From our research
What this interview looks like
IB ACIO Grade II/Executive recruitment runs in three tiers: a 100-mark objective Tier-I, a 50-mark descriptive Tier-II of essay and English comprehension, and the Tier-III interview of 100 marks. Candidates are shortlisted for the interview at about five times the vacancies on their combined Tier-I and Tier-II score, subject to at least 33 percent in Tier-II, and the final merit list is drawn from the combined performance in all three tiers, followed by character and antecedent verification and a medical examination. The notification says the interview may include a psychometric or aptitude test. The board is typically three to four senior IB officers, often with a psychologist, for fifteen to twenty-five minutes. It opens on background and motivation, moves to the candidate's state and its security situation, internal security and intelligence concepts, cyber threats and basic criminal law, and then tests discretion, observation and composure through scenarios: a suspicious person, a source who asks for money, a politician who wants information. Hindi and English both appear. The ExamPilot mock compresses this into fourteen minutes with a chairperson, an external member and a psychologist and scores awareness, situational judgement, integrity and communication.
How it is weighted
Tier-III interview 100 marks, which may include a psychometric or aptitude test; final merit is drawn from the combined Tier-I (100), Tier-II (50) and Tier-III (100) performance, so the interview is roughly 40 percent of the final score and routinely reorders the list.
Who this is for
Graduates who have cleared the Tier-I objective paper and the Tier-II descriptive paper of the IB ACIO Grade II/Executive examination and have been shortlisted at about five times the vacancies. Knowledge of computers is desirable; the job involves field intelligence work anywhere in India and an eye for detail.
The panel focuses on
- Why the Intelligence Bureau rather than the police, a bank or the SSC CGL posts, and whether you understand the anonymity, field work and postings
- Your home state's security picture: border, extremism, communal history, trafficking routes, and what you have observed yourself
- Internal security concepts: information versus intelligence, source handling ethics, the IB, NIA, MAC and state intelligence, UAPA and civil liberties
- Cyber threats and economic offences: online radicalisation, terror financing, deepfakes, critical-infrastructure attacks, the ED and FIU
- Basic criminal law under the BNS and BNSS as it touches intelligence work: arrest, evidence, preventive detention
- Discretion and composure: a secret you kept, a source who asks for money, a journalist friend who asks what you do
Step 1
Pick your subject
The expert on the panel probes these areas at the level of this post. Optional here; you can choose during setup.
Step 2
Choose how you want to be interviewed
1:1 interview
One interviewer runs every round and adapts the focus as you go. Lower pressure; ideal for a first attempt.
Shri Rajiv Menon
Chairperson
Panel interview · 3 members
Most realisticEach member leads their own round and hands over to the next. They hear each other, so a weak answer will be revisited.
Shri Rajiv Menon
Chairperson
Smt. Anjali Deshpande, IPS
External member
Dr. Kailash Nair
Psychologist
What to expect
5 rounds · 14 minutes
A uniformed-service board compressed into 14 minutes: a senior officer chairs and opens on background, fitness and motivation; an external member tests working knowledge of criminal law, local policing and cyber crime in the candidate's chosen area; the chair then puts field situations on mobs, VIP duty, custody, corruption and communal tension; a board psychologist probes pressure and integrity; the chair closes. Real state police SI boards and the IB ACIO interview sit three to five members for 10 to 25 minutes, mix English with Hindi or the state language, and weigh presence of mind and integrity above textbook recall.
- Round 1
Background, fitness and motivation
· 3:00Settle the candidate, understand their home district, education, sport and fitness routine, and hear a credible reason for choosing the police or intelligence service over other government jobs.
Shri Rajiv Menon2–3 questionsup to 1 follow-up each - Round 2
Law, local policing and cyber crime
· 4:00Test working knowledge in the candidate's chosen area: criminal law basics under the new codes, local policing and the state context, cyber and economic offences, internal security, public order or protection of women and children.
Smt. Anjali Deshpande, IPS3–4 questionsup to 2 follow-ups each - Round 3
Field situations
· 4:00Assess presence of mind, lawful use of force, chain of command and integrity through two field situations: a mob or communal flashpoint, a VIP duty, a custody incident or a bribe or political pressure.
Shri Rajiv Menon2–2 questionsup to 1 follow-up each - Round 4
Pressure and integrity
· 2:00Probe temperament, stress tolerance and personal integrity: how the candidate reacts to provocation, failure, long hours away from family, and temptation.
Dr. Kailash Nair1–2 questionsup to 1 follow-up each - Round 5
Closing
· 1:00Close the interview professionally and check readiness for the realities of posting and training.
Shri Rajiv Menon1–1 questions
Sample questions
IB ACIO ACIO-II/Exe interview questions
Questions panels commonly ask in the IB ACIO ACIO-II/Exe interview, with what a strong answer covers. Practise them aloud with the AI panel.
- Motivation
You have also cleared the written stage of a bank PO exam. Why the Intelligence Bureau, when the IB job means anonymity, field work and postings you cannot choose?
What a strong answer covers
A genuine reason connected to national security or a formative experience, a realistic understanding that the work is unseen and credit is rarely public, and acceptance of transfers and irregular hours. Avoid romantic spy-film notions or treating IB as one more government job.
- Intelligence concepts
A shopkeeper tells you a rumour about a planned clash before a festival. At what point does that tip become intelligence? Explain with this example.
