NTSE 2020 - National Talent Search Exam (Scholarship Exam by NCERT)

NTSE 2020 is a scholarship exam that is conducted by National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) for Class 10 students.  NTSE Exam is an all India scholarship exam that is given on merit basis. The students who qualify in the all India exam are awarded a scholarship by NCERT, Govt. of India. Students of all categories and from all family income group are eligible to apply for the NTSE exam 2020.  NTSE exam is conducted in two stages that are the NTSE Stage 1 Exam and NTSE Stage 2 Exam.  The scholarship exam has questions on Mental Aptitude Test (MAT) and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Read the article NTSE 2020-2021 for details on eligibility, application form, dates, exam pattern, syllabus and more here.

Every year, around 9-10 lakhs aspirant of class 10 appear for NTSE scholarship test stage 1 from all states and UTs. Of which about 8500 students are selected for NTSE exam stage 2. Around 2000 scholarships are awarded to candidates who qualify stage 2 examination, of which 1500 are from General category, while 500 are from reserved category

NTSE 2020 Dates

National Talent Search Examination 2020-21 is a scholarship exam conducted by NCERT. 

The visually Challenged Candidates will get 30 minutes extra in both exams.

NTSE 2020: An Overview

Check the highlights of NTSE 2020 from the table below.

NTSE 2020 Stage 1 Exam

The stage 1 exam is conducted by individual states and UTs. Candidates have to fill the NTSE Application form for their individual state. Some states have the NTSE online form and for others, there is an offline application form. The states may charge their individual application fee but the exam is conducted on the same date across all states except  Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Andaman & Nicobar Islands and West Bengal. Not only the exam date but also NTSE Exam Pattern is same for all states. The number of students who will qualify for stage 2 exam in each state is based on the enrolment of students in Classes 9 and 10 in different States/UTs and the state quota is given at the end of this page.

NTSE Stage 2 Exam

Stage 2 of NTSE is conducted by NCERT. There is no application fee for this stage, all those students who qualify for stage 1 are eligible for NTSE stage 2 exam. The stage 2 exam has questions on MAT and SAT and all those students who qualify the exam are selected for the scholarship. There is no state quota in stage 2 exam but there is a quota for SC, ST, OBC and Physically handicapped students.

NTSE Scholarship Number and History

The exam can be taken by students studying in India as well as Indian students studying abroad. NTSE scholarship was constituted in 1963 by NCERT. It is one of the most prestigious scholarships in India and is also considered one of the toughest scholarship exam in India. Every year lakhs of students appear in the exam and close to 2000 students are awarded the NTSE scholarship. The students receive the NTSE Scholarship from Class 11 until their PhD studies. This page holds the complete information about the National Talent Search Examination (NTSE).

NTSE 2020 Exam Date Announced

The NTSE Information Brochure for the academic year 2020-21 has been released. NTSE Stage 1 Exam will be held on different dates for many states

The exam date for NTSE has been announced by NCERT 

• NTSE Stage 1 exam date – 12 Dec, 13 Dec, 20 Dec, 27 Dec, 3 Jan, 24 Jan, 21 Feb
• NTSE Stage 2 Exam – 13 June 2021

The candidates are also advised to register for free SMS Updates to get the latest information on NTSE 2020.

Register Here for SMS Updates on NTSE Scholarships
(we will send you all the latest updates on your phone)

NTSE Exam for Indian Students Studying Abroad

NCERT has released the notification for NTSE Stage 2 examination for Indian students studying abroad. Important dates as per the notification

• Indian Students Studying Abroad should fill in the relevant columns and forward the application form to NCERT along with marks sheet of class 9 before the last date as mentioned above.
• Application Form: The application form can be downloaded by Indian Students Studying Abroad from the website of NCERT.

Read more about the NTSE Scholarship for Indian Students Studying Abroad

Know More about NTSE 2020

These links have detailed information about NTSE Various topics and students can follow these links to get in-depth knowledge on NTSE 2020

• NTSE Stage 2 Exam 
• NTSE Eligibility
• NTSE Application Form
• NTSE Answer Key Stage 2
• NTSE Preparation Guidelines
• NTSE Syllabus
• NTSE Result
• NTSE Sample Papers
• NTSE Revised Rules for Disbursement of Scholarship

NTSE Scholarship amount has been increased from 2014-15 onwards. Earlier it was Rs 500 per month. The students who qualify NTSE Exam will be paid the scholarship on a per month basis as follows. Once the student is given the scholarship they have to keep up with their academic performance. Moreover, the scholarship is renewed every year based on the academic performance of the scholarship holder. If the student fails to satisfy the scholarship criteria then their scholarship might be cancelled. The candidates will get NTSE Scholarship for a maximum of 12 months in an academic session.

