The IBPS Clerk Mains Exam 2025 officially commenced on November 29th, 2025, setting the stage for thousands of banking aspirants across the country. Candidates appearing for the Shift 1 examination experienced an objective test featuring four key sections, designed to evaluate candidates within a strict 120-minute timeline across roughly 155 questions. With the upcoming Clerk Mains exam scheduled for December 2nd, 2025, understanding today's shift patterns, distribution of questions, and overall difficulty is vital for future test-takers.
Before moving forward, applicants looking to check their documents or stay updated on upcoming timelines can visit IBPS Clerk Mains Admit Card 2025 Available - Download Now. Additionally, to gauge your standing after the test, review the expected evaluation benchmarks through IBPS Clerk Mains Expected Cut Off 2025 - Check Now.
Sections and Difficulty Levels
Overall, candidates rated the Shift 1 exam as Moderate in difficulty. Let's break down how individual sections fared regarding their complexity:
- Reasoning Ability: Moderate
- Quantitative Aptitude: Moderate to Difficult
- General/Financial Awareness: Moderate
- English Language: Easy to Moderate
- Overall: Moderate
| Sections | Difficulty Level |
|---|---|
| Reasoning Ability | Moderate |
| Quantitative Aptitude | Moderate to Difficult |
| General/Financial Awareness | Moderate |
| English Language | Easy to Moderate |
| Overall | Moderate |
Subject-wise Good Attempts and Question Distribution
An analysis of good attempts helps determine safe scores for aspirants. The overall good attempts range fell between 84 to 93 out of 155 total questions.
- Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude: 40 Questions, 23-25 Good Attempts
- Quantitative Aptitude: 35 Questions, 18-20 Good Attempts
- General/Financial Awareness: 40 Questions, 15-17 Good Attempts
- English Language: 40 Questions, 28-30 Good Attempts
- Overall: 155 Questions, 84-93 Good Attempts
| Subjects | No. of Questions | Good Attempts |
|---|---|---|
| Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude | 40 | 23-25 |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 35 | 18-20 |
| General/Financial Awareness | 40 | 15-17 |
| English Language | 40 | 28-30 |
| Overall | 155 | 84-93 |
Sectional Detailed Breakdown
1. Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude
The reasoning block was partitioned into two distinct scoring tiers:
| Reasoning Ability Questions Asked in Shift 1 of 29 November 2025 |
|---|
| Reasoning Ability Questions from Section A (2 Marks) • Single Row (Mixed Direction), 6 persons & colour variable- 5 questions • Box-based + variable (6 boxes independent)- 5 questions • Year-Based (base year 2025) 6 years- 5 questions • Conditional Coding- 4 to 5 questions |
| Reasoning Ability Questions from Section B (1 Mark) • Machine Input (Number-based- 2-digit)- 4 to 5 questions • Data Sufficiency (2 statement-based)- 4 questions • Critical Reasoning- 6 questions • Blood Relation (Passage-based)- 1 question • Word-Based (Single)- 1 question • Box Based Number of pencils (7 boxes) (Range 10-16)- 5 questions |
2. Quantitative Aptitude
Calculations required solid strategy due to its Moderate to Difficult status. Topics included Arithmetic questions (Boat & Stream, Trains, Partnership, Time & Work, Simple Interest) alongside 3 intensive sets of Data Interpretation (Pie Chart DI Percentage: 6 questions, Bar Graph: 6 questions, Caselet DI Boys/Girls: 3 questions).
| Topics | No. of Questions |
|---|---|
| Data Interpretation | 16 |
| Quadratic Equation | 02 |
| Approximation | 05 |
| Q1-Q2 | 02 |
| Data Sufficiency | 02 |
| Arithmetic Word Problems | 07 to 08 |
3. English Language
Providing some relief, the English Language paper was rated Easy to Moderate.
| Topics | No. of Questions |
|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | 12 |
| Sentence Rearrangement | 05 |
| Cloze Test Replacement | 07 |
| Connectors | 02 |
| Starters | 01 |
| Sentence Replacement | 02 to 03 |
| Double Error (2 sentence-based) | 02 to 03 |
| Miscellaneous | 07 to 08 |
General/Financial Awareness Questions Asked
The General and Financial Awareness portion covered various dynamic and static elements, presenting a moderate challenge for candidates who tracked recent financial and global affairs:
- Bani Mustac- International Booker Prize 2025
- Brand ambassador of Viksit Bharat Buildathon
- Nirmala Sita Raman is the finance minister, and what?
- Sultan Johar Cup is related to which sport
- IUCN World Conservation Congress Making
- Gold Monetisation Scheme- Medium & Long Term deposit discontinue tenure
- Financial Inclusion Scheme
- Footballer with the highest goals
- 2nd Longest Serving PM of India
- PMJJBY- age
- UN Solidarity Day
- Which is not a part of the 18% GST slab?
- Betla Wild Life Sanctuary
- World’s Highest Motorable Road
- Pauncham Palli G I Tag
- Oldest Mutual Fund
- World Para-athletic India’s Rank
- UK Prime Minister
- NHIS stands for
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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