NTSE Stage II Exam

The National Talent Search Examination, abbreviated as NTSE, is one of India’s most prestigious exams. It is a scholarship exam held throughout India to select students with the best academic talent. Every year, the examination is held at two levels: NTSE Stage I (State Level) and Stage II (National Level). Stage I is administered by states, while Stage II is administered by NCERT.

Students who pass the NTSE Stage I exam in their home state qualify for the NTSE Stage II exam. Every state makes available a list of students who have passed the national level Stage II exam. Foreign nationals can apply directly for the stage II exam. They are not permitted to participate in the first stage of the examination. They must have obtained at least 60% in their previous qualifying examination, i.e. Class 9. Such individuals should intend to pursue their higher education solely in India after receiving the NTSE Scholarship.

NTSE Stage II Exam Summary 2025

The NCERT took several steps to provide numerous thriving opportunities to bright and aspiring students. Many programmes have been launched with the same goal in mind, one of which is the NTSE. It was created by the Government of India with the mission of advising and assisting the State and Central Governments in improving the quality of school education. 

The NTSE is an offline scholarship exam for Class 10 students designed to encourage higher education in the Sciences and Social sciences. NCERT administers this exam in two stages. SCERT or another state authority administers stage I exams at the state level, while NCERT administers stage II exams at the national level.

 A brief about the exam is tabulated below for reference:

Particulars	Details
Exam Name	NTSE 2025
Conducting Body	NCERT
Mode of Examination	Offline
Type of Questions	Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
Number of Stages	2
Number of Sections in Each Stage	2
Total Number of Questions in Each Stage	200
Total Marks for Each Stage	200
Exam Duration	2 hours
Penalty for Wrong Answers	No Negative Marking

NTSE Stage II Exam Official Website Link

https://ncert.nic.in/national-talent-examination.php

• The NTSE Stage II admit card for the 2025 exam will be released two or four weeks before the exam.
• The NTSE final result 2025 will be released one or two months after the exam.

The NTSE application form is made available by the SCERTs of each state. However, according to the official announcement, the NTSE exam has been postponed until further notice. The NTSE application form 2025 will be available online and offline. The deadline for submitting the NTSE 2025 application form varies from state to state.

Students who passed the NTSE stage I exam are exempt from filling out a separate NTSE application form for the stage II exam. The data of the selected students is shared with the state-level exam administrators. 

Students can use their old state-level credentials to download their NTSE admit card for the stage II exam. Abroad-based students who meet other eligibility criteria are exempt from taking the NTSE stage I exam. They can directly take the NTSE stage II exam by submitting an NTSE registration form for 2025.

NCERT will administer the NTSE Stage 2 exam at the national level. Only the Stage I shortlisted or qualified candidates may compete for the scholarship in Stage II. The Mental Ability Test (MAT) and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) will comprise the NTSE exam pattern for Stage II.

Both the MAT and SAT will have 100 questions (Science-40, Maths-20, Social Science-40). Moreover, both exams will be two hours long, or 120 minutes each. Also, there will be no negative marking in this exam.

Students can check the table below to understand the NTSE Stage 2 exam pattern 2025:

Test Name	Maximum Marks	Number of Questions	Duration of Exam
Mental Ability Test (MAT)	100	100	120 minutes
Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)	100	100	120 minutes

Read more about NTSE Exam Pattern!

Students preparing for the upcoming Stage II exams should be aware of the most recent NTSE syllabus. The NTSE 2025 syllabus is divided into two parts, SAT and MAT, because the NTSE exam is held in two stages. The NTSE SAT syllabus includes Math, Social Science, and Science subjects, whereas the NTSE MAT syllabus includes verbal and non-verbal reasoning.

Students should also be aware that NCERT has not specified an NTSE exam syllabus. However, the exam level is kept up to Class 10. The NTSE syllabus is the same for NTSE stages I and II. However, the difficulty level of the questions will rise. Students can check the latest syllabus from this page.

NTSE Stage II Social Science Syllabus

Below we have tabulated the NTSE Stage II Social Science syllabus to help students prepare for the exams accordingly. Students must try to cover all these chapters to score good marks and achieve the NTSE scholarship:

Chapter Name
Agriculture	Indian Economics	Nationalism in Various Countries
Atmosphere	Indiandom Struggle	Natural Vegetation
Biosphere	Indus Valley Civilization	New Empires and Kingdoms
British Raj	Industrial Revolution	Our Country- India
Culture, Science and Literature	Industries	Popular Movements and Social Reforms
Democracy and Elections	Internal Structure of the Earth and Rocks	Population
Diversity and Livelihood	Introduction and Sources of Ancient Indian History	Resources and Development
Early Medieval Period	Jainism, Buddhism and Conquerors from Distant Lands	Solar System
Early States	Local and State Government	The Delhi Sultanate
Eighteen Century Political Formation	Medieval Architecture and Culture	The Judiciary
French Revolution	The motion of the Earth	The Mauryas
India and its Neighbors	Union Government	The Mughal Empire
Indian Constitution	Vedic Period	UN and International Agencies
Water Resources	World History	–