• NTS Scholarship is for studies in India only

• The scholarship is provided to students pursuing courses in sciences and social sciences up to doctoral level.
• In the case of professional courses like medicine and engineering, the scholarship is up to the second-degree level subject.

NTSE Scholarship Amount 2020-21 (Class wise)

Guidelines for Disbursement of Scholarship - Read Here

The NTSE Application has to be filled for Stage 1 exam. The students have to take the NTSE Application Form from the State/UT Liaison Officer or from the state SCERT website. Region-wise list of State Liaison Officers for NTSE is given towards the end of this page. The candidates can download the application form by following the link available on this page.

• The student has to fill in the required details in the NTSE Application form and the completed application form should be signed by the Principal of the school.

There is no application for NTSE stage 2 exam. The students can check the NTSE application form for all states on the respective State SCERT website or get in touch with the liaison officer of their state. You can find the NTSE Application form for your state here - Download NTSE Application Form

NTSE 2020 Application form last date

As NTSE Stage 1 is conducted by Individual State & UT so the last date to submit the NTSE Application form may differ. The student has to confirm the last date to submit NTSE application form from their respective State Liaison Officer or from the website.

• NTSE Chhattisgarh Last Date is
• NTSE Himachal Pradesh Last date is
• NTSE West Bengal Last Date is
• NTSE Tripura Last Date is

NTSE Application form For Indian Students Studying Abroad

• They should fill the relevant items of the Application forms and should forward it to NCERT along with Class 9 mark sheet.
• The students have to mention the name of State/ UT, where the candidate wants to appear in the national level NTS examination, in the covering letter.

NTSE 2020 Application Fees

• Stage 1 of NTSE is conducted by different State/UTs so the application fee has to be paid to them directly.
• There is no fee for taking the NTSE Stage 2 exam conducted by NCERT.

NTSE 2020 Exam Centres

The exam centres of NTSE 2020 are the venue where the examination will be conducted. NTSE is to be conducted in all states of the country. While filling the application form of NTSE 2020, aspirants need to fill their preferences of NTSE 2020 exam centres as per their preferences as well as convenience. Candidates must select the NTSE exam centres 2020 carefully, as, after the submission of application form, no modification can be done. After submitting the application form, the details of NTSE 2020 exam centres will be available in the admit card of NTSE 2020.

NTSE Admit Card 2020-21: Download Online

All the states will release NTSE Admit Card respectively for the students who have successfully filled up the application form. The admit card of NTSE has information regarding the NTSE Roll Number and NTSE Exam Centre and the address. The candidates will not be allowed to enter the exam hall without NTSE Admit Card.

NTSE Admit card for Stage 2:  It will be available 21 days before the exam and the students can download the NTSE Stage 2 admit card by entering the required details. After downloading the admit card the candidates have to paste the attested photograph on the admit card.

In case of any problem in downloading the admit card, the candidates can contact the concerned office of the District Inspector of Schools (SE) on or before the due date.

• Aptitude Test:  The NTSE Exam will consist of two tests which are the Mental Ability Test (MAT) and Scholastic Ability Test (SAT).
• In NTSE SAT there are 40 questions from Science, 40 from Social Science and 20 from Mathematics
• NTSE Negative Marking: There is No Negative Marking in NTSE 2020-21
  
• NTSE 2020 language of Examination: The Examination is conducted in various languages that are: Assamese, Bangla, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Malayalam, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.
• NTSE Qualifying Marks - NTSE Examination qualifying marks are 40% for the general category and 32% for the reserved categories i.e. SC/ST/PWD. Candidates have to score these minimum marks in each paper to qualify.

NTSE Exam Pattern 2020-21

The NTSE exam will be consist of the Mental Ability Test (MAT) and Scholastic Ability Test (SAT)

NTSE MAT Question Paper Pattern

MAT is used to test the power of reasoning, ability to think, ability to judge, evaluate or discriminate, ability to visualize in the space, spatial orientation, etc.

MAT questions are asked on the following topics

1. Analogies
2. Classification
3. Series
4. Pattern perception
5. Hidden figures
6. Coding decoding
7. Block assembly
8. Problem-solving etc.

NTSE SAT Question Paper Pattern (Subject wise break up)

The SAT Question Paper will have questions from Science, Mathematics and Social Science

NTSE Language Test

There is no language test for the students now. Earlier there was a language test, and the students had to qualify that even though NTSE Merit List was based on the total marks obtained in MAT + SAT

NTSE Exam Timings

• SAT - 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM
• MAT - 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM

Note: The visually Challenged Candidates will get 30 minutes extra in both MAT and SAT Exam.

