IB Security Assistant Syllabus 2026: Topics and Study Plan
The IB Security Assistant syllabus 2026 is easier to plan around once you know one thing: the Intelligence Bureau does not publish a topic-wise syllabus. The official notification names the sections of each stage and their marks, and nothing more. Every topic list you see online, including the one on this page, is built from those section names and from the questions asked in earlier papers.
So treat the topics below as an indicative working checklist, not an official list. The stage structure, marks and negative marking are confirmed from the 2025 notification (Security Assistant/Executive Examination-2025). The next notification had not been announced at the time of writing (October 2026), so check the official website before you start any final-stage revision.
Table of Contents
IB Security Assistant syllabus at a glance
Stage | Section or test | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
Tier I (1 hour, online) | General Awareness | 20 | 20 |
Tier I | Quantitative Aptitude | 20 | 20 |
Tier I | Numerical/Analytical/Logical Ability and Reasoning | 20 | 20 |
Tier I | English Language | 20 | 20 |
Tier I | General Studies | 20 | 20 |
Tier II (1 hour, descriptive) | Two-way translation, opted language and English | Passages of about 500 words | 50 (qualifying, minimum 20) |
Tier III | Interview/personality test | Not applicable | 50 |
Tier I has 100 questions for 100 marks, and each wrong answer costs one-fourth of a mark. Final merit is based on Tier I and Tier III only. Tier II decides whether you move ahead but does not add to the merit score. The full stage-wise breakdown is on the IB Security Assistant exam pattern page.
What is official and what is indicative
Information | Status |
|---|---|
Five Tier I sections, 20 questions each | Official (2025 notification) |
Negative marking of one-fourth | Official |
Tier II is translation, qualifying at 20 out of 50 | Official |
Tier III interview of 50 marks | Official |
Topic lists inside each section | Indicative, based on section names and past papers |
Difficulty level and topic-wise weightage | Not published, varies by year |
Because the topic lists are not official, do not skip a topic only because it is missing here. Equally, do not spend weeks on a rare topic before the core ones are solid.
General Awareness syllabus
This section tests how closely you follow the world around you. It is usually the most scoring part for candidates who read the news daily, and the easiest to lose through irregular preparation.
Area | Topics to cover |
|---|---|
Current affairs | National and international events, government schemes, appointments, summits, agreements |
Awards and honours | National awards, international prizes, recent winners |
Sports | Major tournaments, venues, champions, sports terms |
Books and authors | Recent releases, famous works and their writers |
Important days and themes | National and international days, yearly themes |
Organisations and places | Headquarters, heads of organisations, capitals, currencies |
Security and defence awareness | Internal security institutions, agencies, recent defence news |
Aim to revise the last six to eight months of current affairs in the final phase, and keep a one-line note for each event so revision stays fast.
General Studies syllabus
General Studies covers static subjects that do not change with the news. The questions are usually factual and school-level, so accuracy comes from revision, not from long study sessions.
Subject | Topics to cover |
|---|---|
Indian polity | Constitution basics, fundamental rights and duties, Parliament, President and Prime Minister, judiciary |
History | Ancient, medieval and modern India with focus on the freedom struggle |
Geography | Physical features of India, rivers, climate, soils, resources, world geography basics |
Economy | Basic terms, banking, budget, taxes, planning |
General science | Physics, chemistry and biology up to class 10 level, human body, diseases |
Environment | Ecosystems, pollution, biodiversity, climate change |
Computer awareness | Basic hardware and software terms, internet and cyber safety |
Since the minimum qualification is class 10, class 6 to 10 NCERT-level facts are a sensible base. Build a short revision sheet for each subject instead of reading large reference books.
Quantitative Aptitude syllabus
This section rewards speed in arithmetic. With 20 questions in a one-hour paper that also carries four other sections, you have only a few minutes for each set, so shortcuts and table recall matter.
Topic group | Topics |
|---|---|
Number basics | Number system, HCF and LCM, simplification, square roots, approximation |
Percentage-based | Percentage, profit and loss, discount, simple and compound interest |
Ratio-based | Ratio and proportion, partnership, mixtures and alligation, averages, ages |
Work and motion | Time and work, pipes and cisterns, time, speed and distance, trains, boats and streams |
Geometry and mensuration | Lines, triangles, circles, area, perimeter, volume and surface area |
Algebra and trigonometry basics | Simple equations, identities, basic trigonometric ratios |
Data interpretation | Tables, bar graphs, line graphs, pie charts |
Begin with percentage, ratio and average because most other topics build on them. Learn tables up to 20 and squares up to 30, which saves time in every calculation-heavy question.
Reasoning syllabus
The official section name is Numerical/Analytical/Logical Ability and Reasoning, which tells you that both verbal and non-verbal patterns can appear.