NTSE Stage II Mathematics Syllabus

The NTSE Stage 2 Maths syllabus has several important topics. Students are advised to study all the important topics to achieve excellent results:

Chapter Name
Algebraic Expressions	Playing with Numbers
Arithmetic	Probability
Arithmetic Progressions	Quadratic Equations
Basic Geometry	Rational Numbers
Circles	Simple & Compound Interest
Coordinate Geometry	Square & Cube Roots
Direct & Inverse Variations	Statistics
Exponent	Surface Areas and Volume
Linear Equation	Triangles
Mensuration	Trigonometry
Number System	Percentage & Its Application

NTSE Stage II Science Syllabus

The NTSE Stage II Science is very important from an exam point of view. Therefore, it is necessary for students to be thorough with the chapters present in the syllabus to boost their confidence:

Chapter Name
Acids, Bases, and Salts	Our Environment
Air	Periodic Classification of Elements
Carbon and its Compound	Reproduction
Cellular Level of Organization	Soil
Diversity in Living Organisms	Some Common Diseases
Fibers and Plastics	Sound
Food Production & Management	Sound of Energy
Heredity and Evolution	Structure of Atom
Human Body	The Universe
Life Processes	Water
Light	Work and Energy
Magnetic & Electricity at Work	Metals & Non-Metals
Measurement	Micro-Organisms
Motion and Force	–

NTSE Stage II English Syllabus 

The NTSE Stage 2 English syllabus is tabulated below to help students know about the important topics. Students should prepare according to the syllabus to get the scholarship by NTSE:

Chapter Name
Antonyms	Reading Comprehension
English Grammar	Rearrangement of Jumbled Words
One Word Substitution	Sentence Completion
Paragraph Completion	Synonyms

NTSE Stage II General Knowledge Syllabus

The General Knowledge syllabus for NTSE Stage 2 is mentioned below to assist students in preparing for the exams. Students must go through the topics from the syllabus to score good marks:

Chapter Name
Abbreviations	India
Awards and Recognitions	Sports
Books and Authors	World

NTSE Stage II Mental Ability Test (MAT) Syllabus

The NTSE Stage II MAT syllabus needs reasoning skills. Therefore, students should adapt those skills to understand the syllabus thoroughly:

Chapter Name
Alphabets and Number test	Missing Character
Analogy (Non-Verbal)	Paper Folding and Cutting
Analogy (Verbal)	Ranking and Arrangements
Blood relations	Series (Verbal)
Calendar, Time and Clock	Series (Non-Verbal)
Classification	Venn Diagrams
Coding-Decoding	Water and Mirror Images
Cube and Dice	Word Problems
Direction Sense	Figure Partition and Dot Situation
Embedded Figure	Mathematical Operations

Read more about NTSE Syllabus!

The NTSE Stage 2 exam is scheduled to be conducted in June 2025, tentatively. Students can benefit greatly from the Indian government’s National Level Scholarship Program, or NTSE, throughout their academic careers. 

The exam is about more than just academics; it is a source of immense pleasure and honour for each student to be recognised as one of the country’s best talents.

The NTSE Stage II admit card will be released in the third week of May 2025, tentatively. Candidates who complete their application processes successfully will receive their NTSE stage 2 admit cards. The admit card will be available both offline and online. 

When candidates have completed the application form, the next step is to download the admit card. The NTSE scholarship 2025 admit card contains important information such as the exam date, location, and time.

Candidates who successfully registered for both stages will receive offline admit cards from the organisation in charge of administering the NTSE exam. Candidates can pick up their individual admit cards from the chief superintendent of the exam centre where they are scheduled to take the exam.

Students can really benefit from the scholarship recevied after scoring excellent marks in the NTSE exam. To help students study for the NTSE Stage II exam, we have put together some of the best tips and tricks. These preparation tips and detailed study plans will assist students in putting their best foot forward. 

Now let us go through them to prepare for the exams accordingly:

NTSE Stage II Exam Preparation Tips

Below we have compiled several preparation tips to help students prepare for the scholarship exam. Students are advised to take help from Embibe to sail through the exams with flying colours:

• Make a study schedule and allot time to each section to cover the entire NTSE 2025 syllabus.
• Concentrate on the weak sections of the NTSE MAT and SAT syllabus.
• Make short handwritten notes; these will aid in learning and revising the entire syllabus quickly.
• Solve previous year papers and identify the important topics after covering all topics in the Stage II NTSE 2025 syllabus.
• Analyse the mistakes and learn from them.
• Practice time management by completing NTSE previous year question papers within the time constraints.
• Try to clear all the doubts before the exam to score higher marks.
• Do not take any stress before the exam. Relax and try to take regular breaks to keep the mind fresh and active.

