Identification of talent comprises two-stage selection process. While the individual State/UT conducts the first stage selection, the second stage selection at the national level is carried out by the NCERT.

State Level Examination
Each State/UT conducts its own examination. They have the autonomy to lay down their own norms for the purposes of determining the eligibility of the candidates. This examination is primarily used to recommend a given number of candidates for the second level test to be conducted by the NCERT.
The state level screening examination is conducted in all States/UTs on second Sunday of November except in Nagaland, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Meghalaya and Mizoram where it will be conducted on second Saturday of November every year until and unless some special circumstances occur.
State level examination may have two parts: Part-I Mental Ability Test (MAT) and Part-II Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) for nominating the required number of candidates for the second level test to be conducted by the NCERT.

Results
The State/Union Territory will prepare a merit list of the candidates ensuring the minimum qualifying marks in both the tests separately. These marks are 40 per cent in the case of general category candidates and 32 per cent in the case of SC/ST candidates. The result of State Level Talent Search examination is declared in months of January/February by the States/UTs themselves.

National Level Examination
There is no fee of any kind for appearing in the National Level Examination. Only the candidates selected by the States/UTs on the basis of their screening examination shall be eligible to appear in the National level examination to be conducted by the NCERT on the Second Sunday of May each year(unless otherwise notified).

Special provisions for Candidates Studying Abroad
Students of Indian nationality studying abroad at the Class VIII level may also compete for Talent Search Award under the following conditions:
(i) The Indian students studying abroad in Class VIII or equivalent class shall be exempted from the first level-screening test and shall be permitted to appear directly at the second level examination conductedby the Council.
(ii) A candidate shall be eligible to appear in the second level NTS examination only if he or she has obtained at least 60 per cent marks (in aggregate) at the previous annual examination.
(iii) A candidate will have to appear in the NTS examination at a centre in India at her/his own cost.
(iv) A candidate desiring to appear in the NTS examination may request through the Head of the Institution where he or she is studying along with an attested copy (by the Head of the Institution ) of the marksheet of Class IX. The request should reach the Head, Department of Educational Measurement and Evaluation, NCERT, New Delhi-110016 latest by 31st March of the concerned year.

Interview
A stipulated number of candidates, on the basis of the merit, shall be called for interview. Normally the interview shall be held during the months of July and August.

All students studying in Class VIII in any type of recognized school including Kendriya Vidyalaya, Navodaya Vidyalaya, Sainik School etc. will be eligible to appear at the State Level.
Examination from the State in which the school is located. However, no domicile restriction shall be imposed. The state may impose any other eligibility condition for appearing in the screening examination like any qualifying percentage of marks in the previous annual examination etc.

The syllabus for NTSE will be broadly equivalent to the syllabi followed in Class 7 & 8 of NCERT & STATE Curriculum. The syllabus is only a broad guideline. Questions and problems in Talent Search exams are usually non-conventional and of high difficulty level.

• The written examination shall consist of Part I MAT and Part II SAT. Both the tests will be administered separately with a short interval in between.
• The SAT and MAT will have 100 items each in place of 90 items given in the NTS Scheme.
• Each question will carry 1 mark. The total marks will be 100 for each test.
• Minimum qualifying marks will be 40% i.e. 40 marks for general category.
• Minimum qualifying marks for reserved categories will be 32% i.e. 32 marks.
• The duration of the tests will remain the same i.e. 90 minutes each.
• For first 90 questions in both SAT and MAT, the candidates have to put a cross mark (X) on the number of the correct alternative on the answer sheet against the corresponding question. For questions 91-100, the answers are to be written in the given space in the answer sheet.
• In SAT the first 90 items are divided into three areas - 35 for Science, 20 for Mathematics and 35 for Social Science. However, no separate sections are given in the test. The last 10 questions are mixed from different subjects.

How to Apply
You can download the Common Application Form from the NCERT website www.ncert.nic.in and send it through your school to the State Liasoning officer.

Since the syllabi of the test is not strictly defined and is broadly based on, the curriculum of class 7 & 8, it is essential that you should first develop a firm grasp on the fundamentals of class VII & VIII curriculum. Once you are thorough with the fundamentals, you may work on gaining more depth and breadth on the subject matter. There are numerous books, websites and other resources, which may help you in this. You may also enroll for the online programs and Classroom programs offered by STEPS.

