National Talent Search Examination NTSE is a national-level scholarship program conducted by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) for students studying at the Class X level.

NTSE Eligibility Criteria

All students studying in Class X in any recognized school is eligible to appear in Stage-I NTS exam.

They are required to have obtained 60% marks in their Class IX, in the last academic year.

The SC, ST and PH category candidates get a relaxation of 5% and the maximum score they must have obtained in their Class IX is 55% marks.

Students, securing 80% marks or above in the State level exam, are eligible for the Stage-II to be held by NCERT at National level.

NTSE Exam Pattern

There are 3 papers in both stages –

1. Mental Ability Test (MAT),
2. Language Test and
3. Scholastic Ability Test (SAT).

Questions are in the form of multiple choices with negative marking deducting 1/3 marks. The tests are available in Asamiya, Bangla, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Malyalam, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.

However, language test is available in two languages – English & Hindi.

Test No. of Questions Maximum Marks Time
Mental Ability Test (MAT) 50 50 45 minutes
Language Test 50 50 45 minutes
Scholastic Ability Test (SAT) 100 100 90 minutes