IBPS Special Officer

The Mumbai based autonomous agency Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) conducts the Special Officer (SO) exam for recruitment of multiple positions in banks:

I.T. Officer (Scale-I)
Job role: Managing, controlling and optimizing data center of banks, ATMs, computer, software and MIS maintenance.

Agricultural Field Officer (Scale I)
Job role: Agricultural Field Officers assigned to the Agricultural Field Department mostly in rural branches of banks.

Rajbhasha Adhikari (Scale I)
Law Officer (Scale I)
Job role : Translate and proofread all the important documents of the banks to Hindi, our national language.

HR/Personnel Officer (Scale I)
Job role: Looks after the HR policies of the bank and its employees

Marketing Officer (Scale I)
Job role: Plays a dominant role to frame the advertising and marketing scheme of banks in order to bring in more business.

Participating organizations in IBPS SO exam are as follows:

• Allahabad Bank
• Canara Bank
• Indian Bank
• Syndicate Bank
• Andhra Bank
• Central Bank of India
• Indian Overseas Bank
• UCO Bank
• Bank of Baroda
• Corporation Bank
• Oriental Bank of Commerce
• Union Bank of India
• Bank of India
• Dena Bank
• Punjab National Bank
• United Bank of India
• Bank of Maharashtra
• ECGC
• Punjab & Sind Bank
• Vijaya Bank
• BharatiyaMahila Bank
• IDBI Bank
• Any other bank or financial institution

The IBPS SO exam is held only once in a year.

The salary range of a bank SO ranges between Rs. 14,500 – Rs. 32,000 (approx). Perks and benefits of the bank SO officer includes travel allowance, personal assistant and laptop facility. Also, the job location of bank SO are metro cities except for agricultural field officer.

Bank SO are promoted to the next level from joining Scale II, which is Middle Management Level only after spending stipulated time in the first role.

Aspiring students aiming to appear for the IBPS SO exam requires to register for the Common Recruitment Process (CRP SPL-VI).

The IBPS SO exam is conducted in two phases – Online exam / prelims and Interview. While many apply and appear for the online first round, only shortlisted candidates are called for the interview. After the interview, further shortlisting is done by examiners to pick the best of students and place them in banks of the country.

The last stage of the IBPS SO exam is an interview round conducted by participating organizations, nodal banks and IBPS.

The total score of the IBPS SO interview round is 100 marks, where 40 is considered qualifying marks. In case of backward classes, the qualifying marks in IBPS SO exam is 30-35 percent.
The fraction percentages scored in IBPS RRB exam are rounded off like – 59.99% to 60% and 54.99% to 55%.

The relative weightage ratio of IBPS SO CWE pelims interview will be 80:20 for all exams.

Candidates who cannot score the qualifying mark of IBPS interview session are barred thereafter.

In 2017, the IBPS SO exam is scheduled on 28.01.2017 and 29.01.2017 respectively.

Academic qualification for IPPS PO exam (as per different openings)

For Rajbhasha Adhikari (Scale I): For Law Officer (Scale I) HR/Personnel Officer (Scale I) For Marketing Officer (Scale I) IT Officer (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. Bachelor Degree in Law (LLB) and enrolled as an advocate with Bar Council. Graduate and Regular Post Graduate degree or Regular Post Graduate Diploma in Personnel Management / Industrial Relations/ HR/HRD/ Social Work / Labour Law. Graduate/ MBA (Marketing) / PGDBA/ PGDBM Engineering Degree in Computer Science / Computer Applications/IT / Electronics & Telecommunications / Electronics & Communication / Electronics & Instrumentation
• Post Graduate Degree in Electronics / Electronics & Tele Communication / Electronics & Communication / Electronics & Instrumentation / Computer Science / Information Technolog y/ Computer Applications
• Graduate of DOEACC ‘B’ level.

Age criteria for IBPS SO exam : 20 – 30 years
For age relaxation rules, refer to http://www.ibps.in/wp-content/uploads/Detail_Advt_CWE_SPL_VI_2016.pdf.