• your current skill level and your career options at the current level
• the percentage of your peers ahead of you and the percentage behind
• areas of improvement and ways to improve
• sufficiency or otherwise of inputs received at your school/institute to face competition ahead
• about crucial skills other than Math and Science (Logical and Analytical ability, General awareness, Language skills) needed to survive in a competitive environment

Students of classes VI - X

The curriculum of NBT is designed to follow the National curriculum framework and hence is equally relevant for CBSE, ICSE as well as State board students who wish to appear in competitive examinations in future.

It is a computer based, multiple-choice questionnaire with 135 questions divided into five sections. The scoring and evaluation are completely online.
Mathematics (27 questions)
The Mathematics section is divided into three categories: Algebra, Arithmetic and Geometry.
Science (27 questions)
The Science section is further divided into three categories: Physics, Chemistry and Biology.
English (27 questions)
The English section is divided into Grammar, Usage and Comprehension sections.
Mental Ability (27 questions)
Mental Ability section is broadly divided into Logical Reasoning, Spatial Reasoning, and Logical Deduction sections.
General Awareness (27 questions)
The General Awareness section includes Political Awareness, Geography and History.
These tests can also be taken section by section.
Test Duration: 2 hours, with no negative marking.

Students can participate through their respective schools, for this test or directly register with us.

Since this is a test of conceptual understanding and skills, no special preparation is required. The test is based on the knowledge you have acquired up to the last grade. If you are a Grade-9 student, for instance, you are not expected to know all the concepts for Grade-9 at the time of taking this test. You are only expected to be comfortable with all the concepts taught up to 8th grade.

1. National Standard Examination in Astronomy (Jr) (NSEA)
It will be the first stage of selection of students in the Astronomy (Jr) Olympiad Programme and will be organized by the Indian Association of Physics Teachers (IAPT). Every student aspiring to go through successive stages of the programme must enroll for NSEA.
It is usually conducted in November and the last date of enrolment is in the middle of September.
Based on performance in NSEA, the top 300 students in order of merit will qualify to appear for the Second Stage of the Olympiad program INAO 2009. In case there is a tie for the last position, all additional students with the same marks will also qualify for INAO 2009.
All students who qualify for INAO 2009, will get a certificate of merit from IAPT.
2. INDIAN NATIONAL ASTRONOMY (JR) OLYMPIAD (INAO)

• INAO will be organized by HBCSE at about 15 centres in the country.
• The test is usually conducted in the last week of January.
• The dates are communicated by post to the eligible students. Students appearing for INAO will be eligible for TA/DA as per the norms of the programme.
• On the basis of performance in INAO, the top 20 students in the merit list will be selected for the next stage.

3. ORIENTATION CUM SELECTION CAMP (OCSC)
OCSC in Astronomy (Jr) will be organized by HBCSE sometime in April to June 2009 for 2-3 weeks. The exact dates will be announced prior to or along with the announcement of the selection list for the OCSC.
The camp will include several theoretical and experimental tests. Orientation will be provided to students especially in experiments. The camp will conclude with a valedictory function where distinguished scientists will be invited to speak to the students.
The merit list of OCSC in astronomy is prepared on the basis of the aggregated test scores over all the tests in the camp, with 50% weightage for theoretical tests, 30 % weightage for data analysis test and 20% weightage for observational tests. Performance in previous stages (NSEA and INAO) will not be a consideration for the merit list and awards of the OCSC astronomy.
Special Merit Awardees
The top 3 in the OCSC Astronomy (Jr) merit list will be declared to be special merit awardees. The 3 special merit awardees in Astronomy (Jr) selected at the end of the OCSC will constitute the 3 member student team for the International Astronomy (Jr) Olympiad (IJSO), provided they satisfy the required criteria such as age limit, holding valid Indian passports, medical fitness, parental consent, etc.
4. PRE-DEPARTURE TRAINING (PDT) CAMP
The selected Indian teams for IAO Junior and Senior levels and for IOAA will undergo a rigorous training programme at HBCSE in theory, data analysis and observational astronomy. Resource persons from HBCSE and different institutions across the country will be invited to train the students. The duration of training will be subject to IAO and IOAA regulations.
5. INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMY (JR) OLYMPIAD
The 3 member student team and 3 teacher leaders will constitute the delegation to represent India at the International Astronomy (Jr) Olympiad (IJSO).

