National Talent Search Examination (NTSE)

National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) is an offline scholarship exam for class 10 students to encourage higher studies in the field of Science and Social science. This exam is conducted by NCERT at two stages. SCERT or other authority of the respective state conduct stage 1 at the state level and stage 2 exam is held by NCERT at the national level. NCERT has released the notification of NTSE 2019-20 online on its website ncert.nic.in. 

• NTSE exam 2020 (Stage 1) has been held on November 2, 3, & 17, 2019. NTSE JK exam date has been postponed to December 1, 2019.
• The application forms were released through state-level authorities.
• NTSE 2020 admit cards for each state were issued in October/ November 2019.
• All states have released the official NTSE Answer Key 2020 in November 2019.
• The authorities of Gujarat, Chandigarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttarakhand, AP, Karnataka and other states have released NTSE results for stage 1 exam, while some SCERT will release the result of NTSE exam 2020 in March 2020.
• NTSE exam 2020 (Stage 2) will be conducted by NCERT on May 10, 2020, by NCERT at the national level.
• Each stage has two papers- MAT (Mental Ability Test) and SAT (Scholastic Ability Test) of 100 marks each. Students have 04 hours to complete two paper which includes 2 hours for each paper.
• Students who will be able to qualify both the stages of NTSE 2020 will be awarded scholarships.  
• A total of 2000 students will be shortlisted for the NTSE scholarships. 

NTSE 2020 Eligibility Criteria

• Students currently enrolled in class 10 from any recognized school/board including Sainik Schools, Kendriya Vidyalaya and Navodaya Vidyalaya were eligible to apply for stage 1 of NTSE exam 2020.
• States cannot impose domicile restrictions for stage 1, however they may add additional eligibility conditions such as qualifying score of the previous class.
• Students studying from the open board, below 18 years of age, unemployed and appearing in class 10 for the first time are also eligible to appear for NTSE 2020 Stage 1.
• Only Indian students are allowed to appear for NTSE Stage 1 exam.
• Students studying outside India can directly appear in Stage 2 Exam.

NTSE West Bengal Eligibility Criteria

• A student must have cleared class 9 with 50% for general candidates (with a relaxation of 40% for reserved categories) and currently enrolled in class 10.
• A student from the open board is also eligible to apply provided they must have scored 50% for general category (with the relaxation of 40% for reserved category) in their previous exams. They also must be below the age of 18 years.
• Candidates belonging to OBC (non-creamy) as listed in the central list will be treated as OBC here.
• Candidate must choose the district in accordance to the place of their residence.

NTSE Stage 2 Eligibility Criteria

• Students who qualify NTSE stage 1 state wise exam are eligible to sit for NTSE stage 2 exam.
• Every state releases a merit list of students qualified for national level stage 2 exam.
• Foreign nationals can directly apply for stage 2 exam. They are exempted from stage 1 exam.

Mode of Application : Offline

Mode of Payment : Other

• Students had to download NTSE application form 2020 from the official website of states and UTs or could collect it from school authorities from the first week of August 2019. 
• Completely filled application forms should be signed and attested by the school principal.
• Now, attach the required documents with the application form and submit same to the head or principal of the Institution.
• The head of schools further submits the completely filled applications to State Liasion Officer before the last date as stated in their application form. 
• Some states have made the application process completely online.

NTSE Jammu & Kashmir Application Details

Application Fees

NTSE Jharkhand Application Details

Application Fees

NTSE Uttarakhand Application Details

Application Fees

NTSE Himachal Pradesh Application Details

Application Fees

NTSE Kerala Application Details

Application Fees

NTSE Bihar Application Details

Application Fees

NTSE Maharashtra Application Details

Application Fees

NTSE Telangana Application Details

Application Fees

NTSE Daman & Diu Application Details

Application Fees

How to prepare for NTSE 2020?

• Cover whole syllabus: Students must go through the complete NTSE exam 2020 syllabus. Analyze your weak areas and work on them.
• Practice Sample Papers: Once the whole syllabus is covered, start practising the sample papers/ old question papers to have a better idea of exam pattern. It also reduces your exam day stress. Moreover, they can be downloaded and practised as many times as required.
• Eat Healthily: Students must eat a balanced diet to avoid falling ill. Also, take breaks in between to keep your mind and body fresh.
• Exercise: Students must also exercise regularly as it helps a lot in de-stressing.

According to the NTSE 2020 exam pattern, the exam for stage 1 and 2 is a multiple choice test consisting of two parts of 2 hours each-

Part 1: MAT (Mental Ability Test)- It comprises 100 questions of 1 mark each aim at testing the logical and analytical ability of the child.

Part 2: SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test)- It also comprises of 100 questions divided into Social Science (40), Science (40) and Mathematics (20). It aims at testing the subject knowledge of the child.

• Candidates preparing for NTSE 2020 exam should download previous years NTSE question papers and sample papers. 
• Practising with NTSE 2020 question papers are the best source for exam preparation. 
• Students can download the last year's papers and solve them as sample papers. 
• Solving these question papers helps students to know the difficulty level of the examination, type of questions asked, important sections and more.

• NTSE admit card for stage 1 has been released by respective DGE or SCERT on their official website while some state has provided stage 1 NTSE 2020 admit card in offline mode. 
• Students can download their NTSE admit card 2020 from the official website or they can collect the same from the respective school authority.
• The admit card for NTSE stage 2 will be issued online on the official website of NCERT in April 2020. 
• All those students who qualify for stage 2 NTSE exam 2020 must download the admit card. 
• No student is allowed to enter the exam hall without admit card.

NTSE Stage 2 Admit Card

NCERT will release the e-admit card for NTSE stage 2 exam. Candidates need to download, print a copy and paste a recent passport size attested photograph. The admit cards are collected by the centre superintendent on the day of the exam.

• NTSE 2020 stage 1 exam has been held on November 2, 3, & 17, 2019. 
• NTSE Answer key 2020 for stage 1 exam has been released by some reputed coaching centres on the exam dates
• The official answer keys have been released by conducting authority within a week after conducting the NTSE exam 2020.
• NTSE answer key is the document which mentions the correct answers in front of the question number. Students can use it to know their probable score by the time result is released. 
• NTSE stage 2 answer key is published by NCERT within a few days after the conduction of the exam.

Download NTSE Stage 1 Answer Key 2020