IBPS PO/MT Mains 2026 Free Guess Paper

IBPS changed the PO Mains structure for the CRP PO/MT-XVI cycle. The objective paper now has 170 questions, not 145. The Mains exam falls on October 4, 2026, so this change reaches candidates with little runway to adjust their plan.

TL;DR

• The 2026 Mains objective paper carries 170 questions for 200 marks, up from 145 questions.
• The descriptive paper now tests Essay and Comprehension. IBPS removed Letter Writing.
• A Personality Test now sits before the Interview. It is qualifying and does not add marks.
• Final merit still uses an 80:20 split between Mains and Interview scores.
• Sectional cutoffs in Mains stay low. In 2024, the General category cleared Reasoning with just 5.75 out of 60. The real contest happens on the overall score.
• Puzzles and Seating Arrangement make up 50 to 60 percent of Reasoning marks, so this single topic decides most Reasoning scores.

What Changed in the IBPS PO Mains 2026 Pattern

IBPS released the CRP PO/MT-XVI notification on July 1, 2026, for 6,715 vacancies across 11 public sector banks. Prelims ran on August 22 and 23, 2026. Mains falls on October 4, 2026.

The revised Mains objective paper has four sections.

Three changes matter most for a candidate who studied last year’s pattern. First, the question count rose across sections, so a candidate must read faster to keep pace. Second, the Awareness section absorbed Digital and Financial Awareness plus RBI circulars, so its scope grew even though its marks did not. Third, Letter Writing is gone. The descriptive test now asks for an Essay and a Comprehension-based answer only.

Each wrong answer in the objective paper still costs 0.25 marks. A blank answer costs nothing.

Reasoning: One Topic Decides the Section

Reasoning carries 60 of the 200 objective marks. Across banking exams, this is the highest single-section reasoning weightage compared with SBI PO, IBPS Clerk, or IBPS RRB.

Within Reasoning, Puzzles and Seating Arrangement account for 50 to 60 percent of the marks. A candidate who masters this one topic secures a large share of the section before touching anything else. The remaining marks split across Syllogism, Inequality, Coding-Decoding, Blood Relations, Direction Sense, Data Sufficiency, and Input-Output.

This concentration changes how a candidate should plan study time. Spreading equal hours across all Reasoning topics wastes effort. A candidate gains more by drilling linear, circular, floor, and box-based puzzles until solving speed rises, then spending lighter time on the smaller topics.

Data Analysis and Interpretation: Where the Marks Sit

DI carries 60 marks across 40 questions, tied with Reasoning for the largest section. Past papers show Tabular DI appears most often, followed by Pie Chart, Bar Graph, Line Graph, and Mixed DI sets.

A DI set usually asks four to five questions from one data table or chart. A candidate who reads the table correctly on the first pass answers most of that set correctly. Misreading the table wastes the full set, not just one question. This makes careful reading, not just calculation speed, the deciding skill in DI.

Awareness and English: Steady Scoring Zones

The Awareness section grew broader in the 2026 revision. It now names Digital and Financial Awareness and RBI circulars directly, alongside standard Banking and Economy content. A candidate should track monthly banking and economy news, not just static GK, to cover this wider scope.

English Language dropped to 20 marks for 40 questions in the revised pattern, so most questions carry less than one mark each. Reading Comprehension, Cloze Test, Error Spotting, and Para Jumbles remain the core topics. Because the per-question value is low, a candidate should not overspend time here at the cost of Reasoning or DI.

What the Cutoff Trend Tells a Candidate

Mains cutoffs out of 225 rose from 2023 to 2024 for most categories.

The overall cutoff moved up by three to six marks in one year, while sectional cutoffs stayed low. In 2024, the General category needed only 5.75 out of 60 in Reasoning and Computer Aptitude, and similarly small marks in other sections, to clear the sectional bar.

This gap between the sectional bar and the overall cutoff tells a candidate where to aim effort. Clearing each section is a low bar. Raising the total score, section by section, is the actual competition. A candidate should not stop practicing a section once the sectional cutoff feels safe.

Selection Process and What It Pays

IBPS PO selection runs through Prelims, Mains, a Personality Test, and an Interview. Only Mains and Interview scores count toward final merit, split 80:20. Prelims and the Personality Test are both qualifying stages with no marks carried forward.

A selected candidate joins as a Junior Management Grade Scale I Probationary Officer. In-hand pay after Dearness Allowance and other allowances runs roughly ₹55,000 to ₹60,000 a month in a metro posting, though the exact figure varies by bank and city. This pay band, along with pension and other bank benefits, is a common reason candidates target IBPS PO over private-sector roles at a similar entry level.

A Section-Wise Plan for the Weeks Before October 4

With the exam date fixed and the pattern now revised, a candidate benefits most from a plan built around marks, not equal time per subject.

1. Give Puzzles and Seating Arrangement the largest daily block, since this topic alone can decide the Reasoning score.
2. Practice full DI sets, not isolated questions, so table-reading speed improves alongside calculation.
3. Read one banking or economy news roundup daily to cover the widened Awareness scope.
4. Time every mock test to the new 170-question format, not the old 145-question format.
5. Write at least one Essay and one Comprehension answer under 30-minute conditions before the exam, since Letter Writing no longer appears.

Common Questions

Is the negative marking the same in Mains as in Prelims? Yes. Both stages deduct 0.25 marks for each wrong objective answer.

Does clearing the sectional cutoff guarantee a good overall rank? No. Sectional cutoffs stay low most years. The overall Mains score decides most of the merit list position.

Is Letter Writing still part of the IBPS PO Mains descriptive paper? No. The 2026 revision replaced it with an Essay and a Comprehension-based question, both under the same 25 marks and 30 minutes.

Does the Personality Test add marks to the final selection? No. It is qualifying only. Final merit still comes from Mains and Interview scores in an 80:20 split.

What is the in-hand salary after selection? A new Probationary Officer draws roughly ₹55,000 to ₹60,000 a month in-hand in a metro city, though this varies by bank and location.

What This Means Going Forward

The 2026 pattern change raises the reading and time-management load on every candidate, regardless of preparation level. A candidate who adjusts mock practice to the 170-question format now avoids the shock of running out of time on exam day. Because the real competition sits at the overall cutoff, not the sectional one, the highest return still comes from Puzzles, Seating Arrangement, and full DI sets. A candidate who commits the remaining days to these high-weightage areas enters the October 4 exam with a plan built on how the marks are actually distributed, not on habit from an older pattern.