All Indian students between the ages of 14 and 15 on the first day of this year are eligible to appear for NSEA (first stage). In addition, they should be in Class X or lower.
It is the student's responsibility to ensure that the eligibility criteria are satisfied. In case at any stage of the program it is found that the student does not satisfy the eligibility criteria, he/she may be disqualified from the program.

• The syllabus for NSEA will be broadly equivalent to the secondary school level (upto Class X) of CBSE. There will be greater emphasis on physics and mathematics and elementary astronomy.
• This is only a broad guideline, and there is no detailed syllabus given for NSEA.
• The syllabus for INAO will be broadly similar to NSEA but the difficulty level of the questions will be higher.
• The syllabus is only a broad guideline. Questions and problems in National Olympiads are usually non-conventional and of high difficulty level, comparable to International Olympiads.

NSEA will emphasize comprehension of the subject, not rote memory. Its format will be as follows:

Examination Total marks: 150		Multiple choice questions consisting of:
	(A1)
	(A2)	10 questions with any number of the four options correct (all correct options to be marked to get credit).
Language		English

Click here for the question paper and solution of 2008 NSEA

Any student can apply through his/ her school for participation in NSEA. The Principal/ Senior Faculty Coordinator in the subject will contact IAPT office at Pune and get the institution registered for the conduct of examination after completing necessary formalities. The exact information about these Olympiads is generally published by IAPT in the month of July/August every year in leading national dailies and on its own website www.iapt.org.in The Registration form for applying to IAPT, Pune office is given below.
If your school/ college is not a registered centre, visit the IAPT website www.iapt.org.in . This website displays details of the centres, which were registered last year. This may be of help to you in locating the centre nearest to you and in enrolling your name at the centre by paying the required fee. If any school or College wants to get itself registered for the first time, the form for the Registration can be downloaded from this site and sent to IAPT office, Pune at the following address.
Prof. M.L Ogalapurkar
NSE Co-ordinator
I.A.P.T Office, I.I.E Campus
128/2, J.P Naik Marg, Kothrud
Pune - 411 038
Maharashtra
Tel (Off.) 020-25420163; email iapt@vsnl.net
Website : www.iapt.org.in

Any student can apply through his/ her school for participation in NSEJS. The Principal/ Senior Faculty Coordinator in the subject will contact IAPT office at Pune and get the institution registered for the conduct of examination after completing necessary formalities. The exact information about these Olympiads is generally published by IAPT in the month of July/August every year in leading national dailies and on its own website www.iapt.org.in . The Registration form for applying to IAPT, Pune office is given below.
If your school or college is not a registered centre, visit the IAPT website www.iapt.org.in . This website displays details of the centres, which were registered last year. This may be of help to you in locating the centre nearest to you and in enrolling your name at the centre by paying the required fee. If any school or College wants to get itself registered for the first time, the form for Registration can be downloaded from web site and sent to IAPT office, Pune at the following address.

1. National Standard Examination in Junior Science (NSEJS)
It is the first stage of selection of students in the Junior Science Olympiad Programme and is organized by the Indian Association of Physics Teachers (IAPT). Every student aspiring to go through the successive stages of the programme must enroll for NSEJS.
It is usually conducted in November and the last date of enrolment is around 15th of September.
Based on the performance in NSEJS, the top 300 students in order of merit will qualify for the Second Stage of the Olympiad program INJSO 2009. In case of a tie for the last position, all students with the same marks will qualify for INJSO 2009.
Students who qualify for INJSO 2009 will get a Certificate of Merit from IAPT.
All students who qualify for INAO 2009, will get a certificate of merit from IAPT.
2. INDIAN NATIONAL JUNIOR SCIENCE OLYMPIAD (INJSO)

• INJSO will be organized by HBCSE at about 15 centres in the country.
• The test is usually conducted in the last week of January.
• The dates are communicated to the eligible students by post. Students appearing for INJSO will be eligible for TA/DA as per the norms of the programme.
• On the basis of performance in INJSO, the top 36 students in the merit list will be selected for the next stage.

