IBPS SO (Scale I) 2017 Exam – Which Specialist Officer Post is for you?

The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) conducts the IBPS SO exam to recruit specialist officers in various disciplines like Marketing, IT, HR, Law, Rajbhasha Adhikari etc. to ensure seamless work on the respective areas. Another popular exam IBPS PO is conducted to recruit probationary officers in PSBs. Some of the responsibilities of a bank PO include Loan Processing, Issuing ATM Cards, DDs, Cheques, and other bank instruments, Handling customer grievances & rectifying undue charges, Guiding customers in Bank, Overseeing Clerical work such as cash management and account opening & supervising the documentation process and more. On the other hand, specialist officers do more specific work in their respective areas. In this post, we are going to highlight the different roles of specialist officers; this will help you decide better on which post to apply.

IBPS SO (Scale I) – Post-wise Eligibility Criteria

IBPS SO IT Officer

• 20 – 30 Years
• / B.Tech in Engineering/ Technology Degree in Computer Science/ Computer Applications/ Information Technology/ Electronics/ Electronics & Telecommunications/ Electronics & Communication/ Electronics & Instrumentation
• OR Post Graduate Degree in Electronics/ Electronics & Tele Communication/ Electronics & Communication/ Electronics & Instrumentation/ Computer Science/ Information Technology/ Computer Applications
• OR Graduate having passed DOEACC ‘B’ level

IBPS SO Agricultural Field Officer

• 20 – 30 Years
• 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

IBPS SO – Rajbhasha Adhikari

• 20 – 30 years
• Post Graduate Degree in Hindi with English as a subject at the degree (graduation) level OR Post graduate degree in Sanskrit with English and Hindi as subjects at the degree (graduation) level

IBPS SO – Marketing Officer

• 20 – 30 years
• Graduate and Two Years Full time MMS (Marketing)/ Two Years Full time MBA (Marketing)/ Two Years Full time PGDBA / PGDBM/ PGPM/ PGDM with specialization in Marketing.

IBPS SO – Law Officer

• 20 – 30 years
• A Bachelor Degree in Law (LLB) and enrolled as an advocate with Bar Council

IBPS SO – HR / Personnel Officer

• 20 – 30 years
• Graduate and Two Years Full Time Post Graduate degree or Two Years Full Time Post Graduate diploma in Personnel Management / Industrial Relations/ HR / HRD/ Social Work / Labour Law.

IBPS SO (Scale I) – Post-wise Job Responsibilities

IBPS SO IT Officer

• Proper flow of networks
• Smooth functioning of bank software
• Eradicating security threats
• Updating software time to time
• Handling banking technical problems
• Testing and evaluation of new technology and more

IBPS SO Agricultural Field Officer

• Promotes banks’ loan products in rural areas, particularly among farmers.
• Meets and maintain good relationship with farmers and thereby generate Leads
• Conducts pre-loan sanction inspection
• Follows up in case of recovery of loans
• Ensures the proper recovery of loan
• Getting the acknowledgement of debt

IBPS SO – Rajbhasha Adhikari

• Promotes Hindi in the bank
• Translation of Documents into Hindi
• Arranging Training Programmes on official language
• Ensures official language of the union is used in communications along with English

IBPS SO – Marketing Officer

• Takes care of all the marketing and promotional activities in a given state/region or nationwide
• Responsible for conceptualizing and design of advertisements, taking the banks message to masses
• Co-ordinates with advertisement agencies in order to draft various forms of communication
• Develops various marketing strategies and plans to boost up sales and profits.
• Looks for new services and Products of the Banks

IBPS SO – Law Officer

• Deals with documentation work within a bank
• Checks the sanctions imposed by the bank and make sure all the relevant documents are executed.
• Guides practicing lawyers who represent the bank in case of any litigation

IBPS SO – HR / Personnel Officer

• Handles the training and induction of new employees, circulate appraisal forms, form leave schedules, creation of salary accounts etc.
• Conducts recruitment interviews, address labor laws, employee promotions and other critical human resource related activities
• Manages industrial relations, performance and promotion policy

The above clarifies the roles and responsibilities of IBPS SO in different areas. By now, you might have a clear idea on the specialty area that is suitable for you and which specialist officer you should opt for. Providing details around selection procedure, exam pattern and career growth below.

IBPS SO (Scale I) – Selection Procedure

• Preliminary Exam (Aptitude Test)
• Main Exam (Based on knowledge of profession)
• Interview

IBPS SO (Scale I) – Exam Pattern

IBPS SO (Scale I) Preliminary Examination

Section	No. of Questions	Max Marks	Duration
English Language	50	25	2 hours
Reasoning	50	50
Quantitative Aptitude	50	50
Total	150	125	–

 IBPS SO (Scale I) Main Examination

Section	No. of Questions	Max Marks	Duration
Professional Knowledge	60	60	45 Minutes

IBPS SO (Scale I) – Posting Locations

SOs are posted either in the regional or zonal office or the head office of the bank throughout their career and therefore almost always get urban postings. As there are few places where a specialist officer can be transferred, the frequency of transfers is less.

IBPS SO (Scale I) – Salary & Perks

A Specialist Officer’s (Scale I) salary includes Basic pay of Rs. 23,700/- They have pay scale in the range of – 23700-980(7)-30560-1145(2)-32850-1310(7)-42020.

IBPS SOs are eligible for perks like Dearness Allowance, House Rent Allowance, Transport Allowance, Newspaper reimbursement, Hospitalization reimbursement, Pension, Petrol, Deputation Allowance, Newspaper expenses, etc.

IBPS SO (Scale I) – Career Growth

• Assistant Manager
• Manager
• Senior Manager
• Chief Manager
• General Manager
• Deputy General Manager
• General Manager

Hope this helps!

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We wish you all the best for the exam.