IBPS SO Eligibility Criteria – Age, Qualification & Other Requirements

Institute of Banking Personnel Selection or IBPS has laid down a set of eligibility conditions that candidates must fulfil to enter into the banking domain. The IBPS authorities prescribe the eligibility criteria for the posts of Law Officer (Scale I), I.T. Officer (Scale-I), Marketing Officer (Scale I), and Rajbhasha Adhikari (Scale I).

The IBPS SO eligibility criteria are published annually by the IBPS. The eligibility of candidates is determined on factors like nationality, age, and education qualification.

Important Update: Institute of Banking Personnel Selection has recently released the CRP SPL – X recruitment notification on 1st November 2020. As per the notification, the IBPS SO 2020 exam will be conducted on 26th and 27th December to fill the post of Specialist Officer (SO) in various public sector banks. 

Read the complete article to get the complete eligibility requirement for IBPS SO Recruitment 2020.

IBPS SO Eligibility Criteria – Exam Notification

The official IBPS SO notification 2020 was released on 1st November 2020. At the same time, the IBPS SO online application process started from 2nd November 2020 and will continue till 23rd November 2020.

The table below contains all the important IBPS SO exam dates along with the application dates:

IBPS SO 2020-21 Important Dates 

Events	Important Dates
IBPS SO notification release	1st November 2020
Starting of IBPS SO online application	2nd November 2020
Last date to apply online	23rd November 2020
IBPS SO Prelims admit card	December 2020*
IBPS SO exam date – Prelims	26th and 27th December 2020
IBPS SO exam date – Mains	24th January 2021*
IBPS SO Mains result date	February 2021*
Interview	March 2021*
Provisional Allotment	April 2021*

*The exact dates are still to be announced

IBPS SO Eligibility Criteria – Positions at Offer

The IBPS authority has set up the eligibility criteria for the following posts/positions in the Indian banking sector:

1. Marketing Officer Scale I
2. HR/Personnel Officer Scale I
3. Law Officer Scale I
4. Rajbhasha Adhikari Scale I
5. Agricultural Field Officer Scale I
6. I.T. Officer Scale I

IBPS SO Eligibility Criteria – Factors

The IBPS authority sets the eligibility criteria for IBPS SO based on 3 major factors – 

1. Nationality
2. Age Limit
3. Educational Qualification

IBPS SO Eligibility Criteria – Nationality

As per IBPS SO eligibility criteria, a candidate should either be an Indian citizen or citizen of the countries highlighted below. 

The applying candidate must be either a:

1. Citizen of India 

2. OR Subject of Bhutan 

3. OR Tibetan Refugee who came over to India before 1st January 1962 intending to settle in India permanently 

4. OR Subject of Nepal

5. OR Person of Indian origin who has migrated from:

• Sri Lanka
• East African Countries (Uganda, Ethiopia, Malawi, Zambia, Kenya, the United Republic of Tanzania ((formerly Tanganyika and Zanzibar), and Zaire (to settle permanently in India))
• Burma
• Pakistan
• Vietnam 

Note: Non-Indian citizen candidates have to produce a certificate of eligibility duly approved and signed from the Government of India during the IBPS SO Interview.

IBPS SO Eligibility Criteria – Age Limit

Before applying for the different IBPS SO posts, candidates must fulfil the age limit eligibility norms. IBPS has set an upper and lower age limit for the candidates who wish to appear for IBPS SO exam 2020-21. 

IBPS SO Eligibility Criteria – Age Limit

IBPS SO Minimum Age Limit	20 years
IBPS SO Maximum Age Limit	30 years

IBPS SO Age Relaxation

According to the IBPS SO notification 2020-21, the candidate should be born after 02.11.1990 and before 01.11.2000 to meet the eligibility criteria. However, in certain cases, IBPS grants age relaxation to the candidates. Candidates can find below the age relaxation for different categories in the below table:

IBPS SO Eligibility Criteria – Age Relaxation

Category	Age Limit Relaxation
Persons with Disabilities (PwD): Intellectual or Learning Disabilities, Autism and Mental Illness Partial or Total Loss of Hearing Partial or Full Blindness Locomotor Disabilities Multiple Concurrent Disabilities	10 years
Applicants affected by 1984’s riots	5 years
Ex-Servicemen Short Service Commissioned Officers (SSCOs) who have rendered at least 5 years military service and have been released on completion of assignment (including those whose assignment is due to be completed within one year from the last date of receipt of application otherwise than by way of dismissal or discharge on account of misconduct or inefficiency or physical disability attributable to military service or invalided  Commissioned Officers including Emergency Commissioned Officers (ECOs)	5 years
Other Backward Classes (Non- creamy layer)	5 years
Person Domiciled in Jammu and Kashmir Between 1980-1989 (January 1, 1980, and December 31, 1989)	5 years
Scheduled Caste Scheduled Tribe	3 years

IBPS SO Eligibility Criteria – Educational Qualification

Candidates applying for the IBPS SO exam 2020-21 must note that IBPS has laid down several educational conditions under IBPS SO eligibility criteria. Criteria are dependent on posts for which each of the candidates are applying.

They must have the minimum educational qualifications from a recognized university board as indicated in the table below.

