Bank Clerical Exam

Note: Bank Clerk Exam by Individual Banks has been discontinued and replaced by IBPS CWE for Clerk Exam.

Bank Clerical Exam - The Indian banking system can be classified as Nationalized (government owned), Private Banks and Specialized banking institutions. The Reserve Bank of India acts as a centralized monitoring body in the Indian financial sector.

The different types of banks in India hold Bank Clerical Grade Exams to recruit clerical level posts in their branches whenever they require these employees. Some exams are also taken by various banking services boards.

Bank Clerical Exam Eligibility

For various Clerical level Posts the eligibility conditions are as follows:

Educational Qualification for Bank Clerical Exam

1. For the posts of Clerks and Typists:

• Bachelor's degree of a recognized University in any discipline or its equivalent recognized as such by the Central Government. OR
  
  
• Passed with 50% marks in aggregate in Higher Secondary Examination/(10+2) of 10+2+3 pattern OR
  
  
• Passed with 50% marks in aggregate in Diploma in Banking recognized by Central/State Government or U.T. Administration. OR
  
  
• Passed with 60% marks in aggregate in Matriculation/SSC (old pattern)/SSLC/ l0th standard of 10+2+3 pattern or equivalent.

2. For the posts of Stenographers, Data Entry Operators, Telephone Operators:

A pass in Matriculation/SSC (old pattern) SSLC/ l0th standard examination of 10+2+3 pattern or equivalent.

3. For the posts of Agricultural Clerks:

• A degree or Diploma in Agriculture (including Agricultural Engineering) from a recognized University/Institution. OR
  
  
• Passed Higher Secondary/ 12th Standard of 10+2+3 pattern or Intermediate or equivalent examination with Agriculture as a subject with 50% marks for all candidates except SC/ST/OBC/XS/OBC/OH candidates in whose case the eligibility is a mere pass in these subjects. OR
  
  
• A Matriculation/SSC (l0th Standard) certificate in case of a Village Level Worker with a minimum of 3 years experience as Village level worker under a Government.

Other Qualifications Required For Bank Clerical Exam

Applicants for the posts of Typists and Stenographers must have proficiency in Typing and Shorthand with the following minimum speed.

1. Hindi Typing - 25 wpm
2. English Typing - 30 wpm
3. Hindi Shorthand - 60 wpm in Hindi shorthand in addition to minimum Hindi Typing speed of 25 wpm
4. English Shorthand -80 wpm in English shorthand in addition to minimum English Typing speed of 30 wpm

Age

The aspiring candidates should not  be below 18 years and above 28 years in the respeective year. Relaxation in upper age limit is as per rules for specified categories including SC/ST/OBC etc.

Nationality

A candidate must be either a citizen of India or one holding eligibility certificates issued by the Government of India.

Bank Clerical Exam Pattern

Bank Clerical Grade Exam for Banks like State bank of India (SBI) and its associate Banks consists of two parts i.e

1. Written Test
2. Interview

1. Written Test For Bank Clerical Grade Exam consists of two parts:

Part-I (Objective Type)

Note: There is negative marking of ¼ marks for each wrong question.

Part-II (Descriptive Type)

It will consist of Essay, Office correspondence, precise writing and arguments for or against a proposition to judge the candidate's ability to express his/her thoughts. The question Papers excepting the English Language Test of Part-I will be bi-lingual.

2. Interview for Bank Clerical Grade Exam

A candidate has to qualify in each of the Objective and Descriptive tests separately. Candidates qualifying in written examination would be called for an interview and a skill test in case of certain positions that demand a specific skill.

Bank Clerical Exam Syllabus

The syllabus of Bank Clerical Grade Exams such as State bank of India (SBI) and its associate Banks and other nationalized banks of India is as follows:-

Part A: Syllabus for the Objective type exam

1. Test of Reasoning:
This test would include questions of both verbal and non-verbal type. The test may include questions on analogies, similarities, differences, space visualization, problem-solving, analysis, judgment, decision-making, visual memory, discrimination, observation, relationship concepts, arithmetical reasoning, verbal and figure classification, arithmetical number series, etc.

The test will also include questions designed to test the candidate's abilities to deal with abstract ideas and symbols and their relationships, arithmetical computation and other analytical functions.

2. Test of English Language:
This is a test to see how well you know English. English language ability would be tested through questions on grammar, vocabulary, sentence completion, synonyms, antonyms, comprehension of a passage, etc.

3. Test of Numerical Ability:
Questions will be designed to test the ability of arithmetical computation of whole numbers, decimals and fractions and relationship between numbers. The questions would be based on arithmetical concepts and relationship between numbers and not on complicated arithmetical computations.

4. Test of Clerical Aptitude:
The questions in Clerical Aptitude will be set to test the candidate's perceptual accuracy and aptitude. This is the ability to notice similarities and differences between the pairs of names and numbers. Questions in Clerical Aptitude will also assess in addition to perceptual accuracy and aptitude, ability to handle office routine work like filing, abbreviating, indexing, etc.

Part B: Syllabus for the subjective exam

It intends to measure your higher order cognitive abilities.

Important:- Candidates have to pass each of the Objective and Descriptive Tests separately. It is a question paper-cum-answer sheet in Hindi and English and the Regional Language and you have to restrict your answers to the space provided on the answer-sheet. Use of supplements is not allowed.

Note: All the questions should be attempted in the same language.

Part C: Syllabus for those candidates who are appearing for the Agricultural Clerks

For candidates appearing for the post of Agricultural Clerk, an objective test of Agricultural Knowledge (50 questions, 30 minutes) will also be there. In this test problems relating to Agricultural issues will be asked.