National Talent Search Exam (NTSE), designed in the year 1963 as National Talent Search Scheme (NSTSS), is organized each year to select eligible candidates for national-level scholarship programs. The program came into existence with a motive to encourage and sustain academic talent so that the level of secondary school education can be enhanced. Students pursuing high school can apply for NTSE Exam 2024 through online mode. NCERT being the support of NTSE helped it to be recognized as one of the well-regarded exams to evaluate the academic excellence of the students. Eligible candidates will be able to receive scholarships through the following means: Class XI-XII: Scholarship of Rs.1250/ per month, Undergraduate and postgraduates: Scholarship of Rs.2000/- per month Candidates should note that the amount of scholarship is fixed as per the UGC norms.
NTSE Exam is held via two stages i.e. Stage I and Stage II. Stage I Exam will be held in the month of December 2023 (tentative) while the Stage II exam doesn’t need registration. The admit card for the NTSE exams will be released anytime soon. The exam will be held in two shifts including Mental Ability Test (MAT) and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Students who qualify for NTSE – Stage-I (State Level) will move further to appear for Stage-II (National Level). In order to avail of the scholarship program, candidates must pass both stages.
NTSE Exam 2024 Highlights
| Name of the Exam | National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) |
| Conducting authority | National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) |
| Level of Exam |
|
| Exam mode | Offline- Written |
| Application mode | Online |
| Medium of exam | English and Hindi |
| Official website | www.ncert.nic.in. |
NTSE Exam 2024 Important Dates
| Events | Stage I Dates | Stage II Dates |
| Application form releases | October 2023 | No need of registration |
| NTSE Admit card release date | November 2023 | Third week of May 2024 |
| NTSE Exam dates | December 2023 | June 2024 |
| NTSE Result | January- March 2024 | October 2024 |
Eligibility Requirements
Candidates need to confirm the following eligibility criteria in order to apply for NTSE 2024:
- Candidates must be presently studying in Class X to be eligible to apply for NTSE 2024 Stage I exam.
- Candidates belonging to any state or union territory will be eligible to appear for the examination as there are no domicile restrictions.
- Applicants who are pursuing their education through Open Distance Learning (ODL), can apply for the scholarship scheme too, provided the candidate’s age must be less than 18 years of age (as of 1st July of the particular year), not employed, and appearing for Class X exam for the first time.
NTSE Exam 2024 Application Form
Eligible candidates can fill up the NTSE Application form with the help of both offline and online modes. For offline mode, the application form will be distributed individually by different states. The candidate must assure to get a print copy of the form using while downloading the form.
The application form that is available offline/ online only by State/ UT liaison officer will be applicable for the NTSE Stage 1 exam.
Please note that it is necessary to leave the 4- digit center code blank in the scholarship form as it will be filled by the center superintendent or liaison officer or concerned district officer. The application form filling for both Indian Students and Indian Students Studying Abroad is given below:
For Indian Students
- Indian students will be able to acquire the application form on the official website of NCERT only.
- After duly filling out the scholarship form, candidates must get their form signed by their school principal.
- At last, candidates need to submit their application forms to the State Liaison Officer on or before the last date of form submission.
For Indian Students Studying Abroad
- Indian students who are studying in foreign countries are also allowed to apply directly for the NTSE Stage II exam.
- However, they need to first download the scholarship form for NTSE Stage II through the official website of NCERT.
- After completely filling up the application form, candidates need to send it along with a xerox of the mark sheet of the last exam taken to the address- Head, Educational Survey Division,
National Council of Educational Research and Training,
Sri Aurobindo Marg,
New Delhi 110016.
Application Fee
For NTSE Stage I Exam, the application fee will depend on the different states and union territories. While for Stage II, There is no application charge.
Exam Pattern
The Exam will be conducted through two phases viz., Stage-I and Stage-II. Basically, NTSE Stage-I Exam will be a state-UT examination and it will be conducted as a written test. After qualifying for the NTSE Stage-I examination, candidates will undergo to take up the NTSE Stage-II examination. Questions in the exam are based on the Mental Ability Test (MAT) and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). These are the two parts of the question paper. The questions asked in the exam will be from subjects such as Mathematics, Science, and Social Science. The level of the questions will be of 10th level. Additionally, no negative marking will be applicable in the exam.
| Papers | No. of Questions | Maximum Marks | Time duration |
| Paper 1- MAT | 100 questions | 100 | 120 minutes |
| Paper 2- SAT | 100 questions (Science- 40, Social Science- 40, Mathematics- 20) | 100 | 120 minutes |
Reservation Criteria
| Category | Reservation % |
| Other Backward Classes (OBC) | 27% |
| Scheduled Caste (SC) | 15% |
| Scheduled Tribe (ST) | 7.5% |
| Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) | 10% |
| Persons with Disabilities (PWD) | 4% |
Results
The concerned state authorities will be responsible to announce the results for NTSE Stage I. Only Stage I qualified candidates will be eligible for the Stage-II exam (national level). The Stage-II exam results will be announced on the basis of scores considered in both SAT and MAT.