Last updated: 10 October 2026, 9:30 PM IST · By: Prep247 Exam Desk · Next update: 11 October 2026 (Shift 3 and Day 2 shifts)
Quick Summary: IBPS Clerk Prelims 2026 Analysis (10 October)
- Overall difficulty: Easy to Moderate in every shift on 10 October 2026.
- Good attempts: 78–85 in Shift 1 and 77–85 in Shift 2. Shift 4 attempts were higher because Reasoning was easy.
- Easiest section: English, rated easy in Shifts 1 and 2, with 25–27 good attempts.
- Toughest section: Numerical Ability, because of a heavy calculation load. Shift 1 had four DI sets and Shift 4 had 14 arithmetic questions.
- Must-know topics: about 10 simplification questions, three puzzle/seating sets, syllogism, an 8–10 question RC and error spotting appeared in almost every shift.
- Compared with 2025: Shift 1 this year was rated easier (Easy to Moderate) than Shift 1 in 2025 (Moderate).
Writing on 11 October? Go straight to the tips for 11 October and the practice questions in today's pattern.
What Is the IBPS Clerk Prelims 2026 Exam?
IBPS Clerk Prelims 2026 is the first stage of recruitment for 11,663 Customer Service Associate (Clerk) posts in public sector banks under CRP-CSA-XVI. The exam is held online on 10 and 11 October 2026, in four shifts each day. Prelims is a qualifying round, so candidates who clear the state-wise cut-off move on to the Mains exam.
| Particular | Details |
|---|---|
| Conducting body | Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) |
| Post | Customer Service Associate (Clerk), CRP-CSA-XVI |
| Vacancies | 11,663 |
| Prelims dates | 10 & 11 October 2026 (4 shifts each day) |
| Questions / Marks | 100 / 100 |
| Duration | 60 minutes (20 minutes per section) |
| Negative marking | 0.25 marks per wrong answer |
| Official website | ibps.in |
IBPS Clerk Prelims Exam Pattern 2026
| Section | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 30 | 30 | 20 min |
| Numerical Ability | 35 | 35 | 20 min |
| Reasoning Ability | 35 | 35 | 20 min |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 60 min |
How Was the IBPS Clerk Exam on 10 October 2026?
Short answer: candidates rated every 10 October shift Easy to Moderate overall. English and Reasoning were the scoring sections, and Numerical Ability was the most time-consuming.
| Shift | English | Numerical Ability | Reasoning | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shift 1 (9:00–10:00 AM) | Easy | Easy to Moderate | Easy to Moderate | Easy to Moderate |
| Shift 2 (11:30 AM–12:30 PM) | Easy | Easy to Moderate | Easy to Moderate | Easy to Moderate |
| Shift 3 | Update on 11 October | |||
| Shift 4 | Easy to Moderate | Moderate | Easy | Easy to Moderate |
Three things that stood out on Day 1:
- Reasoning got easier through the day. Shift 4 candidates rated it the easiest section of the paper.
- Quant was the time trap. Shift 1 had four DI sets (table, bar graph and caselets). Shift 4 had a 14-question arithmetic block.
- English stayed friendly. The RC passages were story-based or business-based (an elderly woman's store, brands, a family bakery), not dense editorials.
What Are the Good Attempts for IBPS Clerk Prelims 2026?
Short answer: about 78–85 overall in Shift 1 and 77–85 in Shift 2, with Shift 4 slightly higher.
| Section | Shift 1 | Shift 2 | Shift 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 25–27 | 25–27 | 25–26 |
| Numerical Ability | 26–29 | 26–29 | 28–32 |
| Reasoning Ability | 27–29 | 26–29 | Close to the full section |
| Overall | 78–85 | 77–85 | Higher than Shifts 1–2 |
What "good attempts" means: the number of questions a well-prepared candidate could attempt with about 90% accuracy in that shift. It is not the cut-off. The official IBPS Clerk cut-off is released state-wise after normalisation, a statistical adjustment that evens out difficulty differences between shifts.
