The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection, IBPS, is conducting the IBPS PO Prelims Exam 2026 from August 22, 2026, to August 23, 2026, in four shifts. The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th of the exam on August 22, 2026 and the Day 2 exam on August 23, 2026, have also been completed at multiple exam centres across India. The IBPS PO Prelims Exam Analysis 2026 will help the candidates understand the level of difficulty of the questions, the total number of good attempts and other details. The exam will have a total of 100 questions for 100 marks from subjects like English Language, Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning Ability. The exam has to be completed within 60 minutes.
The IBPS PO Exam Analysis 2026 given below will be updated after each shift is completed based on the candidates' feedback and the type of questions asked in the exam.
IBPS PO Prelims Exam Analysis 2026: Shift-Wise Difficulty Level, Good Attempts & Questions Asked
Those candidates who will be appearing for the next three shifts can check the IBPS PO Prelims difficulty level for all the shifts in the table given below for the exam conducted on August 22, 2026:-
|
Shift
|
Quantitative Aptitude
|
English Language
|
Reasoning Ability
|
Difficulty Level
|
|
1
|
17-20
|
22-27
|
21-23
|
Easy to Moderate
|
|
2
|
16-20
|
25-27
|
19-27
|
Easy to Moderate
|
|
3
|
21-25
|
24-27
|
22-26
|
Moderate
|
|
4
|
19-23
|
21-25
|
21-24 | Easy to Moderate |
|
Total
|
83-88
|
Moderate |
| Shift | Quantitative Aptitude | English Language | Reasoning Ability | Difficulty Level |
| 1 | 17-22 | 20-23 | 21-24 | Moderate |
| 2 | 16-20 | 21-24 | 22-27 | Moderate |
| Total | 64-73 | Moderate |
Candidates should note that the difficulty level of each shift of the exam may vary slightly between shifts. Candidates can use the shift-wise analysis given above to understand the overall paper pattern.
Important Points to Note For IBPS PO Prelims Exam 2026
For those candidates who will appear in the upcoming shifts of the IBPS PO Prelims exam, which is being conducted from August 22 to 23, 2026, should note a few important points of the IBPS PO Prelims Exam 2026:-
Shift 1: August 22, 2026
- The IBPS PO Prelims Exam 2026 is opening in the following sequence: English, Quantitative Aptitude, and Reasoning Ability
- Candidates should also note that in the first shift of the exam, no questions from syllogism were asked.
- Questions from topics like month-based puzzles and variables, box-based puzzles, comparison puzzles, parallel rows, selection-based, blood relations, inequalities, direction sense, pair formation, meaningful words, and odd one out were asked in the reasoning ability section.
- From the English Language section, questions on synonyms and antonyms, word swap, direct questions, filler, sentence rearrangement, error detection, cloze test, and word replacement, sentence rearrangement were asked.
- In the Quantitative Aptitude section, questions were asked from missing number series, approximation, missing number series, Data Interpretation, arithmetic, etc.
As per the initial candidate feedback, the candidates were able to attempt 62-72 questions in the exam, and the difficulty level of the exam was between easy and moderate.
Shift 2 August 22, 2026
- In the reasoning section of the IBPS PO Prelims Exam 2026, Shift 2, questions were asked on puzzles based on floor and variables, and month and date; around 5 questions were asked from selection-based puzzles. Questions on circular-based puzzles were also asked. Questions from syllogisms were asked; questions from inequalities, and around 3 questions from blood relations were asked.
- In the reasoning ability section, questions were also asked from pair formation, word-based questions and questions were also asked on meaningful words.
- In the Quantitative Aptitude Section of the IBPS PO Prelims Exam 2026, questions were asked from wrong number series (around 3 questions), questions from approximation, questions from double-line Data Interpretation topics, and questions on table-related Data Interpretation were also asked. Questions from caselet DI were also asked in this section.
- In the IBPS PO Prelims Exam 2026, questions in the English section were asked from reading comprehension, antonyms and synonyms, and around 1 filler question in the reading comprehension. Questions from parajumbles were also asked, questions from error detection, phrasal replacement, questions from waord swap.
As per the candidate's feedback, the candidates were able to attempt 63 to 80 questions in the exam, and the difficulty level of the exam was between easy and moderate and as compared to the first shift, the paper was lengthy.
Shift 3 August 22, 2026
- In the reasoning section of the IBPS PO Prelims Exam 2026, questions were asked from topics like box-based puzzles, floor-based puzzles, circular seating arrangements, a selection based puzzles were also asked in this section.
- Questions were also asked from blood relations, inequalities, syllogism, direction and distance, pair formation, and odd one out in the reasoning ability section of the exam.
- In the quantitative aptitude section of the IBPS PO Prelims Exam 2026, questions were from topics like missing number, tabular and line mixed data interpretation, and approximation. In the Data Interpretation questions, the questions were one-liners. Questions from double-line DI were also asked; questions from caselet DI, other questions from arithmetic were also asked, and questions from mensuration were also asked in the 3rd shift exam.
- In the English section of the IBPS PO Prelims Exam 2026, questions were asked from reading comprehension, with questions based on synonyms, direct, and fillers; questions from cloze test, word rearrangement, phrase replacement, error detection, and column-based questions