Seoul Peace Prize for Prime Minister

PM Narendra Modi was awarded Seoul Peace Prize 2018 by the Seoul Peace Prize Committee on October 24, 2018. The committee recognised his contribution towards regional and global peace. He was also credited for introducing 'Modinomics' for the reduction of the economic disparity in India. The PM is the 14th recipient of this award.

 

‘Made in India' Engineless Train to be Unveiled
The first ever engineless train made in India, Train 18, will hit the tracks on October 29, 2018. It will be tested for 3-4 days before being handed over to Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO).

 

Madras High Court Rules Over Disqualification of 18 AIADMK MLAs
The Madras High Court upheld the disqualification of 18 AIADMK MLAs who have been loyal to rebel T.T.V. Dinakaran, on October 25, 2018. Dinakaran has formed his own new party, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK).

 

Drama at Midnight, CBI Director and Special Director Fired
CBI Director Alok Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthana were stripped of their positions by the Union Government at midnight on October 23, 2018. The decision was reached after the two started hurling bribery allegations at each other.

 

Four-Member Group of Ministers to Look into Sexual Harassment of Women
A four-member Group of Ministers (GoM) was formed by the Union Government on October 24, 2018. Headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, it comprises of Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi.

Police Commemoration Day 2018
PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the Museum of National Police Memorial on Police Commemoration Day on October 21, 2018. He also and paid homage to the martyrs by laying a wreath at the memorial. The PM announced an annual award in the name of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose to recognise bravery and courage in saving lives in a disaster.

 

The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) has released the notification for recruitment of specialist officers in various disciplines for the public sector banks in the country. The preliminary examination is scheduled in the month of December followed by the Mains Examination in January and Interview in February 2019. If you want to join a public sector bank as a specialist officer in disciplines such as IT, Agriculture, Human Resources, Law etc. you have to clear IBPS SO Examination. In this article, we shall discuss the details regarding the IBPS Specialist Officer Examination 2018.

IBPS SO 2018: What are the Posts available under this Recruitment Exercise?

IBPS SO Examination is being conducted by IBPS in order to recruit candidates for the following posts in the participating banks:

1. Agriculture Field Officer

2. HR Officer

3. Law Officer

4. IT Officer

5. Rajbhasha Officer

6. Marketing Officer

All the posts are the entry level Officer posts in the organizations i.e. you will start your career in the respective bank in Scale I cadre.

What is the Eligibility to Appear for IBPS SO 2018?

According to the IBPS Notification, the eligibility for appearing in the IBPS SO 2018 Examination is as follows:

Nationality:

In order to be eligible for the examination, you should be an Indian or a subject of Nepal, Bhutan or a Tibetan Refugee who has migrated to India before 01.01.1962 with the intention of permanently settling down in the country. Even citizens of Pakistan, Sri Lanka and various African Countries who have migrated to India with the intention of permanently settling down in the country are eligible to appear in the IBPS SO Examination. However, all such people will have to get a certificate from the Government of India in order to appear in the exam.

Age Limit:

The minimum permissible age is 20 years whereas the maximum is 30 years. There is relaxation for candidates from the SC/ST/OBC category as per the extant guidelines of the government. The date of determining the age for appearing in the examination will be 01.11.2018.

Educational Qualification:

Since the posts are related to specific disciplines, the educational qualifications will vary from one post to another. The qualifications are as follow:

 

Please note that no experience is required in order to be eligible for the Scale I posts on offer under the IBPS Specialist Officer 2018 Recruitment Project. However, it is required that computer literacy is there in case of posts other than the IBPS SO IT Officer in the candidates appearing for this exam.

The likely cut-off date for determination of educational qualification of the aspirants appearing in the examination is 01.11.2018.

What is the Exam Pattern of IBPS SO 2018?

The IBPS Specialist Officer Examination is going to be conducted in three different phases:

• Preliminary

• Mains

• Interview

Preliminary Examination:

This is the first step of the IBPS SO 2018 Examination though marks obtained in the Prelims Examination will not be considered for the final results.

For the posts of Rajbhasha Adhikari and Law Officer, the exam pattern will be as follows:

 

For the posts of HR / Personnel Officer, Marketing Officer, IT Officer and Agriculture Field Officer, the pattern of the Preliminary Examination will be as follows:

 

 

Candidates will be required to secure minimum qualifying marks in each of the tests in the Prelims Examination to be eligible for the Mains Examination.

