What is NTSE?

National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) is a flagship activity of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). The purpose of the scheme is to identify talented students and nurture their talent. It honours and helps talented students of class 10th by providing financial assistance in the form of a monthly scholarship. NTSE is conducted in two stages: Stage 1 and Stage 2. Stage 1 (at State level) is generally conducted in November Month and Stage 2 (National level) is generally conducted in the month of May. In Stage 2, only the shortlisted or qualified candidates of Stage 1 can appear to compete for the scholarship.

Age Limit: All the students who are pursuing the 10 th grade exam can apply for this exam. Apart from this, the NTSE exam eligibility is for the student who is less than 18 years on the first of July of that particular year.

Nationality: A student must be of Indian Nationality. The Indian origin students who live abroad are also eligible for the exam.

Reservation of Seats

Some percentages of the seats are reserved for the students who are SC/ST/PWD by NCERT.

Students who live abroad can also claim for the seats if they fall into the category of NTSE eligibility for reserved seats.

For Scheduled Caste, the reserved seat is 15%;

For Scheduled Tribes, the reserved seat is 7.5%;

For Person with Disability, the reserved seat is 3%.

Eligibility Criteria for NTSE: The minimum required academic percentage for the students is 60% (for general category) and 55% (for SC/ ST/PWD) in their 9th class. Candidate must not be

reappearing for class 10th.

NTSE Scholarship

NTSE scholars are provided with the scholarship of Rs 1250 per month for 11 th and 12 th class and Rs 2000 per month for graduation and higher studies by Indian government. Apart from this, being an NTSE scholar provides following benefits:

1. NDA National Defence Academy Exam organized by UPSC gives preference to NTSE

scholars.

2. Renowned Engineering College for Information Technology such as IIIT-Hyderabad

offers 15 seats to NTSE scholars. This institute is considered equivalent to IIT- Bombay.

3. NTSE scholars will have upper edge in Foreign University admissions.

4. Preference in various Public and Private sector Jobs.

5. IIT-Delhi, an Engineering College under Government of Delhi, gives ‘bonus marks’ to NTSE

scholars.

NTSE Scholarship Eligibility (Disbursement): Students can disburse their NTSE Scholarship at any given time. Following are the important points for NTSE scholarship eligibility:

1.   Secure a minimum of 60% score in aggregate every year.

2.   Take up studies in approved courses.

3.   Maintain good conduct as certified by the Head of the College/Institution and continue their

4.   studies as a regular student.

5.   Do not absent themselves without proper leave.

6.   Take up studies on a whole-time basis.

7.   Do not take up any job with salary/remuneration/stipend.

8.   No scholarship shall be available for studies in abroad.

9.   Do not accept any other scholarship simultaneously.

Once the scholarship is discontinued then the scholar cannot revive it under any circumstances underthe rule of disbursement of the scholarship.

NTSE Syllabus

Syllabus of NTSE is based on 9th and 10th class level. For Stage 1, NTSE preparation should be state level wise and for Stage 2, the preparation should be national level wise. Students are advised to go through each and every topic. NTSE consists of multiple choice questions which are asked from the subjects like Mathematics, Science, Social Science, General Knowledge and Mental Ability syllabus.

NTSE Exam Pattern

The NTSE is conducted in two stages, i.e., Stage 1 and Stage 2. The NTSE paper is available in both the Hindi and English medium. The students have to select any one language from both the languages. The paper is divided into two sections, i.e., Mental Ability Test (MAT), and Scholastic Ability Test (SAT).

Paper I: Mental Ability Test (MAT)

Paper II: Scholastic Ability Test (SAT) which includes Maths, Science and Social science.

SAT Exam Pattern: SAT is designed to test the student’s grasp and hold over the academic subjects. SAT has 100 questions, from the subjects, Social studies, Maths, and Science of class 9th and 10th.

