• Recently, Punjab government notified its decision to conduct the State-level National Talent Search Examination (NTSE, Stage-1) on December 13 later this year.
• It also decided to reopen the portal for registration for the exam due to reports of difficulties faced by students.
• The exam will be conducted by Punjab School Education Department.

The Department also delineated the eligibility conditions as follows:

• As per the Punjab School Education Department rules, the students studying in class 10 can sit in this exam.
• A student should have 70 per cent marks in Class 9 to be eligible to sit in the exam.
• The requirement for SC, ST, and Physically challenged categories is 55 per cent marks in Class 9.

About NTSE:

• NTSE or National Talent Search Examination is a national level exam conducted by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) for granting scholarships to the meritorious students studying in Class 10th.
• It’s a two-stage exam to reward candidates with high intellect and skills.
• The main objective of organizing NTSE is to award scholarships to potential candidates who are aspiring to pursue higher education in the field of Science or Social Studies.
• The candidate can take up the examination only if he/she is an Indian national or Indian origin person studying abroad.
• The upper age limit for appearing in NTSE examination is 18 years.
• NTSE is held for 10th standard students and the exam is conducted in two different stages –
  • Stage I : The first stage exam is a state-level exam and is conducted by all the Indian states and UTs.
  •  Stage II : It is conducted for those students who clear the first stage. It is conducted by National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)

NTSE Eligibility for Stage 1 (State level examination)

• The candidate must be a Class X student from any Government/ Private schools in India.
• There is no domicile restriction. The candidate can be from any State/Union Territory of India.
• The candidates studying in open or distance learning are also eligible to write NTSE 2020, provided they are less than 18 years of age, not employed and are appearing for Class X board examination for the first time.

NTSE Eligibility for Stage 2 (National level examination)

• Only the students who qualified in stage 1 (State-level examination) are eligible to appear for Stage 2 examination.

NTSE Eligibility for Students Studying Abroad

• Indian students studying abroad in Class X or equivalent are eligible to write Stage 2 (Second level examination) directly and are exempted from the Stage 1 examination.
• The candidate must have scored 60% in the previous year’s annual examination.
• The candidate should appear for the examination in a centre in India.
• The selected candidate will receive the scholarship only if he/she decides to pursue studies in India.