NTSE

National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) is a national-level scholarship program in India to identify and recognize students with high intellect and academic talent.

• 5,00,000 students appear for this scholarship exam every year
• Only 1000 scholarships are awarded, out of which 775 are unreserved
• The scholarships are awarded to candidates for pursuing courses in sciences and social sciences up to doctoral level and professional courses up to second-degree level
• Scholarship of Rs. 1250 per month is awarded for class XI to XII.
• Scholarship of Rs. 2000 per month is awarded for Undergraduates and Postgraduates.
• The scholarship amount is fixed in accordance with the UGC norms for Ph.D.

The exam is conducted in two stages and each stage consists of two tests namely the Mental Ability Test (MAT) and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT).

Section	Question Type	Area of Assessment
Mental Ability Test (MAT)	Analogies Classification Series Pattern perception Hidden figures Coding-decoding Block assembly Problem solving etc.	Power of reasoning Ability to think Evaluate or discriminate
Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)	Matching type Arrange the sequence True and False statements Questions based on passages	Science (Physics, Chemistry and Biology) Mathematics History Geography Political Science Economics

Another component of the test is the language test.

This test contains 50 questions in English and 50 questions in Hindi.

The candidate has to attempt this test in only one language i.e. either in English or in Hindi.

Stage I
Test	No. of Questions	Max. Marks
MAT (45 mins)	50	50
LT (45 mins)	50	50
SAT (90 mins)	100	100
Total	200	200

Stage II
Test	No. of Questions	Max. Marks
MAT (45 mins)	50	50
LT (45 mins)	50	50
SAT (90 mins)	100	100
Total	200	200

Note: In Stage 2 (National Level), there will be negative marking in each paper. For each wrong answer, 1/3 mark will be deducted. No marks will be deducted for unattempted questions.

NTSE Selection process will be two-stage process for the award of scholarship. Stage I selection is done by States / UTs after a written examination. Students that qualify Stage I are eligible to appear for Stage II examination by NCERT.

Qualifying marks of Candidates from General category is 40% in every paper and the candidates from SC, ST, PH it is 32% in each paper.

• All students in Class 10th are eligible to appear in this scholarship program.
• Students from both government and private schools are eligible to register for this scholarship program.
• A student applying for the scholarship scheme can be from any state of the country.
• Students registered under Open Distance Learning (ODL) will also be eligible, provided they are below 18 years of age (as on 1st July 2018), unemployed and are appearing for the Class 10 exam for the first time.

NTSE Admit Card 2018 will be released on the official state website. You can download the admit card by logging in with your application number and date of birth. NTSE 2018 Stage I examination will be conducted offline on 3th and 4th November 2018.

Here is how you can download your admit card.

Stage 1
States	Dates
Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Andaman & Nicobar Islands	3rd November 2018
For other states and UTs	4th November 2018
Stage 2
All states and UTs	12th May 2019
Results Stage 1
All states and UTs	11th January 2019*
Results Stage 2
All states and UTs	19th August 2019*

* Dates are tentative and subject to change.

• The finals results of the second stage are displayed on the NTSE results page.
• NTSE board can publish final key/frozen key/revised key etc., as and when required.
• There is a quota earmarked for all the states and union territories.
• The state quota is calculated on the basis of student enrollment at the secondary level with a minimum of 10 for UTs and 25 for states.

Qualifying Marks for NTSE According to Category
General category	SC, ST or PH category
40% in each subject	32% in each subject

Category wise	Cut-off Marks
OC	117
SC	94
ST	90
MBC	100
OBM	102
OBG	110

• Start your preparation with last year’s NTSE papers: Understand the type of questions asked and your current level of preparation. This will help you gain knowledge of NTSE and also give you a fair idea of your standing.
• Analyse your performance: Identify your strong points and weak links. This will help you plan your studies.
• Make a plan: Go through the subjects thoroughly. The allocation of time to each subject will depend upon your analysis of how weak or strong you are in a particular aspect.
• Practice, practice and practice: Get exposed to more questions of mental ability. Solve more papers and then analyse each one in detail. Take the help of your peers. Practice and get confident of your speed, subject knowledge and accuracy.

• NCERT books for Class 9 and Class 10
• For MAT: R.S Aggarwal’s handbook
• For Mocks: Refer both Arihant and Tata McGraw-Hill books