SBI PO Previous Year Question Paper

State Bank of India is back with its recruitment process in 2014. It begins its major recruitment for the post of  Probationary Officer. In my last post  I explain about syllabus and Books for SBI PO preparation . In this post I try to add resources that help you in preparation



Paper 1  - Reasoning
Paper 2 - GK
Paper 3 -  Complete Paper
Paper 4 - English 

I try to add more papers to this Post . You can also share any link with me that help in SBI PO preparation

Syllabus , Book and Study Plan for SBI PO exam

SBI PO 2014 notification is announced and online examination will be held in the month of June. So, you have two months to prepare for the exam.  two months seems like a little time so you prepare with suitable study plan.For any examination, practice has to be focused and in line with the requirements. A professional guidance in understanding the areas which require practice will go a long way in making one better equipped to crack the bank examination. Practice makes a man perfect it is said and this is definitely not without reason. More the time spent in practicing, better is the efficiency in the examination. Higher the efforts prior to the examination, better is the efficiency during the examination.

SBI PO exam Syllabus :


1. Objective Tests of 200 marks ---- 2 hrs.
2. Descriptive Test of 50 marks ----- 1 hr.

The Objective Test will be in online mode, immediately after you have to give Descriptive Test. Candidates will have to answer Descriptive Test on paper/Pen mode.

There are four section in first paper 

1. Reasoning (High Level):  It consist following sub topics 
  • Syllogism: 5 Qs
  • Data Sufficiency: 5 Qs
  • Miscellaneous – 5 Qs
  • Inequality or Decision Making: 5 Qs
  • Seating Arrangement/ Puzzle Test: 15 Qs
  • Input Output: 5 Qs
  • Logical Reasoning10 Qs.
Tips :

  • Be mentally alert in reading the question
  • Think logically for answers
  • Practice similar questions from previous model papers/ previous year exam papers.


2. Data Analysis & Interpretation:

To score good marks in this section, you have to be quick in solving mathematical calculations. You should have good command on topics like Ratio, Percentage, and Average as in D.I. section mostly questions come on the basis of these topics.

3. English Language

SBI PO English paper is tough, if we compare with other competitive exams.Focus on English grammar & its deep concepts like verbs, adverbs, adjectives, noun, pronoun etc. And a good command on vocabulary would help you overcome the questions asked in the paper.

4. General Awareness/Marketing/Computer KnowledgeThis is the easiest section in SBI PO Exam.

For GK, please read the newspaper daily and make a notebook for that and note down the important news which is relevant for exam. 

5. Descriptive: Descriptive paper contains, Letter Writing, Precise Writing & Questions based on comprehension passage.

This section is really concern for many candidates who do not have good writing skills and they fear while attempting this section. Many candidates don’t know what to write and how to give answers of the questions in descriptive paper.

You have to answer 200 questions with accuracy in 2 hours, which required good speed. But it is not possible to answer all the 200 questions in given stipulated time.

Strategy and Study Plan for SBI PO: 


1. For improving your speed just buy Online Mock Test Series for SBI PO exam because this time SBI is going to conduct online written exam.

2. You can also buy books of previous year question papers, Model Practice sets so that you will get an idea about the pattern and types of questions which was asked in previous years SBI PO exam.

3. Now, this is the easiest part of your preparation, as everyone knows that the only way to improve your speed is by PRACTICE.

Best Book for SBI PO :