Read more about NTSE Preparation Tips!

NTSE Stage II Exam Detailed Study Plan

Below we have provided the detailed NTSE Stage 2 study plan to help students benefit from the scholarship and have a bright future ahead of them:

• Prepare a study space and stick the timetable on a board to know how to begin preparing for the exam.
• Pick up the chapters they are weak in and try to understand the complex concepts.
• Eat a healthy breakfast and take a break to start with other topics.
• After this, students can pick up whatever chapter you prefer studying and complete it thoroughly.
• The next hour should be saved for revision. Students should revise all the topics studied from morning to remember all the key points.
• Taking regular breaks is a must for students. They can take a break for lunch or go out to play.
• Start by solving reasoning questions to put their knowledge into use.
• Cover the major topics first and then move towards other topics.
• Try to follow the timetable every day to score higher marks.
• Try and get 7-8 hours of sleep to have a fresh mind.
• Drink plenty of water and maintain a healthy diet. Do not take any stress ahead of the exams.

The NTSE Stage II result for the 2025 exam will be released in October 2025. The NTSE Stage II 2025 result is released shortly after the NTSE scholarship 2025 answer key is released. It will be made available on the recruitment body’s official website. 

Only applicants who passed the Stage I exam are eligible for the Stage II exam (national level). The Stage II exam results will be determined using the combined SAT and MAT scores.

This provisional result is provided by NCERT to assist students in verifying their marks using the NTSE answer key. If a student discovers an inconsistency in their NTSE stage 2 result 2025, then they will be able to report it. 

To do so, a student must send an email to ntsexam.ncert@gov.in before the deadline. No student will be able to report a discrepancy in NTSE result stage II after the deadline.

NCERT will also release the cutoff marks along with the final NTSE stage II result 2025. The official website provides category-specific NTSE cutoffs. These are the minimum marks required to be selected in the stage II NTSE result.

Get more information about NTSE Result!

The NTSE Stage II exam topper’s list will be released after the results are declared in October 2025, tentatively. Students can check the complete list of topper’s here once the board releases it. Till then, we can check the name of the previous year toppers.

Aditya Singh and Dhriti Barnwal of Delhi Public School (DPS), Ranchi, and Ayush Kumar Singh of LA Garden High School were named joint state toppers in the National Talent Search Examination (Stage-II) by the National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT). The students are all from Ranchi. 

The examination qualified 29 students from the state, nine of whom were from DPS. K Chandrika, a student at Sri Chaitanya English Medium, MVP branch, was chosen for the NTSE Stage II exam.

Q.1: When will the NTSE Stage II exam 2025 be conducted?
Ans: The NTSE Stage II exam 2025 will tentatively be conducted in June 2025. 

Q.2: Is there any application fee for NTSE Stage II exam 2025?
Ans: No application fee will be charged from the students for NTSE Stage II exam 2025.

Q.3: What is the NTSE cutoff for General category students?
Ans: The NTSE cutoff for General category students is 40 percent.

Q.4: Is there an NTSE Scholarship reservation quota?
Ans: Yes, reservations are available for SC, ST, and physically disabled students.

Q.5: Can students refer to NCERT books to prepare for NTSE exam?
Ans: Yes, NCERT books are sufficient for the NTSE Stage II exam. Students can get these NCERT books at Embibe for. Students can read and study from these books anytime online after sign up.

There are several CBSE schools that take NTSE exams to benefit students. However, we have shortlisted some of the best CBSE schools that offer these scholarship exams. Take a look at the table below to know about those top schools:

1. D.A.V Boys Sr. Secondary School, Chennai
2. Sri Sathya Sai Higher Secondary School, Anantpur
3. Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith, Deoghar
4. Sri Kumaran Children’s Home School, Bangalore
5. National Public School, Bangalore
6. Chinmaya International Residential School, Coimbatore
7. The Heritage School, Gurgaon
8. Hindu Senior Secondary School, Chennai
9. Lakshmipat Singhania Academy, Kolkata
10. HAL Public School, Bangalore
11. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Chandigarh
12. GEARI innovative International School, Bangalore
13. Birla High School, Kolkata
14. Kendriya Vidyalaya No.2, Puducherry
15. Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, Delhi

An NTSE scholar can take a college’s admission test and gain direct admission. When applying for jobs, passing the scholarship exam is a plus. An NTSE scholar is given preference in government jobs and is also useful when interviewing for various prestigious positions.

However, there are several other future exams that students can take part in after the NTSE Stage II exam. The list of exams are as follows:

• NEST – National Entrance Screening Test
• NEET – National Eligibility cum Entrance Test
• AIIMS – All India Institute of Medical Sciences 
• JEE Advanced – Joint Entrance Examination Advanced
• KVPY – Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana
• JEE Mains – Joint Entrance Examination Mains