IBPS Clerk Complete Guide: Eligibility, Pattern & Salary

IBPS Clerk recruits the clerical cadre — Customer Service Associates — for India's public-sector banks. It is a popular graduate-level banking job with steady pay, more localised postings than the officer cadre, and no interview, which makes it a favourite for those who want a balanced bank job.

This guide covers eligibility, the two-stage exam, the language test, the salary and how selection works. As with IBPS PO, the State Bank of India runs its own separate clerk exam. Section marks and pay change with each notification, so confirm against the official notification on ibps.in.

What is IBPS Clerk?

IBPS Clerk is the Common Recruitment Process for the clerk / Customer Service Associate cadre in participating public-sector banks (the list varies each cycle). SBI conducts its own separate clerk (Junior Associate) exam.

Eligibility

• Education: a bachelor's degree in any discipline from a recognised university.
• Age: generally 20–28 years, with standard category relaxations.
• Computer literacy is required, and you must know the official language of the state/UT you apply for (checked via a Language Proficiency Test).

Exam pattern

IBPS Clerk has two objective stages and no interview. All objective tests carry a penalty of 0.25 mark per wrong answer.

• Prelims (qualifying only): 100 questions, 100 marks, 1 hour with sectional timing — English (30), Numerical Ability (35) and Reasoning Ability (35).
• Mains: around 200 marks with sectional timing — General/Financial Awareness, General English, Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude, and Quantitative Aptitude. There is no descriptive paper.
• After the Mains, candidates take a Language Proficiency Test (LPT) in the relevant state language.

How final selection works

There is no interview for IBPS Clerk. The Prelims only screens candidates, and the final merit is based solely on the Mains score (you must also clear the Language Proficiency Test). Allotment to banks then follows merit, preference and vacancies.

Salary

An IBPS Clerk's basic pay is around ₹24,050 (some sources cite a revised basic near ₹26,730) under the current scale, within a pay band that rises over the years. With Dearness Allowance, House Rent Allowance and Transport Allowance, the starting in-hand is commonly around ₹40,000–₹42,000 a month, varying by posting city.