Banking · Official Source: State Bank of India
SBI Clerk Mains 2026
Strategy, previous-year cutoff analysis & full test series built from 10-year paper patterns.
⚖️ Official Marking Scheme
- Positive: 1 per correct.
- Negative: 0.25 per wrong.
- Rules: +1.0 for correct, -0.25 for wrong.
- Duration: 160 min · 4 sections.
⏱️ Sectional Breakdown
General/Financial Awareness50 Qs · 35 min
General English40 Qs · 35 min
Quantitative Aptitude50 Qs · 45 min
Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude50 Qs · 45 min
🎯 Exam-Cracking Intelligence & Trend Analysis
📖 Open Full Textbook & Study Notes →SBI Clerk Mains 2026 — Master Strategy & Topic Weightage
Compiled from 10-year official paper patterns and previous-year shift analysis. Review the exact topic weightage below to decide your attempt sequence and study focus.
🏆 The Topper 3-Step Execution Plan
1. Near 100% Accuracy is Non-Negotiable
Clerical prelims cutoffs are brutally high (72–82/100 state-wise). You cannot afford unforced negative marking.
2. Numerical Ability Speed Drills
15 questions of Simplification & Number Series must be solved in under 7 minutes using Vedic math, digital sum, and fraction tables.
3. Mains Financial Awareness Lead
In Clerk Mains, Financial Awareness carries 50 marks in 35 minutes. It is the single highest ROI section on the paper.
General / Financial Awareness (50 Qs / 50 Marks)
46–58 Qs
Quantitative Aptitude (50 Qs / 50 Marks)
47–56 Qs
Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude (50 Qs / 60 Marks)
45–55 Qs
General English (40 Qs / 40 Marks)
36–42 Qs
📊 Topic-Wise Previous Year Weightage & Attack Strategy
Work top-down inside each section. ① Must-Do topics form 60–70% of your passing score.
| Section | Topic | Expected Qs | Priority Tier | Topper Attack Technique |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General / Financial Awareness (50 Qs / 50 Marks) | Banking Current Affairs (Last 6 Months) | 18–22 | ① Must-do | Last 6 months only. Banking/economy news outranks general news for this exam. |
| General / Financial Awareness (50 Qs / 50 Marks) | National Current Affairs & Summits | 10–12 | ② High yield | Last 6 months only. Banking/economy news outranks general news for this exam. |
| General / Financial Awareness (50 Qs / 50 Marks) | RBI Guidelines, Banking Terms & Products | 8–10 | ② High yield | Pick the set with clean numbers first. Approximate early; exact-value questions last. |
| General / Financial Awareness (50 Qs / 50 Marks) | Government Welfare Schemes & Budget Allocations | 6–8 | ③ Solid marks | Launch year, ministry, target group, benefit amount — that's what gets asked. |
| General / Financial Awareness (50 Qs / 50 Marks) | Static GK (National Parks, Superlatives, Headquarters) | 4–6 | ③ Solid marks | Drill this General / Financial Awareness (50 Qs / 50 Marks) topic to under 45s per question; revise its shortcut weekly. |
| Quantitative Aptitude (50 Qs / 50 Marks) | Data Interpretation (Table, Pie, Bar, Caselet) | 15–18 | ① Must-do | Pick the set with clean numbers first. Approximate early; exact-value questions last. |
| Quantitative Aptitude (50 Qs / 50 Marks) | Arithmetic Word Problems (All Chapters) | 14–16 | ② High yield | Use ratio/unitary methods, not equations. Options often let you back-solve faster. |
| Quantitative Aptitude (50 Qs / 50 Marks) | Number Series (Missing & Wrong Series) | 5–6 | ② High yield | Check differences → ratios → squares/cubes, in that order. 20s max, then move on. |
| Quantitative Aptitude (50 Qs / 50 Marks) | Data Sufficiency & Quantity Comparisons | 4–6 | ③ Solid marks | Never fully solve — only decide if it's solvable. Check each statement alone first. |
| Quantitative Aptitude (50 Qs / 50 Marks) | Quadratic Equations & Polynomial Roots | 5–5 | ③ Solid marks | Sign-rule shortcut: factor mentally, compare roots. Guaranteed 3-5 marks. |
