In India, the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) is an autonomous body that examines the recruitment of applicants in the banking industry. In most cases, the official authority serves as the exam conducting body. The IBPS exams are administered via Common Written Examination (CWE) for Probationary Officers, Clerks (PO), Office Assistants and Specialist Officers.
Both IBPS PO and IBPS Regional Rural Bank (RRB) PO are officer’s grade jobs, and every year, lakhs of banking aspirants take the exam to be a part of either one. However, many candidates who are aiming for IBPS or IBPS RRB exams are puzzled as to what is the difference between the two job profiles and which one is better.
In this article, we have provided some insights on the difference between IBPS PO and IBPS RRB PO in terms of career progression, salary structure, exam pattern, job transfers etc.
Difference between IBPS PO and IBPS RRB PO
Although IBPS PO and IBPS RRB PO are officer level job profiles, the perks in IBPS PO are more than those in Regional Rural Bank (RRB) PO. The job benefits and amenities in RRB PO are relatively limited, as there is comparatively much less work to be done in rural banks than in the cities. As a result, the promotion and professional advancement are stalled in RRBs. While in IBPS PO, postings are usually in big national banks, and growth in these occupations, including facilities, is fairly strong. More such differences are given in the table below.
| Features | IBPS Probationary Officers (PO) | IBPS Regional Rural Bank (RRB) PO |
| Exam pattern | 3 stages- Prelims, Mains and Interview
Subjects: Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude, General Awareness and English. IBPS Prelims: English, Quantitative Ability and Reasoning. Total 100 objective questions to be done in 1 hour. IBPS Mains: Reasoning, General Awareness, Quantitative Ability, English and Computer Knowledge. IBPS Interview: Final stage of the exam. The difficulty level of IBPS PO is more than the IBPS RRB PO. |
3 stages: Prelims, Mains and Interview. There is an additional interview round for those candidates who have applied for the Officer Scale 1 (PO) position.
Subjects: Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude, General Awareness and English. IBPS RRB PO Prelims: Reasoning and Quantitative Ability. 80 objective questions in 2 hours. IBPS RRB PO Mains: Reasoning, Quantitative Ability, English/ Hindi, General Awareness and Computer Knowledge. IBPS Interview: Final stage of the exam. |
| Salary | An IBPS PO’s basic pay is Rs. 23,700/-, which equates to an in-hand income of Rs. 42,000/- to 44,000/- including HRA. | An IBPS RRB PO’s basic pay is Rs. 23,700/-, with the in-hand income of Rs. 29,000/- to 33,000/- including HRA. |
| Job Profile | ● The work of PO and managers in banks is to maintain, regulate and supervise branch activities in the customer branch.
● For IBPS PO, the workload is much higher, and it is challenging. ● The potential for advancement is substantially greater. ● Greater exposure to the bank’s management levels. ● Offer a wide range of work avenues like corporate loans, treasury, forex, managing HNI’s, etc,. apart from routine work of a bank.
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● An RRB officer’s major responsibility is to extend banking services to India’s rural communities.
● The work involved in RRBs is limited to agriculture and rural development, especially small loans. ● When compared to national sector banks, the workload is lighter, and opportunities for advancement are limited. ● Restricted to providing credit and other facilities to the small and marginal farmers, agricultural labourers, artisans and small entrepreneurs in rural areas.
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| Postings | POs at commercial banks can be posted in both rural and urban regions, and they are frequently transferred, generally 3 years. Fewer chances of getting a home posting. | Because RRBs are only present in rural regions, they are generally stationed in rural and, in certain situations, semi-urban areas. Chances of being transferred to the hometown are high. |
| Career Growth | High promotional opportunities.
● Assistant Manager ● Deputy Manager ● Branch Manager ● Chief Manager ● Assistant General Manager ● Deputy General Manager ● Chief General Manager ● General Manager |
The promotions are stalled as compared to IBPS PO.
● Officer Scale-1 ● Assistant Manager ● Deputy Manager ● Branch Manager ● Senior Branch Manager ● Chief Manager ● Assistant General Manager ● Deputy General Manager ● Chief General Manager ● General Manager
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IBPS releases notifications for PO and RRB PO in the month of June or July, and the exam takes place mostly in September or October. The IBPS admit cards are released 10-15 days before the date of the exam. Aspirants can download the same from the official website of the IBPS.
Finally, deciding between the two as a professional path is entirely dependent on one’s personal set of priorities. Various aspects like career prospects, workplace environment, and so on clearly favour IBPS PO. Working with less wealthy individuals, on the other hand, provides more job satisfaction for those ready to serve the rural masses.
