The State Bank of India is the conduct of all SBI exams. There are majorly three posts for which these exams are conducted:
- Probationary Officer (PO)
- Junior Associate (Clerk)
- Specialist Officer (SO)
Since, In India, SBI is the largest Public Sector Bank, the number of aspirants appearing for the exam is also very high. As for 2020, the official notification for the Junior Associate exam has already been released and the Preliminary exam was conducted in February and March 2020.
Candidates are now awaiting the release of the SBI Clerk Result, and the candidates who qualify the same will be invited for the Mains examination.
There are four major subjects that constitute the Mains syllabus for the clerical cadre exam. This includes:
- Reasoning Ability
- Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation
- General/ Banking/ Financial Awareness
- English Language
All Mains exam is entirely objective. and the final merit is based on the marks scored in all stages of the examination.
Given below are the preparation tips for each subject individually. Candidates must carefully analyze each of these to ace the upcoming Junior Associate exam.
SBI Clerk Mains – Section-wise Preparation
Aspirants can review the preparation tips for different sections of the SBI Clerk Mains exam, given below:
- Reasoning Ability – A 60 marks section with 50 questions, the reasoning ability section is one where candidates can score marks easily. Topics like data sufficiency, statement-assumption-conclusion, etc. need only logical reasoning to answer them and no calculations are involved. Apart from these, topics like puzzles, seating arrangements, blood relations, etc. are also included in the syllabus.
With an ample amount of preparation, where more and more questions are solved based on each topic, the reasoning section can be the most scoring of all.
- Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation – Comprising 50 questions, this is a 50 marks section where lengthy and complex questions are asked. Candidates must wisely pick up questions and then start solving them. As getting stuck on any one question may result in ending up losing a lot of time.
Mostly in Mains, data interpretation based questions are widely asked, in which different mathematical concepts are combined to form questions. This is one of the toughest of all sections.
- General/ Banking/ Financial Awareness – Having knowledge of banking terms, Govt schemes, reforms, and other general banking information is a must for this 50 marks section. Apart from this, awareness of Static GK and the current events of around 5-6 months before the exam must also be known. This can be the most scoring section as you read the question and instantly answer it, without spending a single minute on calculations.
- English Language – This section comprises 40 questions with one mark for each. Candidates tend to lose the maximum marks here because of the confusing options provided in the paper. To answer the questions in this section, candidates must use the elimination approach to answer questions correctly. Scoring good marks in this section and easily help in increasing the overall scores of the candidate.
SBI is one of those banking exams which has removed the sectional cut off, yet is advised that candidates must prepare each subject equally well as it will impact their overall scores. Aspirants willing to check the previous years’ minimum qualifying marks, can visit the SBI Clerk Cut Off-page for more details.
The syllabus for the Junior Associate exam hasn’t changed over the past few years so candidates who missed the opportunity to apply this year, can start their preparation for the next year’s recruitment and refer to the tips mentioned above for their preparation.