As the SBI PO Prelims Exam has been successfully conducted, students who have appeared in the prelims or are confident about their attempts are now turning their focus towards the Mains Exam. To level up your preparation, it’s important to know the most scoring and high-weightage topics in each section of the SBI PO Mains 2025. In this blog, we’ve covered the complete Mains exam pattern along with a section-wise topic weightage analysis based on previous years’ trends. This will help you to understand the important topics and plan your preparation accordingly.
The SBI PO Mains Exam includes two parts an Objective Test and a Descriptive Test. The Objective Test tests your skills in four main areas: Reasoning & Computer Aptitude, Data Analysis & Interpretation, General Awareness / Economy/ Banking Knowledge, and English Language. The Descriptive Test focuses on Report Writing, Emails, and Precis/Situation Analysis to test your communication and decision-making abilities.
| Name of Test (Objective) | No. of Questions | Maximum Marks | Duration |
| Reasoning & Computer Aptitude | 40 | 60 | 50 minutes |
| Data Analysis & Interpretation | 30 | 60 | 45 minutes |
| General Awareness / Economy/ Banking Knowledge | 60 | 60 | 45 minutes |
| English Language | 40 | 20 | 40 minutes |
| Total (Objective) | 170 | 200 | 3 Hours |
| Descriptive Test : Emails, Reports, Situation Analysis & Precis Writing | 3* | 50 | 30 Minutes |
| Grand Total | – | 250 | 3.5 Hours |
**Please note: Some important details about the Descriptive test.
Let’s go through the section-wise most scoring and frequently asked topics based on trend analysis from 2020 to 2024.
In the Reasoning & Computer Aptitude section, the most dominant topic over the years has been Puzzles and Seating Arrangement. It contributes around 20–25 marks alone. This includes circular, floor-based, box, and parallel seating arrangements. Practicing these regularly can help you boost your score significantly. Next in line is Logical Reasoning, which includes statement-assumption, conclusion, and cause-and-effect type questions. Machine Input-Output and Coded Direction are also recurring topics with 3–5 questions each. Additionally, Data Sufficiency appears frequently, testing your conceptual clarity. As for the Computer Aptitude portion, although not very frequent, when asked, it includes logic-based questions involving flowcharts, conditions, or simple input/output rules.
| Topics | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Puzzles & Seating Arrangement | 20 | 21-25 | 15 | 20 | 25-27 |
| Logical Reasoning | 8 | 7-10 | 5 | 5-8 | 5 |
| Data Sufficiency | 2 | – | 2-4 | 2-5 | 3-4 |
| Coding-Decoding | – | – | – | 2 | 0-2 |
| Coded Direction | 5 | 3 | 1-2 | – | 3 |
| Machine Input-Output | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5-8 | 3 |
| Miscellaneous | 1 | 1-7 | 3-5 | 1-5 | 1-5 |
Most Scoring Topics:
The Quant section is heavily dominated by Data Interpretation (DI), which includes tabular DI, line graphs, caselets, and pie charts. On average, 18–24 questions are asked from DI every year. Arithmetic Word Problems are also commonly asked and cover topics like profit-loss, time-work, partnership, and percentages. Quantity Comparison, Number Series, and Quadratic Equations appear frequently and are easy to solve with regular practice. Questions from Data Sufficiency have also been included in recent years, so working on logical application in quantitative concepts is essential.
| Topics | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
| DI + Caselet | 20 | 18-24 | 14 | 18-20 | 19-21 |
| Arithmetic | 5 | 3-6 | 8 | 6-8 | – |
| Data Sufficiency | – | 3-4 | 3 | 3-4 | 4-5 |
| Quantity Comparison | 2 | 3-4 | – | 5 | 3 |
| Number Series | 2 | 3-5 | 2-3 | 3-4 | – |
| Quadratic Equation | 2 | 4-5 | 4-5 | – | – |
| Miscellaneous | 1 | 3-6 | 1-3 | 1-4 | 1-3 |
Most Scoring Topics:
The English section in SBI PO Mains focuses more on comprehension and analytical reading than grammar alone. The most frequently asked topic is Reading Comprehension, which carries around 14–18 marks. The passages are mostly editorial-based, covering economics, social issues, or finance-related topics. Other regular topics include Error Spotting, Sentence Rearrangement, and Cloze Test, all of which check your grammar, sentence formation, and vocabulary usage. In recent years, Word Usage, Word Swap, and Match the Column have also been included to test contextual understanding.
| Topics | 2024 | 2023 | 2022-23 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Reading Comprehension | 18 | 14-15 | 16 | 10-13 | 13-14 |
| Error Spotting & Sentence Rearrangement | 2 | 4-6 | 2-5 | 5 | 4 |
| Cloze Test | 5 | – | – | 5 | 7 |
| Word Swap | 5 | – | 2-4 | 3-5 | 0-5 |
| Phrase Replacement | 4 | – | – | 5 | 4 |
| Match the Column | 3 | 3-5 | – | 5 | 4 |
| Miscellaneous | 2 | 2-3 | 3 | 1-3 | 1-2 |
Most Scoring Topics:
The Descriptive Paper in SBI PO Mains is an important part of the selection process, carrying 50 marks. It tests your writing skills . It’s for 30 minutes and requires candidates to present ideas, logically and concisely. Topics are usually based on banking, economy, current affairs, or social issues. To score well, candidates must practice writing structured essays with a strong introduction, body, and conclusion.
| Category | Examples |
| Banking & Economy | Digital Banking, Inflation, UPI, RBI Guidelines |
| Current Affairs | Climate Change, Women’s Empowerment, Education Reforms |
| Social Topics | Unemployment, Rural Development, Cybersecurity |
| SBI-specific | SBI’s Digital Initiatives, YONO, Financial Inclusion |
To crack the SBI PO Mains 2025, you must have a topic-wise preparation strategy. So that you can analyze your strengths and start with the most scoring areas in each section. Make use of previous year papers and daily sectional tests to track progress. Focus more on Puzzles, DI, RC, and Descriptive writing, as they hold the maximum weightage. Time management and smart work will be the turning point in the selection of the Mains stage.
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| SBI PO Syllabus 2025 | SBI PO Previous Year Question Paper |
| SBI PO Salary 2025 | SBI PO Cut Off 2025 |
| SBI PO Study Plan 2025 | SBI PO Preparation Strategy 2025 |
| SBI PO Exam Pattern 2025 |
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Puzzles, Logical Reasoning, and Input-Output.
Reasoning & Data Analysis carry the highest marks (60 each).
Practice writing daily. Focus on current affairs and banking topics.
Yes, each section has a separate time limit.
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