bifurcation of these vacancies among the 6 posts of CRP SPL-VII:

Sl.No.	Post	SC	ST	OBC	GEN	PWD	TOTAL
1.	I.T. Officer (Scale-I)	18	9	31	62	4	120
2.	Agricultural Field Officer (Scale I)	129	64	235	447	16	875
3.	Rajbhasha Adhikari (Scale I)	5	1	8	16	2	30
4.	Law Officer (Scale I)	9	4	15	32	1	60
5.	HR/Personnel Officer (Scale I)	4	1	9	21	2	35
6.	Marketing Officer (Scale I)	27	12	52	104	1	195

☛ When will be the exam conducted?
The tentative dates for Prelims Exam are 30th and 31st December 2017
The tentative date for Mains Exam is 28th January 2018

☛ Are there any changes in Exam Pattern?
Yes, this year IBPS has brought a totally new pattern for SO Recruitment exam. The first big change is the introduction of two levels of exam for SO recruitment for posts. This year there will be a Prelims and Mains exam for all posts of CRP SPL-VII. Read about the exam pattern below to understand the same in detail. Second big change is that the prelims exam for all posts is of 2 Hours Time Duration.

☛ What is the new Structure/Pattern of the exam?

Preliminary Exam

For the post of Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari

Sr. No.	Name of Tests	No. of Questions	Maximum Marks	Medium of Exam	Duration
1	English Language	50	25	English	2 Hours
2	Reasoning	50	50	English and Hindi
3	General Awareness with Special Reference to Banking Industry	50	50	English and Hindi
	Total	150	125

For the post of IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR/Personnel Officer and Marketing Officer

Sr. No.	Name of Tests	No. of Questions	Maximum Marks	Medium of Exam	Duration
1	English Language	50	25	English	2 Hours
2	Reasoning	50	50	English and Hindi
3	Quantitative Aptitude	50	50	English and Hindi
	Total	150	125

Candidates have to qualify in each of the three tests by securing minimum cut-off marks to be decided by IBPS.

Mains Exam

For the post of Law Officer, IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR/Personnel Officer and Marketing Officer

Sr. No.	Name of Tests	No. of Questions	Maximum Marks	Medium of Exam	Duration
1	Professional Knowledge	60	60	English and Hindi	45 minutes

For the post of Rajbhasha Adhikari

Sr. No.	Name of Tests	No. of Questions	Maximum Marks	Medium of Exam	Duration
1	Professional Knowledge (Objective)	45	60	English and Hindi	30 minutes
2	Professional Knowledge (Descriptive)	2	60	English and Hindi	30 minutes

☛ Will there be any interview after the written result?
Yes, there will be an interview after the mains exam. Candidates who have been shortlisted in the Main examination for CRP SPL-VII will subsequently be called for an Interview to be conducted by the Participating Organisations and coordinated by the Nodal Banks in each State/ UT with the help of IBPS.

☛ Will the exam conducted online or offline (OMR Based)?

Common Written Exam for IBPS SO (Objective Tests) will be conducted online (Both Prelims and Mains). However, for the descriptive test for the post of Rajbhasha Adhikari, it is not mentioned in the notification specifically whether it will be online or offline.

☛ What is the age criteria to apply in this common written exam?

Minimum: 20 years Maximum: 30 years

A candidate must have been born not earlier than 02.11.1987 and not later than 01.11.1997 (both dates inclusive

☛ What is the educational qualification required for various posts in this recruitment process?

I.T. Officer (Scale-I) :

a) 4 year Engineering/ Technology Degree in Computer Science/ Computer Applications/ Information Technology/ Electronics/ Electronics &

Telecommunications/ Electronics & Communication/ Electronics &

Instrumentation

b) Post Graduate Degree in Electronics/ Electronics & Tele Communication/ Electronics & Communication/ Electronics & Instrumentation/ Computer Science/ Information Technology/ Computer Applications

Graduate having passed DOEACC ‘B’ level

Agricultural Field Officer (Scale I)
4 year Degree (graduation) in Agriculture/ Horticulture/Animal Husbandry/ Veterinary Science/ Dairy Science/ Fishery Science/ Pisciculture/ Agri. Marketing & Cooperation/ Co-operation & Banking/ Agro-Forestry/Forestry/ Agricultural Biotechnology/ Food Science/ Agriculture Business Management/ Food Technology/ Dairy Technology/ Agricultural Engineering

Rajbhasha Adhikari (Scale I)
Post Graduate Degree in Hindi with English as a subject at the degree (graduation) level
OR
Post graduate degree in Sanskrit with English and Hindi as subjects at the degree (graduation) level.

Law Officer (Scale I)
A Bachelor Degree in Law (LLB) and enrolled as an advocate with Bar Council

HR/Personnel Officer (Scale I)
Graduate and Two Years Full time Post Graduate degree or Two Years Full time Post Graduate diploma in Personnel Management / Industrial Relations/ HR / HRD/ Social Work / Labour Law.*

Marketing Officer (Scale I)
Graduate and Two Years Full time MMS (Marketing)/ Two Years Full time MBA (Marketing)/ Two Years Full time PGDBA / PGDBM/ PGPM/ PGDM with specialization in Marketing *

* In case of dual specialisations, one of the fields of specialisation should be in the field prescribed. In case of major/ minor specialisations, major specialisation should be in the stream prescribed. Candidates having PG Degree (MMS or MBA)/PG Diploma with more than two specialisations are not eligible to apply.

NOTE- For posts other than IT Officer Scale I: Candidates should have Certificate/Diploma/Degree in computer operations/ Language/ should have studied Computer / Information Technology as one of the subjects in the High School/ College/ Institute.

☛ What is the Application Fee?

Rs. 100/- for SC/ST/PWD candidates.

Rs. 600 /- for all others

☛ I have scored 55% in Graduation/ Post-Graduation. Am I eligible to sit for the exam?

Yes, you can apply as there is no percentage criterion.

☛ I am 19 years old. Can I sit for the exam?

No, You must be at least 20 years of age and not more than 30 years of age as on as on 01.11.2017.

☛ How to calculate the Percentage?

The percentage marks shall be arrived at by dividing the total marks obtained by the candidate in all the subjects in all semester(s)/year(s) by aggregate maximum marks in all the subjects irrespective of honours / optional / additional optional subject, if any. This will be applicable for those Universities also where Class / Grade is decided on basis of Honours marks only. The fraction of percentage so arrived will be ignored i.e. 59.99% will be treated as less than 60% and 54.99% will be treated as less than 55%.

☛ Is the exam Bilingual?

The tests except for the Test of English Language will be available bilingually, i.e. English and Hindi.

☛ What is the cut-off for being recruited?

There is no fixed cutoff for IBPS SO Recruitment exam It depends on the performance of the candidates each year. Your final score is calculated based on your performance in the written test and the interview.

☛ Is there a sectional cut-off in the exam?

Yes, there is a sectional cut-off in the exam. You have to clear every section in order to secure a seat for the Interview.

☛ Is there a criterion for negative marking?

There is negative marking of ¼ marks for every wrong answer.

View the Official Notification for IBPS SO Recruitment 2017-18