Best Books for IBPS PO and SBI PO 2026 — Section-wise Recommendations

Best Books for IBPS PO and SBI PO 2026 — What Actually Works

Walk into any bookshop and you'll find 50 different books for banking exams. Online, there are even more options. The problem isn't lack of resources — it's too many of them.

This guide cuts through the noise. These are the books that consistently top the recommendations of officers who have already cleared IBPS PO and SBI PO. Some are old standards that have stood the test of time, some are newer additions that cover the current exam pattern well.

For Reasoning Ability (Prelims + Mains)

R.S. Aggarwal — A Modern Approach to Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning (S. Chand) This is the classic starting point for anyone who needs to build their Reasoning foundation from scratch. Covers all the basics — seating arrangement, blood relations, syllogisms, coding-decoding, direction sense, analogies, series. The explanations are clear and the exercise sets are comprehensive.

Best for: Building fundamentals. Essential if you're starting from zero.

Arihant — A New Approach to Reasoning by B.S. Sijwali & S. Sijwali Covers newer question types that the IBPS and SBI have been adding in recent years — complex puzzle variations, machine input-output at higher difficulty. Goes beyond Aggarwal in some areas.

Best for: Supplementing Aggarwal once you've finished the basics.

Mocks and Previous Year Papers (Online platforms — Testbook, Oliveboard, Gradeup) No book teaches timing and test strategy the way actual mock tests do. After finishing your basic book, move to online mocks. They update question patterns every year to match current exam trends.

Best for: The actual exam experience. Do at least 30-40 mocks before the exam.

For Quantitative Aptitude (Prelims + Mains)

R.S. Aggarwal — Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations (S. Chand) Another Aggarwal classic. Covers every arithmetic topic you need — percentage, profit and loss, ratio and proportion, averages, time and work, pipes and cisterns, simple and compound interest, speed and distance, number system. The chapter-wise exercises are very thorough.

Best for: Arithmetic foundation. Essential for all banking exams.

Arun Sharma — How to Prepare for Data Interpretation (McGraw-Hill) The DI section in IBPS PO Mains and SBI PO Mains has become increasingly complex. Arun Sharma's DI book covers a wide variety of DI types — tables, bar charts, pie charts, line graphs, caselet DI (paragraph-based), and mixed DI. The level is slightly above the current exam level, which means your actual exam will feel easier after practicing from this book.

Best for: DI preparation, especially for Mains.

For English Language (Prelims + Mains)

SP Bakshi — Objective General English (Arihant) The most complete English book available for competitive exams. Covers grammar rules with clear explanations, comprehension passages, cloze test, fill in the blanks, error spotting, and vocabulary. Very well-organized.

Best for: Grammar and all English sections across both Prelims and Mains.

Norman Lewis — Word Power Made Easy (Penguin) Vocabulary is tested in every banking exam — synonyms, antonyms, and words in context. Norman Lewis is the gold standard for building English vocabulary. The book builds vocabulary systematically through roots, prefixes, and suffixes rather than rote memorization.

Best for: Vocabulary improvement. Read 1-2 chapters daily for 60 days.

The Hindu / Economic Times (Daily reading) No book teaches reading comprehension like reading quality newspapers every day. SBI PO and IBPS PO RC passages are dense, analytical, and fast to time. Reading 2-3 articles daily from The Hindu's editorials or Economic Times builds the reading habit and vocabulary that no book can replicate.

Best for: RC speed, comprehension accuracy, and vocabulary in context.

For Banking and General Awareness (Mains)

Arihant — Handbook on Banking Awareness This is the most comprehensive static banking awareness book available. Covers history of banking in India, types of banks, RBI and its functions, monetary policy, banking terms (NPA, SARFAESI, IBC, CRR, SLR, MCLR), important banking schemes, financial markets, stock exchange, mutual funds, insurance basics, and government schemes.

Best for: One-time comprehensive reading before the Mains. Revise 2-3 times.

Current Affairs (Last 6 months) For the "Current Affairs" component of General/Banking Awareness, no book covers what's happening right now. Use:

• GKToday.in — Daily current affairs, monthly PDFs, practice quizzes
• AffairsCloud.com — Banking-focused current affairs, very relevant for IBPS/SBI
• Testbook Current Affairs — Good app for on-the-go daily reading

Best for: Staying updated. Check daily for 20-30 minutes.

For Descriptive English (SBI PO and IBPS PO Mains)

Arihant — Descriptive General English by S.P. Bakshi and Richa Sharma Covers letter writing, essay writing, précis, and report writing. Has sample essays and letters on common banking/economy topics that are frequently asked in SBI PO and IBPS PO Mains.

Best for: Structure and vocabulary for the Descriptive paper. Do not just read — write at least 3-4 essays and letters per week.

Study Plan Using These Books

Months 1-2 (Foundation):

• RS Aggarwal Reasoning — complete chapters on Puzzles, Seating, Syllogisms, Blood Relations
• RS Aggarwal QA — complete Percentage, Profit/Loss, Interest, Time/Work, Speed/Distance
• SP Bakshi English — complete Grammar section + Reading Comprehension chapters
• Arihant Banking Awareness — read 2-3 chapters daily

Months 3-4 (Practice and Speed):

• Arun Sharma DI — all chapters with timed practice
• Arihant Reasoning book — advanced puzzle types
• Start Norman Lewis Word Power
• Daily newspaper reading (30 min minimum)
• 2 full mock tests per week

Month 5-6 (Mock Test Phase):

• Daily Prelims mock tests (target 40-50 mocks total)
• Weekly Mains mock tests after Prelims
• Daily current affairs (20 minutes)
• Weekly essay + letter writing practice

One Final Piece of Advice

No book works unless you actually practice. The candidates who clear banking exams are not the ones who bought the most books — they're the ones who sat down every day, solved problems under timed conditions, and took mocks seriously. Buy 2-3 books maximum per section. Finish them. Then practice. Don't collect books hoping that having more resources will help. It doesn't.