IBPS Clerk Prelims 2026 day 1 concludes: exam rated easy to moderate for 11,663 vacancies

In short

The IBPS Clerk Prelims 2026 Day 1 examination concluded on October 10, 2026, across four shifts.
The overall difficulty level for Day 1 was reported as Easy to Moderate, based on candidate feedback.
A good attempt range for the Day 1 exam was estimated between 77 and 86 questions.
The examination aims to fill 11,663 Customer Service Associate vacancies in 11 public sector banks.
The Mains examination for this recruitment drive is scheduled for December 27, 2026.

The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) successfully concluded the first day of its preliminary examination for the recruitment of Customer Service Associates (CSA) on October 10, 2026. This online, computer-based test is part of the process to fill 11,663 Customer Service Associate (Clerk) vacancies across 11 public sector banks.

ibps.in homepage — Official website: ibps.in

The examination was conducted in four shifts throughout the day, with an overall difficulty level reported as Easy to Moderate. Candidates who appeared for the exam reported a good attempt range between 77 and 86 questions for the day’s proceedings.

Examination Structure and Pattern

The IBPS Clerk Prelims 2026 examination is a 60-minute online test comprising 100 questions for a total of 100 marks. It is divided into three sections: English Language, Numerical Ability, and Reasoning Ability. Each section has a separate time limit of 20 minutes.

A penalty of 0.25 marks is incurred for each incorrect answer. The preliminary examinations for CRP CSA XVI are scheduled to continue on October 11, 2026, with the Mains exam slated for December 27, 2026.

Section	Questions	Marks	Time
English Language	30	30	20 minutes
Numerical Ability	35	35	20 minutes
Reasoning Ability	35	35	20 minutes
Total	100	100	60 minutes

Shift-Wise Difficulty and Good Attempts

The examination on October 10, 2026, was conducted in four shifts. Shifts 1 and 2 were rated Easy to Moderate overall, while Shift 3 was rated Moderate. Shift 4 was scheduled to conclude later in the day. The analysis of difficulty levels and good attempts is based on feedback from candidates who completed their respective shifts.

The difficulty level can vary slightly between shifts due to different sets of questions. Good attempts are estimates based on the number of questions candidates were able to solve accurately within the allotted time and are not official figures.

Shifts	Overall difficulty level	Good Attempts
Shift 1	Easy to Moderate	77–86
Shift 2	Easy to Moderate	75-85
Shift 3	Moderate	73-80
Shift 4	To be updated	To be updated

Section	Questions	Difficulty Level	Good Attempts (Shift 1)	Good Attempts (Shift 2)	Good Attempts (Shift 3)
English Language	30	Easy to Moderate (S1), Easy (S2), Moderate (S3)	25–27	25-27	24-27
Numerical Ability	35	Easy to Moderate (S1), Moderate (S2), Moderate (S3)	26–27	23-27	27-30
Reasoning Ability	35	Easy to Moderate (S1, S2, S3)	28–30	25-30	25-30
Overall	100	Easy to Moderate (S1, S2), Moderate (S3)	80+	75-85	75-80

Nishit Kumar is a senior EdTech industry leader with over a decade of experience in building and scaling education platforms, shaping their product, content, and growth strategy. At FindMyCollege, Nishit oversees content and editorial strategy, guiding topic selection and content frameworks to ensure accuracy, relevance, and student-first value across the website.

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