J&K Bank Probationary Officer 2026 — Main Online Examination and Interview Selection

Notification JKB/HR/Rectt/2026-492 | Conducting agency for Mains: IBPS | Second competitive stage | 225 marks in 190 minutes

The Main Examination is for candidates shortlisted after the bank's Preliminary Online Examination. It is not one undifferentiated 200-mark question paper: the bank specifies four objective sections totalling 200 marks, followed by a separately timed 25-mark descriptive component. Both are part of the notified Main Examination.

Complete Main Examination pattern

The notified 170 objective questions span 160 minutes, and the English descriptive paper contains two tasks over another 30 minutes. Its maximum is 25 marks, giving 225 marks overall. The main-test sequence is not guaranteed to follow the table row order: the bank labels the tests “not by sequence”, and each paper has its own allotted timer.

📊 PO Mains: marks assigned to the five papers

Reasoning — 40 questions, 60 marks, 45 minutes

This is an English-medium, separately timed objective paper carrying 60 marks from 40 questions. It has the same total marks as the Main banking-awareness and data-analysis sections, but a different question count and a different timer: Reasoning gets 45 minutes. Candidates should not import the Preliminary Reasoning pattern of 35 questions, 40 marks and 20 minutes into Mains. The detailed advertisement does not specify a fixed split of logical-reasoning chapter labels, puzzle sets or individual question types, so no such subtopic weightage is represented as officially promised here.

Each Main objective subject must meet its own minimum test score as determined by the bank/IBPS, alongside the aggregate mark condition. A strong Reasoning result cannot by itself cure an unmet cutoff in another subject.

General / Economy / Banking Awareness, Digital and Financial Awareness — 50 questions, 60 marks, 35 minutes

The official Main syllabus heading is unusually expansive: General, Economy, Banking Awareness, Digital and Financial Awareness, including Reserve Bank of India circulars. All those terms appear explicitly in the subject title and are part of the same 50-question, 60-mark, 35-minute objective paper. The bank does not issue a separately numbered syllabus of individual circulars, financial laws, months of current affairs or a fixed distribution among these domains in the detailed recruitment advertisement.

The phrase “including RBI Circulars” is a meaningful indication that circular-based banking/regulatory awareness falls within the stated test area; it must not be replaced by an invented list of circular numbers or by last year's test blueprint. This paper receives 60 marks, equal to Reasoning and Data Analysis, but the time allowance is only 35 minutes.

English Language — 40 questions, 20 marks, 35 minutes

In Mains, English Language is a separately timed 40-question paper worth 20 marks, which differs substantially from the Preliminary English paper of 30 questions for 30 marks in 20 minutes. The notice indicates English as the examination medium. It does not supply the precise number of comprehension passages, grammar questions or vocabulary items that will appear. Applicants should distinguish this objective English section from the further descriptive writing paper; they are two separate assessed components.

Data Analysis and Interpretation — 40 questions, 60 marks, 45 minutes

The bank specifically calls this subject Data Analysis & Interpretation and assigns 40 questions, 60 marks and 45 minutes. It is not a second Quantitative Aptitude paper with the Preliminary mark structure. The advertisement does not guarantee the exact types of tables, graphs, charts or data sets; the candidate-facing official constraint is the listed subject, its marks, count and separate timer. Like the other objective tests, it is subject to its own qualifying marks.

English descriptive paper — 2 tasks, 25 marks, 30 minutes

The description given by the bank is Essay and Comprehension. It says the tasks may be broadly based on economic and social issues, emerging trends in banking and technology, current events and ethics. “May” does not make any particular essay title, word count, document format or article compulsory. The paper is in English and 30 minutes are allotted for the two tasks together. This assessment is additional to the four objective sections: omitting its 25 marks would understate the Main Examination maximum.

No objective-style deduction rule is specified for the essay/comprehension component. The announced one-fourth negative marking is explicitly for objective answers; it must not be extended to descriptive writing through an invented formula.

Selection cutoffs and movement to interview

The bank requires minimum marks in each Main test and a minimum total before a candidate can be considered for interview. It states an aggregate qualifying minimum of 40% for General and 35% for reserved categories, subject to category merit. Those percentages indicate minimum qualifying requirements, not a published last-interviewed score or a predicted final selection cutoff.

After the Main stage the bank shortlists candidates for interview at approximately three times the number of vacancies under each category. No separate category-wise integer vacancy table has been published for this 323-post notice, so no numeric category-by-category interview call count should be assumed. The bank states that Main examination scores of interview-shortlisted candidates will not be disclosed until the interview process ends.

Corrected marks and negative marking

For an incorrect answer to an objective Main question, the penalty is 25% of the marks allotted to that question. If the candidate leaves a question blank, no negative mark is charged. Because sections carry unequal total marks and different question counts, assuming a fixed quarter-mark penalty in all papers would be incorrect. The corrected scores of multiple examination sessions may be equated using the equi-percentile approach to address test-form variation. Calculations use marks to two decimal places.

Bank Interview — 100 marks; a genuine selection stage

The third advertised phase is an interview conducted by the bank at selected centres for eligible Mains-shortlisted candidates. The bank will notify the actual venue, date and time in the individual interview call letter. This recruitment has no announced interview date in the original advertisement.

The Interview is marked out of 100. Its minimum qualifying mark is 40% (40 marks) for General category and 35% (35 marks) for reserved-category candidates. Qualifying only one of the two final stages is insufficient: the bank explicitly requires success in both Main Examination and Interview to consider a candidate for provisional selection. The bank may withhold publishing interview scores of those who do not qualify or are barred from further consideration.

Combined final merit: 80% Main Examination, 20% Interview

🥧 Final merit: prescribed Main Examination and Interview shares

This ratio refers to the bank's prescribed final-score calculation, not an unweighted 225 + 100 = 325 total. The Preliminary score gets no separate share. Candidates meeting both stages are ranked against available category vacancies according to their combined score and the reservation rules. In case of an equal combined score, the bank places the older applicant first by date of birth.

The bank may maintain a reserve list up to 50% of the notified vacancies in each category. Its validity is one year after the publication of selection list or the next recruitment notice, whichever comes first. Being on the reserve list does not secure a job offer, especially if no qualifying vacancy is made available while it remains valid.

Interview certificates, employer NOC and identity verification

Interview candidates should carry the valid interview call letter, printed final online application, original date-of-birth proof, photographic identity proof, graduation marksheets/degree, J&K domicile certificate, and the competent-authority community/EWS/PwBD documents as applicable, plus self-attested photocopies. EWS claimants must use the prescribed Income and Asset Certificate. Candidates who used a scribe may need the completed scribe form. Any other required certificate or experience proof should be ready if applicable.

An applicant currently working for a government, quasi-government, public-sector, nationalised bank or financial institution requires a proper No Objection Certificate from the employer. The bank says a document permitting attendance only for the interview is not an adequate NOC. Candidates need a suitable release/discharge certificate when joining if selected.

Biometric identity may be captured before/after Mains, checked again during document verification before interview, and at joining. Refusal to cooperate with required verification can invalidate candidature. A call letter or interview invitation is provisional and does not overcome insufficient domicile, qualification, age, identity or reservation documentation.

Announced and unannounced milestones

Applications and fee payment run from 7 to 26 November 2026. The Prelims date, Mains date, interview date, future call-letter dates, selection publication and joining date are not specified in the detailed advertisement. Do not read an application deadline as a testing date. The bank will communicate genuine schedules via its official Careers section and registered contact details. No initial answer key, admit card, published result or achieved recruitment cutoff is attached to the 7 November notice.