IBPS SO exam fees:
General / OBC candidates Rs 600
(Sc/ST/PWD) candidates Rs 100

IBPS SO CWE Question Paper Pattern:

Question Paper Pattern For Law Officer- Scale I & Rajbhasha Adhikari Scale I
Time : 2 hours

Question Paper Pattern For IT Officer Scale I, Agricultural Field Officer Scale I, HR/ Personnel Officer Scale I and Marketing Officer Scale I
Time : 2 hours

Nationality/Citizenship criteria for IBPS SO exam:

A candidate must be either –
(i)  a Citizen of India or
(ii) a subject of Nepal or
(iii) a subject of Bhutan or
(iv) a Tibetan Refugee who came over to India before 1st January 1962 with the intention of permanently
settling in India or
(v) a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, East African countries of
Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania (formerly Tanganyika and Zanzibar), Zambia,
Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia and Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India,
provided that a candidate belonging to categories (ii), (iii), (iv) & (v) above shall be a person in whose favour a
certificate of eligibility has been issued by the Government of India

Documents to carry for IBPS SO exam interview:

a.  Valid Call Letter
b.  Photo-identity proof
c.  Photocopy of photo-identity proof (two copies)

Though the time duration of IBPS SO interview round is 2 hours; candidates are often called 4-hours prior in order to coordinate the document verification and other formalities.

During IBPS interview session, each candidate has to submit the following valid documents:
[All documents should be photocopy of original and self attested by the applicant of IBPS RRB exam.]

1. Interview Call Letter (hardcopy)
2. Printout of the online application form
3. Proof of Date of Birth
4. Photo Identify Proof
5. Mark-sheets & certificates
6. Work Experience Certificates, if applicable.
7. Caste Certificate (if applicable)
8. Disability certificate (if applicable)

Requisites for IBPS SO exam online application:

• Scan/digital photograph and signature
• Valid Email ID/phone number
• Credentials to make online payment (Debit Cards (RuPay / Visa / MasterCard / Maestro), Credit Cards, Internet Banking, IMPS, Cash Cards/ Mobile Wallets.

Process to apply for IBPS SO exam online (step wise):

1. Browse the official website of IBPS .
2. Find the Special Officer tab.
3. Once you reach the IBPS SO page, click on one of the following links “CLICK HERE TO APPLY ONLINE FOR CRP SPL-VI.
4. Click on : Apply Online 2016-17.
5. Fill details like name, email ID, mobile number, and all other data correctly.
6. On completing successful online registration for IBPS SO exam, the system will generate provisional registration number and password. The same will be sent to your email id and phone number (as registered). This is important as you will need this to log in to your IBPS account using this registration number & password hereafter.
7. Upload your digital photograph and signature (with black pen).
8. Do the online fee payment for IBPS SO exam.
9. Print the e-receipt of fee payment.
10. Lastly, print submitted IBPS SO application form.

Tips for IBPS SO exam:

a. The IBPS SO exam opens door to five good openings in public sector banks – I.T. Officer (Scale-I), Agricultural Field Officer (Scale I), Rajbhasha Adhikari (Scale I), HR/Personnel Officer (Scale I) and Marketing Officer (Scale I). Each job roles has distinct role to play and clear different kinds of exam. So before applying for IBPS SO exam, make your mind which role you are aspiring for. Your academic records and professional knowledge also determines the kind of role you will perform as an IBPS Special Officer.

b. Alike any other IBPS exam, a primary way to prepare for IBPS SO exam is solving mock tests and previous years appear. These are available online. You got to collect them from authentic sources and solve in order to score best in IBPS SO exam.

c. During IBPS SO interview exam, every examinee has to submit a set of documents from authentic sources. The list of documents varies from candidate to candidate. It is recommended every student to go thoroughly through the IBPS official website (www.ibps.in) and make sure, they don’t miss any on the final interview day. In case of missing a single document, candidates might be barred/disqualified from attending the IBPS SO interview session.

d. Alone books do not suffy for IBPS SO exam preparation. Its therefore recommended to add newspapers, journals, magazines, bulletins, radio and television news in your IBPS preparatory days agenda. These will help you to prepare advance for the IBPS exam.

e. Prior to both IBPS SO prelims and interview exam, make sure you download and print your admit card from the official website. Admit cards are usually published three weeks prior to the exam.

Books for IBPS SO exam

IBPS (CRP SPL-VI) Specialist Officers’ Cadre IT Officer Scale I Study Guide 2017 Paperback – 2016
Specially designed for 2017 applicants, this book covers the entire iBPS SO syllabus in a concise pattern. The content of the book is divided like the various paper patterns of IBPS SO exam.

Kiran’s IBPS Specialist Officer I.T. Officer CWE – VI Professional Knowledge Practice work Book – 1754 Paperback
This book by the Think Tank of Kiran Prakashan is also a handy guide for IBPS SO exam preparation. The book is helpful for both prelims and interview session of IBPS SO exam.

Kiran’s IBPS Specialist Officers I.T. Officer CWE SPL – VI Self Study Guide cum Practice Work Book (with CD) – 1755
A complete guide for IBPS SO exam, this one comes along with an interactive CD that you can play at first. The CD will inspire you to learn more and prepare well for IBPS SO exam.