talent search examinations for school students in India

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Complete guide to talent search examinations for school students in India

Just until about 10 years ago, NTSE or National Talent Search Examination, used to be the only prestigious and India wide talent exams for school going kids in India. Things are different now. There are 20+ talent search exams across subjects, classes and boards including NTSE, SSTSE, KVPY, NCO, NSO, RMO and more. SchoolCountry presents a complete guide on these talent search exams, when they are conducted, what the syllabus is, how to get the form, who is eligible to appear and what the exam date for each year is.
Update - Based on popular request, we have recently added a section at the end on what it takes to succeed in olympiads and talent search exams. So keep reading and do write back with your inputs and suggestions.
The exams can be classified by subject matter

Below, you will find details about each of these talent search examinations for Indian school students.

 

NTSE or National Talent Search Examination:

NTSE is by far the most prestigious of all the talent search examinations conducted in India for school students.
  • Syllabus and subjects: NCERT prescribed syllabus covering Science, Maths, Social science and mental ability. General awareness becomes an important factor during interview stages
  • Medium of examination: English and Hindi
  • Conducting body: SIERT
  • How to apply: Forms are available in schools or can be downloaded from the NCERT websites.
  • Exam date: Usually, 1st round of the written exam is conducted on 3rd Sunday of November every year.
  • Eligibility: Students of Class-8 in recognized schools can appear in the exam
You can read more about NTSE, how to prepare for NTSE and solve sample papers in our upcoming research articles.

 

NCO or National Cyber Olympiad:

NCO is a newly started by hugely popular examination conducted by SOF on a national level.
  • Syllabus and subjects: It is an international level competition focussing on mental ability, logical and analytical reasoning in computers and IT.
  • Medium of examination: English
  • Conducting body: SOF or Science Olympiad Foundation
  • How to apply: Forms are available in schools and must be filled in the prescribed format and submitted back through schools
  • Exam date: Usually, 2nd week of September ever year. For academic year 2012, NCO, national cyber Olympiad will be conducted on 8th September2011.
  • Eligibility: Students of Class-2 to Class-12 in recognized schools are eligible to apply. Usually the schools have to register with SOF
  • Website: Sofworld

 

NSO or National Science Olympiad:

NSO, as the name suggests is science focussed talent search examination conducted on a national level by SOF
  • Syllabus and subjects: It is an international level competition focussing on mental ability, logical and analytical reasoning in computers and IT.
  • Medium of examination: English
  • Conducting body: SOF or Science Olympiad Foundation
  • How to apply: Forms are available in schools and must be filled in the prescribed format and submitted back through schools
  • Exam date: Usually, 3rd week of November every year. For academic year 2012, NSO or National Science Olympiad will be conducted on 17th November 2011.
  • Eligibility: Students of Class-2 to Class-12 in recognized schools are eligible to apply. Usually the schools have to register with SOF
  • How to succeed: See the section below on How to succeed at maths and science olympiads
  • Website: Sofworld

 

IMO or International Mathematics Olympiad:

IMO, as the name suggests is maths focussed talent search examination conducted by SFO on a pan India basis.
  • Syllabus and subjects: It is an international level competition focussing on enhancing creative thinking in Mathematics. The subject followed is common to CBSE, ICSE and IB boards of education
  • Medium of examination: English
  • Conducting body: SOF or Science Olympiad Foundation
  • How to apply: Forms are available in schools and must be filled in the prescribed format and submitted back through schools
  • Exam date: Usually, 2nd week of December every year. For academic year 2012, IMO or International Mathematics Olympiad will be conducted on 8th December 2011
  • Eligibility: Students of Class-2 to Class-12 in recognized schools are eligible to apply. Usually the schools have to register with SOF
  • How to succeed: See the section below on How to succeed at maths and science olympiads
  • Website: Sofworld

 

IEO or International English Olympiad:

IEO is a one-of-a-kind English language testing exam in India. It is conducted by SFO on a pan India basis.
  • Syllabus and subjects: It is an international level competition focussing on enhancing creative thinking in English. The subject followed is common to CBSE, ICSE and IB boards of education
  • Medium of examination: English
  • Conducting body: SOF or Science Olympiad Foundation
  • How to apply: Forms are available in schools and must be filled in the prescribed format and submitted back through schools.
  • Exam date: Usually, 3rd week of January every year. For academic year 2012, IEO or International English Olympiad will be conducted on 19th January 2012
  • Eligibility: Students of Class-2 to Class-12 in recognized schools are eligible to apply. Usually the schools have to register with SOF
  • Website: Sofworld

 

NSTSE or National Science Talent Search Examination:

As per UnifiedCouncil which conducts this exam, NSTSE is a diagnostic test that actually helps students improve. They will give detailed feedback based on their assessment of what and how much have students understood and thus help remove phobia of the subject
  • Syllabus and subjects: The subject followed is based on CBSE prescribed curriculum of Science
  • Medium of examination: English
  • Conducting body: Unified Council
  • How to apply: Forms are available in schools and must be filled in the prescribed format and submitted back through schools. It can also be downloaded from the website of Unified Council
  • Exam date: Usually, 1st week of December every year. For academic year 2012, NSTSE or National level Science Talent Search Examination will be conducted on 4th December 2011
  • Eligibility: Students of Class-2 to Class-12 in recognized schools are eligible to apply. Usually the schools have to register with Unified Council
  • How to succeed: See the section below on How to succeed at maths and science olympiads
  • Website: Unifiedcouncil

 

UCO or Unified Cyber Olympiad:

As per UnifiedCouncil which conducts this exam, UCO is a diagnostic test that helps students improve their mental ability, logical reasoning and computer skills. They will give detailed feedback based on their assessment of what and how much have students understood and thus help remove phobia of the subject
  • Syllabus and subjects: The subject or exam content is more generic in nature and is suitable for CBSE, ICSE, IB boards
  • Medium of examination: English
  • Conducting body: Unified Council
  • How to apply: Forms are available in schools and must be filled in the prescribed format and submitted back through schools. It can also be downloaded from the website of Unified Council
  • Exam date: Usually, 2nd week of September every year. For academic year 2012, UCO or Unified Cyber Olympiad, will be conducted on 7th September 2011
  • Eligibility: Students of Class-3 to Class-12 in recognized schools are eligible to apply. Usually the schools have to register with Unified Council
  • Website: Unifiedcouncil

 

SLSTSE or State Level Science Talent Search Examination:

In order to assess scientific talent and temperament in students and reward the distinguished students, Unified Council conducts SSTSE. It is similar in nature to NTSE. However currently it is only conducted in the state of Andhra Pradesh
  • Syllabus and subjects: The subject or exam content is focused on Science. No specific board is specified by the conducting authorities
  • Medium of examination: English
  • Conducting body: Unified Council
  • How to apply: Forms are available in schools and must be filled in the prescribed format and submitted back through schools. It can also be downloaded from the website of Unified Council
  • Exam date: Usually, 1st week of February every year. For academic year 2012, SSTSE or State level Science Talent Search Examination, will be conducted on 6th February 2012
  • Eligibility: Students of Class-4 to Class-10 in recognized schools are eligible to apply. Usually the schools have to register with Unified Council. Currently it is only conducted in state of Andhra Pradesh
  • Website: Unifiedcouncil

SSTSE or State Science Talent Search Examination:

This is prestigious exam is conducted by Rajasthan State Government every year to identify and reward meritorious students and encourage education in the science. This is conducted at the state level, exclusively for students studying in Rajasthan. Click here to read more about SSTSE exam
  • Syllabus and subjects: The subject or exam content is focussed on Science. No specific board is specified
  • Medium of examination: English and Hindi
  • Conducting body: Rajasthan State’s education ministry
  • How to apply: Forms are available in schools and must be filled in the prescribed format and submitted back through schools
  • Exam date: Usually, 1st week of November every year. For academic year 2012, SSTSE or State Science Talent Search Examination’s dates have not been announced yet
  • Eligibility: Students of Class-10 in recognized schools are eligible to apply. Currently it is only conducted in state of Rajasthan
  • Website: Rajasthan SSTSE