NTSE 2020 Syllabus 

There is no prescribed NTSE syllabus by NCERT for the scholarship Exam. The questions in NTSE 2020 stage 1 and 2 will be based on class 9 and 10 levels. Students are advised to study and complete the entire NCERT syllabus of their class.  The students can also check the previous year question papers to see the type of questions that are asked in the exam. Also, candidates can download the official booklet “Learn about the test” that contains sample papers for both the NTSE exam

NTSE 2020 Question Paper 

Students can refer to the question papers of NTSE for better preparation. While preparing from NTSE question papers of previous years, aspirants can understand the exam pattern and structure of the NTSE exam. Also, candidates can work on their speed and time management skills. After the NTSE scholarship exam is over, aspirants can take the question paper with them.

• NTSE Stage 1 Question Paper is available in the English language as well as the language chosen by the candidate at the time of filling the application form for the stage 1 exam
• NTSE Stage 2 Question Paper is available in Asamiya, Bangla, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Malayalam, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.

NTSE 2020 Answer Key 

All the states release the NTSE Answer keys after the exam is conducted. The candidates can check the answer key with the official answer key and can also challenge the answer key if they find any error in the answer key of NTSE released by SCERT.

Most of the states release the answer keys within a week of conducting the NTSE exam and give sufficient time for the students to challenge the answer key. The candidates can check NTSE Answer Key as soon as it is released by the states/union territory.

NTSE 2020 Result

NTSE Stage 1 Result will be released by the respective states and UTs in January and February. The NTSE merit list is prepared based on the aggregate marks in MAT and SAT. The result is either available in form of a Rank card where the students have to enter the required details to login or it is available in the form of merit list that contains the name of the students who have qualified for the next stage. Some states do not release the individual marks secured by the candidates. For this, the candidate has to contact the respective state.

The candidates can check the NTSE Stage 1 Exam Result (Last Year) which was declared by the respective state/ UT. However, the result for the NTSE Stage 2 exam has will be announced by the NCERT. For the results of the respective States and Union Territories refer to 

• NTSE Results
• NTSE Stage 2 Result

NTSE Result for all states and UTs

NTSE Cut off Stage 1 and 2

The candidates have to score minimum marks prescribed by NCERT to qualify for NTSE Stage 2 Exam. The following is the criteria for stage 1:

NTSE 2020 - Reservation fo States/ UT Quota

The quota would be calculated on the basis of student's enrolment in Class 9 and Class 10, Reservation guidelines as per the NCERT are given below. For the academic year 2018-2020, OBC Quota has been implemented by the government of India for NTSE Stage 2.

Note: OBC Quota is subject to the income limit notified by the Government of India.

NTSE 2020 Brochure 

NCERT has released the NTSE brochure for the first time. The brochure contains information about various aspects of the exam and students are advised to go through the brochure before filling up the form. Download NTSE Brochure 

Contents of NTSE  brochure

• Selection Procedure
• State Level Examination
• National Level Examination
• Rules and Regulations for Disbursement of Scholarship
• General Eligibility Conditions
• NTSE Eligibility and Conditions for Continuation of Scholarship at Higher Secondary Stage 
• NTSE Eligibility and Conditions for Continuation of Scholarships at first Degree Level Courses
• Conditions at Second Degree Level Course
• Conditions at M.Phil./Ph.D Stage
• Contingency Grant for PhD work
• Rates of Scholarship
• Mode of Payment
• Leave Rules Applicable to all the Awardees

Download NTSE Brochure

NTSE Scholarship State-wise Quota

The table below shows the state-wise quota for NTSE.  8387 students will appear in NTSE stage 2 exam from various states according to the quota given below.

Address

In Charge, National Talent Search Scheme Cell,
Education Survey Division,
National Council of Educational Research & Training,
Sri Aurobindo Marg,
New Delhi 110016

Contact Details:

• NTS National Level Exam
  Ph: 011-26560464 (Timings 2.30 PM to 4.30 PM only)
  E-mail: ntsexam.ncert@gov.in
• NTSE Scholarship
  Phone no. 011-26562704 (Timings 2.30 PM to 4.30 PM only)
  E-mail: scholarship.nts@gov.in

State Level NTS Examination Enquiry: Contact the Liaison Officer of your State. Candidates can check the complete list of Liaison officer of each state here>>>NTSE Liaison Officer State Wise