3. ORIENTATION CUM SELECTION CAMP (OCSC)
OCSC in junior science will be organized by HBCSE sometime in April to June 2009 for 2-3 weeks. The exact dates will be announced prior to or along with the announcement of the selection list for OCSC.
The camp will include several theoretical and experimental tests. Orientation will be provided to students especially in experiments. The camp will conclude with a valedictory function where distinguished scientists will be invited to speak to the students.
The merit list of OCSC in Junior Science will be prepared on the basis of the combined theoretical and experimental score aggregated over all the tests in the camp, with 60% weightage for theory and 40% weightage for experiments. Performance in the earlier stages will not be a consideration for finalising the merit list and awards of OCSC.
Special Merit Awardees
The top 6 in the OCSC junior science merit list will be declared to be special merit awardees. These special merit awardees will be given Rs. 5,000/= each in the form of books and cash. In addition, there will be special prizes to recognize meritorious performances in theory and experiments.
The 6 special merit awardees in junior science selected at the end of the OCSC will constitute the 6 member student team for the International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO), provided they satisfy the required criteria such as age limit, holding valid Indian passports, medical fitness, parental consent, etc.
4. PRE-DEPARTURE TRAINING (PDT) CAMP
The selected 6 member Indian team would undergo a rigorous training programme at HBCSE in theory and experiments. Special laboratories will be developed at HBCSE for this purpose. Resource persons from HBCSE and different institutions across the country will be invited to train the students.
5. INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR SCIENCE OLYMPIAD
The 6 member students' team and 3 teacher leaders constitute the delegation to represent India at the International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO).

All Indian students between the ages of 14 and 15 as on the first day of this year are eligible to appear for NSEJS (first stage).
It is the student's responsibility to ensure that he/she satisfies the eligibility criteria. In case, at any stage of the program, it is found that the student does not satisfy the eligibility criteria, he/she may be disqualified from the program.

The syllabus for NSEJS is more or less equivalent to the secondary school level syllabus (unto Class X) of the CBSE. The different basic subjects of science (physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics) will have an almost equal emphasis.
This is only a broad guideline, and there is no detailed syllabus given for NSEJS.
The syllabus for INJSO will again be somewhat similar to that of NSEJS; but the questions will be of a higher difficulty level. The syllabus is only a broad guideline. Questions and problems in National Olympiads are usually non-conventional and of high difficulty level, comparable to the ones asked in International Olympiads.

NSEJS will emphasize comprehension of the subject, not rote memory. Its format will be as follows:

Examination Total marks: 150		Multiple choice questions consisting of:
	(A1)	30 questions with only one of the four options correct (negative marks for incorrect answers).
	(A2)	10 questions with any number of the four options correct (all correct options to be marked to get credit).
Language		English

Click here for the question paper and solution of 2008 NSEJS

Any student can apply through his/ her school for participation in NSEJS. The Principal/ Senior Faculty Coordinator in the subject will contact IAPT office at Pune and get the institution registered for the conduct of examination after completing necessary formalities. The exact information about these Olympiads is generally published by IAPT in the month of July/August every year in leading national dailies and on its own website www.iapt.org.in The Registration form for applying to IAPT, Pune office is given below.
If your school or college is not a registered centre, visit the IAPT website www.iapt.org.in .This website displays details of the centres, which were registered last year. This may be of help to you in locating the centre nearest to you and in enrolling your name at the centre by paying the required fee. If any school or College wants to get itself registered for the first time, the form for Registration can be downloaded from web site and sent to IAPT office, Pune at the following address.
Prof. M.L Ogalapurkar
     NSE Co-ordinator
     I.A.P.T Office, I.I.E Campus
     128/2, J.P Naik Marg, Kothrud
     Pune - 411 038
     Maharashtra
     Tel (Off.) 020-25420163; email iapt@vsnl.net
     Website : www.iapt.org.in

Since the syllabi of the test is not strictly defined and is broadly based on, the curriculum of class IX & X, it is essential that you should first develop a firm grasp on the fundamentals of class IX and X curriculum.

• has interesting questions that require thinking, not simply recall.
• provides detailed skill-wise feedback highlighting strengths and weaknesses
• provides a benchmark of the student's performance with peers all over the country.

Students of classes III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI (PCM & PCB), XII (PCM & PCB).

NSTSE will be based on the CBSE syllabus.
NSTSE question papers are also suitable for students following ICSE/ISC and various other State Board syllabi.