KVPY or Kishore Vaigyanic Protsahan Yojana:

This is an ongoing program conducted by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. The objective is to encourage students of basic Science, Engineering and Medicine to take up careers in research in these areas
  • Syllabus and subjects: The subject or exam content is focussed on Science. CBSE, ICSE board students will find the course content similar to their curriculum 
  • Medium of examination: English and Hindi
  • Conducting body: Department of Science and Technology, Government of Rajasthan
  • How to apply: Forms are available in schools and must be filled in the prescribed format and submitted back through schools. You can also download the form from the website of KVPY
  • Exam date: Usually, last week of October every year. For academic year 2012, KVPY or Kishore Vaigyanic Protsahan Yojana’s exam will be conducted on 30th October
  • Eligibility: Students of Class-11 and Class-12 in recognized schools are eligible to apply
  • How to prepare: You can read about preparation for KVPY interviews here
  • Website: KVPY

NSEA or National Standard Examination in Astronomy:

NSEA is the first of the five stages of Astronomy Olympiad program. NSEA is jointly conducted by two very prestigious bodies namely IAPT or Indian Association of Physics Teachers and HBCSE or Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education
  • Syllabus and subjects: The subject or exam content is focussed on Science and content is more aligned to CBSE prescribed curriculum
  • Medium of examination: English
  • Conducting body: Jointly conducted by IAPT or Indian Association of Physics Teachers and HBCSE or Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education
  • How to apply: Forms are available in schools and must be filled in the prescribed format and submitted back through schools. You can also download the form from the website
  • Exam date: Usually, last week of November every year. For academic year 2012, NSEA or National Standard Examination in Astronomy will be conducted on 28th November 2011
  • Eligibility: All Indian students of Class-9-12 in recognized schools are eligible to apply
  • Website: IAPT and HBCSE

NSEJS or National Standard Examination in Junior Science:

NSEJS is the first of the five stages of Junior Science Olympiad program. NSEJS is jointly conducted by two very prestigious bodies namely IAPT or Indian Association of Physics Teachers and HBCSE or Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education
  • Syllabus and subjects: The subject or exam content is focussed on Science and content is generic in nature. So students across CBSE, IB, ICSE boards can easily appear for this exam
  • Medium of examination: English
  • Conducting body: Jointly conducted by IAPT or Indian Association of Physics Teachers and HBCSE or Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education
  • How to apply: Forms are available in schools and must be filled in the prescribed format and submitted back through schools. You can also download the form from the website
  • Exam date: Usually, last week of November every year. For academic year 2012, NSEA or National Standard Examination in Astronomy will be conducted on 28th November 2011
  • Eligibility: All Indian students of Class-10 or lower and born after 1st January 1996 are eligible to apply
  • Website: IAPT and HBCSE

NSEP or National Standard Examination in Physics:

NSEP is a very prestigious exam conducted for students of class 11 and class-12 by IAPT or Indian Association of Physics Teachers and HBCSE or Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education. Successful students are given scholarships and are also invited for a training camp for International Physics Olympiad.
  • Syllabus and subjects: The subject or exam content is focussed on Physics and is more CBSE aligned. However, given the nature of exam, students of other boards can also appear without many issues
  • Medium of examination: English
  • Conducting body: Jointly conducted by IAPT or Indian Association of Physics Teachers and HBCSE or Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education 
  • How to apply: Forms are available in schools and must be filled in the prescribed format and submitted back through schools. You can also download the form from the website
  • Exam date: Usually, last week of November every year. For academic year 2012, NSEP or National Standard Examination in Physics’ dates have not be announced
  • Eligibility: All Indian students of Class-11 or Class-12
  • Website: IAPT and HBCSE

NSEC or National Standard Examination in Chemistry:

NSEC is a very prestigious exam conducted for students of class 11 and class-12 by IAPT or Indian Association of Physics Teachers, Association of Chemistry Teachers and HBCSE or Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education. This is first of the five stage examination in Chemistry, culminating in participation in International Chemistry Olympiad or IChO.
  • Syllabus and subjects: The subject or exam content is focussed on Chemistry and is more CBSE aligned. However, given the nature of exam, students of other boards can also appear without many issues
  • Medium of examination: English
  • Conducting body: Jointly conducted by IAPT or Indian Association of Physics Teachers and HBCSE or Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education 
  • How to apply: Forms are available in schools and must be filled in the prescribed format and submitted back through schools. You can also download the form from the website
  • Exam date: Usually, last week of November every year. For academic year 2012, NSEP or National Standard Examination in Chemistry will be conducted on 28th November 2011
  • Eligibility: All Indian students of Class-11 or Class-12
  • Website: IAPT and HBCSE

NSEB or National Standard Examination in Biology:

NSEB is a very prestigious exam conducted for students of class 11 and class-12 by IAPT or Indian Association of Physics Teachers, Association of Biology Teachers and HBCSE or Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education
  • Syllabus and subjects: The subject or exam content is focussed on Biology and is more CBSE aligned. However, given the nature of exam, students of other boards can also appear without many issues
  • Medium of examination: English
  • Conducting body: Jointly conducted by IAPT or Indian Association of Physics Teachers and HBCSE or Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education 
  • How to apply: Forms are available in schools and must be filled in the prescribed format and submitted back through schools. You can also download the form from the website
  • Exam date: Usually, last week of November every year. For academic year 2012, NSEP or National Standard Examination in Biology will be conducted on 28th November 2011
  • Eligibility: All Indian students of Class-11 or Class-12
  • Website: IAPT and HBCSE

RMO or Regional Mathematics Olympiad:

RMO is a very prestigious exam conducted for students of class 11 and class-12 by IAPT or Indian Association of Physics Teachers and HBCSE or Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education
  • Syllabus and subjects: The subject or exam content is focussed on Maths and is more CBSE aligned. However, given the nature of exam, students of other boards can also appear without many issues
  • Medium of examination: English
  • Conducting body: Jointly conducted by IAPT or Indian Association of Physics Teachers and HBCSE or Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education 
  • How to apply: Forms are available in schools and must be filled in the prescribed format and submitted back through schools. You can also download the form from the website
  • Exam date: Usually, first week of December every year. For academic year 2012, RMO or Regional Mathematics Olypiad will be conducted on 4th December 2011
  • Eligibility: All Indian students of Class-11 or Class-12
  • Website: IAPT and HBCSE

IIO or International Information Olympiad:

IIO is conducted every year in the month of September - October to test competence and proficiency in the field of computer science. It is held annually at national and international level
  • Syllabus and subjects: The subject or exam content is focussed on CBSE, ICSE and State Board syllabus
  • Medium of examination: English
  • Conducting body: CLF or Computer Literacy  Foundation 
  • How to apply: Forms are available in schools and must be filled in the prescribed format and submitted back through schools. You can also download the form from the website
  • Exam date: Usually, the exam is held in the month of September or October every year. For academic year 2012, IIO or International Information Olympiad’s dates have not been announced yet
  • Eligibility: All Indian students of Class-1 or Class-12
  • Website: Silverzone


IOM or International Olympiad in Mathematics:

IOM is conducted every year in the month of November-December to test competence and proficiency in the field of Maths. It is held annually at national and international level
  • Syllabus and subjects: The subject or exam content is focussed on CBSE, ICSE and State Board syllabus
  • Medium of examination: English
  • Conducting body: MOF or Mathematics Olympiad Foundation 
  • How to apply: Forms are available in schools and must be filled in the prescribed format and submitted back through schools. You can also download the form from the website
  • Exam date: Usually, the exam is held in the month of November or December every year. For academic year 2012, IOM or International Olympiad in Mathematics’ dates have not been announced yet
  • Eligibility: All Indian students of Class-1 or Class-12
  • Website: Silverzone


IOS or International Olympiad in Science:

IOS is conducted every year in the month of December to test competence and proficiency in the field of Science. It is held annually at national and international level
  • Syllabus and subjects: The subject or exam content is focused on CBSE, ICSE and State Board syllabus
  • Medium of examination: English
  • Conducting body: SSE or Society for Science Education 
  • How to apply: Forms are available in schools and must be filled in the prescribed format and submitted back through schools. You can also download the form from the website
  • Exam date: Usually, the exam is held in the month of December every year. For academic year 2012, IOS or International Olympiad in Science’s dates have not been announced yet
  • Eligibility: All Indian students of Class-1 or Class-12
  • Website: Silverzone

IOEL or International Olympiad of English Language:

IOEL is conducted every year in the month of December-January to test competence and proficiency in the field of English. It is held annually at national and international level
  • Syllabus and subjects: The subject or exam content is focused on CBSE, ICSE and State Board syllabus
  • Medium of examination: English
  • Conducting body: CLF or Computer Literacy Foundation How to apply: Forms are available in schools and must be filled in the prescribed format and submitted back through schools. You can also download the form from the website
  • Exam date: Usually, the exam is held in the month of December-January every year. For academic year 2012, IOEL or International Olympiad of English Language’s dates have not been announced yet
  • Eligibility: All Indian students of Class-1 or Class-12
  • Website: Silverzone

ZIO or Zonal Information Olympiad:

ZIO is a nationwide computing contest organized annually by IARCS in coordination with CBSE. The goal is to identify school students with outstanding skills in algorithms and computing. The finalists represent India at International Olympiad for Informatics (IOI). IOI is one of the 6 science Olympiads held annually at international level
  • Syllabus and subjects: The subject or exam content is focussed on CBSE 
  • Medium of examination: English
  • Conducting body: IARCS or Indian Association for Research in Computing Science 
  • How to apply: Forms are available in schools and must be filled in the prescribed format and submitted back through schools. You can also download the form from the websiteExam date: Usually, the exam is held in the month of November-December every year. For academic year 2012, ZIO or Zonal Information Olympiad’s dates have not been announced yet
  • Eligibility: All Indian students of Class-8 to Class-12
  • Website: IARCS


 

Updated in 2014

How to prepare for Olympiads (maths, science and cyber) for primary classes

To succeed at olympiads, it is first important to understand what they are designed to test or find out. Most good scholorship tests, olympiads and talent exams are designed to find out one thing i.e. given the right opportunity, does this child have a natural ability to excel in this particular filed say maths or maths olympiads and science for science olympiads etc. If yes, then let us find such children from across the city or country and encourage them. Therefore, maths and science olympiads then become a test of aptitude rather than pure knowledge. There are 2 things that most good tests (mind you, not all these tests are very scientifically designed) will try to assess
  1. Does the child know basic subject level skills as per his age and class - So can the child do addition? If we ask a direct question on number systems or place value, can the child do it? Excelling here, like almost everything else in life, is about practice. The more you practice, the more you will master the base skill. The faster you will get and higher will be your accuracy. So if you are offered 10 problems, you can finish them with a 90% accuracy if you have been practicing the base concepts well. So my advice to parents ... please do not spend hours and hours in working on advance concepts. Stick to the child's curriculum but make sure that the child gets tons of practice of multiplication, work on hundreds of addition problems and understand numbers well. 
  2. Can the child apply the knowledge of base skills to real life situation - These are most advanced, application centric problems. They carry more weight and naturally not every one can do it well. A good test designer will ensure that these problems are of appropriate level of difficulty, do not involve excessive use of language and involve only operations in base skills. They will make the problems interesting and by involving real life applications of maths and science. Nothing too advanced but something that involves application of knowledge. A tip for parents is to bring out real life applications of maths in your regular conversation with children. Say a walk through the park involves a discussion on finding the area or visit to the museum has something to do with subtraction of dates etc. It will be hardwork for you but real learning for your kids. 
Over and above these 20 odd exams, there are several other state and city specific talent search examinations and other scholarships and awards. These are organized by schools, corporates, training institutes and the likes. At some point, one begins to wonder is this rush for talent search exam getting too much? Are we over burdening our kids? Next up, we will share our views on the same. 

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