IBPS SO Educational Qualifications for Different Posts (As on 23.11.2020)

Post Code	Name of the Post	Educational Qualifications * (from a University/ Institution/ Board recognised by Govt. Of India/ approved by Govt. Regulatory Bodies)
06	Marketing Officer Scale I	Graduate and Full-Time MBA (Marketing) / Full time 2 years PGDBA/ PGDBM with specialization in Marketing.
05	HR/Personnel Officer  Scale I	Graduate along with 2 years full-time Postgraduate degree/ Postgraduate diploma in Personnel Management/Industrial Relations/HR/HRD/Social Work/Labour Law.
04	Law Officer Scale I	A Bachelor Degree in Law (LLB) and enrolled as an advocate with Bar Council.
03	Rajbhasha Adhikari Scale I	Postgraduate degree in Sanskrit with English and Hindi as subjects at the degree (Graduation) level. OR Post Graduate Degree in Hindi with English as a subject at Graduation level.
02	Agricultural Field Officer Scale I	4-year Degree (graduation) in Agriculture/ Horticulture/Animal Husbandry/ Veterinary Science/ Dairy Science/ Fishery Science/ Pisciculture/ Agri. Marketing & Cooperation/ Co-operation & Banking/ Agro-Forestry/Forestry/ Agricultural Biotechnology/ Food Science/ Agriculture Business Management/ Food Technology/ Dairy Technology/ Agricultural Engineering/ Sericulture
01	I.T. Officer Scale I	Graduate having passed DOEACC ‘B’ level OR Post Graduate Degree in Electronics/ Electronics & Telecommunication/  Electronics & Communication/ Electronics & Instrumentation/ Computer Science/ Information Technology/ Computer Applications.  OR 4-year Engineering Degree in Computer Science/ Computer Applications/ Information Technology/ Electronics/ Electronics & Telecommunications/ Electronics & Communication/ Electronics & Instrumentation.

Note: *Candidates must ensure that their educational qualifications should be as per the prescribed educational qualifications mentioned in the notification/advertisement.  They must fulfil the above eligibility criteria. No equivalent educational qualification shall be considered as eligible by IBPS or participating organisations.

Important Points Related to IBPS SO Educational Qualification

Candidates must note the following points regarding the IBPS SO eligibility criteria: 

1. Candidates have to specify the percentage obtained in Graduation while filling in the online application.
2. Candidates should furnish the proof that the educational qualification possessed by them is equivalent to a graduation degree by the Government of India. 
3. Candidates being awarded CGPA have to convert the same into percentage form. Percentage calculation must be done to the nearest two decimals. 
4. The qualifying degree should be from a University/ Institution/ Board recognised by the Government of India or approved by Government Regulatory Bodies.
5. The individual banks use the IBPS calculation of aggregate percentage for their purposes. This means that the fraction of percentage arrived will be ignored, i.e. 54.99% will be treated as less than 55%, and 59.99% will be treated as less than 60%.

IBPS SO Eligibility Criteria – EWS Category

This eligibility criterion is basically for the candidates belonging from Economically Weaker Section (EWS) in India. Candidates having a gross family annual income of less than 8 lakh rupees and not falling under the SC, ST, OBC categories are entitled to added benefits. 

The EWS candidates will get a benefit of 10% reservation for the IBPS SO vacancies released by IBPS. 

Points related to IBPS SO Eligibility for EWS Category

Any person or his/her family having the below-stated assets will not be included in the EWS category irrespective of their yearly family income as per the updated IBPS SO Eligibility Criteria.

1. Residential plots of 200 sq. yards and above in areas other than the notified municipalities
2. Residential flat of 1000 sq. ft. and above
3. Residential plots of 100 sq. yards and above in notified municipalities
4. 5 acres of agricultural land and above

IBPS SO Eligibility Criteria – PwBD Category

As per the norms set by the Government of India, people with benchmark disabilities are eligible to receive added benefits. They are entitled under ‘The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016’ under Section 34. 

The categories of disability that fall under the purview of reservation are:

1. Blindness and low vision
2. Deaf and hard of hearing
3. Locomotor disability including leprosy cured, cerebral palsy, dwarfism, muscular dystrophy, and acid attack victims
4. Intellectual disability, autism, mental illness, and specific learning disability

For more information, candidates can go through the official IBP SO notification 2020. 

IBPS SO Eligibility Criteria – FAQs

What are the posts available under IBPS SO Recruitment 2020?

There are 6 posts available through IBPS SO -

1. I.T. Officer (Scale-I)

2. Agricultural Field Officer (Scale I)

3. HR/Personnel Officer (Scale I)

4. Marketing Officer (Scale I)

5. Law Officer (Scale I)

6. Rajbhasha Adhikari (Scale I)

What is the age limit for IBPS SO 2020 recruitment?

According to IBPS SO eligibility criteria, the candidates who wish to appear for the exam must be between 20-30 years of age.

How many phases are there in IBPS SO 2020?

There are 3 phases of IBPS SO 2020 exam -

1. Preliminary Exam

2. Mains Exam

3. Interview Round

Do candidates have the option to select the exam date for the IBPS SO exam?

No. Slot booking for IBPS SO exam is not provided to candidates. IBPS assigns the IBPS SO exam date to all the candidates. The Prelims exam will be conducted on 26th and 27th December 2020 and Mains will be held on 30th January 2020.

What is the age relaxation for PwD candidates?

As per IBPS notification, the age relaxation for PWD candidates is 10 years.

Can final year students apply for IBPS SO 2020?

Yes. Final year students whose result shall be declared till 26 August 2020 can apply for IBPS PO 2020.