There will be a separate question paper for each class. The medium of the exam will be in English only.
All questions are in objective-type with no negative marking for wrong answers.
No. of Questions : 100 Marks : 100
Duration : 90 minutes
( For Class III : Question Paper consists of 75 questions only & 75 marks).

For Grade 3
Mathematics : 40
General Science : 35
For Grades 4-5	For grades 6-10
Mathematics : 45	Mathematics : 25
General Science : 45	Physics : 25
General Questions : 10	Chemistry : 20
Biology : 20
General Questions : 10
For PCM +1 & +2	For PCB +1 & +2
Mathematics : 40	Biology : 40
Physics : 25	Physics : 25
Chemistry : 25	Chemistry : 25
General Questions : 10	General Questions : 10

A national Olympiad exam assesses the student at national level by doing away with the drawbacks and inadequacies of testing done at school / regional level. A national level assessment not only gives the student an idea where he / she stands but also the confidence to face exams at National level.
The schools can rate the performance of their students at National Level and can improve the level of science education at their end.

The competition has been divided into two levels:
Level 1 :
(i) The Level 1 competition is a written objective-type test of 60 minutes duration comprising 50 objective-type (Multiple Choice) questions for class 3 to class 12.
(ii) The question paper consists of Science, Mental Ability and General Intelligence section.
(iii) There are separate question papers for each class.
(iv) The medium of the test is English.
(v) CBSE, ICSE/ISC and State Board syllabus is followed for setting the test papers.
(vi) The exam is conducted during school hours, preferably between 10.00 a.m. and 11a.m.
Level 2 :
Top 500 students along with all school-topper award winner of level 1 qualifies for the Level 2 from each class. For the level 2, admit card containing all information regarding exam centre, date, timing, etc. is issued to the qualified students through their respective schools.

Students of classes 3rd to 12th are eligible to appear for the NSO. There is no other eligibility criteria like minimum marks. The top 500 All-India ranked students and the school toppers from each class are eligible to appear in the 2nd level exam.

The syllabus of the NSO is the same as is prescribed by the CBSE, ICSE or various state boards. If you sit for the second level and have moved onto the next class, the syllabus will remain the same (i.e. of the previous class).

The Level 1 competition is a written objective-type test of 60 minutes duration comprising 50 objective-type (Multiple Choice) questions for class 3 to class 12. Each correct answer carries one mark. Students of 11th and 12th answer any three parts of the Question Paper: (i) Physics, (ii) Chemistry, (iii) Mathematics or Biology.

The event is open to the students of classes 3 to 12 and registrations will have to be sent through the respective schools in the prescribed pro-forma. Registration sheets for the school and the students are enclosed with the information booklets which are posted to the schools all over India.

You may revise your entire NCERT Textbook to prepare for this exam.TCYonline.com provides lot many free tests for each grades starting from grade 3. You may also access our online courses for the same. These tests would provide you with the practice required to excel in this exam.

Students studying in classes 3 to 12 in English medium schools affiliated with CBSE/ICSE and state boards can participate in the NCO. All students of Class 9 to 12 interested in pursuing careers in arts, commerce and science should participate since the competition aims to test the students' aptitude for computers.

The Syllabus of the test can be obtained from your school.

• The participant has to answer 50 questions in 60 minutes. Additional 10 minutes is given to students so that they can fill up the students information sheet (Given on the OMR answer sheet).
• There is a separate question paper for each class.
• Question paper will have three sections
• Section I - Mental Ability (15 questions)
• Section II - Logical and Analytical Reasoning (15 questions)
• Section III - Computer and Information Technology (20 questions)
• Sample question paper for each class is sent to all schools with the information booklet and registration forms. School NCO In-charge is requested to give the xerox copy of the sample question paper to interested students. Sample question papers and other material can also be downloaded from SOF website (www.sofworld.org).
• All questions are objective (MCQ) type. The question papers are prepared by SOF's panel of subject experts selected from all over India.

Principals / teachers may please note that any school may register as a centre for NCO. No fee is required from the institution to become a registered examination centre. Minimum of 50 students need to register from each school for feasibility reasons. Students should register through the schools only. Individual registration by the student is not encouraged.

You may revise your entire NCERT Textbook to prepare for this exam.TCYonline.com provides lot many free tests for each grades starting from grade 3. You may also access our online courses for the same. These tests would provide you with the practice required to excel in this exam.