How to Calculate Your Expected Score
Expected score = Correct answers − (Wrong answers × 0.25)
Example: 80 attempts with 72 correct and 8 wrong gives 72 − (8 × 0.25) = 70 marks.
Which Topics Were Asked in IBPS Clerk Prelims 2026 Shift 1?
Short answer: Shift 1 had three puzzles plus syllogism and Chinese coding in Reasoning, four DI sets in Quant, and an RC on a story about an elderly woman's store in English.
Reasoning Ability: Shift 1
| Topic | Questions |
|---|---|
| Floor-based puzzle | 5 |
| Parallel row seating | 5 |
| Sequence-based puzzle (8 persons) | 5 |
| Syllogism | 5 |
| Chinese coding (word coding) | 5 |
| Inequality | 4 |
| Direction & distance | 3 |
| Meaningful word | 1 |
| Pair formation | 1 |
| Miscellaneous | 1 |
| Total | 35 |
English Language: Shift 1
| Topic | Questions |
|---|---|
| Reading comprehension (fictional story: an elderly woman and her store) | 8–10 |
| Cloze test (theme: an exhibition) | 6 |
| Sentence rearrangement | 5 |
| Word swap | 4–5 |
| Error detection | 4 |
| Word usage | 2 |
Numerical Ability: Shift 1
| Topic | Questions |
|---|---|
| Simplification | 10 |
| Table DI | 5 |
| Bar graph DI | 5 |
| Caselet DI | 6–7 |
| Arithmetic | 8–9 |
Which Topics Were Asked in IBPS Clerk Prelims 2026 Shift 2?
Short answer: Shift 2 brought back the missing number series and single coding, cut DI to two sets, and raised arithmetic to 12 questions.
Reasoning Ability: Shift 2
| Topic | Questions |
|---|---|
| Square-based puzzle (8 persons) | 5 |
| Mixed series | 5 |
| Sequence-based puzzle (8 persons) | 4 |
| Uncertain-number puzzle (persons facing north) | 3 |
| Inequality | 3 |
| Syllogism | 2 |
| Pair formation | 1 |
| Single coding | 1 |
| Odd one out | 1 |
| Month/date-based puzzle | Remaining |
English Language: Shift 2
| Topic | Questions |
|---|---|
| Reading comprehension (brands/business) | 10 |
| Cloze test | 6 |
| Error detection | 5 |
| Sentence rearrangement | 4–5 |
| Phrase replacement | 2–3 |
| Match the column | 2 |
Numerical Ability: Shift 2
| Topic | Questions |
|---|---|
| Arithmetic | 12 |
| Simplification | 9–10 |
| Table DI | 5 |
| Bar graph DI | 5 |
| Missing number series | 3–4 |
Which Topics Were Asked in IBPS Clerk Prelims 2026 Shift 4?
Short answer: Shift 4 had three seating/floor puzzles plus a height comparison puzzle, Chinese coding and three-digit number questions in Reasoning, and 14 arithmetic questions in Quant.
Reasoning Ability: Shift 4
| Topic | Questions |
|---|---|
| Linear seating arrangement | 5 |
| Floor & flat puzzle | 5 |
| Circular seating (facing inside) | 5 |
| Comparison (height) | 5 |
| Chinese coding | 5 |
| Three-digit number based | 5 |
| Blood relation | 3 |
| Syllogism | 2 |
| Odd one out | 1 |
| Meaningful word | 1 |
| Pair formation | 1 |
English Language: Shift 4
| Topic | Questions |
|---|---|
| Reading comprehension (two sisters running a bakery) | 9 |
| Para jumble | 5 |
| Fillers | 4 |
| Misspelt words | 4 |
| Spotting errors | 4 |
| Match the column | 2 |
| Sentence rearrangement | 2 |
Numerical Ability: Shift 4
| Topic | Questions |
|---|---|
| Arithmetic | 14 |
| Simplification | 9 |
| Line graph DI | 5 |
| Table DI | 5 |
| Wrong number series | 2 |
Which Topics Repeated Across All Shifts on 10 October?