Mains Examination:

Once you qualify in the Prelims Examination, you will have to appear in the Mains Examination. The marks of the Mains Examination will be added to the final merit list. The pattern of the Mains Examination will be as follows:

 

For the Post of the Rajbhasha Officer, the pattern of the Mains Examination will be as follows:

 

Please note that there will be negative marking of 0.25 marks for all the objective type questions in both the Prelims and Mains Examination.

Interview:

Once you clear the Mains Examination of IBPS Specialist Officer, the next step is the Personal Interview which will be for 100 marks. There will be minimum qualifying marks of 40 for the UR candidates in this round whereas for SC/ST/OBC/PWD candidates, it will be 35 marks. Please note that, securing minimum qualifying marks in the interview will not ensure your final selection in IBPS SO Exam 2018.

The final merit list for the Examination will be decided on the basis of the total marks obtained in the Mains Examination and the Personal Interview.

Provisional Allotment:

The IBPS will allot the successful candidates based on the IBPS SO 2018 Recruitment Process to the participating organizations. This merit list is expected to be published on 1st April 2019. This allotment will be based on the merit list and the preference given by the candidates while applying for this examination.

What do I need to study for IBPS SO 2018 Examination?

As we have now seen the exam pattern of the IBPS SO Examination, it is time to understand what you need to study for this examination. The subjects that you need to study are:

• Reasoning Ability

• Quantitative Aptitude / General Awareness

• English Language

• Professional Knowledge

Reasoning Ability:

The questions in this section are going to be lengthy and time-consuming and that is why you will have to be prepared. The syllabus of this section will consist of:

• Syllogism

• Seating Arrangement (Both Linear and Circular)

• Puzzles with one or more variables

• Blood Relations

• Coding and Decoding

• Order and Direction

• Analytical Reasoning

• Inequality

• Machine Input and Output

English Language:

This is the trickiest section these days in any IBPS Examination. The questions will determine your ability to apply your knowledge in any given situation. It is more important to remain calm while answering the questions so that you don’t commit any silly mistake. The questions are mainly from the following areas:

• Reading Comprehension

• Error Detection

• Cloze Test

• Sentence Replacement / Sentence Correction

• Fill in the Blanks

• Sentence Connectors

• Word Replacement / Phrase Replacement

• Word Usage

• Phrases and Idioms

Quantitative Aptitude:

Most of the time, questions in this section are time consuming. They will test your ability to keep your calm rather than your aptitude. The questions will be based on the following topics:

• Profit and Loss

• Simplification

• Quadratic Equation

• Time and Distance / Time and Work / Pipe and Cistern

• Data Interpretation

• Data Sufficiency

• Simple and Compound Interest

• Mixture and Alligation

• Number Series

General Awareness:

This section will consist of questions from the Current Events of National and International importance, Banking Awareness and Static General Knowledge. You should cover the current affairs of the last 6 months for this paper, as per the latest trend of the IBPS Papers.

Professional Knowledge:

This is the most important section since your selection will depend on your performance in this particular section. Please keep in mind that most of the times, questions will be based on your understanding of topics related to your subject of expertise. You have to apply your knowledge in such cases. It is going to test your knowledge of application of technical knowledge.

What am I going to achieve after becoming Specialist Officer in a PSB?

Since all the posts are of the same scale i.e. Scale I through the IBPS SO Examination, the opportunities are more or less the same. You can get promotion as per the norms applicable to the generalist officers. That means you can become Scale II in three years under the Fast Track whereas for the normal track promotions, you have to wait for 5 years. However, in most of the cases, specialist officers end up after a certain level such as Scale V or Scale VI. But on the flip side, you get postings mostly in Regional Offices in any bank if you join as a Specialist Officer.

IBPS SO 2017-18 Cut-Off Marks:

In order to get an idea regarding the level of competition in this examination, we have presented the previous year cut-off for final selection in this examination.

 

IBPS SO Examination 2018 is an opportunity for all of you to enter into a Public Sector Bank as an officer. It is different from generalist officer job since you will get to pursue a career in your area of expertise. If you want to prepare for IBPS Specialist Officer 2018 Examination, try the IBPS SO Mock Test Series at Eduwhere here for effective preparation.

All the Best!!

 

The foremost step to prepare for any examination is by knowing about the eligibility criteria. The IBPS clerk exam is around the corner and the candidates are busy with their preparations. Here is the eligibility criteria for IBPS Clerk examination. Take a look!

The candidate appearing for the examination should have a valid citizenship certificate.

Age limit and Relaxation

The minimum age limit for appearing this exam is 20 years and the maximum age limit for the same is 28 years.  However, the maximum age limit of 28 years is just for the General category candidates. For rest of the categories, age relaxation is provided.

