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About
NTSE (National Talent Search Exam), formerly known as NSTSS (National Science Talent Search Scheme) is a national-level scholarship exam that identifies and proliferates the skill, mental-ability, and logical reasoning of the students.
The NTSE exam is held in two stages, where Stage-I is held at the state level while Stage-II is conducted at a national level. Stage-I is conducted by SCERT or other authorities of the same state, while Stage-II is conducted by NCERT at a national level.
Latest Notification
The official notification for the NTSE 2024-2025 is released by NCERT. The notification for the application process along with the exam dates will be released on the official website of NCERT.
The candidates must check the official notification of NTSE for complete details about NTSE 2024-2025. The NTSE official notification contains latest changes, exam dates, eligibility criteria, exam pattern, syllabus and scholarship details.
| Events | Stage I dates (Tentative) | Stage II dates (Tentative) |
|---|---|---|
| NTSE application dates | Aug/Sep 2024 | No registration |
| NTSE Admit card releases | October 2024 | May 2025 |
| NTSE Exam dates | November, 2024 | June 8, 2025 |
| NTSE Result releases | January – April 2025 | August 2025 |
Registration
The candidates can fill the NTSE Application Form both online and offline. The students willing to take up the NTSE exam need to fill up the application forms for Stage-I by contacting their respective State/Union Territory Liaison Officer.
The last date of application submission also varies from state to state. For some states, the application forms are also released on the official SCERT website. It is a one-step application procedure and candidates need not apply for the Stage-II exam.
How to Fill the NTSE Application Form 2024?
The steps to fill the NTSE application form are as follows:
- Get the application form from the respective State/UT Liaison officers or download them from the official SCERT website (if available).
- Fill in the application form by providing basic details such as your name, date of birth, caste, gender, postal address, the financial income of your family, and academic details. It should be done in your handwriting if it is offline.
- Affix a recent passport-size photograph along with your signature at the space provided. Upload a scanned copy of these documents if it is being done through online mode.
- Pay the application fee as prescribed by the respective states (either online or offline). The fees may vary from state to state.
- Get the application forms attested by your respective school Principal/Head.
- Verify the details and submit the attested forms (either offline or online) to respective LO’s.
- The admit cards will either be available online or will be posted to your postal address as mentioned in the forms by concerned SCERT authorities.
Eligibility Criteria
The candidates must check the NTSE Eligibility Criteria laid down by NCERT before applying for the exam. NTSE eligibility criteria differ for each stage. The detailed eligibility criteria for NTSE is provided below.
NTSE Eligibility Criteria: Regular Students
- As prescribed by NCERT, the candidate must be below the age of 18 years.
- The candidate must be pursuing their class 10th from any recognized government/ private school in India. Since there are no domicile restrictions imposed, the students from any State or Union Territory can apply.
NTSE Eligibility Criteria: Open and Distance Learning (ODL) Students
NTSE can be attempted by students who have opted for Open Distance Learning (ODL) as well under the following conditions:
- The candidates must be below the age of 18 years as of.
- The candidates must not have any kind of employment.
- The candidates must be undertaking their Class 10th exam for the first time.
NTSE Eligibility Criteria: Abroad Students
The students who are pursuing their education abroad can also attempt the NTSE exam under the following conditions:
- The student studying abroad must be of Indian National.
- The candidate pursuing their class 10th or equivalent class is exempted from Stage-I and can directly attempt Stage-II examinations.
- The candidate must have obtained a minimum of 60% in class IX final examinations.
- The candidate has to opt for an examination centre in India itself.
- The candidate has to produce a request along with an attested class IX scorecard through the Head of the institution he/she is studying at the Department of Educational Survey Division, NCERT.
- The candidate will be honoured with a scholarship after qualifying for the exam only if he/she decides to pursue further studies in India itself.
The aspirants will not be qualified for the second stage if they will not meet the sectional cutoff in Stage-I even if they meet the overall cutoff score.
Application Fee
The application fees vary from state to state and can be done either through online or offline mode. The NTSE application fee for various states are mentioned in the table below:
The application fees vary from state to state and can be done either through online or offline mode. The NTSE application fee for various states are mentioned in the table below:
| State | Exam Fees |
|---|---|
| Andhra Pradesh | INR 200 |
| Assam |
|
| Bihar |
|
| Chattisgarh | No fees |
| Delhi | No fees |
| Goa | No fees |
| Gujarat |
|
| Haryana |
|
| Himachal Pradesh |
|
| Karnataka |
|
| Kerala |
|
| Jammu and Kashmir | INR 90 |
| Jharkhand |
|
| Madhya Pradesh | No fee |
| Maharashtra | INR 150 |
| Meghalaya | No fee |
| Odisha | No fee |
| Punjab | No fee |
| Rajasthan |
|
| Sikkim | No fee |
| Tamil Nadu | INR 50 |
| Telangana | INR 100 |
| Uttarakhand |
|
| West Bengal | No fee |
Exam Pattern
NTSE Exam is conducted in two stages i.e. Stage-I and Stage-II. Stage-I is a state-level examination conducted by authorities of various states and union territories.
