Talent Test

Download the guide “Talent Tests at a Glance” (PDF, 99 KB)

The guide lists the talent tests open to school students. Here it is brought up to date: some tests have stopped or changed hands since it was printed, and several of its addresses no longer work. Eligibility and dates change every year, so confirm them on each test's own site.

Exam	Who can take it	What it covers	Website
NTSE (National Talent Search Examination)	Class 10	Science, maths, social science, mental ability	ncert.nic.in: on hold since 2021
KVPY (Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana)	Class 11 and 12, science	—	Ended in 2022; its fellowships are now part of INSPIRE
Dr. Homi Bhabha Balvaidnyanik Spardha	Classes 6 and 9	Science	msta.in
NSO (National Science Olympiad)	Classes 1 to 12	Science	sofworld.org
NCO (National Cyber Olympiad)	Classes 1 to 12	Computers, reasoning	sofworld.org
IMO (International Mathematics Olympiad)	Classes 1 to 12	Maths	sofworld.org
UCO (Unified Cyber Olympiad)	Classes 8 to 12	Mental ability, reasoning, computer skills	unifiedcouncil.com
NSTSE (National Science Talent Search Exam)	Classes 1 to 12	Science, maths	unifiedcouncil.com
NLSTSE (National Level Science Talent Search Exam)	Classes 1 to 12	Science, maths	unifiedcouncil.com
SSTSE (State Level Science Talent Search Exam)	Classes 4 to 10	State syllabus	unifiedcouncil.com
MTSE (Maths Talent Search Exam)	Classes 3 to 9	Mental ability, reasoning, maths	Ask your school
NSEJS (National Standard Exam in Junior Science)	Class 10 and below	Science, maths	iapt.org.in
NSEP, NSEC, NSEB, NSEA (National Standard Exams in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Astronomy)	Class 12 and below	Physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy	iapt.org.in
IOQM, then RMO (the Mathematical Olympiad)	Classes 8 to 12	Maths	ioqm.mtai.org.in
ZCO and ZIO (Indian Computing Olympiad)	Up to Class 12	Programming, logic	iarcs.org.in
iOS, iOM, iOEL, iIO (Silverzone Olympiads in Science, Maths, English, Informatics)	Classes 1 to 12	School syllabus	silverzone.org
IAIS (International Assessments for Indian Schools)	Classes 2 to 12	English, maths, science, digital technologies	macmillaneducation.in
NIMO, NBTO (Eduheal Olympiads in Maths, Biotechnology)	Classes 5 to 12	Maths, science, mental ability	eduhealfoundation.org
Geo Genius (Geography Olympiad)	Classes 2 to 12	Geography	geogeniusindia.org
KO (Knowledge Olympiad)	Classes 2 to 12	School syllabus	aisect.org

Also worth knowing

• The Olympiad programme: the exams run by IAPT and MTA are the first stage of India's science and maths olympiads. Those who do well go on to national exams and training camps at HBCSE in Mumbai, and from there to the International Olympiads.
• Vidyarthi Vigyan Manthan (Classes 6 to 11) is a national science talent search run by Vijnana Bharati.
• INSPIRE-MANAK (Classes 6 to 10) rewards students' own ideas and inventions.
• NMMSS (Class 8) is a central government scholarship for students of government schools: apply on the National Scholarship Portal.