This strategy is built on the scheme IBPS notified for CRP PO/MT-XVI on 1 July 2026, the newest cycle as of 13 November 2026. The facts (questions, marks, time, penalty) are from the notification. The plan, the time splits and the tactics are our advice, and the calculations are marked as arithmetic. The full scheme is on the exam pattern page.
1. Know where the marks are
Prelims only shortlists. The notification says marks in the Main Examination only are used for shortlisting for the interview and for final merit, and that Mains and interview are combined 80:20.
| Stage | Test | Questions | Marks | Counts in final merit? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prelims | English Language | 30 | 30 | No |
| Prelims | Quantitative Aptitude | 35 | 30 | No |
| Prelims | Reasoning Ability | 35 | 40 | No |
| Mains | Reasoning | 40 | 60 | Yes |
| Mains | General / Economy / Banking / Digital / Financial Awareness | 50 | 60 | Yes |
| Mains | English Language | 40 | 20 | Yes |
| Mains | Data Analysis and Interpretation | 40 | 60 | Yes |
| Mains | Descriptive Paper | 2 | 25 | Part of the Main Examination |
What follows from this (our reading):
- Prelims is a hurdle with three separate sectional cut-offs. The goal there is to clear every test with a margin, not to maximise one.
- In Mains, three tests carry 60 marks each. The awareness test is one of them, and it is the only one with no Prelims counterpart.
- Mains English is 40 questions for 20 marks. It still has its own minimum score, so it cannot be ignored, but its marks-per-minute return is the lowest of the four.
2. Know your time per question
Every test is separately timed. Time you save in one test is not carried to the next.
| Test | Time | Questions | Seconds per question (arithmetic) | Marks per question on average (arithmetic) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prelims English | 20 min | 30 | 40 | 1.00 |
| Prelims Quantitative Aptitude | 20 min | 35 | about 34 | about 0.86 |
| Prelims Reasoning | 20 min | 35 | about 34 | about 1.14 |
| Mains Reasoning | 45 min | 40 | 67.5 | 1.50 |
| Mains Awareness | 35 min | 50 | 42 | 1.20 |
| Mains English | 35 min | 40 | 52.5 | 0.50 |
| Mains Data Analysis | 45 min | 40 | 67.5 | 1.50 |
The notification does not say that every question inside a test carries equal marks, so the last column is an average only.
Our advice: in a 20-minute Prelims test you will rarely attempt everything. Decide before the exam which question types you take first (the ones you solve fastest and most accurately) and which you leave for the last minutes. A puzzle that eats four minutes costs you seven questions' worth of time at 34 seconds each.
3. Decide when to guess
The rule: one fourth of the marks assigned to the question is deducted for a wrong answer. Nothing is deducted for a blank.
- Break-even (arithmetic): if p is your chance of being right, the expected gain is p minus one quarter of (1 minus p), which is zero at p = 0.20. So a guess pays on average only when you are better than 1 in 5.
- Eliminating options changes the odds. If you can rule out options until you are choosing between two, your chance is about 1 in 2, well above break-even.
- Sectional cut-offs add a second consideration. A run of wrong guesses in one test can pull that test below its minimum even when your total is fine. In a test where you are close to the line, be more careful than the arithmetic alone suggests.
4. A four-phase plan
Our suggestion, to be adapted to your starting level. The durations are relative, because IBPS announces dates each year; for CRP-XVI the calendar had Prelims on 22 and 23 August 2026 and Mains on 4 October 2026.
| Phase | Share of your time | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Foundation | First 35 to 40% | Arithmetic and calculation speed, basic puzzles and logic, grammar and daily reading. Start a daily awareness habit now, including banking terms |
| 2. Sets and speed | Next 25 to 30% | Data interpretation sets, multi-variable puzzles, reading comprehension under a timer. Begin sectional tests with 20-minute timers |
| 3. Prelims mode | Last 4 to 6 weeks before Prelims | Full Prelims-pattern mocks, each followed by analysis. Keep awareness and one essay a week alive |
| 4. Mains mode | From Prelims to Mains | Long reasoning and data sets with 45-minute timers, awareness revision, descriptive writing on a keyboard |
The gap between Prelims and Mains in the 2026-27 calendar was six weeks. That is too short to start banking awareness, RBI circulars and essay writing from zero, which is why phases 1 to 3 keep them running.