| Quantitative Aptitude (50 Qs / 50 Marks) | Simplification / Approximation | 4–5 | ④ If time permits | BODMAS + fraction-percent table. Round early on approximation questions. |
| Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude (50 Qs / 60 Marks) | Puzzles & Seating Arrangements (Mains Level) | 20–24 | ① Must-do | Scan all sets first, solve the 2-3 with most definite clues. Skip any set not cracked in 90s of setup. |
| Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude (50 Qs / 60 Marks) | Syllogism (Only a Few) & Inequalities | 6–8 | ② High yield | Venn only for tricky ones; 'Only a few' = some+some not. Fastest 3-5 marks in the paper. |
| Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude (50 Qs / 60 Marks) | Coding-Decoding & Alphanumeric Series | 5–6 | ② High yield | Read the condition twice before counting. Most errors are misread conditions, not logic. |
| Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude (50 Qs / 60 Marks) | Blood Relations & Direction Sense | 5–6 | ③ Solid marks | Draw the tree: squares male, circles female. Never solve in your head. |
| Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude (50 Qs / 60 Marks) | Computer Awareness (Shortcuts, Networking, DBMS) | 4–6 | ③ Solid marks | Pure recall — drill once, revise weekly. Free marks. |
| Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude (50 Qs / 60 Marks) | Machine Input-Output | 5–5 | ④ If time permits | Infer the rule from step 1→2, then jump straight to the asked step — don't write every step. |
| General English (40 Qs / 40 Marks) | Reading Comprehension | 12–14 | ① Must-do | Read questions first, then skim. Do vocab and fact questions before inference. |
| General English (40 Qs / 40 Marks) | Cloze Test | 6–8 | ② High yield | Read the whole passage once for tone, then fill. Collocation beats grammar rules here. |
| General English (40 Qs / 40 Marks) | Error Spotting & Sentence Correction | 5–6 | ② High yield | Check subject-verb, then tense, then preposition — in that order. |
| General English (40 Qs / 40 Marks) | Para Jumbles | 5–5 | ③ Solid marks | Find the opener and mandatory pairs first; never order all sentences blind. |
| General English (40 Qs / 40 Marks) | Word Swap & Fillers | 5–5 | ③ Solid marks | Drill this General English (40 Qs / 40 Marks) topic to under 45s per question; revise its shortcut weekly. |
| General English (40 Qs / 40 Marks) | Match the Column | 3–4 | ④ If time permits | Drill this General English (40 Qs / 40 Marks) topic to under 45s per question; revise its shortcut weekly. |
⏱️ Minute-by-Minute Hall Execution
Plan 1English (20 min): Error spotting, spelling & single fillers in 8 min, Cloze in 4 min, RC story in 8 min.
Plan 2Numerical Ability (20 min): 15 Simplification in 6 min, 5 Number Series in 3 min, 1 easy DI in 5 min, Arithmetic in 6 min.
Plan 3Reasoning (20 min): 15 non-puzzle Qs (Syllogism/Inequalities/Alphanumeric) in 6 min, 3 quick puzzles in 14 min.
🎯 Cutoff-Beating Safe Target Bands
Target 1Prelims safe zone: 82–90 attempts with 95%+ accuracy.
Target 2Simplification target: 15/15 score in under 7 minutes flat.
Target 3Skip rule: Any arithmetic problem longer than 3 lines gets skipped on the first pass.
📊 Previous Year Cutoffs (2021 - 2024)
| Exam Year | UR | EWS | OBC | SC | ST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | 82.25 | 80 | 78.5 | 68.75 | 62 |
| 2022-23 | 80.5 | 78.25 | 76.5 | 66 | 60.25 |
Sectional note: No Sectional Cutoffs in SBI Clerk Mains. Cutoff figures shown as historical record; future cutoffs are predictions with ranges, never guarantees.
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SBI Clerk Mains 2026 — Full Mock 25
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