Ministry of Home Affairs is going to conduct Intelligence Bureau Assistant Central Intelligence Officer Exam on 15th of October. There are 1430 vacancies in total this year. One of the questions that nag most aspirants is what will be the IB ACIO cut off marks. In this blog, we try to provide an answer for the same.
Aspirants can checkout IB ACIO online preparation to have a structured preparation plan. Once you are pretty confident with the basics, take IB ACIO free mocks and IB ACIO free topic tests to gauge your level of preparation. As the exam is similar to SSC CGL in the pattern, SSC aspirants must definitely try to leverage their preparation in this exam.
In the last few days leading to the exam, solve free general knowledge questions for IB ACIO to gain some confidence. Make sure that you can score above the expected IB ACIO cut off marks. This exam provides aspirants with an opportunity to work with the prestigious Ministry of Home Affairs. Hence, Aspirants must make the most out of this opportunity.
IB ACIO exam pattern:
There are 3 levels in this exam – Tier 1, Tier 2 and Interview. The pattern is very similar to that of SSC CGL exam.
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Tier 1 exam:
Tier 1 is an objective exam. The pattern is akin to that of SSC CGL. The exam duration is one hour. The exam consists of 4 sections – Quantitative ability, English language, Analytical Ability and General awareness. Each section contains 25 questions. The nature of questions that appear is very similar to the ones that appear in the SSC CGL exam.
Each question carries 1 mark. The penalty for wrong answers is 0.25 marks. There are no sectional cut offs. A candidate’s marks in tier 1 will have a say till MHA releases the final merit list. Hence, Aspirants must score as high as possible in the tier 1 exam.
An important point to note is that this exam is pen and paper-based. Hence, aspirants must set aside sufficient time to shade the OMR sheet too. On the upside, aspirants can scan the entire question paper before picking out the questions to attempt.
Tier 2 exam:
This exam is of descriptive type. There are 2 questions in this exam.
1. Essay writing
2. Precis writing
Essay writing carries 30 marks whereas Precis writing carries 20 marks. The duration of tier 2 exam is one hour. Clearly, this exam intends to test the written communication skills of the candidate. Try to be succinct and write to the point. Also, avoid beating around the bush.
Earlier, tier 1 and tier 2 exams were conducted on the same day. Now, only aspirants who clear tier 1 exam can appear for tier 2 exam.
Interview:
The interview is the final stage in the recruitment process. Interview carries a weightage of 100 marks. The steps that follow interview are document-verification and the medical test.
MHA considers the Cumulative marks of tier 1 exam, tier 2 exam and interview while making the merit list. Finally, candidates who secure sufficiently high ranks in the merit list bag the job.
IB ACIO cut off – Previous years:
MHA does not release the cut off for selection. Also, MHA is not obliged to answer under RTI. Hence, there is no way to know the exact cut off marks.
However, any candidate who gets below 33% in tier 1 exam is automatically disqualified. Similarly, Aspirants must secure above 35% in tier 2 exam to avoid disqualification.
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IB ACIO cut off – Expected cut off:
Though 33% is the bare minimum aspirants must score, it is unlikely for a score below 50 to make the cut. As the number of vacancies is also low, we expect the cut off for general category to be greater than at least 65 marks.
| Category | Expected IB ACIO cut off marks |
| General | 65-70 |
| OBC | 60-65 |
| SC | 50-60 |
| ST | 50-55 |
Since the marks of tier 1 exam will influence the final selection, aspirants must try to score as high as possible in the tier 1 exam. Also, scoring high in the tier 1 exam will reduce the pressure in the subsequent stages.
Tier 2 exam involves a fair share of subjectivity and one can never be sure of the marks one can get in tier 2 exam. The same is the case with the interview too. Hence, tier 1 exam is the best place for aspirants to improve their chances of becoming an ACIO officer significantly.
We hope that this blog on expected IB ACIO cut off would have cleared the air a bit. If you are preparing for other exams too, check out other blogs on IBPS Clerk expected cut off 2017-state wise and IBPS Clerk 2017 vacancy state wise.
