State Bank of India is one of the largest Indian commercial banks, with a network of more than 22,000 branches across India. Getting a job in SBI is beneficial. After all, it is a reputed bank. You can join this bank after clearing the SBI clerk exam. After attempting and passing the preliminary and main exams, an interview or group discussion is required in which you must participate actively. Once that is cleared, you can begin working as a clerk in a branch of SBI. But before giving the exam, it is essential to know the SBI clerk syllabus, mainly the preliminary exam. Many overlook the prelims and focus only on the mains. But prelims are as crucial as the main examination. After all, it allows you to be shortlisted for the main examination. So, in case you are unaware of the syllabus, you can continue reading this article and learn its importance.
- Numerical ability: Clerks require excellent numerical ability or skills. They must be able to deal with financial and banking challenges. Since clerks have to manage a considerable sum of money, it is a must to learn to calculate substantial figures swiftly. Such calculations are useful for account balancing, credit, and debit. Furthermore, you will need to enter and update the financial data on the computer system. You are responsible for assisting the customers in the loan process and determining the loan amount to be paid by them, which requires your numerical ability. Bookkeeping clerks assist with the financial statements and record them. In addition, if you are an exchange clerk, you will have to convert foreign currencies and calculate them to Indian rupees. Some topics in the syllabus of numerical ability include simplification, ratio, percentage, probability, permutation and combination, simplification, profit and loss, etc.
- English language: English is a mandatory section with topics like reading comprehension, para jumbles, error spotting or multiple meaning, paragraph completion, etc. Since the banks open several branches across the nation, your communication skills in the English language are necessary. For instance, if you are posted in the Thiruvananthapuram region of Kerala, you might have to speak Malayalam, a language that you are unaware of. With your communication skills in the English language, you can talk to them and address their problems or assist them. After all, it is a universal language. Also, the data entry done by clerks has to be in English. In the preliminary exams, the examination conducting committees will assess your listening power, English speaking, reading and writing skills. This language also judges the candidate’s mental alertness and presence of power. It is essential to be a quick thinker; thanks to the language, you can achieve that. If you want to strengthen your language skills, you can watch English TV series and movies. Moreover, you can read a book and learn to speak and write effectively.
- Reasoning ability: The reasoning section is crucial and consists of topics such as coding-decoding, input-output, blood relations, puzzles, seating arrangements, logical reasoning, etc. It allows the exam-conducting committees to assess the aspirants’ aptitude knowledge. It also helps measure the verbal, numerical and mental skills of the aspirants. In this section, speed and accuracy are given importance. As a bank clerk, reasoning ability helps in decision-making and analytical thinking. So, you should practise this section and the topics within the section for excellent scores. If you get confused about an answer, make sure to skip it due to negative marking.
Now that you are well informed about the SBI clerk syllabus of the preliminary examination, you can begin to practise right away. You can look for question papers from previous years, take mock tests and work harder.