1. For the SC/ST category, 5 years of age relaxation is provided.
2. For the OBC category, 3 years of age relaxation is provided.
3. 10 years of age relaxation is provided for PWD candidates.
4. Ex-Servicemen / Disabled Ex-Servicemen get Actual Period of Service Rendered in the Defense Forces + 3 Years of age relaxation.
5. Widows/Divorced Women get a relaxation of 9 years.
6. Persons with Domicile of Jammu & Kashmir during the period of 1-1-1980 to 31-12-1989 get a relaxation of 5 years.
7. Regular Employees of Union Carbide Factory, Bhopal retrenched from service(for MP state Only) and Persons affected by 1984 riots get a relaxation of 5 years.

The IBPS Clerk examination fees for SC/ ST/ PWD category is Rs 100  (Intimation Charges only). For General and other categories, the fees is Rs 600 (App. Fee including intimation charges) .

Educational Qualification

The candidate should hold a Graduation Degree from a University recognized by the Government of India.

Candidates should have a valid Mark-sheet / Degree: The candidate should possess a certificate which proves that he/she graduates on the day they were registered for the exam. The percentage of marks obtained in Graduation should be mentioned at time of registration for the IBPS Bank-Clerk examination.

Computer Literacy: The candidate should have the knowledge of computer operation as the IBPS Clerk exam is conducted online.

Language Proficiency: Candidates should have verbal and written proficiency in official language of the State/UT. The candidate should be able to read, write and speak the language.

As the exams are approaching, start taking mock tests with Eduwhere right now!

 

 

Guidelines for Treatment of Non-communicable Diseases Launched

NITI Aayog launched the model guidelines for Public-Private partnership in Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) on October 17, 2018. Under these, the private partner will invest in human resources, be responsible for operational management and service delivery.

Distribution of Jan Aushadhi Medicines

A hi-tech Central Warehouse of Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) was inaugurated by the Union Minister of State for Chemicals & Fertilizers, Mansukh Mandaviya on October 16, 2018. It has been setup by the Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI), at Bilaspur in Gurugram. This will ensure faultless distribution of Jan Aushadhi generic medicines to all PMBJP Kendra functional across the country.

Saubhagya Awards Launched

The Minister of State for Power and Renewable Energy RK Singh launched an award scheme under the umbrella Saubhagya Scheme on October 15, 2018.

 

National Health Profile 2018 Report Released

The Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey released an Analytical Report of the National Health Profile 2018 on October 13, 2018. The report prepared by the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence (CBHI) is the 12th edition since it was started in 2005.

 

The Spectacular 72 Medal Haul at Asian Para Games 2018

India ended the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta, Indonesia with a spectacular haul of 72 medals on October 13, 2018. Team India brought home 15 gold, 24 silver and 33 bronze medals placed ninth in the overall tally. The last edition in 2014 saw 33 medals for India.

AITA Championship Series Tennis Tournament

Adith Amarnath of Karnataka won the boys’ under-14 title in the All India Tennis Association (AITA) championship series tennis tournament in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on October 12, 2018. He defeated Kandhavel Mahalingam of Tamil Nadu 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the final.

Youth Olympic Games

15-year-old Akash Malik, the son of a farmer in Haryana, became India’s first silver-medallist in archery at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires on October 17. He lost a one-sided final to Trenton Cowles of the USA 0-6.

Leander Paes Still Going Strong

Leander Paes won his second Challenger-level title of the season. Along with partner Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela, Paes lifted the Santo Domingo Open trophy on October 14.

 

Sandeep Bakshi, MD & CEO of ICICI Bank

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approved the appointment of Sandeep Bakshi as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ICICI Bank for three years. The announcement was made by the bank on October 16, 2018.

Reliance Industries Partners with Den Networks Limited, Hathway Cable and Datacom Limited

Reliance Industries entered partnership with Den Networks Limited and Hathway Cable and Datacom Limited, on October 17, 2018.

VMware Plans to Invest in India

VMware, a subsidiary of Dell Technologies, plans to invest $2 billion in India over the next five years. The announcement was made on October 17, 2018.

Reliance Industries Gets New Additional Director

Former chairman of State Bank of India (SBI) Arundhati Bhattacharya has been appointed as additional director, of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) for five years commencing October 17, 2018.

 

Revised CBSE Bye-laws Released

Prakash Javadekar, the Union Minister for Human Resource Development released the revised CBSE Affiliation Bye Laws on October 18, 2018. These will lead to a simplified system based on preventing duplication of processes.

