State Bank of India is raining jobs this summer! The public bank has released notification for recruitment of Junior Associates (Customer Support & Sales) and Junior Agricultural Associates in Clerical Cadre. A grand total of 17140 posts will be filled by the Bank during the year 2016.

Before we get into all the details, take a look at the important dates:

Activity	Date
Starting date for Online Registration	05 April 2016
Last date for Registration	25 April 2016
Preliminary Examination	May/June 2016 (Tentatively)

Posts Details

Following posts are available, as notified by SBI:

1. Junior Associate (Customer Support & Sales): 10726 Posts
2. Junior Agricultural Associate: 3008 Posts
3. Junior Associates for Backlog Vacancies: 3218 Posts

Salary Details

The pay scale as per the notification is 11765-655/3-13730-815/3-16175-980/4-20095-1145/7-28110-2120/1-30230-1310/1-31540 In Mumbai the starting salary for Junior Associate would a gross total of Rs. 20950. A Junior Agricultural Associate gets a little more (about Rs.490). Obviously, this figure is for Mumbai. For most of the other cities, the salary would be less than this. Check this post to understand how salary is calculated in government organisations.

Educational Qualifications

You basically need to be a graduate from a recognised university/institute.

1. For Junior Associates: Graduation in any discipline will be fine.
2. For Junior Agricultural Associates : You need a graduation in Agriculture or Agriculture allied activities from a government recognised university/institute.

The cut-off date for the educational qualification is 30 June 2016. This means that you need to have appeared for your final year graduation exams and passed them, on or before the cut-off date. This will be judged by the date on your mark sheet or a provisional certificate issued by college/university authorities. This also means that if you are in your final year, and you will be in a position to fulfill the criteria above, then you can apply. In any case, at the time of interview/joining, you will have to produce documentary proof of having passed the Graduation Examination on or before the cut-off date.

Age Limit

The Age limit for the notified posts is a minimum of 20 years and a maximum of 28 years. The cut-off date for age is 1 April 2016. So basically, your age on the cut-off date should meet the criteria above. As per Government of India rules, age relaxation is available for reserved categories (caste based, physical disability). Please check the official notification for that. Also, if you are going to claim age relaxation, please make sure that you have the right documentary evidence as mentioned by SBI.

Some More Rules For Applying

Apart from the qualifications and age limit, the bank has also put some other restrictions. Read this carefully so that you don’t make any mistake in filling up the application form.

1. An important rule is that you can appear for the test only once under this recruitment drive.
2. As a part of the selection process, you will be tested on your proficiency in the local language.

Applying for Tura (Meghalaya) and Kashmir Valley & Ladakh

If you are applying under Special Recruitment Drive for Tura (Meghalaya) and Kashmir Valley & Ladakh:

1. Then you can only apply for one District.
2. And you should be proficient (reading, writing, speaking and understanding) in the official language of the State and local language of the concerned District. Please heck the table in the official notification (link at the end of this article)

Applying For Other States

If you are applying in other states:

1. You can only apply for vacancies in one State and only for one post.
2. And you must be proficient (reading, writing, speaking and understanding) in the official language of the State.

Selection Procedure

The selection process will consist of an on-line test (preliminary & main examinations), a test of official and/or local language and interview.

1. Phase I: Preliminary Examination consisting of Objective Tests for 100 marks. This test would be of 1-hour duration consisting of 3 Sections as follows and will be conducted online (there will be a sectional cut-off for this round of exam).
   • English Language – 30 questions
   • Numerical Ability – 35 questions
   • Reasoning Ability  – 35 questions
2. Phase II: Main Examination (online objective type) for 200 marks. This test would be of 2 Hours 40 minutes consisting of 4 sections (again sectional cut-offs). But each sectional will have a separate time limit.
   • General/Financial Awareness – 50 questions
   • General English – 40 questions
   • Quantitative Aptitude – 50 questions
   • Reasoning Ability& Computer Aptitude – 50 questions
3. Phase III: Interview Round – Candidates qualified in the main examination will be called for personal interview. However, the interview round is subject to approval from Government of India.

The written tests will have negative marking (standard 1/4 mark penalty). The final selection will be based on the total marks obtained in Phase 2 exam and the interview (if it is held).

Application Fee

Candidates need to pay Rs. 600/- (Rs. 100/- for SC/ ST/ PwD candidates) by using debit card/ credit card/ internet banking.

How To Apply

1. You should first scan their photograph and signature as per prescribed format.
2. Open the application form by clicking this
3. Fill the application carefully. Once the application is filled in completely, you will then be provided a provisional registration number and password. Note down the registration number and password for future reference.
4. After ensuring the correctness of the particulars of the application form, candidates are required to pay fees. The payment can be made by using debit card/ credit card/ Internet Banking.
5. On successful completion of the transaction, e-receipt and application form will be generated.

Final Advice

As I always advise, before rushing in to fill the form take out some time to read the job description. What work will you be required to do? How is the work culture? And so on. But also don’t wait until the last day. Be careful when you are filling your details, because once you have filled the form you will not be allowed to make any changes. 

If you are serious about applying for this exam, you would like to read the following posts

• SBI Junior Associate Job Profile
• SBI Junior Associate Paper Pattern
• SBI Junior Associate Books

Best of luck. Click on the links to download the official notification – /