Stage-II is a national level examination conducted by NCERT for Stage-I qualifiers and Indian nationals studying abroad as they are exempted from the stage-I exam. The pattern for both the Stage-I and Stage-II exams is the same.
Here are some salient features of the NTSE Exam Pattern:
- The exam mode for both stages will be offline i.e. pen and paper mode.
- The exam consists of Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) and must be marked on OMR sheets provided at the exam hall.
- The Stage-I exam will be in English or any regional language as opted by the student. The Stage-II exam will strictly be conducted in English or Hindi only.
- Both stages of the NTSE exam will comprise of two parts- Mental Ability Test (MAT) and Scholastic Ability Test (SAT).
- Both these tests will be held on the same day itself in two different slots.
- The MAT is conducted in the morning shift from 9:30 am to 11:30 am while SAT will be conducted in the afternoon slot from 13:30 pm to 15:30 pm.
- The difficulty level for NTSE exams is moderate. Each question carries 1 mark and there is no negative marking in NTSE exams.
NTSE exam pattern for Stage-I and Stage-II is tabulated below:
| Exam Feature | MAT | SAT |
|---|---|---|
| Full form | Mental Ability Test | Scholastic Aptitude Test |
| Overview | Tests the students on their ability to think, evaluate and solve logical reasoning questions. It includes problems based on analogy, pattern perception, series, encoding-decoding | This section tests the knowledge of students in subjects such as Science, Mathematics and Social Science. The syllabus will be the same as class 9th and 10th syllabus |
| Timing | Morning Slot: 9:30 am to 11:30 am | Afternoon Slot: 13:30 pm to 15:30 pm |
| Number of questions | 100 | 100 |
| Total Marks | 100 (1 mark for each question) | 100 (1 mark for each question) |
| Exam Duration | 120 minutes (30 minutes extra for visually challenged students) | 120 minutes (30 minutes extra for visually challenged students) |
Syllabus
The NTSE Exam Syllabus is divided into sections- MAT and SAT. The MAT paper aims to evaluate the candidate’s knowledge and solving capabilities in areas such as logical reasoning, quantitative aptitude, critical thinking, etc.
It includes questions based on patterns, series, encoding-decoding, hidden figures, block assemblies, and soft skills. The SAT paper tests the student’s knowledge in Science, Social Science, and Mathematics. The syllabus for SAT is the same as the syllabus prescribed for CBSE class 9th and 10th by NCERT.
NTSE Mental Ability Test (MAT) Syllabus
The syllabus for MAT is tabulated below:
| Mental Ability Test Topics | |
|---|---|
| Verbal and Non Verbal Analogy | Verbal and Non-Verbal Series |
| Water and Mirror Images | Classification |
| Coding-Decoding | Cube and Dice |
| Alphabet and Number Test | Blood Relations |
| Word Problems | Distance and Direction |
| Paper Cutting and Folding | Ranking and Arrangements |
| Venn Diagrams | Mathematical Operations |
| Embedded Figures | Calendar, Time, and Clock Missing Characters |
NTSE Scholastic Ability Test (SAT) Syllabus: Science
The SAT part is divided into 3 sections- Science, Social Studies, and Mathematics. The syllabus for various subjects in SAT is as mentioned below:
| Physics |
|
| Chemistry |
|
| Biology |
|
| Mathematics |
|
NTSE Scholastic Ability Test Syllabus: Social Science
| Syllabus for NTSE SAT Social Science | |
|---|---|
| Civics |
|
| Geography |
|
| History |
|
Eligibilty Criteria
The candidates must check the NTSE Eligibility Criteria laid down by NCERT before applying for the exam. NTSE eligibility criteria differ for each stage. The detailed eligibility criteria for NTSE is provided below.
NTSE Eligibility Criteria: Regular Students
- As prescribed by NCERT, the candidate must be below the age of 18 years.
- The candidate must be pursuing their class 10th from any recognized government/ private school in India. Since there are no domicile restrictions imposed, the students from any State or Union Territory can apply.
NTSE Eligibility Criteria: Open and Distance Learning (ODL) Students
NTSE can be attempted by students who have opted for Open Distance Learning (ODL) as well under the following conditions:
- The candidates must be below the age of 18 years as of.