No Mobile Numbers will be Disconnected

The Department of Telecommunications (DOT) and Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) clarified the above in a joint statement on October 18, 2018. News reports claimed, if SIM cards procured on the basis of Aadhaar verification are not backed up by a fresh identification, will be disconnected.

Union Minister MJ Akbar Resigns

The #MeToo movement brought forth sexual harassment charges against Union Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar, by several women journalists. He put in his resignation on October 17, 2018.

Lady Irwin College Signs Mou with Ministry of Rural Development

The Lady Irwin College signed an Mou with the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM), under the Union Ministry of Rural Development on October 17, 2018. As per the MoU, the Centre of Women Collectives-led Social Action, ROSHNI will be established in the Department of Development Communication and Extension at Lady Irwin College, New Delhi.

 

Prime Ministers' Museum at Teen Murti Estate

The foundation stone for the above was jointly laid down by Mahesh Sharma, the Minister of State for Culture and Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri on October 15, 2018. The new museum will incorporate the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) at the Teen Murti Estate, the official residence of India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

First Human Capital Index by World Bank

The Human Capital Index launched by the World Bank ranks 157 countries based on the impact of education and health, on productivity. The first was launched in Bali, Indonesia on October 11, 2018. Singapore currently, tops the rankings.

 

Indian Growth Rate Predicted to Increase

The International Monetary Fund predicted an increase in the growth rate of India to 7.3% in 2018 and 7.4% in 2019. This was stated in the World Economic Outlook report released by the IMF on October 9, 2018.

 

Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement 2018-19 Released

 

The Reserve Bank of India released the fourth statement on October 5, 2018. The Monetary Policy Committee comprising of six members kept the policy Repo rate unchanged at 6.5%.

Student Internship Programme under the Atal Innovation Mission

A student internship programme was announced by the mission under NITI Aayog with IBM India Private Limited on October 11, 2018.

 

Space Science Centre in Jammu

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Indian Space Research Organisation and Central University of Jammu on October 11, 2018. This was for the establishment of the Satish Dhawan Centre for Space Science at the university.

 

Draft of the National Policy on Electronics 2018 Released

The draft was released by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on October 10, 2018. The policy aims for a turnover of USD 400 billion in the domestic electronics manufacturing industry by 2025.

 

Last Scientific Paper by Stephen Hawkings

The last paper by the noted physicist on 'Black Hole Entropy and Soft Hair' was posted online by his colleagues at Harvard and Cambridge, earlier this month. Hawkings completed and submitted this paper 10 days before his death on March 14, 2018.

 

Emergency Landing by the Soyuz Rocket

Following a booster failure during lift-off, the two man crew of the Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft were forced to make an emergency landing on October 11, 2018. NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin aborted the rocket in their capsule that was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

 

86th Indian Air Force Day Celebrated

The Indian Air Force Day was celebrated on October 8, 2018.

 

 

India Makes an Entry in the UN Human Rights Council

India was elected to the Human Rights Council of United Nations for a period of three years on October 12, 2018. Securing 188 votes, the highest in the Asia-Pacific category, India starts the tenure on January 1, 2019.

 

India and Russia Sign MoU

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Indian Union Ministry of Railways and the Russian Ministry of Transport on October 5, 2018. The agreement was signed to provide support to educational institutes implementing joint projects in transport education in both countries. It was signed by the Chairman of the Indian Railway Board Ashwani Lohani and the Russian Ambassador to India Nikolay Rishatovich Kudashev.

 

Protocol on Cooperation signed Between India and Azerbaijan

A protocol on Trade and Economic Cooperation, and Science and Technology Cooperation was signed between the countries on October 12, 2018. This was done at the fifth meeting of India-Azerbaijan Inter Governmental Commission held in New Delhi on October 11 and 12, 2018. It was co-chaired by India's Union Minister of Commerce, Suresh Prabhu and Azerbaijan's Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, Mukhtar Babayev.

 

Death Penalty Abolished in Malaysia

Capital punishment for all crimes has been eliminated by the Malaysian government on October 11, 2018.

 

Global Hunger Index 2018 Published

The GHI stating a drop in the level of hunger and undernutrition all over the world in 2018 was published on October 10, 2018. With a drop to 20.9 from 29.2 in 2000, the index ranks India at a low of 103 out of 119 qualifying countries. It was jointly prepared by two NGOs, Concern Worldwide of Ireland and Welthungerhlife of Germany.

 

America's Ambassador to United Nations Resigns

Nikki Haley, Ambassador of the United States to UN of Indian origin announced her resignation on October 9, 2018. She is the 29th United States Ambassador to the United Nations.