SBI PO Prelims 2025: Candidates Share Reactions on Shift 1 Exam

The State Bank of India has started conducting the Preliminary Examination for Probationary Officers for the year 2025, with the first shift completed on Monday, August 4. As per initial feedback from students, the overall difficulty level of the exam was rated as easy to moderate.

While some candidates found certain parts of the paper time-consuming, most agreed that it was well-balanced and manageable. According to a report by Times Now, the paper offered a fair mix of topics. Section-wise feedback from students was as follows: the English Language section was rated easy to moderate, Quantitative Aptitude was moderate, and Reasoning Ability was also easy to moderate.

The exam followed the standard pattern for SBI PO Prelims, consisting of three sections—English Language, Quantitative Aptitude, and Reasoning Ability. Each section had a time limit of 20 minutes. The paper included a total of 100 questions and was worth 100 marks, with a total duration of 60 minutes.

This year, the recruitment drive aims to fill 541 probationary officer vacancies across the country.

As for the next steps, the result for the prelims is expected by late August or early September. The selection process includes three phases—Preliminary Examination, Main Examination, and a final phase involving a psychometric test, group exercise, and interview. Candidates need to clear each stage to move ahead in the recruitment process.

The SBI PO exam is held annually to recruit candidates for probationary officer roles, which are stepping stones to managerial positions at SBI branches across India.