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National Talent Search Examination

National Talent Search Scheme is a flagship activity of the NCERT started in the year 1963. The purpose of the scheme was to identify talented students and nurture their talent. Talent refers to the potentiality that manifests itself in a high level of performance in one or more specialized areas. The scheme, therefore, covers areas like Sciences, Social Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, Management and Law. It honours and helps talented students by providing financial assistance in the form of a monthly scholarship. For the courses in Basic Sciences, Social Sciences and Commerce, this assistance is provided up to Ph.D. level. For professional courses like Engineering, Medicine, Management and Law this assistance is given only up to Post Graduation. The NCERT conducts the National Talent Search Examination for students studying in Class VIII only.

Important Dates:

Dates for Submission of Application Form and conduct of examination are given below:

Area	Dates
Last Date for Submission of Application Form	31 August, 2010
Examination in Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Andaman and Nicobar Islands	20th November, 2010 (Saturday)
Examination in All other States and Union Territories	21st November, 2010 (Sunday)
Examination in All States and Union Territories	8th May, 2011 (Sunday)

Scholarships:

On the basis of the examination conducted, 1000 scholarships will be awarded for each group of students appearing for Class VIII examinations. The amount of scholarship will be Rs.500/- per month as per NTS rules.

Reservation:

15% scholarships will be reserved for students belonging to the SC category, 7.5% scholarships for students belonging to the ST category and 3% for Physically Challenged Group of Students.

Selection:

There will be two-stage selection process for award of scholarship. For Stage-I, selection will be done by States/UTs through a written examination. Students who qualify Stage I will be eligible to appear for Stage II examination conducted by NCERT.
The States/UTs will also conduct the selection test for National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme along with the Stage-I written examination for NTS.

Eligibility:

Students of Class VIII studying in recognized schools are eligible to appear for the respective Class VIII Stage I examination conducted by the States/UTs in which the schools are located. There will be no domicile restriction.

Examination:

The pattern of written examination for Class VIII will be as follows: Stage I examination at the State/UT level will comprise two parts, namely (a) Mental Ability Test (MAT) and (b) Scholastic Ability Test (SAT) covering social sciences, sciences and mathematics. Stage II examination at the National level will comprise (a) Mental Ability Test (MAT), (b) Scholastic Ability Test (SAT) covering social sciences, sciences and mathematics, (c) Interview. Only those candidates who qualify the written examination at the National Level will be invited for interview.

State Quotas:

Each State/Union Territory has been allotted a quota to recommend a specific number of candidates for the Stage II examination, the details of which will be made available on NCERT website. However, there will be no State/Union Territory Quota for the final award of scholarship after the Stage II examination. Reservation for SC, ST and physically challenged will be as notified in para 2 above.

Application Form:

You may contact the State/UT Liaison officer for procuring application form. However, application form can be downloaded from NCERT website also.
The completed application form should be signed by Principal of the school. The candidate/Principal of the school must confirm the last date for submission of Application Form and where to submit it from the State/ UT liaison officer whose addresses are given in the end/NCERT website. Different states may have different last dates for submission of application forms. All queries relating to application forms should be made from State Liaison Officers (LOs). No application should be sent to NCERT.

Fees:

States and Union Territories may notify the fee required which will be paid for the Stage-I examination. Therefore, before submitting the application form you may find out the fees charged for 2010 Stage-I Examination and also the mode of payment from the respective State Liaison Officers (LOs). However, NCERT does not charge any fee for Stage-II examination.

Announcement of Results:

Results of the Stage-I examination will be announced by the respective State Governments/ Union Territories. Results of Stage-II examination will be announced by NCERT.

Indian Students Studying Abroad can appear directly for Stage II NTS Examination under conditions prescribed in the NTS brochure for class VIII which is available on the NCERT website. Candidates may fill up relevant items of the Application Form available on the NCERT website and send to the undersigned along with a photocopy of the mark sheet of previous examination latest by March 15, 2011.

Head Department of Educational Measurement & Evaluation
National Council of Educational Research & Training
Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi-110016