National Talent Search Exam (NTSE) Highlights
| Exam Conducting Body | NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) |
| Name of Exam | NTSE (National Talent Search Examination) |
| Frequency of Exam | Once a year |
| Level of Exam | State/National |
| Eligibility | The minimum eligibility for a candidate to appear for the NTSE Exam is the 10th class. |
| Application Mode | Online |
| Application Fees | General – Rs.250/- | SC/ST/BPL — Rs.100/- |
| Number of papers | 2 (MAT & SAT) |
| Types of questions | MCQ |
| Medium of Exam | 13 languages (English, Hindi, Bangla, Assamese, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Odia, Urdu, Telugu, and Tamil) |
| Purpose of the exam | A scholarship program for students of class X |
| Official Website | https://ncert.nic.in/ |
NTSE Eligibility Criteria
| Nationality | Only Indian nationals are eligible to apply. |
| Educational Qualification | Candidates who wish to take the NTSE exam in class X must have cleared the class IX examination from a recognized board. The candidate must have completed the class IX examination with a minimum of 60% marks. Students studying in class 10th from recognized schools are eligible to appear in NTSE Stage -1 Kendriya Vidyalaya, Navodaya Vidyalaya, and Sainik School students can apply for NTSE from the state where their school is located. There will be no domicile restrictions for them. Students who have completed/appearing for the class X examination and are registered under Open Distance Learning (ODL) can appear for the NTSE exam. Candidates must have obtained a degree recognized by the board. Students who have secured 80% marks on the state board are eligible for stage 2 of the NTSE exam |
| Age Limit | 18 years. |
NTSE Exam Pattern
Stage 1 Exam Pattern
☑ Exam Mode- Offline
☑ Type of questions- MCQ
☑ Marking Scheme–
For a correct answer, 1 mark will be added to the total score
For a wrong answer, no negative marking
| Papers | No. of Questions | Total Marks | Duration |
| MAT | 100 | 100 | 120 minutes |
| SAT – (Mathematics, Science, and Social Science) | 100 | 100 | 120 minutes |
Stage 2 Exam Pattern
☑ Type of questions– MCQ
☑ NCERT will conduct the Stage 2 test at the national level.
☑ There will be 100 questions in both MAT and SAT (Science-40, Maths-20, Social science-40)
☑ Marking Scheme–
For a correct answer, 1 mark will be added to the total score
For a wrong answer, no negative marking
| Papers | No. of Questions | Total Marks | Duration |
| MAT | 100 | 100 | 120 minutes |
| SAT – (Mathematics, Science, and Social Science) | 100 | 100 | 120 minutes |