Short answer: simplification (9–10 questions), three puzzle/seating sets, syllogism, pair formation, RC (8–10 questions), error spotting and sentence rearrangement appeared in every shift reviewed.
| Section | Repeated in every shift | Varied between shifts |
|---|---|---|
| Reasoning | 3 puzzle/seating sets, syllogism, pair formation | Chinese coding (Shifts 1 & 4), mixed series (Shift 2), three-digit numbers (Shift 4) |
| English | RC (8–10 Qs), error spotting, sentence rearrangement | Cloze (Shifts 1 & 2), word swap (Shift 1), misspelt words (Shift 4) |
| Quant | Simplification (9–10 Qs), table DI | Number of DI sets (2 to 4), series type (missing vs wrong), arithmetic share (8 to 14) |
What to expect on 11 October: about 10 simplification questions, at least one table DI, three puzzles in Reasoning and a story-based or business-based RC. Keep Chinese coding and the number series ready, because they alternated between shifts.
How Does IBPS Clerk 2026 Compare With 2025?
Shift 1 in 2026 was rated Easy to Moderate, compared with Moderate for Shift 1 in 2025. An easier paper usually means more attempts and a slightly higher cut-off, so accuracy matters more than ever this year.
Practice Questions Based on the 10 October Pattern
These are original Prep247 practice questions written in the same style and difficulty as the questions reported on 10 October. They are not copies of the actual exam questions. Target time: 6 minutes.
Q1. Simplification: 45% of 680 + ? = 18² + 50
(a) 58 (b) 68 (c) 72 (d) 64
Q2. Simplification: 1/4 of 1/3 of 1/5 of ? = 42
(a) 2100 (b) 2400 (c) 2520 (d) 2640
Q3. Missing number series: 6, 13, 27, 55, 111, ?
(a) 221 (b) 223 (c) 225 (d) 219
Q4. Arithmetic: A shopkeeper marks an item 40% above its cost price and allows a 10% discount. Find his profit percentage.
(a) 30% (b) 24% (c) 26% (d) 28%
Directions (Q5–Q6): Chinese coding. In a certain code language:
- "bank loan is approved" is written as "pa ri mo tu"
- "loan is not approved" is written as "ri tu ka mo"
- "bank is closed" is written as "tu pa zx"
Q5. What is the code for "not"?
(a) ri (b) ka (c) mo (d) Can't be determined
Q6. What is the code for "is"?
(a) tu (b) pa (c) ri (d) zx
Q7. Inequality: Statement: P ≥ Q > R = S < T
Conclusions: I. Q > S II. P > T
(a) Only I follows (b) Only II follows (c) Both follow (d) Neither follows
Q8. Syllogism: Statements: Only a few cards are coins. All coins are keys.
Conclusions: I. Some cards are keys. II. All cards being coins is a possibility.
(a) Only I follows (b) Only II follows (c) Both follow (d) Neither follows
Q9. Error spotting: Neither the teacher nor the students (A)/ was ready for (B)/ the surprise test. (C)/ No error (D)
Answers & Solutions
| Q | Answer | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | (b) 68 | 45% of 680 = 306. 18² + 50 = 374. 374 − 306 = 68 |
| 2 | (c) 2520 | ? × 1/60 = 42, so ? = 2520 |
| 3 | (b) 223 | Each term × 2 + 1, so 111 × 2 + 1 = 223 |
| 4 | (c) 26% | 1.40 × 0.90 = 1.26, which is a 26% profit |
| 5 | (b) ka | Statements 1 & 2 share loan, is, approved = {ri, mo, tu}, so not = ka |
| 6 | (a) tu | Bank = pa (statement 1). In statement 3, "is" must come from {ri, mo, tu}, and only tu appears, so is = tu |
| 7 | (a) Only I | Q > R = S gives Q > S. P and T are linked through opposite signs, so II does not follow |
| 8 | (a) Only I | The cards that are coins are keys. "Only a few" rules out all cards being coins |
| 9 | (B) | With neither…nor, the verb agrees with the nearer subject "students": "were" |
For a full paper in this pattern, take a free IBPS Clerk mock test on Prep247, with sectional timing, a live All-India rank and AI analysis of your weak topics.
