IBPS PO Salary: Basic Pay, Allowances, Perks and Promotion

Under the latest bipartite settlement, the JMGS-I pay scale has been:

₹48,480 - 2,000 (7) - 62,480 - 2,340 (2) - 67,160 - 2,680 (7) - 85,920

• The officer starts at ₹48,480.
• Basic pay rises by ₹2,000 a year for 7 years, then by ₹2,340 for 2 years, and then by ₹2,680 for 7 years.
• Some banks give extra increments at joining for professional qualifications.

• Dearness Allowance (DA) - linked to the consumer price index and revised regularly; it changes with inflation.
• Special Allowance - a fixed percentage of basic pay for officers.
• House Rent Allowance (HRA) - depends on the city, or the bank provides leased accommodation instead.
• City Compensatory Allowance (CCA) - in larger cities.
• Medical aid, Leave Fare Concession (LFC) and other bank-specific allowances, such as for newspaper, mobile or furniture.

Because DA and HRA depend on the date and the city, the take-home pay of two POs can differ. Check the latest figures with your bank.

• Leased house or HRA, as per the bank's policy.
• Concessional loans for home, vehicle and education, at lower rates than the public.
• Medical insurance for the officer and family.
• Pension under the National Pension System, with the bank contributing 14% of basic pay plus DA.
• Leave - privilege, casual and sick leave as per rules.

New POs serve a probation of about two years, during which they are trained in all areas of branch work. Some banks also ask for a service bond.

The work of a PO includes:

• Handling customer accounts, deposits and service issues.
• Processing loans - checking documents, credit and recovery.
• Selling bank products such as insurance and mutual funds.
• Supervising clerical staff and branch operations.

Promotions are based on service, performance and internal exams or interviews. Senior posts like Executive Director and MD are filled through a separate process.

IBPS conducts the PO exam for public sector banks other than SBI. Banks that have taken part include Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India, Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Punjab National Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, UCO Bank and Union Bank of India.

The banks taking part and their vacancies are listed in each notice. After the result, IBPS allots banks based on merit and the preferences you give, so rank your banks thoughtfully.

After allotment, banks give new POs induction training at their staff training colleges, followed by on-the-job training in branches. Many banks also run short courses on credit, foreign exchange and digital banking. Some banks expect POs to clear the JAIIB and CAIIB exams of the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance, which can bring extra increments.

• POs can be transferred across States, often to rural and semi-urban branches in the early years.
• Work can be heavy at month-end, year-end and during targets for loans and deposits.
• Within a few years, a PO may become a branch manager of a small branch.
• The job offers respect, steady growth and good perks, but needs patience with customers and targets.

1. Prelims - speed in quantitative aptitude and reasoning, and accuracy in English.
2. Mains - high-level puzzles, data analysis, and Banking and Economy awareness from the last six months.
3. Descriptive - practise letter and essay writing in English.
4. Interview - know your bank, basic banking terms and current economic issues.

Both follow the same industry pay scale; perks and increments differ by bank.

A clerk in a public sector bank starts on the clerical pay scale with a much lower basic pay than a PO, and has a slower growth path. Many clerks later clear the PO exam or internal promotion exams to become officers.

See our IBPS Clerk exam guide for details of the clerical cadre.

1. Prelims - English, quantitative aptitude and reasoning.
2. Mains - reasoning and computer aptitude, General, Economy and Banking Awareness, English, data analysis, and a descriptive English test.
3. Interview, and final allotment of banks through IBPS.

Candidates need a graduation degree; the age limit has been 20 to 30 years. See our IBPS PO exam guide for the full pattern.

• Class 10 certificate for date of birth.
• Marksheets and certificates of the qualifying exam (graduation).
• Caste, EWS or non-creamy layer certificate in the central government format, where relevant.
• Photo identity proof and recent photographs, as asked at document verification.

Make sure your name and date of birth match across all documents.

1. Judging the job only by basic pay - DA, special allowance and leased house add a lot.
2. Ignoring the service bond of some banks.
3. Not preparing for the interview, which affects final merit.
4. Using old salary figures from before the latest settlement.

For other pay guides, see the RRB NTPC post list and salary and SSC CGL post list and salary pages.