National Talent Search Examination or NTSE is an annual examination conducted on a national level by NCERT. IT is a national-level scholarship program in India to identify and recognize students with high intellect and academic talent. It was started in the year 1963 and has grown in prestige and scope ever since. The objective of the exam is to identify students who have the potential to excel in Science, Social Science, Engineering, Medicine, Management and Law. The successful students, called NTSE Scholars, receive financial support / scholarships from NCERT till the time they continue to study. The scheme is open to students of Indian nationality studying in Class X.
National Talent Search Examination is conducted on a national level in 2 stages. First written exam where students are supposed to answer questions related to mental ability, general science and math.
Written exam consists of MAT (Management Aptitude Test) and SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test). Both the tests have 100 multiple choice questions to be answered in 90 minutes. NTSE’s stage-2 is conducted at a national level by NCERT. Only students who clear stage-1 of NTSE are eligible to sit in this stage. Though first stage has quotas or pre-specified number of seats for each level, there are no state quotas for the final round. However, pre-specified reservation for SC/ST and physically challenged candidates exists.
Since it is conducted by a government body, it is widely accepted and respected in all class of society. It honors and helps talented students by providing financial assistance in the form of a monthly scholarship. The scholarships under the present scheme are awarded to the candidates for pursuing courses in sciences and social sciences up to doctoral level and in professional courses like medicine and engineering up to second-degree level subject to the fulfillment of the conditions.