MAT Exam Pattern: MAT is designed to test, Student’s IQ. MAT has the number of categories, like

non-verbal series, coding-decoding, etc. Obviously, MAT requires more practice than anything else. It can be a game changer in the NTSE Test.

NTSE Important Information

All the students who are appearing for the exam must be aware of the basic information about the NTSE pattern.

I. The mode of NTSE paper is offline. Students need to go to their respective exam centres to give the paper.

II. There are 100 MCQ type questions in each MAT and SAT section. Students need to mark one correct answer out of the given four options.

III. For each correct question, students are awarded 1 mark and there is no negative marking.

IV. Only those students are shortlisted for Stage 2 exam that cleared their Stage 1 examination.

V. Reserved category candidates have to secure 32% marks to qualify the test, whereas general category candidates have to secure 40% marks to qualify the test.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q.1 Who is eligible for NTSE exam?

Ans. Students studying in class 10th are eligible for giving NTSE exam. The student should

qualify the class 9th with certain minimum benchmark which is set by NCERT every year. The

aspirant should be Indian National under the age limit of 18 years. Students from open school are also eligible for NTSE.

Q.2 Can class 11 students give NTSE?

Ans. No, the NTSE exam is only conducted for class 10th students only.

Q.3 Is it possible to take the NTSE 2023 in class 9?

Ans. No, all students in grades 10 and up are eligible to take the NTS exam. Candidates who want

to take the NTS 2023 scholarship exam must meet the NCERT’s qualifying requirements. In

addition, each State and UT lists the NTSE Eligibility Criteria 2023, which include academic

qualifications, age restrictions, and minimum qualifying marks in the preceding class that

candidates must meet in order to apply for the exam.

Q.4 What are the passing marks of NTSE exam?

Ans. For Stage 1 the cutoff is decided by state, and is different for each state every year.

Stage 2 cutoff is released by NCERT which also varies every year.

Q.5 What is the syllabus for NTSE?

Ans. NTSE exam is conducted in two sections MAT and SAT. In the Mental Ability Section,

questions are based on verbal and non verbal reasoning, while in the Scholastic Section the

syllabus from class 9 and 10 is expected. For Stage 1 state specific content is also observed in the

paper.

Q.6 What is the syllabus for NTSE Exam class 10?

Ans. The syllabus for NTSE exam is based on class 9 and 10 Mathematics, Science and Social

Science portion along with mental ability section which comprises 50% of NTSE paper. MAT

includes verbal and non verbal reasoning questions.

Q.7 Is NCERT enough for NTSE?

Ans. Yes, NCERT of class 9 and 10 is sufficient for NTSE exam as it includes all basic concepts

but for Stage 1 exam few states have room for higher order questions and state specific questions. Students should refer to state specific books for Stage 1 exam.

Q.8 Is NTSE difficult?

Ans. The National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) is a challenging scholarship exam. The

exam highlights the deserving candidates and provides recognition at national level. For Stage 1

exam a million of students appear across India and final selection of around some thousands

talented students are made after the Stage 2 exam.

Q.9 What is the difference between NTSE Stages 1 and Stage 2 syllabuses?

Ans. The NTSE 2022/2023 syllabus is the same for NTSE Stage 1 and Stage 2. However, the

difficulty level of the questions will increase.

Q.10 Does NCERT conduct interviews following the Stage 2 examination?

Ans. No, to be eligible for the NTSE scholarship, an applicant must pass both Stage 1 and Stage 2

exams. Candidates must pass all of their course subjects on the first try. Their scholarship will be

revoked if they fail to accomplish so in any of the essential disciplines.

Q.11 Is the GK section mandatory in the NTSE exam?

Ans. In the NTSE Stage 1 and 2, there would be a lot of GK-based questions. Therefore, look at

this as an opportunity to improve your GK and find your interests.  

Q.12 Can I use calculator in NTSE exam?

Ans. No, the candidates are not allowed to use any sort of gadget in the NTSE exam. They must

carry only the necessary documents and ball-point pen to the exam centre.