NTSE: National Talent Search Examination

The NTSE i.e. National Talent Search Examination is a National Level Examination conducted by National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT) to offer scholarship to students of class XI/XII and Under Graduate/Post Graduate programmes. The examination is conducted every year in two formats; Stage 1 (State level) and Stage 2 (National level).

Only 5000 students are selected for stage 2 out of around 1,200,000 to 1,400,000 students every year. Finally, only 1000 candidates are selected for the scholarship out of these 5000 students.
  1. Scholarship of Rs.1250/- per month for Class-XI to XII.
  2. Scholarship of Rs.2000/- per month for Undergraduates and Post-graduates.
  3. Amount of Scholarship for Ph.D. is fixed in accordance with the UGC norms.

NTSE Important Dates

Stage - I

  • Last date for submission of application forms: To be notified by the respective State and it may vary from State to State
  • Examination in Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Andaman & Nicobar Island:  First Week of November
  • Examination in all other States and Union Territories except above and below mentioned States/UTs: First/Second Week of November November
  • Examination in Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, NCT of Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir: Second/Third Week of November

Stage - II

Examination in all other States and Union Territories: First/Second Week of May

NTSE Eligibility Criteria

  • Candidates NTSE must be an Indian national.
  • Candidates must be studying in Class 10 in a recognized private or government school in India.
  • Unemployed candidates below the age of 18, studying in class 10 from open or distance learning are also eligible to apply.
  • States or UTs may lay down some more conditions such as minimum qualifying marks in previous class, age limit etc.

NTSE Reservation Criteria

As per government of India norms there are provisions of reservation in NTSE:
  • Scheduled Caste (SC): 15%
  • Scheduled Tribe (ST): 7.5%
  • Other Backward Classes (OBC): 27%
  • Persons with Disabilities (PWD): 4%
  • Economically Weaker Section (EWS): 10%

NTSE Application Process

Candidates can apply for NTSE in both online and offline modes. Application form will be distributed separately by different states. The last date of application submission also varies from state to state. If the candidates are downloading, then while taking the printout use legal 8.5” * 14” size paper. Application form available online or with State/ UT liaison officer is only applicable for Stage 1 exam. Candidates have to pay the application fee as prescribed by their respective State/UT. While filling NTSE Application Form candidates or the principle have to leave the 4-digit center code blank, this has to be filled by the liaison officer or concerned district officer or center superintendent.

Steps to fill up the application forms

Indian Students in India
  1. Candidates must download the application form available on the official NCERT website.
  2. After filling in all fields, the applicant must get the form signed by the principal of his school.
  3. Then the application form must be submitted to the State Liaison Officer before the last date of submission.
Indian Students Studying Abroad
  1. Such candidates can directly apply for Stage 2 of NTSE exam.
  2. The application form will have to be downloaded from the website.
  3. The duly filled in application must be sent with a photocopy of the mark sheet of the previous exam to the following address:
    Head, Educational Survey Division,
    National Council of Educational Research and Training,
    Sri Aurobindo Marg,
    New Delhi 110016.

NTSE Exam Centers

The NTSE exam will be conducted in various states and union territories. Candidates have to indicate their preferred exam center at the time of filling up NTSE Application Form. Address of the allotted exam center will be mentioned on the admit card. Below is the list of exam centers for NTSE examination:

Andaman & Nicobar Islands
KV No 2, Raksha Vihar, Minnie Bay

Andhra Pradesh
KV, Gandhi Gram Post, Malkapuram, Visakhapatnam

Arunachal Pradesh
KV No 2, Itanagar, Chimpu Post, Arunachal Pradesh

Assam
KV CRPF 9 Mile Amerigog, Kamrup, Guwahati

Bihar
KV No 1, Lohiya Nagar, Near Heart Hospital, Kankarbagh, Patna

Chandigarh
KV, ASF High Grounds, Chandigarh

Chhattisgarh
KV No 2, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Nagar, Sector 4, Raipur

Dadra & Nagar Haveli
KV, Government High School Campus, Silvassa

Delhi
KV No 3, Ringroad, Near Seema Sadak Bhawan

Goa
KV, INS Madovi, Panjim

Gujarat
KV No 1, Near Police Commissioner’s Office, Shahi Baug, Ahmedabad

Haryana
KV No 1, AFS, Sector 14, Old Delhi Road, Gurugram

Himachal Pradesh
KV, Dharamshala Cantt, Kangra

Jammu & Kashmir
KV No 1, Gandhinagar, Jammu

Jharkhand
KV CCL, Rajendra Nagar, Ranchi

Karnataka
KV, ASC Center, Victoria Road, Bangalore, Karnataka

Kerala
KV No 3, Port Trust, Willingdon Island, Kochi, Ernakulam

Lakshadweep
KV, Kavaratti

Madhya Pradesh
KV No 1, Opp Central India Flour Mill, Hoshangabad Road, Bhopal

Maharashtra
KV, Bhandup, LBS Marg, Kanjurmarg West

Maharashtra
KV, BEG, Near Deccan College, Pune

Manipur
KV No 1, Lamphelpat, Imphal

Meghalaya
KV, Happy Valley, Shillong

Mizoram
KV, Project Pushpak Zemabawk, Aizawl

Nagaland
KV, CRPF Camp, Lerie Hill, Kohima, Nagaland

Odisha
KV No 1, Unit 9, Near Ram Mandir, Bhubaneswar

Puducherry
KV, IIT Campus, Chennai

Punjab
KV, ASF High Grounds, Chandigarh

Rajasthan
KV No 1, Bajaj Nagar, Opp Tonk Phatak, Jaipur

Sikkim
KV, Post Tadong, Middil, Siyari, Gangtok

Tamil Nadu
KV, IIT Campus, Chennai

Telangana
KV No 1, Langer House, Golconda, Hyderabad

Tripura
KV (GC) CRPF, Adarani, Salbagan, Agartala

Uttarakhand
KV ONGC, Kaulagarh Road, Dehradun

Uttar Pradesh
KV, Lucknow Cantt
KV, New Cantt, VD Road, Allahabad

West Bengal
KV, Ballygunge, Circular Road, Kolkata

NTSE Exam Pattern

The are two stages i.e. Stage 1 and Stage 2 in the NTSE Exam. Stage 1 is a state level examination conducted by authorities of various states and union territories. Stage 2 is a national level examination conducted by NCERT for Stage 1 qualifiers and Indian nationals studying abroad as they are exempted from stage 1 exam. The pattern for both the Stage 1 and Stage 2 exam is same.
  1. NTSE Exam is an offline test. Candidates have to mark their answers in OMR sheets.
  2. The exam is divided into two papers. Paper 1 is Mental Ability Test (MAT) and Paper 2 is Scholastic Ability Test (SAT).
  3. The medium of Stage 1 exam is specified by respective state authorities while Stage 2 exam is offered in Asamiya, Bangla, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Malayalam, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu language.
  4. There is no negative marking applicable in NTSE.
NTSE Exam Pattern for both Stage 1 and Stage 2 are explained below:

Paper 1 – MAT
  • No. of Questions: 100
  • Maximum Marks: 100
  • Time Duration: 120 Minutes
Paper 2 – SAT
  • No. of Questions: 100 (Science-40, Math-20, Social Science-40)
  • Maximum Marks: 100
  • Time Duration: 120 Minutes

NTSE Contact Details

National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)
Sri Aurobindo Marg,
New Delhi-110016
Website: https://ncert.nic.in/national-talent-examination.php

Note: For State Level NTS Examination Enquiry: Contact the Liaison Officer of your State.

Connect me with the Top Colleges