How Should You Attempt IBPS Clerk Prelims on 11 October?
- Start Quant with simplification. It has been 9–10 questions in every shift. Finish it in about 6–7 minutes, then choose the DI set with the cleanest data.
- Skip a heavy caselet if you need to. With up to four DI sets possible, don't let one set use up five minutes.
- Do the quick Reasoning questions first. Inequality, syllogism, pair formation and odd one out take seconds. Then pick the puzzle with the most direct clues.
- Protect your accuracy in English. The section has been easy, so careless errors in word swap or match-the-column cost more than skipped questions.
- Remember the negative marking. At 0.25 per wrong answer, four wrong guesses cost you one full mark.
What Should You Do After IBPS Clerk Prelims?
Start IBPS Clerk Mains preparation now instead of waiting for the result. Mains adds General & Financial Awareness (focus on the last 6 months of banking and economy news) and Computer Knowledge, and the Reasoning and Quant questions are tougher. Mains marks decide your final allotment.
Related guides on Prep247:
- SBI PO Prelims: 5-Year Exam Pattern Analysis (2021–2025): how puzzle and DI weightage has shifted in bank exams
- NICL AO Notification 2026: 321 Posts, Syllabus & Cut Off: the next big exam on the calendar (Prelims on 17 November)
- IBPS Photo & Signature Resizer: free tool for IBPS application uploads
Key Terms Used in This Analysis
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Good attempts | Questions a well-prepared candidate could attempt with about 90% accuracy in a shift; not the cut-off |
| Normalisation | IBPS's statistical method of adjusting scores across shifts of different difficulty |
| Sectional timing | Each section has a locked 20-minute timer; you cannot switch sections |
| Chinese coding | Word-to-code questions where sentences are coded as groups of short codes |
| Memory-based paper | A paper rebuilt from questions recalled by candidates after the exam |
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the difficulty level of IBPS Clerk Prelims 2026 on 10 October?
All shifts on 10 October 2026 were rated Easy to Moderate overall. English and Reasoning were mostly easy, while Numerical Ability was easy to moderate because of the heavy calculation load.
What are the good attempts for IBPS Clerk Prelims 2026 Shift 1?
Shift 1 good attempts were 78–85 overall: 25–27 in English, 26–29 in Numerical Ability and 27–29 in Reasoning.
What are the good attempts for IBPS Clerk Prelims 2026 Shift 2?
Shift 2 good attempts were 77–85 overall: 25–27 in English, 26–29 in Numerical Ability and 26–29 in Reasoning.
Which was the toughest section in IBPS Clerk Prelims 2026?
Numerical Ability, mainly because of the time pressure from up to four DI sets (Shift 1) and a large arithmetic block (Shift 4).
How many DI sets came in IBPS Clerk Prelims 2026?
Shift 1 had four DI sets (table, bar graph and caselets). Shifts 2 and 4 had two sets each.
Which puzzles were asked in IBPS Clerk Reasoning on 10 October 2026?
Floor-based, parallel row, square, circular, linear, sequence-based (8 persons), month/date-based, uncertain-number and height comparison puzzles appeared across the shifts, with three puzzle sets per shift.
Is the IBPS Clerk cut-off national or state-wise?
The IBPS Clerk Prelims cut-off is released state-wise and category-wise after normalisation of scores across shifts.
When will the IBPS Clerk Prelims result 2026 be declared?
IBPS will announce the result on its official website, ibps.in. It is usually released a few weeks before the Mains exam.
How This Analysis Was Prepared
This analysis is compiled from feedback by candidates who appeared on 10 October 2026, cross-checked against several published shift reviews. Where reports differed, the most detailed and consistent topic breakdown was used. Topic counts may vary by a question or two between sources. The article will be updated with Shift 3 and the 11 October shifts. For official notices, refer only to ibps.in.