NTSE Eligibility Criteria 2022: Qualifying Marks, Check Age Limit

The NTSE exam is divided into two parts. The state board administers stage one of the NTSE test, whereas NCERT administers stage two. The NTSE exam 2022 is open to applicants who are taking Class X for the first time. They must also be under the age of eighteen years old. Candidates who pass the Stage 1 exam are invited to take the Stage 2 exam.

A candidate can only take the NTSE if he or she is an Indian national or an Indian-origin candidate. Candidates studying for the upcoming NTSE test should continue to practise prior years’ papers in order to understand the type and pattern of questions that will be asked.

Candidates in class IX are also eligible to take the NTSE. They must pass the class IX exam with a score of 60% or above. For all candidates, the NTSE reservation policy is the same. For candidates studying in India or abroad, the percentage of reservations provided stays the same.

Before filling out the NTSE application form, make sure you understand the eligibility criteria. Candidates must understand that the eligibility requirements for stage 1 and stage 2 are distinct. The following are the NTSE eligibility criteria in detail for both stages.

---

NTSE Eligibility Criteria: Age Limit

Along with the official notification in the NTSE Stage 1, the conducting authority has announced the upper age restriction for all candidates. Students in the open programme must be under the age of 18. This age restriction applies to both Indian and Indian-origin students who are studying abroad.

Note that all applicants must be unemployed, whether they are students at an open school or Indians studying abroad.

NTSE Stage 1 Eligibility Criteria

Only Indian students who are enrolled in Indian schools are eligible to apply for the NTSE form 2022. The complete eligibility criteria for the NTSE exam in 2022 are listed below.

• Students in approved schools in the 10th grade are eligible to take the NTSE stage 1 exam.
  
• Students from Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas, and Sainik Schools can take the NTSE in the state where their school is located. There will be no restrictions on where they can live.
  
• Students enrolled in open and distance learning (ODL) programmes are also eligible to take the NTSE stage 1 exam. They should not be engaged in any capacity. They must be taking their tenth grade exams for the first time.

Minimum Qualifying Marks Required in Class 9

As a prerequisite of eligibility for taking the NTSE stage 1 examination, certain states require students to get a minimum qualifying percentage of marks on their class 9 examination. Before submitting an application for NTSE 2022, check the chart below to see what the minimum number of qualifying marks you need to have earned in Class 9 is.

State	Minimum qualifying Marks (For General Category)	Minimum qualifying Marks (For Reserved Category)
Maharashtra	60% marks	55%
Rajasthan	55%	50%
Delhi	60%	55%
Uttar Pradesh	55%	44%
Punjab	70%	55%
Bihar	60%	–
West Bengal	50%	40%
Madhya Pradesh	40%	32%
Tamil Nadu	60%	–
Assam	40%	32%
Jammu & Kashmir	60%	55%
Jharkhand	55%	40%
Goa	70%	55%
Uttarakhand	60%	55%
Gujarat	55%	–
Manipur	60%	55%
Himachal Pradesh	60%	55%
Kerala	55%	–
Haryana	55%	–
Puducherry	60%	–
Chandigarh	61%	56%
Odisha	60%	55%

NTSE Stage 2 Eligibility Criteria for Indian Students

Students who finish stage 1 with a passing grade and qualify for the next level will be allowed to take that level’s examination.

• To begin, students must first achieve a minimum qualifying score on the stage 1 examination in order to be eligible for stage 2.
  
• Along with the announcement of the NTSE results in 2022, each state will also make public the NTSE qualifying score for its own state.
  
• Students need to achieve a certain section-wise and category-wise cutoff score in order to move on to stage 2 of the exam.
  
• Note that even if a student achieves the required cutoff marks but does not qualify in any of the sections, he or she will not be chosen to take the NTSE stage 2 exam. This is something that should be kept in mind.

NTSE Stage 2 Eligibility Criteria for Students Studying Abroad

The National Curriculum and Evaluation Council (NCERT) is in charge of administering the NTSE stage 2 examination. Students from India who are enrolled in class 10 and studying abroad are eligible to compete in stage 2 of the NTSE. However, they must be able to satisfy the requirements that are given below.

• Students can’t be older than 18 years old at the time of enrollment.
  
• He or she has scored at least sixty per cent or higher on the annual examination for the ninth grade.
  
• Students are responsible for their own travel and lodging expenses to take the exam at a location in India.
  
• They have until the 31st of December to transmit an authenticated copy of the mark sheet from the ninth grade to the Head of the Department of Educational Survey Division at the NCERT in New Delhi.

Only those who intend to complete their postsecondary education in India are eligible to receive the scholarship award in the event that they are chosen.

NTSE Qualifying Marks

The National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) sets the NTSE qualifying marks. These are the minimum marks required for pupils to advance to the next round.

Category	Qualifying Marks in SAT	Qualifying Marks in MAT
Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes/ Physically Handicapped.	32%	32%
General/ Economically weaker Sections/ OBC	40%	40%

NTSE Seat Reservations 2022

Some places are designated for SC/ST and PWD kids, according to NCERT guidelines. This reservation also applies to Indian students studying abroad, but only if they return to India to finish their education. Reservation criteria can be seen in the table below.

Category	Reservation
Person with Disability	3%
Schedule Cast	15%
Scheduled Tribe	7.5%

---

NTSE Eligibility Criteria FAQs