SBI PO 2026: 1,500 Vacancies, Interviews From 18 November

Vacancies by category

Unlike the clerical recruitment, Probationary Officer vacancies are not divided by state. There is one national pool, and a selected candidate may be posted anywhere in India.

The advertisement states that these vacancies are provisional and may vary with the Bank's actual requirement. Reservation for persons with benchmark disabilities is horizontal, meaning it is counted inside the category totals above rather than added to them.

Eligibility: age, degree and number of chances

Age. Not below 21 and not above 30 years as on 1 April 2026 — born not earlier than 2 April 1996 and not later than 1 April 2005, both days inclusive. Upper age relaxation is 3 years for OBC (non-creamy layer), 5 years for SC/ST, and 10, 13 or 15 years for persons with benchmark disabilities depending on category.

Qualification. Graduation in any discipline from a recognised university, or an equivalent qualification recognised by the Central Government. Final-year students could apply provisionally, provided they can produce proof of passing on or before 30 September 2026 if called for interview.

Number of chances. This is the rule that sets SBI PO apart from most bank exams, and the one long-term aspirants must track.

Appearing in the Main examination counts as a chance. Appearing only in the Preliminary examination does not. A candidate who has already used the maximum permissible chances is not eligible to apply.

Phase I: Preliminary examination

An online objective test of 100 marks lasting one hour, in three sections with separate timings.

There is no sectional cut-off in the Preliminary examination. A category-wise merit list is drawn on aggregate marks, and approximately ten times the number of vacancies in each category is shortlisted for the Main examination. One quarter of the marks assigned to a question is deducted for each wrong answer, in both the Preliminary and the Main objective tests.

Phase II: Main examination

The Main examination has two parts taken in one sitting: an objective test of 200 marks, followed immediately by a descriptive test of 30 marks that is typed on the computer.

The descriptive paper asks for an email (one of two options), a situation analysis (one of two options), and either a report or a precis. Unlike the Preliminary examination, the Main examination has sectional cut-offs: a candidate must reach a minimum qualifying score in each of the four objective tests and in the descriptive paper individually, as well as a minimum aggregate decided by the Bank.

Look at how the marks are spread. Reasoning and Data Analysis carry 60 marks each from only 40 and 30 questions, so each question there is worth 1.5 to 2 marks. English Language carries just 20 marks from 40 questions. Time spent polishing English beyond the qualifying level buys far less than the same time spent on data interpretation.

Phase III and how the final merit is built

Phase III consists of a psychometric test, group exercises and a personal interview. Candidates have to qualify in Phase II and Phase III separately.

Three quarters of the final mark is therefore decided in a single three-and-a-half-hour sitting. The interview stage can move a candidate up or down, but it cannot rescue a weak Main examination score.

For the 2026-27 cycle SBI's notice gives tentative dates of 31 October 2026 for the psychometric test and 18 November 2026 onwards for group exercises and interviews, with call letters carrying the exact date and time.

Salary, bond and probation

The starting basic pay is Rs 48,480 plus four advance increments, in the scale 48480-2000/7-62480-2340/2-67160-2680/7-85920 applicable to Junior Management Grade Scale-I. On top of basic pay an officer is eligible for dearness allowance, house rent allowance, city compensatory allowance, provident fund, the National Pension System, leave fare concession, medical facility and lease rental facility, under the rules in force.

The advertisement puts the approximate cost-to-company at the initial scale at Rs 21.97 lakh a year at the Mumbai centre. That is a CTC figure for one of the most expensive postings; take-home pay and the total at a smaller centre are lower.

SBI PO compared with SBI Clerk in the same year

Both recruitments ran in 2026 and many candidates sit both. The two posts differ in almost every rule that matters.

Sources: State Bank of India — Recruitment of Probationary Officers, Advertisement No. CRPD/PO/2026-27/09 (detailed advertisement); SBI corrigendum to the same advertisement dated 1 July 2026; SBI notice on tentative dates for psychometric test, group exercise and interviews; SBI Careers — Current Openings (status checked 11 November 2026). Junior Associate figures in the comparison table are from SBI Advertisement No. CRPD/CR/2026-27/17.