How to prepare for both the RRB PO and LIC AAO? Check Similar Topics

As you know, both IBPS RRB PO and LIC AAO are prestigious exams that attract thousands of candidates every year. Both offer career stability and work-life balance. Candidates from across the country apply for RRB PO, and a large number of Hindi medium candidates also apply for this exam, which increases the competition even more. On the other hand, the LIC AAO exam is not conducted every year. Therefore, whenever the vacancies are announced, there is a large number of applicants. In 2025, candidates will have a special advantage as the exam deadlines are close to each other, providing a golden opportunity for double preparation. The IBPS RRB PO 2025 notification (released on August 31, 2025) has announced 3551 vacancies for Officer Scale-I. Meanwhile, the LIC AAO 2025 notification (released on August 16, 2025) has announced 760 vacancies for Generalist and Specialist posts. The LIC AAO preliminary exam will be held on October 3, 2025, while the RRB PO preliminary exam is scheduled on November 22-23, 2025. In this article, we will guide you on how to prepare for RRB PO and LIC AAO simultaneously with a single strategy.

Overview of the Exams

Here we are providing the IBPS RRB PO and LIC AAO 2025 exam details. Candidates first check the details and align their preparation.

RRB PO Exam

The RRB PO exam, conducted by IBPS, recruits officers in regional rural banks across India. It consists of three stages: Prelims, Mains, and Interview. The Prelims are qualifying in nature, while the Mains and Interview determine the final selection. The Prelims exam lasts 45 minutes, while the Mains exam goes on for 2 hours. There is also a negative marking of 0.25 marks for every wrong answer.

For 2025, the Prelims exam is scheduled for November 22–23, and the Mains exam on December 28.

Salary: IBPS RRB Officer Scale-I basic pay is ₹48,480 per month, with additional perks like DA, HRA, and medical benefits. However, the posting is usually in rural or semi-urban areas.

LIC AAO Exam

The LIC AAO exam recruits candidates for administrative roles in India’s largest insurance company. It also has three phases: Prelims, Mains, and Interview. The Prelims are objective and qualifying, where English is not counted for merit. The Mains includes both objective and descriptive questions, and the Interview checks personality and domain knowledge.

The exam focuses more on insurance and financial markets. The Prelims are 60 minutes, while the Mains is 2.5 hours long. Unlike RRB PO, there is no negative marking, which means you can attempt every question without fear of penalty.

For 2025, the Prelims exam will be held on October 3, and the Mains exam on November 8.

Salary: LIC AAO basic pay of Rs. 88635/ per month. Along with perks like HRA, DA, and travel benefits, the posting is usually in urban or metro cities, offering a better work-life balance.

Syllabus Comparison for RRB PO Exam and LIC AAO

As you know, for the LIC AAO Prelims exam, only 20 days are left. So, at this stage, you should mainly focus on Reasoning and Quant, because these two sections will decide your score. The English section is only qualifying in LIC AAO, so you need to spend so much time so as to clear the cut off, which is only qualifying in nature.

On the other side, in the RRB PO Prelims, there is no English section at all. The exam pattern is quite similar, and the overall level of questions is also almost the same. This means if you prepare well for LIC AAO Prelims, you won’t face much difficulty while appearing for the RRB PO Prelims later.

When it comes to the Mains exam, most of the topics are again similar in both exams. The only differences are:

• LIC AAO Mains includes Insurance & Financial Market Awareness and an English descriptive section.
  
• RRB PO Mains, on the other hand, has General Awareness (with banking focus) but no descriptive English.
  

So, if you prepare seriously for the LIC AAO Mains, it will automatically cover almost the entire RRB PO Mains syllabus. You will just need to fine-tune a few topics separately.

Section	RRB PO (Prelims + Mains)	LIC AAO (Prelims + Mains)	Similarities/Differences
Reasoning Ability	Puzzles, Seating Arrangement, Syllogism, Blood Relations, Coding-Decoding, Inequalities, Alphanumeric Series (40Q in Prelims, 40Q in Mains).	Similar topics: Puzzles, Input-Output, Data Sufficiency, Logical Reasoning (35Q in Prelims, 30Q in Mains).	Highly similar; RRB has more questions in Mains.
Quantitative Aptitude	Simplification, Data Interpretation, Quadratic Equations, Number Series, Profit & Loss, Time & Work, Ratio & Proportion (40Q in Prelims, 40Q in Mains).	Number Series, Approximation, Arithmetic Problems, Data Sufficiency (35Q in Prelims, 30Q in Mains).	In the LIC AAO Mains Exam, the topic is Data Analysis & Interpretation
English Language	Reading Comprehension, Cloze Test, Error Detection, Para Jumbles, Vocabulary (40Q in Mains; Hindi option available).	Comprehension, Grammar, Vocabulary, Sentence Improvement (30Q in Prelims – qualifying, plus descriptive in Mains).	Common grammar and comprehension; LIC has descriptive essays/letters, RRB offers Hindi alternative.
General Awareness	Current Affairs, Banking Awareness, Static GK, Economy (40Q in Mains).	Current Affairs, GK, Financial Awareness (30Q in Mains).	Overlap in current affairs: RRB focuses on BA, Statoc GK and Economy, LIC on the insurance sector.
Unique Sections	Computer Knowledge (40Q in Mains: Basics, MS Office, Internet, Hardware).	Insurance & Financial Market Awareness (30Q in Mains: Policies, IRDAI, Market Trends); Descriptive English in Mains.	RRB: Computer-focused; LIC: Insurance-specific with writing tasks.

The common sections (Reasoning, Quant, English, and GA) constitute about 70-80% of both exams, making joint preparation efficient. Differences lie in specialised knowledge: RRB requires computer basics, while LIC demands insurance awareness and descriptive skills.

Conclusion

The syllabus for LIC AAO and RRB PO is mostly same. So, if you are preparing for LIC AAO, you can also apply for IBPS RRB PO. The last date to fill the form is 21st September 2025. At the Prelims level, the exam pattern is almost the same, so your preparation will go hand in hand.
For the Mains exam, you will just need to boost your preparation a little more. The best way to do this is by practising daily mock tests, topic-wise tests, and sectional tests. Along with this, to give your preparation the final boost, you can also take our Rank Booster Mock Tests, which will help you improve speed, accuracy, and confidence before the exam.

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