A plan for this exam should rest on the paper IBPS has actually set, not on general advice about "bank exams". This page starts from the official scheme for CRP RRBs XV and works towards a routine you can repeat every week. The facts are from the notification of 1 September 2026 and the Prelims information handout. The advice is ours, and the calculations are marked as arithmetic.
1. Know where the marks are
| Stage | Test | Questions | Marks | Share of the stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prelims | Reasoning | 40 | 40 | 50% |
| Prelims | Quantitative Aptitude | 40 | 40 | 50% |
| Mains | Reasoning | 40 | 50 | 25% |
| Mains | Quantitative Aptitude | 40 | 50 | 25% |
| Mains | General Awareness | 40 | 40 | 20% |
| Mains | English or Hindi Language | 40 | 40 | 20% |
| Mains | Computer Knowledge | 40 | 20 | 10% |
(Shares are our arithmetic.) Three things follow.
- Prelims is a gate. Its marks are not carried forward. Its job is to shortlist, and you must clear the minimum in both tests.
- Mains decides the list. Mains marks are 80% of the final score and the interview is 20%.
- Reasoning and Quantitative Aptitude pay twice. They are the whole gate and half of Mains. Hours spent on them are never wasted, whichever stage you are at.
2. Know your time per question
| Test | Questions | Time | Seconds per question |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prelims Reasoning | 40 | 25 minutes | 37.5 |
| Prelims Quantitative Aptitude | 40 | 20 minutes | 30 |
| Mains Reasoning | 40 | 30 minutes | 45 |
| Mains Quantitative Aptitude | 40 | 30 minutes | 45 |
| Mains Language | 40 | 30 minutes | 45 |
| Mains General Awareness | 40 | 15 minutes | 22.5 |
| Mains Computer Knowledge | 40 | 15 minutes | 22.5 |
(Arithmetic from the scheme.) The tests are separately timed. Time saved in one test cannot be spent in another, and you cannot go back to a test once its time is over.
Thirty seconds a question for arithmetic and data interpretation is less than most people need. So the Prelims paper is not designed to be finished. It rewards the candidate who can see, in a few seconds, which questions to do now, which to do if time remains and which to leave. That sorting skill is trained only by timed practice.
Our suggestion for the order inside a test: start with the questions that are short and independent (simplification, series, inequalities, syllogism), then take sets where one piece of reading answers several questions (a data table, a seating puzzle), and keep long word problems for the end.
3. Decide when to guess
The penalty is one fourth of the marks for a wrong answer, and the handout says each Prelims question has five options.
- A blind guess among five options: one chance in five of +1, four chances in five of -0.25. The expected value is zero (arithmetic).
- If you can rule out one option, the expected value of a guess becomes slightly positive, about +0.06. Rule out two and it is about +0.17.
- Four wrong answers cancel one right answer.
So the rule we suggest is simple. Never guess blind. Guess only when you have ruled out at least one option for a reason, and prefer two. Watch for the option "Other than those given as options", which appears in the official samples: it removes the comfort of picking the closest number.
Because there is a minimum for each test, do not let a risky run of guesses in your weaker test pull it below the line.
4. A four-phase plan
We do not give a number of months, because that depends on where you start and how many hours you have. Move to the next phase when you meet the exit test, not when the calendar says so.
Phase 1: foundation. Build the basics without a timer. For Quantitative Aptitude: tables, squares, fractions to percentages, and the standard methods for percentage, ratio, averages, interest, time and work, and speed. For Reasoning: the notation for inequalities and syllogisms, and a fixed way of drawing each puzzle type. Exit test: you can solve a standard question on every topic in our working list correctly, however slowly.
Phase 2: topic practice. Take one topic at a time and practise it in timed sets of 10 to 15 questions. Record accuracy and time. Exit test: about 85% accuracy at the pace in section 2 on the topics you have chosen as your "do now" pile.
Phase 3: sectional timing. Sit one full test at a time under the real clock: 40 Reasoning questions in 25 minutes, or 40 Quantitative Aptitude questions in 20. This is where you learn selection. Exit test: your score in each test is stable across five attempts, and neither test is far behind the other.
