This exam is held by the Central Recruitment Board (State Bank Group) for the recruitment of probationary officers in State Bank of India (SBI) and its associate banks such as State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Indore, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Saurashtra and State Bank of Travancore. Those who qualify are taken on as probationary officers for two years of intensive training. Towards the end of their probation period, they are subjected to a screening process. Those who achieve the pre-determined standards are confirmed and promoted to the next grade (officer middle management grade II) while the others are confirmed as officer junior management grade I.

Notifications for the State Bank of India Probationary Officers exam appear in all leading newspapers and the Employment News. The application kit can be obtained by paying Rs 250 at any of the SBI branches mentioned in the advertisement. The kit contains an application form that can be scanned, a pre-addressed envelope in which the application form should be sent after affixing postage, details to help fill in the form as well as information about the written exam and an “acquaint yourself” booklet. Application forms without a photograph and / or signature will be rejected. The filled-in form should be sent by ordinary post to Post Box no. 7731, Borivali (West), Mumbai-400092.

Eligibility

Candidates should be graduates in any discipline, or an equivalent, with a minimum of 60 per cent marks. A certificate in computer applications from a reputed institute, is also essential. Applicants should not be below 21 years or above 30 years of age as on July 1 of the year of examination.

Entrance exam

The exam is usually held in November in two phases at various centres all over the country.

Pattern of exam

The first phase consists of an objective-type and a descriptive-type exam. The objective-type exam has questions on reasoning, quantitative aptitude, general awareness and English. There is negative marking for wrong answers. The descriptive-type exam has a 45-minute paper set either in English or Hindi that measures a candidate’s comprehension and analysis of situations, generation of unique ideas as well as language ability. The descriptive answer booklets of only those candidates are evaluated who pass all the tests in the objective-type exam individually and score a minimum of 30 per cent.

Those who qualify in the first phase are called for a group discussion and interview. Final selection is based on the aggregate marks obtained in the written test and the interview.

How to prepare

There are a number of books and correspondence courses available for bank preparatory examinations. There is, however, no substitute for self-study and self-preparation. Regular studies, systematic preparations, self-confidence and regular practice are required to pass this exam.

The test of quantitative aptitude measures how fast and accurately you can handle computation, reasoning and interpretation of tables and graphs. You could prepare from Quantitative Aptitude by Abhijit Guha and Objective Question Bank (Mathematics) by R.K. Gupta and J.P. Arya.

The test of reasoning gauges your thinking and reasoning aptitude through various kinds of questions. To prepare for this section, go through the Test of Reasoning by R.S. Agarwal and books by Tata McGraw Hill publishers.

The section on English assesses your proficiency of the language through questions on grammar, vocabulary, sentence completion, synonyms, antonyms and comprehension passages. You can practise comprehension from Barron’s or Princeton’s GMAT guide as well as develop techniques of speed reading. For English usage, revise the fundamentals of grammar from A.S. Hornby’s Guide to Patterns and Usage in English.

To tackle the section on general knowledge, you need to be aware of current issues and recent incidents of importance. You should also have an awareness of people and events, past and present, from every walk of life.

Read the newspapers regularly and go through magazines such as CSR, Competition Master and Banking Services Chronicle as well as the CSR Yearbook and the Manorama Yearbook to keep yourselves updated.

Sample test paper

Reasoning
Choose the pair of words that have the same relationship as driver : driving
a) carpenter : wood
b) garden : plants
c) counsellor : counselling
d) psychologist : teaching

English
Since people cannot learn through legitimate channels all that they are anxious to learn, ________
a) they resort to ways and means without any ethical or moral
considerations.
b) they join academics in order to quench their thirst for learning.
c) they adopt formal ways and means to achieve what they want to.
d) these social service organisations provide them the required input of knowledge.

Maths
The equation b2 + 5 > 9b + 12 is satisfied if:
a) b > 9 or b < 1
b) b > 9 or b < 0
c) b = 10 or b = -1
d) b > 8 or b < 0
e) b > 9 or b < -1

General Awareness
Which community had been agitating for ST status recently ?
a) Yadavs
b) Thakurs
c) Gurjars
d) none of these