National Talent Search Examination NCERT, NTSE  NCERT Scholarship In India, NCERT Scholarship Information

National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) is one of the most prestigious competitive examinations held in India for granting scholarships for students of Class X or equivalent.

NTSE is conducted by the NCERT - National Council of Education Research and Training  www.ncert.nic.in which  was established by the Government of India in the year 1961 with a view to bringing about qualitative improvement in school education. For this purpose, they introduced National Science Talent Search (NSTS) Scheme, to find out the talented students in science and award them with scholarships.

But after introduction of 10+2+3 pattern of education, the NSTS scheme also underwent a change; it was renamed as

National Talent Search Scheme:
(NTSS). Apart from science it gives importance to Social Sciences, Engineering and medicine as well. This Scheme awards 1000 scholarships including 150 scholarships for Scheduled Castes and 75 for Scheduled Tribes candidates each year. The purpose of this scheme is to identify brilliant students at the end of Class X and give them financial assistance towards getting good education, so that their talent may develop further and they may serve the discipline as well as the country.

Under the new arrangement, the selection of candidates for the awards became a two-tier process. The states and the Union Territories conduct the first tier Screening Examination known as State Level Talent Search Examination and the second process is the National Level Talent Search Examination.

According to this Scheme the candidates are subjected to two objective types written tests namely the Mental Ability Test (MAT) and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). A stipulated number of candidates qualifying these two tests are subjected to face-to-face interview. The final awards are made on the basis of composite scores obtained in the MAT, the SAT and the interview.

The States have complete autonomy to design and conduct their written examinations. However, they are advised to follow the national pattern which comprised MAT and SAT. The MAT consists of 100 questions, each carry one mark. The SAT paper will consist of 100 multiple choice questions. The number of questions shall be divided as 40 in General Science, 40 in Social Sciences and 20 in Mathematics

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