NTSE or National Talent Search Examination is a national level exam conducted by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) for granting scholarships to meritorious students studying in class 10th. NTSE is only held for 10th standard students and the exam is conducted in two different stages – Stage I and II.
NCERT has defined an age limit for the students to appear for the exam. Candidates should be below the age of 18 years.
NTSE Eligibility for Stage 1 (State level examination)
Due to the COVID situation in the country, there is no exact date given about the registration and date of the examination but students who are pursuing their studies from schools in India are eligible to appear in the stage 1 exam. Eligibility criteria are as follows:
NTSE Eligibility for Stage 2 (National level examination)
NTSE Eligibility for Students Studying Abroad
• The selected candidate will receive the scholarship only if he/she decides to pursue studies in India.
The first stage exam is a state-level exam and is conducted by all the Indian states and UTs. On the other hand, NTSE stage II is conducted for those students who clear the first stage. As mentioned earlier, only those who qualify in NTSE stage 1 will be eligible to write the Stage II exam. This is the main criteria. Meanwhile, the objective of organizing NTSE is to award scholarships to potential candidates who are aspiring to pursue higher education in the field of Science or Social Studies. With these scholarships, students will be able to continue their education in their desired stream. NTSE scholarship will be awarded on the basis of the overall performance of students in both stages of the examination.
Exam Pattern
Part 1 – Mental Ability Test (MAT)
Part 2 – Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)
The Exam pattern is the same for both Stage 1 and Stage 2 and there will only be objective type of questions in both the stages of examination.
Papers | Maximum Marks | Number of Questions | Time Allotted |
MAT | 100 | 100 | 120 minutes |
SAT (Mathematics, Science, Social Sciences) | 100 | 100 | 120 Minutes |
NTSE Exam (Paper 1 & Paper 2) | |
Stage 1 | 1 Mark will be awarded for every correct answer. |
No negative marking for the wrong answer. | |
Stage 2 | 1 Mark will be awarded for every correct answer. |
For every wrong answer, one-third of the marks will be deducted. | |
No negative marking for questions left unattempted. |
Category | Reservation |
Schedule Caste | 15% |
Scheduled Tribe | 7.5% |
Person with Disability | 3% |
Exam Name | National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) |
Conducting Body | National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) |
Frequency of Exam | Once a year |
Application | Online |
Mode of Exam | Offline |
Exam Duration | 4 Hrs (2 Hrs MAT and 2 Hrs SAT) |