Quiz Format

Format and eligibility criteria

Banking Chanakya is open to serving staff members currently employed in any bank across India. It is a team competition, not an individual event. Each team must have two members from the same bank and the same zone; they may work in different branches/ departments or cities. A bank may register any number of teams. There is no registration charge or participation fee.

Teams enter by completing the online registration form before the preliminary round. Each person should register with only one team.

There are four stages: the online Preliminary Round, online Quarter Final, on-stage Zonal Semi-Finals and on-stage National Final.

In the Preliminary Round, teams from eligible banks and financial institutions take the quiz on the Banking Chanakya website. The top 100 teams from each zone qualify for the Quarter Final. Rankings will be done based on marks scored and time taken.

Quarter Final teams will compete for securing their position in the semi-finals. The rankings will be done on the basis of marks and completion time. For the Zonal Semi-Finals, participation will generally be limited to one team per bank to preserve the inter-bank character of the competition. If six distinct bank teams cannot be identified, one additional team from the same bank may be considered. IIBF will publish the list of Top-6 qualified teams and a waiting list of another 6 teams. In case any team withdraws from participating in the semi-finals, the next ranking team shall be invited.

The Zonal semi-finals will be held in six locations this year as follows:
Zone 1 · North Zone - Delhi
Zone 2 · East Zone - Kolkata
Zone 3 · North-East Zone - Guwahati
Zone 4 · South Zone I - Chennai
Zone 5 · West Zone - Mumbai
Zone 6 · South Zone II - Bengaluru

Teams reaching an on-ground round may obtain permission from their organisation to represent their bank. The Institute will issue qualification letters to help them request that permission.

In case participants need to travel to their respective zonal venues, IIBF will reimburse the actual fare or AC-II tier to-and-fro rail fare from the boarding point, whichever is lower, upon submission of valid travel proof, while lodging, boarding, and local transportation are to be managed by the candidates or their respective banks.

2026 competition zones and host cities

The state and union territory mapping for each of the six 2026 zones is listed below.