NTSE 2024: NTSE is a short acronym word for National Talent Search Exam. Basically, it is a national-level entrance exam which is led by the National Council of Educational Research and Training every year in India. This exam is designed in order to find eligible aspirants for providing national-level scholarship programs. Only those students who are studying in class 10th will be able to appear for this exam. This exam is conducted in two stages namely Stage I and Stage III. The commencement of Stage I is done at the state level by all the Indian states and Union Territories. On the other hand, the Stage II exam is held at the national level and only qualifying candidates of Stage I can participate in the Stage II exam. Students passing both the stages Stage-I and Stage-I will be rewarded the scholarship at the national level.
Furthermore, the scholarship will be provided on the basis of the overall performance of students in Stage-I and Stage II. Therefore interested candidates can fill out the application form for this exam only via online mode and the examination will be carried out through offline methods.
NTSE Exam 2024 Highlights
| Name of the Examination | National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) |
| Conducting Authority of Examination | National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) |
| Level of Exam | Stage I- State level and Stage II- National level |
| Exam Method | Offline |
| Application Method | 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 |
| Release of application form | October 2023 | Registration not required |
| NTSE Admit card issue date | November 2023 | Third week of May 2024 |
| NTSE Exam 2024 | December 2023 | June 2024 |
| Declaration of Result | January- March 2024 | October 2024 |
Eligibility Requirements
If applicants are Indian nationals, then they can apply for NTSE Exam. A student who is presently studying in class 10 from a recognized government or private school/ board in India can appear for the exam. Unemployed candidates who are less than the age of 18 years and studying in class 10th from a distance or open learning can also apply for the examination. If candidates successfully pass the Stage I, then they can appear for the second stage. The Indian students, who are studying abroad and wish to appear for this exam, need to send the attested copy of their class 9th mark sheet to the head of the Educational Survey Division, NCERT before 31st December 2024.
NTSE 2024 Application Process
After going through the eligibility criteria and satisfying the same, applicants can obtain the application form and fill/ submit the same through offline and online mode. For offline mode, different states will release and distribute the application form separately. Each and every applicant must ensure to take out a hard copy of the application form using 8.5” * 14” size paper while downloading the form. The application form which is available offline/ online only by UT/ State liaison officer will be applicable for the Stage 1 exam. Make sure to leave the 4- digit center code blank in the application form as it will be filled by the center superintendent/ liaison officer or concerned district officer.
For Indian Students: By accessing the official website of NCERT, the Indian students can collect the application form. Completely fill out the form and get the form signed by your school principal. Lastly, submit the application forms to the State Liaison Officer before the due date of application form submission.
For Indian Students Studying Abroad: Indian students who are studying outside of India can directly apply for the Stage II exam. However, they are required to download the application form for Stage II by the main web portal of NCERT. Once the application form filling is completed, candidates have to send it along with a xerox of mark sheet of the last exam to the address mentioned below:
Head, Educational Survey Division,
National Council of Educational Research and Training,
Sri Aurobindo Marg,
New Delhi 110016.
Application Fee
The application fee for Stage I vary according to the different states and union territories. For Stage II NTSE Exam, there is no application charge.
Exam Pattern
Stage I:
The Stage I exam will be on the level of state and union territory level. It will take place in an offline mode i.e. (a pen and paper-based test). It comprises a total of two papers which are Paper 1 and Paper 2. Paper 1 will be for Mental Ability on the other hand Paper 2 will assess the Scholastic Ability of the candidates. There will be a total of 200 questions in the exam with 1 mark each (200 marks both). Moreover, this stage doesn’t hold any negative markings.
Stage II:
The Stage II test will be led at the national level by the NCERT. It will be carried out in an offline mode i.e. (pen and paper-based test). It comprises of two papers which are Paper 1 and Paper 2. Paper 1 will assess the Mental Ability of candidates on the other hand Paper 2 will consist of the Scholastic Ability. Total of 200 questions carrying 1 mark each (200 marks both papers) in this stage. No provision of negative marks is there.
Paper wise distribution of marks:
| Papers | No. of Questions | Maximum Marks | Time duration |
| Paper 1- MAT (Mental Ability Test) | 100 questions | 100 | 120 minutes |
| Paper 2- SAT (Scholastic Ability Test) | 100 (Science- 40, Social Science- 40, Mathematics- 20) | 100 | 120 minutes |
Minimum Qualifying Score Necessary in Class 9th
| State | For General category | For Reserved category |
| Maharashtra | 60% | 55% |
| Uttar Pradesh | 55% | 44% |
| Rajasthan | 55% | 50% |
| Punjab | 70% | 55% |
| Madhya Pradesh | 40% | 32% |
| West Bengal | 50% | 40% |
| Delhi | 60% | 55% |
| Jammu & Kashmir | 60% | 55% |
| Bihar | 60% | – |
| Assam | 40% | 32% |
| Goa | 70% | 55% |
| Tamil Nadu | 60% | – |
| Gujarat | 55% | – |
| Uttarakhand | 60% | 55% |
| Jharkhand | 55% | 40% |
| Haryana | 55% | – |
| Himachal Pradesh | 60% | 55% |
| Puducherry | 60% | – |
| Manipur | 60% | 55% |
| Odisha | 60% | 55% |
| Kerala | 55% | – |
| Chandigarh | 61% | 56% |
Qualifying Score
| Category | MAT Qualifying Marks | SAT Qualifying Marks |
| Gen/ OBC/ EWS | 40% | 40% |
| SC/ ST/ PH | 32% | 32% |
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% |