Type | Topics |
|---|---|
Verbal reasoning | Analogy, classification, series, coding-decoding, alphabet tests, ranking and order |
Relationships and direction | Blood relations, direction sense, seating arrangement, puzzles |
Logical reasoning | Syllogism, statements and conclusions, statements and assumptions, Venn diagrams |
Numerical reasoning | Number series, mathematical operations, missing numbers |
Non-verbal reasoning | Figure series, mirror and water images, paper folding, counting figures, embedded figures |
Data sufficiency | Deciding whether given data is enough to answer a question |
Do not leave puzzles and seating arrangement for the end. They take the longest to solve, so practise them in timed sets and attempt them last in the exam unless they are very simple.
English Language syllabus
Area | Topics |
|---|---|
Grammar | Tenses, subject-verb agreement, articles, prepositions, conjunctions, modals, active and passive voice, direct and indirect speech |
Vocabulary | Synonyms, antonyms, one-word substitution, idioms and phrases, commonly confused words |
Sentence skills | Error spotting, sentence improvement, sentence rearrangement, fill in the blanks |
Comprehension | Reading passages, cloze test, inference-based questions |
English is also the base for Tier II, so the effort here pays twice. Read one editorial a day and note five new words with their usage, not just their meaning.
Tier II translation test
Tier II is descriptive. You translate a passage of about 500 words from your opted language into English, and another from English into that language, within one hour. The paper is qualifying, with a minimum of 20 out of 50 marks. The language must be one of those listed against the bureau you applied for.
Meaning first: Examiners look for correct meaning and clear sentences, not decorative vocabulary.
Both directions: Practise English to your language and back, since weakness in either direction can sink the paper.
Script and spelling: Practise writing in the script of your language, as you may be asked to write by hand.
Official vocabulary: Learn common administrative and news terms in your language, such as those used in government notices and reports.
Time split: Give about 25 to 30 minutes to each passage and keep a few minutes to re-read.
The notification does not list any typing test for this post, so the time saved can go to translation drills.
Tier III interview
The interview carries 50 marks and has no fixed syllabus. It is a personality and awareness test. Questions usually come from your application form, your home state and bureau choice, current affairs and your reasons for joining the service.
Know your form: Be ready to explain every detail you filled in.
Know your region: Learn about your state, its languages, districts and major issues.
Know the organisation: Read about the Intelligence Bureau's role and its place in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Be honest and calm: Short, clear answers work better than long, rehearsed ones.
Topics that overlap across sections
Some topics help you in more than one place. Studying them once and revising them often is the fastest way to cover a large syllabus.
Topic | Helps in | Why it overlaps |
|---|---|---|
Current affairs | General Awareness, General Studies, interview | The same events support facts, polity questions and interview answers |
Data interpretation | Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning | Both use tables and charts, so speed in one improves the other |
Number series and mathematical operations | Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning | Both rely on pattern spotting in numbers |
Reading and vocabulary | English, Tier II | Better English vocabulary improves the English side of translation |
Polity and economy | General Studies, General Awareness, interview | Government schemes appear as news and as static facts |
Study plan by phase
The plan below works for a candidate who has about 16 weeks. If you have more time, stretch the first phase. If you have less, shorten the first phase and move quickly to timed practice.
Phase | Weeks | Focus | Weekly goal |
|---|---|---|---|
Foundation | 1 to 6 | Basics of arithmetic, grammar, reasoning patterns and static subjects | Finish two to three topics per subject |
Practice | 7 to 11 | Topic-wise questions, short quizzes, daily current affairs, translation drills | Two sectional tests and one error review |
Mock tests | 12 to 15 | Full-length timed tests, previous year papers, analysis of mistakes | Three full tests and detailed analysis |
Final revision | 16 | Formula sheets, current affairs notes, interview preparation | Revise only, no new topics |
What this means for you:
Do not start with mocks: Take one diagnostic test early to see where you stand, then build the basics before attempting many full tests.
Revise weekly: Spend the last day of each week revising old topics, because most mistakes come from forgetting, not from not knowing.
Protect your weak section: Each section is worth the same 20 marks, so a very weak section is costly.
Security Assistant (Motor Transport) note
This exam entry also covers the Security Assistant (Motor Transport) post, which is notified separately. Reports indicate that its Tier I includes a Basic Transport/Driving Rules section along with the general sections, and that Tier II is a motor mechanism and driving test combined with an interview. These details are not verified from the official notification here, so read the SA/MT notification for the exact syllabus, licence conditions and marks before preparing.
How to practise the syllabus
Reading a syllabus does not improve your score. Timed practice does. A practical routine is to learn a topic, solve topic-wise questions, then test it inside a full paper to see whether you can still solve it under time pressure.
Topic-wise tests: Use them after finishing each topic to check understanding.
Sectional tests: Practise 20 questions in about 12 minutes to build the speed the real paper needs.
Full mocks: Attempt them in the exam time of one hour, with negative marking on.
Error log: Write down every wrong answer with the reason, such as concept gap, calculation slip or guess.
Confirm final details on the official website, www.mha.gov.in.
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