IBPS RRB PO key terms

A reasoning topic where two or more statements are assumed true and you must decide which conclusions follow logically, using Venn diagrams or the 'possibility' rules for either/or cases.

In syllogism questions, a conclusion worded as 'it is possible that...' can be true even when it is not certain, so it is treated as a separate, more lenient answer type.

A technique of drawing overlapping circles to represent given statements and checking whether a conclusion holds in every possible arrangement, especially useful in syllogism and set-based puzzles.

A reasoning question that describes family links through statements or a coded diagram, and asks how two named people are related, often requiring you to build a family tree.

A blood relation question where symbols such as +, -, × or ÷ replace words like father, mother, brother or sister, so you must first decode each symbol before drawing the family tree.

A puzzle type in which people sit in a row or around a circle facing inward or outward, and clues about neighbours and positions must be combined to fix the full arrangement.

A seating puzzle where people are placed in one or two straight rows, with clues referring to left, right, ends and immediate neighbours; direction of facing changes which side is 'left'.

A seating puzzle with people around a circle facing the centre or facing outward; when facing outward, a person's left is clockwise, which reverses many positional deductions.

A puzzle where people live on numbered floors of a building and clues about who lives above, below or immediately next to whom must be used to assign every person to a floor.

A reasoning question that shows a series of steps rearranging numbers or words by a fixed rule, and asks you to identify the rule or the output after a given number of steps.

The starting line of numbers or words in an input-output question; each step applies the same rearrangement logic until the final arranged output is reached.

A question where words are written in a code according to a letter-shift, substitution or pattern rule, and you must decode a new word or encode a given one.

A coding pattern where each letter of a word moves a fixed number of places forward or backward in the alphabet, sometimes alternating direction between positions.

A sequence mixing letters, numbers and symbols, where questions ask which element is nth to the left or right of a given element or how many symbols satisfy a stated condition.

A question that gives a problem plus two or three statements and asks whether the data in those statements is enough to answer it, without necessarily calculating the final value.

The judgement in data sufficiency of whether statement I alone, statement II alone, both together, or neither is sufficient to reach a unique answer.

A numerical ability item requiring BODMAS order of operations to reduce an expression involving fractions, decimals, surds and brackets to a single value quickly.

A speed technique where numbers are rounded to convenient values so an expression can be estimated and matched to the closest option, saving time in the numerical ability section.

A sequence of numbers following a hidden rule such as addition, multiplication, squares or alternating patterns; you must find the missing or wrong term.

A number series in which all but one term follow a rule; the task is to identify the term that breaks the pattern rather than to supply a missing value.

A question giving two quadratic equations, one in x and one in y, where you solve both and compare the roots to decide the relationship between x and y.

The values of the variable that make an equation true; for a quadratic ax²+bx+c=0 they are found by factorisation or by the formula involving the discriminant.

A set of questions based on a table, bar graph, pie chart or line graph, requiring calculation of totals, percentages, ratios and averages from the given data.

A data interpretation set presented as a paragraph of text instead of a chart or table, so the candidate must first extract and organise the numerical information before answering.

A circular diagram dividing a total into sectors, usually showing percentage or degree shares; questions often ask for the difference or ratio between two sectors.

Interest calculated only on the original principal for the whole period, using the formula principal × rate × time ÷ 100, with no compounding of earned interest.

Interest calculated on both the principal and previously earned interest, so the amount grows each period according to the rate and the frequency of compounding.

Arithmetic involving cost price, selling price, marked price and discount, where profit or loss percentage is always calculated on the cost price unless stated otherwise.

The labelled price of an article before discount; the selling price equals marked price minus the discount, and profit is found by comparing selling price with cost price.

Problems linking distance, speed and time, including relative speed for trains, boats and streams, and average speed when different speeds are used over equal distances.

A variation of speed problems where downstream speed is boat speed plus stream speed and upstream speed is boat speed minus stream speed, allowing both unknowns to be found.

Counting methods where permutation cares about order of selection and combination does not; used for arranging letters, forming committees and selecting items under conditions.

The chance of an event, calculated as the number of favourable outcomes divided by the total number of equally likely outcomes, expressed as a fraction or percentage.

Measurement of area, perimeter, surface area and volume of plane and solid figures such as circles, triangles, cylinders and spheres, using standard formulas.

The rate at which the Reserve Bank of India lends short-term funds to commercial banks against government securities; changes to it influence liquidity and lending rates in the economy.

The rate at which the Reserve Bank of India absorbs surplus liquidity from banks by borrowing from them; it usually sits below the repo rate within the policy corridor.

The Reserve Bank of India's decisions on policy rates and liquidity to control inflation and support growth, announced in bi-monthly reviews by the Monetary Policy Committee.

The share of a bank's net demand and time liabilities that must be kept as cash with the Reserve Bank of India, earning no interest and reducing funds available for lending.

The minimum percentage of net demand and time liabilities that a bank must hold in liquid assets such as government securities, cash or gold, in addition to the cash reserve.

A loan or advance on which principal or interest has remained overdue for more than 90 days; such assets are classified as sub-standard, doubtful or loss assets.

The total value of all non-performing assets held by a bank before deducting provisions; it is usually expressed as a percentage of gross advances.

A Reserve Bank of India requirement that banks direct a minimum share of credit to agriculture, micro and small enterprises, education, housing and weaker sections of society.

Efforts to bring unbanked and underbanked people into the formal financial system through basic accounts, micro-insurance, pension schemes and digital payment access.

A national financial inclusion scheme launched in 2014 to provide basic savings accounts, overdraft facility, accident insurance cover and a debit card to unbanked households.

A bank set up under the Regional Rural Banks Act to serve rural areas, jointly owned by the central government, the state government and a sponsoring commercial bank.

National Electronic Funds Transfer, a Reserve Bank of India-operated system for transferring funds between bank accounts in batches, available around the clock through net banking and branches.

Real Time Gross Settlement, a system for high-value fund transfers settled individually and immediately, with a minimum transfer amount of two lakh rupees and no upper limit.

Immediate Payment Service, a 24x7 interbank transfer system operated by NPCI that allows instant transfers through mobile banking, net banking, ATMs and UPI.

Unified Payments Interface, a National Payments Corporation of India platform that lets users link bank accounts to a virtual payment address and transfer money instantly using a mobile app.

A passage with numbered blanks, each to be filled by one of the given options; the correct word must fit both the grammar of the sentence and the overall meaning of the passage.

A passage followed by questions on its main idea, specific details, inference, tone and vocabulary, requiring careful reading rather than outside knowledge of the topic.

A comprehension question asking what can be logically concluded from the passage rather than what is directly stated, so the answer must be supported but not explicitly written.

A set of sentences given in random order that must be rearranged into a coherent paragraph by identifying opening sentences, connectors and logical links between ideas.

A word or phrase such as however, therefore or moreover that signals the relationship between sentences or clauses, and is a key clue in para jumbles and fill-in-the-blank items.

A question presenting a sentence divided into parts, one of which contains a grammatical error in tense, subject-verb agreement, preposition or article use, to be identified.

The rule that a singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural subject a plural verb, with special cases for collective nouns, indefinite pronouns and phrases between subject and verb.

A fixed expression whose meaning cannot be worked out from its individual words, such as 'at the drop of a hat'; questions ask for its meaning or correct use in a sentence.

Vocabulary items asking for a word with a similar meaning or an opposite meaning to a given word, often drawn from the comprehension passage or a standalone list.

A question where a part of a sentence is underlined and four replacements are offered; you must choose the version that is grammatically correct and keeps the original meaning.