A clerk’s job at any Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) bank in India is highly coveted by any graduate.
However, among 21 PSU banks that flourish in this country, working as a clerk at the most significant public sector lender, State Bank of India (SBI) is most preferred.
Obviously, there are strong reasons for this bias, as figures will indicate.
SBI Clerk Exams v/s IBPS Clerk Exams
State Bank of India announced it would hire about 8,300 clerks in 2018. The announcement spurred over 2.5 million women and men across India to apply for the entrance exam.
In stark contrast, an estimated 2.1 million women and men are expected to apply for the Institute of Banking and Personnel Selection exams to fill over 7,250 vacancies across India.
These exams are scheduled for December 2018. The main reason for the higher number of aspirants for SBI clerical positions is simple.
SBI offers salaries and perks that are yet to be matched by any of the 20 PSU banks and sometimes, large private banks too.
Therefore, we take a glimpse of salaries and perks drawn by SBI clerks and their IBPS counterparts.
Salary of SBI Clerk
- Basic SBI clerk Salary (Fresher) Rs.11,765
- Dearness Allowance: Rs.5,312
- Transport Allowance: Rs.425
- House Rent Allowance: Rs.1,800
- City Compensatory Allowance: 4-5% of basic salary
Hence, a freshly recruited clerk at SBI takes home a package of RS.19.590 to Rs.25,000 depending upon the location of posting.
Additionally, SBI clerks are entitled to an annual increment of Rs.655 on basic salary. Hence, there is a corresponding increase in their Dearness Allowance and other perks.
The increment increases with seniority. Pay scales increase with seniority.
- Basic Salary of SBI clerk (after three years): Rs.13,730
- Revised SBI clerk salary(after total six years): Rs.16,715
- Basic Salary of SBI clerk ( after seven years): Rs.20,095
- SBI clerk pay scale after seven-plus seven years: Rs.28,110
- Revised Salary after 14 years: Rs.31,450
Also Read: Read about SBI Recruitment Policy
Salary of IBPS Clerk
- Basic Salary: Rs.11,765
- Dearness Allowance: Rs.5,312
- Transport Allowance: Rs.425
- House Rent Allowance: Rs.1,800
- City Compensatory Allowance: Nil
- Special Allowance: Rs.915
The net take-home income of an IBPS clerk is about Rs.19,590 to Rs.23,000 depending upon the location of posting.
IBPS clerks get annual increments of Rs.655 on a basic salary that impacts dearness allowance and other perks. This increment also increases with seniority.
As IBPS clerks log in more years of service, they get increments by the following scale.
- Basic Salary of IBPS Clerk (after three years): Rs.13,730
- Revised IBPS Clerk Salary ( after total six years): Rs.16,175
- Basic Salary of IBPS Clerk (after seven years): Rs.20,095
- Revised Pay scale of IBPS Clerk (after 14 years) Rs.31,450
Also Read: Why you want to appear for IBPS SO
SBI Clerk Salary v/s IBPS Clerk Salary
As we can see, the basic salary structure remains similar for SBI and IBPS clerks. However, an IBPS clerk draws considerably lesser on account of perks.
SBI is also very liberal with its increment policies as compared over other PSU banks.
During the first three years, an SBI clerk can get up to four increments while their IBPS counterparts do not enjoy such facilities.
This makes jobs as SBI clerks more coveted.
Perks of SBI Clerks include
- Medical Cover: SBI pays 100% cost for medical treatment of a clerk and 75% for registered family members.
- Travel Allowance: Clerks with SBI and family members are entitled to Tier-II AC train travel throughout India for holidays. The bank also arranges free accommodation at locations where it owns guesthouses.
- Petrol Allowance
- Newspaper & Magazine Allowance
- Entertainment Allowance: for Cable TV and satellite TV, among others
- House Maintenance Allowance
- Briefcase Allowance
- Concessional Vehicle Finance
- Concessional Housing Finance
- House Rent Allowance or Lease (lease is available at selected locations only)
- Contributory Provident Fund
- Concessional Rate for SBI Pension Plans
- Furniture Allowance
- Two Year Sabbatical (Leave) for women clerks as maternity leave or children’s education
Perks of IBPS Clerks include
- Medical Cover: Paid as cash once a year upon furnishing medical bills. Maximum allowance is Rs.5,000 according to various sources.
- Travel Allowance: Rs.2,000 per clerk
- Newspaper Allowance
- Concessional Housing Finance (Select banks only)
- Concessional Vehicle Finance (Select banks only)
- Contributory Provident Fund
Also Read: Top 10 Books for IBPS PO Exam for Guaranteed Success
What does this mean?
As we can see, the salary of SBI clerks is somewhat at par with those working with other PSU banks. Perks and allowances paid by SBI, however, outmatch those of other banks by far.
These factors make it very clear why more women and men vie for clerical positions at SBI as compared to other PSU banks
To Sum Up
Working as SBI clerk may sound like a dream job: you get excellent pay and perks. Yet, working as SBI clerk has flipsides too.
SBI prides itself in calling “The Banker of the Nation.” Rightly so. SBI has close to 25,000 branches across India, with quite a large number located in semi-urban and rural areas.
Hence, working as a clerk at SBI means, you could get posted at some distant location.
On the positive side, you can also get posted in a foreign country. SBI operates branches and representative offices in various countries.
The bank also runs exchange houses in the Middle East in collaboration with local businesses.
Contrastingly, other 20 PSU, private, cooperative, regional and other banks have a combined 100,000 branches.
Hence, an IBPS clerk stands lesser chances of getting posted in some remote area.
Most PSU banks simply do not have a presence in these areas because they started as regional banks.
Despite, working as SBI clerk is very prestigious as compared with other PSU banks.