5. Subject tactics
These are ours. IBPS does not publish a topic-wise syllabus; see syllabus for what is notified and for our working topic lists.
- Quantitative Aptitude and Data Analysis: calculation speed is the base for both. Practise approximation, fractions-to-percentages and mental multiplication daily. In Mains the test is named Data Analysis and Interpretation, so practise complete sets, not single questions.
- Reasoning: puzzles and seating arrangements take the most time per question. Learn to read a set for one minute and decide whether to attempt it now or return later. In Prelims, take the short logic items (inequalities, syllogism, direction, blood relations) first.
- English: read one long article on the economy or banking every day. It builds comprehension speed for the objective tests, vocabulary in context, and content for the essay.
- Awareness: the notified title names its parts: general, economy, banking, digital and financial awareness, and RBI circulars. Keep one notebook divided the same way. Read RBI's own press releases and policy statements at source for the last part.
6. The descriptive paper
Notified facts: two questions (an essay and a comprehension), 25 marks, 30 minutes, in English, as part of the online Main Examination. Themes may be broadly based on economic and social issues, emerging trends in banking and technology, current events and ethics. IBPS says the paper may be evaluated by an automated scoring mechanism that identifies features related to writing proficiency.
Our advice:
- Practise on a keyboard, with a 30-minute timer, splitting it between the two questions before you start.
- Write plainly: a clear opening, two or three developed points, a short close. Correct grammar, spelling and sentence structure are what any proficiency measure can see most easily.
- Draw essay topics from your awareness notebook, so the same reading is used twice.
7. Personality test and interview
- The personality test is a self-report test and is non-qualifying, but you must appear in it to be eligible for the interview. In the previous cycle IBPS held it online in remote proctored mode on 12 December 2025 and emailed instructions two days before, so watch your registered email after the Mains result. There is nothing to "prepare"; answer honestly.
- The interview carries 100 marks, with a minimum of 40% (35% for SC/ST/OBC/PwBD), and is 20% of the final score.
- Our advice: be ready to talk about your degree subject, your home state, why banking, and the banking and economy news you have been reading for the awareness test. Keep the documents listed in the notification ready early, especially category certificates in the prescribed format and a No Objection Certificate if you are employed in government, a PSU or a bank.
8. A weekly mock-analysis routine
Our routine. A mock is useful only for what you do afterwards.
- Sort every wrong and skipped question into three piles: did not know the concept, knew it but was slow, knew it but made an error.
- Check each test against its own timer. Note which question types took more than double the average seconds per question in the table above.
- Count guesses. Of the answers you were unsure of, how many were right? If fewer than 1 in 5, stop guessing in that test; if most were right, you are leaving marks by skipping.
- Fix one concept and one speed problem before the next mock. Not ten.
- Track the weakest test separately, because the sectional cut-off is applied to it on its own.
9. Free and paid practice on Pareeksha
- Free: a 10-question mini-mock to try the format, and the Daily Dangal quiz.
- Pro: full Prelims-pattern mocks with the three 20-minute sectional timers, in English and Hindi, under the banking test series, and topic-wise practice.
- Each fixed paper gives a percentile against everyone who took the same paper. How we compute it is on the fixed-paper percentile page.
The mocks on the site cover the Prelims stage. For Mains, use the scheme and the routine above with your own material.
What this page does not have
- Target scores or "safe attempts". IBPS has published no cut-off document that we could open, and we do not estimate one. See cut-offs.
- Topic-wise question counts. IBPS does not notify them.
- IBPS's Information Handout for CRP PO/MT-XVI with sample questions, which comes with the call letter.
- Interview questions or bank-wise interview practices. The notification gives only marks, minimums and documents.
- Dates for the next cycle (CRP PO/MT-XVII). Nothing had been notified as of 13 November 2026.
Related: Syllabus · Exam pattern · Cut-offs