SBI PO SOLVED PAPER

1. Every year March 20 is celebrated as what day ?
(A) World Sparrow Day
(B) International Women's Day
(C) World Cuckoo Day
(D) International Child Day
(E) International Mother's Day
Ans : (A)
2. Invisible Export means export of–
(A) Services
(B) Prohibited goods
(C) Restricted goods
(D) Goods as per OGL list
(E) Other than those given as options
Ans : (A)
3. One of the famous Indian Sportsperson released his/her autobiography–'Playing to Win' in November 2012. Name the sports-person correctly–
(A) Saina Nehwal
(B) Mary Kom
(C) Yuvraj Singh
(D) Sachin Tendulkar
(E) Sushil Kumar
Ans : (A)
4. The NRIs while investing in the equity of a company cannot buy more than prescribed percentage of the paid up capital of that company .What is the prescribed percentage ?
(A) 2% (B) 3% (C) 4% (D) 5% (E) 6%
Ans : (D)
5. Government as part of the recapitalisation plan, infused capital in State Bank of India recently. Indicate the approximate capital infusion–
(A) Rs. 500 cr. (B) Rs. 1000 cr. (C) Rs. 1,500 cr.
(D) Rs. 2,000 cr. (E) Rs. 3,000 cr.
Ans : (E)
6. Prof. Muhammad Yunus, the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize 2006 is the exponent of which of the following concepts in the field of banking ?
(A) Core Banking (B) Micro Credit (C) Retail Banking
(D) Real Time Gross Settlement (E) Internet Banking
Ans : (B)
7. Banks in India are required to maintain a portion of their demand and time liabilities with the Reserve Bank of India. This portion is called–
(A) Statutory Liquidity Ratio (B) Cash Reserve Ratio (C) Bank Deposit
(D) Reverse Repo (E) Government Securities
Ans : (B)
8. The European Union has adopted which of the following as a common currency ?
(A) Dollar (B) Dinar (C) Yen
(D) Euro (E) Peso
Ans : (D)
9. Who is the Captain of Australian Cricket Team, which currently (March 2013) visited India ?
(A) Michael Clarke (B) Shane Watson (C) Shane Warne
(D) Michael Hussey (E) Ricky Ponting
Ans : (A)
10. Who is the author of the book 'Women of Vision' ?
(A) Ravinder Singh (B) Preeti Shenoy (C) Amish Tripathi
(D) Durjoy Dutta (E) Alam Srinivas
Ans : (E)
11. Which of the following term is associated with the game of Cricket ?
(A) Bouncer (B) Love (C) Goal
(D) Mid Court (E) Collision
Ans : (A)
12. The Holidays for the Banks are declared as per–
(A) Reserve Bank Act (B) Banking Regulation Act (C) Negotiable Instruments Act
(D) Securities and Exchange Board of India Act (E) Companies Act
Ans : (C)
13. In banking business, when the borrowers avail a Term Loan, initially they are given a repayment holiday and this is referred as–
(A) Subsidy (B) Interest Water (C) Re-phasing
(D) Interest concession (E) Moratorium
Ans : (E)
l4. One of IT Company from India has become the first Indian Company to trade on NYSE Euronext London and Paris markets from February 2013 onwards. Which is this company ?
(A) Wipro Infotech Ltd.
(B) L&T Infotech
(C) HCL Technologies LTD.
(D) Infosys Technologies Limited
(E) Polaris Financial Technology Ltd.
Ans : (D)
l5. Banking Ombudsman is appointed by–
(A) Government of India (B) State Governments (C) RBI
(D) ECGC (E) Exim Bank
Ans : (C)
l6. BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange), the oldest stock exchange in Asia has joined hands with one more International index in February 2013. This association has resulted in change of name of BSE index. What is the change of name effected ?
(A) Dow Jones BSE Index (B) NASDAQ BSE Index (C) S&P BSE Index
(D) Euronext BSE Index (E) Other than those given as options
Ans : (C)
17. Interest on Savings deposit now-a-days is–
(A) Fixed by RBI (B) Fixed by the respective Banks (C) Fixed by the Depositors
(D) Fixed as per the contract between Bank and the Consumer Court (E) Not pay by the Bank
Ans : (B)
18. The customers' by opening and investing in the Tax Saver Deposit Account Scheme in a bank would get benefit under–
(A) Sales Tax (B) Customs Duty (C) Excise Duty
(D) Professional Tax (E) Income Tax
Ans : (E)
19. Pre-shipment finance is provided by the banks only to–
(A) Credit Card Holders (B) Students aspiring for further studies (C) Brokers in equity market
(D) Village Artisans (E) Exporters
Ans : (E)
20. A non-performing asset is–
(A) Money at call and short notice (B) An asset that ceases to generate income
(C) Cash balance in till (D) Cash balance with RBI
(E) Balance with other banks
Ans : (B)
21. Interest below which a bank is not expected to lend to customers is known as–
(A) Deposit Rate (B) Base Rate (C) Prime Lending Rate
(D) Bank Rate (E) Discount Rate
Ans : (B)
22. Government usually classifies its expenditure in term of planned and non-planned expenditure. Identify, which is the correct definition of Planned expenditure ?
(A) It represents the expenditure of all the State Governments
(B) It represents the total expenditure of the Central Government
(C) It is the expenditure which is spent through centrally sponsored programmes and flagship schemes of Government
(D) It represents the expenditure incurred on Defence
(E) Other than those given as options
Ans : (E)
