Facts, Syllabus and Pattern

What is 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.
Syllabus for NTSE
Maths

1. Geometry

2. Algebra

3. Mensuration

4. Number Systems

5. Profit and Loss

6. Introduction to Trigonometry

7. Statistics and Probability

Science

1. Gravity

2. Energy

3. Solids, Liquids and Gases

4. Conservation of Energy

5. Nutrition

6. Natural Gases

7. Solutions

8. Common Diseases

9. Properties of Chemical Elements

Social

1. Mughal Dynasty

2. Ancient Civilisations

3. Legislative Assembly

4. Government Structure

5. Hydrosphere

6. Types of Banks

7. General Happenings

8. Political Events

9. Awards

10. Fundamental Rights

11. Type of Economics

English

1. Adjective

2. Adverb

3. Articles

4. Conjunction
5. Noun

6. Prepositions

7. Pronoun

8. Reading Comprehension

9. Sentences

10. Tenses

11. Transformation of Sentences

12. Verb

13. Vocabulary

14. Adjective
Exam Pattern for NTSE
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

 Analogies

 Classification

 Series
 Power of reasoning
Mental Ability Test  Pattern perception
(MAT)  Ability to think
 Hidden figures
 Evaluate or discriminate
 Coding-decoding

 Block assembly

 Problem solving etc.

 Section Question Type Area of Assessment

 Science (Physics,
 Matching type Chemistry and Biology)

 Arrange the sequence  Mathematics

Scholastic Aptitude
 True and False  History
Test (SAT)
statements
 Geography
 Questions based on
 Political Science
passages
 Economics

Language Test (LT)

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

 Stage I

Test No. of Questions Max. Marks

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
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.
 How to apply for NTSE 2018
Eligibility Criteria for NTSE
The eligibility criteria for NTSE 2018 is as given:

 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.

Registration for NTSE 2018

Follow the given steps to register:

1. Download application form from the official link or obtain it by contacting the state or UT
Liaison Officer (LO).

2. Register and fill in the application form.

3. Submit the duly-filled application form to the state or UT Officer after getting it signed by
your school principal.

NTSE Admit Card 2018

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.
Important Dates for NTSE 2018
Exam Dates for NTSE 2018
Tentative exam dates for NTSE 2018

Stage 1

States Dates

Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland and

3rd November 2018
Andaman & Nicobar Islands

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.

 Results and cut-off of NTSE 2018
Results for NTSE
 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 categor y

40% in each subject 32% in each subject

The category wise cutoff for NTSE 2017 was:

Category wise Cut-off Marks

OC 117

SC 94

ST 90

MBC 100
 Category wise Cut-off Marks

OBM 102

OBG 110

How to Prepare for NTSE

Preparation Tips for NTSE
 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.

Study Material for NTSE

 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