Phase 4: full mocks. Sit the whole 45-minute paper in one go, at the hour your shift is likely to run, without a calculator, with rough paper only. One mock and one full analysis is worth more than three mocks without analysis.
5. Subject tactics
Reasoning
- Puzzles and seating arrangements usually come as sets. A set you crack gives several marks; a set you misread costs several minutes. Read the whole set once before drawing.
- Do the single-step questions (inequality, syllogism, coding, direction, ranking, alphabet tests) first. The official samples are all of this short kind.
- Fix one notation for each type and never change it under pressure.
Quantitative Aptitude
- Calculation speed is the base. There is no calculator in the hall, so practise simplification and approximation daily until they are routine.
- The official samples include a table-based data set. In data interpretation, read the headings and units first, and take the direct questions before the multi-step ones.
- Learn to leave. A long word problem that takes two minutes costs you four other questions at 30 seconds each (arithmetic).
Mains tests
- General Awareness is 40 marks in 15 minutes. You either know an answer or you do not, so it is the fastest test to score in if you have read steadily. Build a daily habit of 20 to 30 minutes of current affairs with banking and rural-economy news. The rural angle is our suggestion, drawn from the nature of the job.
- Computer Knowledge is 40 questions for only 20 marks. Cover the basics once, revise from short notes, and do not let it take time from the 50-mark tests.
- Language: choose English or Hindi by testing yourself on both in timed sets, then stick with one.
6. Use the Prelims to Mains gap well
The IBPS calendar puts Prelims on 21 and 22 November 2026 and Mains on 20 December 2026, and the notification places the Prelims result in December 2026 or January 2027. These dates are tentative. The gap is about four weeks, and you will not know your result for part of it.
Our suggestion: assume you have qualified and start Mains work the day after Prelims. Keep Reasoning and Quantitative Aptitude warm with one sectional a day, and give the larger share of time to General Awareness, the language test and Computer Knowledge, since those are new. If you are reading this before Prelims, begin the daily current affairs habit now.
7. The interview
The interview carries 100 marks and 20% of the final score. The minimum is 40%, or 35% for SC, ST, OBC and PwBD candidates. Candidates called are at most three times the vacancies in each State.
- One Mains mark is worth 0.4 of a final point and one interview mark 0.2 (arithmetic). Mains carries more weight, but an interview below the minimum removes you from the list whatever your Mains score.
- Prepare the documents early: the degree with the result dated on or before 21 September 2026, the category certificate in the prescribed format, and a No Objection Certificate if you work for a government body.
- Local language proficiency is an eligibility condition. If you did not study the State's language in Class VIII or above, the notification allows six months after joining to acquire it; start earlier.
- Our suggestion on content: know your graduation subject, your State's rural economy, what a Regional Rural Bank does, and why you want the job. The notification does not describe interview topics.
8. A weekly mock-analysis routine
After every mock, tag each lost mark with one of five causes.
- Did not know: I had no method. Fix: go back to the topic.
- Knew but slow: I solved it but took too long. Fix: timed sets on that type.
- Silly error: calculation or reading mistake. Fix: write the step you skipped.
- Wrong selection: I spent time on a hard question and missed easy ones. Fix: practise the first-pass, second-pass order.
- Bad guess: I guessed and lost marks. Fix: only guess after elimination (section 3).
Count the tags each week. The largest tag is next week's work. Check each test separately, because the cut-off is applied to each. Compare your percentile, not just your marks: on Pareeksha every candidate in a cohort sits the same fixed paper, so the percentile shows where you stand on identical questions. See how it works.
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 and topic-wise practice. See the banking test series.
What this page does not have
- A target score. IBPS has not published a cut-off for this cycle, and we could not open an official cut-off document for the previous one. See cut-offs.
- A fixed number of months or hours. It depends on your starting point; use the exit tests instead.
- Book or coaching recommendations. We do not name publishers or institutes.
- Official guidance on interview questions. The notification gives the marks and the minimum, not the content.
Related: Syllabus · Exam pattern · Cut-offs