23. Which of the following organization is made specifically responsible for empowering Micro, Small and Medium enterprises in India ?
(A) NABARD (B) RBI (C) SIDBI
(D) ECGC (E) SEBI
Ans : (C)
24. The Union Budget for 2013-14 proposed by the Finance Minister on February 28, 2013 announced introduction of new variety of bonds by the Government. What is the name of these bonds ?
(A) Deep discount bonds (B) Zero Coupon bonds (C) Bullet Bonds
(D) Inflation Indexed Bonds (E) Inflation Variable Bonds
Ans : (D)
25. RBI has released its guidelines for entry of new banks in the private sector in the month of February 2013. One of the norms is at least a prescribed percentage of branches of new bank should be set in unbanked rural centres with a population of upto 9,999 people. What is the percentage of such branches prescribed in the norms?
(A) 10% (B) 15% (C) 18%
(D) 25% (E) Other than those given as options
Ans : (D)
26. A joystick is primarily used to/for–
(A) Control sound on the screen (B) Computer gaming (C) Enter text
(D) Draw pictures (E) Print text
Ans : (B)
27. The CPU comprises of Control, Memory and …………….. units.
(A) Microprocessor (B) Arithmetic/Logic (C) Output
(D) ROM (E) Input
Ans : (B)
28. Which of the following uses a handheld operating system ?
(A) A super computer (B) A personal computer (C) A laptop
(D) A mainframe (E) A PDA
Ans : (E)
29. To display the contents of a folder in Windows Explorer you should–
(A) click on it (B) collapse it (C) name it
(D) give it a password (E) rename it
Ans : (A)
30. 'C' in CPU denotes–
(A) Central (B) Common (C) Convenient
(D) Computer (E) Circuitry
Ans : (A)
31. …………….. is the most important/powerful computer in a typical network.
(A) Desktop (B) Network Client (C) Network server
(D) Network station (E) Network switch
Ans : (C)
32. Which is not a storage device ?
(A) A CD (B) A DVD (C) A Floppy disk
(D) A Printer (E) A Hard disk
Ans : (D)
33. Which bf the following refers to the rectangular area for displaying information and running programs ?
(A) Desktop (B) Dialog box (C) Menu
(D) Window (E) Icon
Ans : (B)
34. …………….. devices convert human-understandable data and programs into a form that the computer can process.
(A) Printing (B) Output (C) Solid state
(D) Monitor (E) Input
Ans : (E)
35. The software that is used to create text-based documents are referred to as–
(A) DBMS (B) suites (C) spreadsheets
(D) presentation software (E) word Processors
Ans: (E)
36. …………….. is a Windows utility program that locates and eliminates unnecessary fragments and rearranges files and unused-disk space to optimize operations.
(A) Backup (B) Disk Cleanup (C) Disk Defragmenter
(D) Restore (E) Disk Restorer
Ans: (C)
37. Which of the following refers to too much electricity and may cause a voltage surge?
(A) Anomaly (B) Shock (C) Spike
(D) Virus (E) Splash
Ans: (C)
38. A (n) …………….. appearing on a web page opens another document when clicked.
(A) anchor (B) URL (C) hyperlink
(D) reference (E) heading
Ans: (C)
39. A successful marketing Person requires one of the following qualities–
(A) Empathy (B) Sympathy (C) Insistence
(D) Aggressiveness (E) Pride
Ans: (B)
40. Market segmentation can be resorted to by dividing the target group as per–
(A) Income levels of customers (B) Age of the employees (C) Needs of the sales persons (D) Marketing skills of the employees (E) Size of the Organisation
Ans: (A)
41. Innovation in marketing is same as–
(A) Abbreviation (B) Communication (C) Creativity
(D) Aspiration (E) Research work
Ans: (E)
42. Effective Selling Skills depends on–
(A) Number of languages known to the DSA (B) Data on marketing staff (C) Information regarding IT market
(D) Knowledge of related market (E) Ability to talk fast
Ans: (D)
43. A Direct Selling Agent (DSA) is required to be adept in–
(A) Surrogate marketing (B) Training Skills (C) Communication skills (D) Market Research (E) OTC Marketing
Ans: (C)
44. Leads can be best sourced from–
(A) Foreign customers (B) Yellow pages (C) Dictionary
(D) List of vendors (E) Local supply chains
Ans: (B)
45. Value added services means–
(A) Low cost products (B) High cost products (C) At par services
(D) Additional services for the same cost (E) Giving Discounts
Ans: (D)
46. Post-sales activities includes–
(A) Sales presentation (B) Customer Feedback (C) Customer indentification
(D) Customer apathy (E) Product design
Ans: (B)
47. The target market for Debit Cards is–
(A) All existing account-holders (B) All agriculturists (C) All DSAs
(D) All vendors (E) All outsourced agents
Ans: (A)
48. The Competitive position of a company can be improved by–
(A) increasing the selling price (B) reducing the margin (C) ignoring competitors
(D) increasing the cost price (E) understanding and fulfilling customers’ needs
Ans: (E)
49. A good Brand can be built up by way of–
(A) Customer grievances (B) Break-down of IT support (C) Old age
(D) Large number of products (E) Consistent offering of good services
Ans: (E)
50. The ‘USP’ of a product denotes–
(A) Usefulness of the product
(B) Drawback of a product
(C) Main functions
(D) Number of allied products available
(E) High selling features of a product
Ans:(E)