Is there Sectional Timing in IBPS SO?

The IBPS SO exam is conducted annually for the recruitment of various Specialist Officers. This exam is conducted in three stages: Prelims, Mains, and Interview. Last year, around 896 vacancies were released overall, including each post. This year, we are also expecting a larger number of vacancies with attractive salary benefits. Candidates who pass the eligibility criteria can apply for IBPS SO when the online application starts. Three core subjects in banking exams, that is, Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning Ability, and English Language, are asked in the Prelims exam, except for the Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari posts. Sectional timings are provided in the Prelims exam. And the Mains exam has only one section, that is the Professional Knowledge section. In this blog, we are covering whether there is a sectional timing in the IBPS SO exam.

IBPS SO 2025 Exam Overview

First, know about the basic details of the exam. The basic details cover the institute name, exam name, participating banks, salary, selection process, exam dates, exam medium, exam mode, etc. Below, a table covers all these details in a systematic manner.

Institute Name	Institute of Banking Personnel
Exam Name	IBPS SO (Specialist Officer Exam)
Posts	1. IT Officer (Scale I) 2. Agricultural Field Officer (Scale I) 3. Marketing Officer (Scale I) 4. Law Officer (Scale I) 5. Rajbhasha Adhikari (Scale I) 6. HR/Personnel Officer (Scale I)
Vacancy	To be updated as soon as notification is released.
Eligibility	Graduate or Post Graduate in Specialized Field
Online Application Dates	To be Released Soon
Exam Dates	Prelims- 30th August 2025 Mains- 9th November 2025
Selection Process	Prelims, Mains, and Interview
Salary	In-hand salary is approximately Rs. 56,000
Official Website	@ibps.in
PracticeMock Telegram Group Link	https://t.me/Practice_Mock

Is there Sectional Timing in IBPS SO Prelims?

Yes, there is a sectional timing in the IBPS SO Prelims exam. The Prelims exam contains 3 sections, each of 40 minutes duration. That means a sectional timing of 40 minutes is applied in the IBPS SO Prelims exam. You need to focus on solving questions in a particular section for the 40-minute duration. After the duration for one section ends, you can start attempting questions of the other section. The benefit of sectional timing is that you will not spend more time on a particular section. Your timing is equally divided for each section. The IBPS SO Mains exam has only 1 section, which is the Professional Knowledge section, of 45 minutes duration, and 60 minutes for the Rajbhasha Adhikari. It is recommended that the candidates start preparing for the Mains exam as well, along with the Prelims exam preparation. Therefore, it is important to prepare for each section well and solve questions from all three subject topics. The IBPS SO Prelims exam pattern is provided below:

For Specialist Officers (Agriculture Field Officer, Marketing Officer (Scale I), HR/Personnel Officer, IT Officer Scale I

Section	No. of Questions	Total Marks	Duration
Reasoning	50	50	40 minutes
English Language	50	25	40 minutes
Quantitative Aptitude	50	50	40 minutes
Total	150	125

Note: The Law Officer Scale 1 and Rajbhasha Adhikari Scale 1 Posts have a different pattern for Prelims. They have General Awareness in place of Quantitative Aptitude.

Section	No. of Questions	Total Marks	Duration
Reasoning	50	50	40 minutes
English Language	50	25	40 minutes
General Awareness with Special Reference to Banking Industry	50	50	40 minutes
Total	150	125

Is there Sectional Cut-off in IBPS SO?

Yes, there is a sectional cut-off in the IBPS SO exam. You need to score above the cut-off marks in each section. Therefore, speed and accuracy must be maintained in Quant, Reasoning, and English as well. Below, we have provided an analysis of Previous Year (2022-23) sectional cut-off in IBPS SO Prelims exam for IT Officer Scale 1, Law Officer/Rajbhasha Adhikari Scale 1, and Agriculture Field Officer Scale 1.

Post	Section	Max Marks	Sectional Cut-off (2022–23) (approximate)
IT Officer / HR / Marketing Officer – Section 1	English Language	25	6.5 – 9
– Section 2	Reasoning Ability	50	11 – 16
– Section 3	Quantitative Aptitude	50	8.5 – 12
Law Officer / Rajbhasha Adhikari – Section1	English Language	25	5 – 7.5
– Section 2	Reasoning Ability	50	9 – 14
– Section 3	General Awareness (Banking)	50	10 – 13
Agriculture Field Officer (AFO) – Section 1	English Language	25	5.5 – 8
– Section 2	Reasoning Ability	50	10 – 14
– Section 3	Quantitative Aptitude	50	9 – 12

IBPS SO Preparation Tips

Check below the preparation tips provided in brief for success in IBPS SO exam:

1. Maintaining Consistency: Regularity and consistency in study habits lead to better retention and understanding.
2. Staying Updated with Current Affairs: Daily reading of newspapers and monthly current affairs magazines is essential.
3. Regular Revision: Frequent revision helps in retaining information and improves recall during exams.
4. Mock Tests Practice: Practicing mock tests provides you with a real scenario of where you stand in your preparation.
5. Topic Tests Practice: Practicing questions (time-bound) from each topic of the syllabus will surely help you improve your speed and accuracy.

Summary

This article covers an overview of the IBPS SO exam. This blog is mainly about the sectional timing in the IBPS SO exam. The answer is yes, there is a sectional timing in the IBPS SO exam in both the Prelims as well as Mains exams. Also, we have covered the sectional cut-off of the various posts. This will provide you with an idea of how you can level up your preparation and start focusing on practicing questions through time-bound tests. At last, a brief preparation tip for success in the IBPS SO exam is covered.

Our Related Articles on IBPS SO

IBPS SO Salary	IBPS SO Cut Off
IBPS SO Syllabus	IBPS SO Previous Year Question Paper
IBPS SO notification 2025	IBPS SO Study Plan

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Is there Sectional Timing in IBPS SO?: FAQs