- The candidates must not have any kind of employment.
- The candidates must be undertaking their Class 10th exam for the first time.
NTSE Eligibility Criteria: Abroad Students
The students who are pursuing their education abroad can also attempt the NTSE exam under the following conditions:
- The student studying abroad must be of Indian National.
- The candidate pursuing their class 10th or equivalent class is exempted from Stage-I and can directly attempt Stage-II examinations.
- The candidate must have obtained a minimum of 60% in class IX final examinations.
- The candidate has to opt for an examination centre in India itself.
- The candidate has to produce a request along with an attested class IX scorecard through the Head of the institution he/she is studying at the Department of Educational Survey Division, NCERT.
- The candidate will be honoured with a scholarship after qualifying for the exam only if he/she decides to pursue further studies in India itself.
The aspirants will not be qualified for the second stage if they will not meet the sectional cutoff in Stage-I even if they meet the overall cutoff score.
Exam Pattern
NTSE Exam is conducted in two stages i.e. Stage-I and Stage-II. Stage-I is a state-level examination conducted by authorities of various states and union territories.
Stage-II is a national level examination conducted by NCERT for Stage-I qualifiers and Indian nationals studying abroad as they are exempted from the stage-I exam. The pattern for both the Stage-I and Stage-II exams is the same.
Here are some salient features of the NTSE Exam Pattern:
- The exam mode for both stages will be offline i.e. pen and paper mode.
- The exam consists of Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) and must be marked on OMR sheets provided at the exam hall.
- The Stage-I exam will be in English or any regional language as opted by the student. The Stage-II exam will strictly be conducted in English or Hindi only.
- Both stages of the NTSE exam will comprise of two parts- Mental Ability Test (MAT) and Scholastic Ability Test (SAT).
- Both these tests will be held on the same day itself in two different slots.
- The MAT is conducted in the morning shift from 9:30 am to 11:30 am while SAT will be conducted in the afternoon slot from 13:30 pm to 15:30 pm.
- The difficulty level for NTSE exams is moderate. Each question carries 1 mark and there is no negative marking in NTSE exams.
NTSE exam pattern for Stage-I and Stage-II is tabulated below:
| Exam Feature | MAT | SAT |
|---|---|---|
| Full form | Mental Ability Test | Scholastic Aptitude Test |
| Overview | Tests the students on their ability to think, evaluate and solve logical reasoning questions. It includes problems based on analogy, pattern perception, series, encoding-decoding | This section tests the knowledge of students in subjects such as Science, Mathematics and Social Science. The syllabus will be the same as class 9th and 10th syllabus |
| Timing | Morning Slot: 9:30 am to 11:30 am | Afternoon Slot: 13:30 pm to 15:30 pm |
| Number of questions | 100 | 100 |
| Total Marks | 100 (1 mark for each question) | 100 (1 mark for each question) |
| Exam Duration | 120 minutes (30 minutes extra for visually challenged students) | 120 minutes (30 minutes extra for visually challenged students) |
Syllabus
The NTSE Exam Syllabus is divided into sections- MAT and SAT. The MAT paper aims to evaluate the candidate’s knowledge and solving capabilities in areas such as logical reasoning, quantitative aptitude, critical thinking, etc.
It includes questions based on patterns, series, encoding-decoding, hidden figures, block assemblies, and soft skills. The SAT paper tests the student’s knowledge in Science, Social Science, and Mathematics. The syllabus for SAT is the same as the syllabus prescribed for CBSE class 9th and 10th by NCERT.
NTSE Mental Ability Test (MAT) Syllabus
The syllabus for MAT is tabulated below:
| Mental Ability Test Topics | |
|---|---|
| Verbal and Non Verbal Analogy | Verbal and Non-Verbal Series |
| Water and Mirror Images | Classification |
| Coding-Decoding | Cube and Dice |
| Alphabet and Number Test | Blood Relations |
| Word Problems | Distance and Direction |
| Paper Cutting and Folding | Ranking and Arrangements |
| Venn Diagrams | Mathematical Operations |
| Embedded Figures | Calendar, Time, and Clock Missing Characters |
NTSE Scholastic Ability Test (SAT) Syllabus: Science
The SAT part is divided into 3 sections- Science, Social Studies, and Mathematics. The syllabus for various subjects in SAT is as mentioned below:
| Physics |
|
| Chemistry |
|
| Biology |
|
| Mathematics |
|
NTSE Scholastic Ability Test Syllabus: Social Science
| Syllabus for NTSE SAT Social Science | |
|---|---|
| Civics |
|
| Geography |
|
| History |
|