What a strong answer covers
Information is raw, unverified data; intelligence is information that has been collected, verified, analysed and assessed for a decision-maker. A strong answer uses a local example such as rumours before a festival being checked and assessed. Avoid treating any news or tip-off as intelligence.
- State security
Describe the security situation of your home state in two minutes: one internal threat, what drives it, and what you have seen yourself.
What a strong answer covers
Names a real issue such as insurgency, Left-wing extremism, cross-border smuggling, trafficking or communal tension, explains drivers in a balanced, non-partisan way, and adds a personal observation. Avoid sensational claims or figures you are not sure of.
- Source handling
A source who has been giving you useful information starts asking for money every week and hints he will go to another agency otherwise. What do you do?
What a strong answer covers
Does not make personal deals, reports to the supervising officer, assesses the source's reliability and motives, follows the organisation's rules on payments and documentation, and stays alert to manipulation or double-dealing. Avoid paying informally or cutting off contact without guidance.
- Cyber threats
How does online radicalisation typically happen, and what makes it hard to detect early?
What a strong answer covers
Describes the path from grievance and identity content to closed groups and encrypted messaging, and the challenges of volume, privacy, encryption and distinguishing speech from intent, while respecting legal limits. Avoid suggesting blanket surveillance or naming communities.
- Law and liberty
UAPA gives the state strong powers. How should an intelligence officer balance national security with civil liberties?
What a strong answer covers
Recognises the need for powers against terrorism, and stresses legality, proportionality, oversight, verified intelligence and respect for constitutional rights, since misuse erodes public trust. Avoid saying liberties do not matter or that security laws are always misused.
- Criminal law
Under the new criminal laws, what replaced the Indian Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code, and from when?
What a strong answer covers
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita replaced the IPC, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita replaced the CrPC, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam replaced the Indian Evidence Act, all from 1 July 2024. A strong answer notes one practical change. Avoid mixing up which code replaced which.
- Discretion
A close journalist friend keeps asking what exactly you do in your new central government job. How do you handle it?
What a strong answer covers
Gives a polite, truthful but non-specific answer such as working in a ministry office, changes the subject, never discloses work details, and reports persistent probing if it seems unusual. Avoid lying elaborately or revealing anything about the job.
- Observation
At a railway station, you notice a man leaving a bag under a bench and walking away quickly. What do you do?
What a strong answer covers
Keeps observation without panicking the crowd, notes descriptions, alerts railway police or station security immediately, keeps people away from the bag, and does not touch it. Avoid handling the bag yourself or creating a stampede.
- Economic offences
How do terror financing and hawala networks work in simple terms, and which agencies deal with them?
What a strong answer covers
Explains informal value transfer through trusted brokers without moving money across borders directly, and names agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate, the Financial Intelligence Unit and NIA working with banks. Avoid operational details or speculation.
Reading is not rehearsing. Answer these out loud to an AI IB ACIO ACIO-II/Exe panel that follows up like the real one.
Practise these questionsMeet the panel
Your AI interviewers
Distinct personas, voices and questioning styles, briefed on this post.
Shri Rajiv Menon
ChairChairperson
Retired Joint Director, Intelligence Bureau; chairs ACIO interview boards
Soft-spoken, deliberately vague about himself, tests discretion and curiosity, remembers every inconsistency.
Male voice · 4 languages
Smt. Anjali Deshpande, IPS
External member
Superintendent of Police, State Cyber Crime Cell; external member on police and IB boards
Quick, precise, practical, enjoys a candidate who reasons from a real case, intolerant of section-number recitation without understanding.
Female voice · 5 languages
Dr. Kailash Nair
Psychologist
Police training academy psychologist; board member for stress and integrity assessment
Quiet, observant, non-judgemental, asks short questions and waits, notices rehearsed answers.
Male voice · 5 languages
Languages
Answer in the language you think in
The panel asks in your chosen language. Switch mid-answer if you like.
- English
- हिंदीHindi
- Hinglish (Hindi + English)Hinglish
How scoring works
A report you can act on
Every round is scored on the rubric
Each interviewer scores only the criteria their round covers. Weights add up to your overall score out of 100.
Only what you actually said counts
Feedback quotes your own answers. Rounds you skip show as “Not assessed” rather than a zero.
Communication is always measured
Fluency, clarity, confidence and structure are tracked across the whole interview, in any language.
Pass mark, then a plan
You see the pass mark for this interview, your gaps, and the courses that close them fastest.
Scored on
- Legal and policing awareness30%
Working knowledge of the BNS, BNSS and BSA basics, FIR and arrest procedure, local policing structure and state context, cyber and economic offences, internal security; states the law correctly in plain words and does not bluff.
- Situational judgement30%
Handles mobs, VIP duty, custody, bribery and communal tension with the right sequence: life and safety first, lawful minimum force, inform seniors and the magistrate where required, record everything, no shortcuts; gives concrete first actions rather than slogans.
- Integrity and composure under pressure20%
Honest about weaknesses, gaps and other attempts; refuses illegal orders and bribes with a workable plan rather than bravado; stays calm when the board pushes or disagrees; realistic about the stress and hours of the job.
- Communication and bearing20%
Clear, brief, respectful in English, Hindi or the state language; answers the question asked; gives orders and explanations a constable or a complainant would follow; good posture and eye contact implied in the voice.
Pass mark 60 / 100 · Police and intelligence service interview board
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