INDIAN NATIONAL OLYMPIAD (INO)

The aim of the first stage examination is to have a wide reach. To progressively increase this reach and to attain nationwide representation for Stage II without over all compromising on merit, the selection for the Stage II examinations, i.e., Indian National Olympiad Examinations (INOs) the following scheme is adopted. (a) Eligibility Clause To be eligible among 300 students for the INO Stage II exam leading to the International Olympiad, a candidate must secure a score equal to or greater than a Minimum Admissible Score (MAS). The MAS for a given subject will be 50% of the average of the top ten scores in that subject rounded off to the nearest lower integer. (b) Merit Index Clause There will be a high score called the Merit Index (MI) associated with each subject in NSE. The MI in a subject is defined as 80% of the average of the top ten scores in that subject rounded off to the nearest lower integer. All students with a score equal to or greater than merit index MI for the subject will automatically qualify for INO Stage II examination in that subject. For example, if the average of top ten scores in a certain subject is 92, then 80% of this is 73.

1. Then the MI in that subject will be
2. All candidates with a score equal to or above 73 in NSE of that subject will automatically qualify for INO stage II. (c) Proportional Representation Clause Students from all States and UTs in India need to be encouraged to appear for the first stage examination and a nationwide representation for INO Stage II is desirable. The quota for each State/UT used in National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) 2013-14, a nationwide competitive examination will be used as the baseline for calculating the number of students qualifying for Stage II INO in every subject from centres in that State or UT. Suppose the NTSE quota is S for a State, and the total for all States and UTs is T, then the total number of students to be selected to INO Stage II from that State would be S/T times 300, rounded off to the nearest higher integer. This number will include those selected on the basis of the Merit Index. In the event of tie at the last position in the list, all students with same marks at this position will qualify to appear for the INO Stage II examination. The selected students must nevertheless satisfy the eligibility clause. The number to be selected from all the centres in each State or UT will be displayed on the websites of IAPT. (d) Minimum Representation Clause Not with standing the proportional representation clause the number of students selected for INO from each State and UTmust be at least five, provided that the eligibility clause ( a ) is satisfied. The above criteria are illustrated with the following examples: (i) Let the quota on the basis of the Proportional Representation Clause (c) for a State S be
3. Suppose the number of 1 students satisfying the Merit Index Clause (b) in a subject is
4. These 10 students will qualify for the second stage INO exam in the given subject and an additional 10 students from the State S1 subject will be selected merit-wise, provided they satisfy the Eligibility Clause (a). (ii) Let the quota on the basis of the Proportional Representation Clause (c) for a State S be
5. Suppose the number of 1 students satisfying the Merit Index Clause (b) in a subject is
6. In this case, all 30 students will qualify for the second stage INO exam in the given subject, and there will be no further selection from the State S1 (e) Previous International Representation Clause Candidates who have represented India in the International Olympiad on a previous occasion (IOAA, IBO, IChO, IJSO and IPhO) need not appear for the first stage NSE examination in the respective subject. Candidates who have represented India in the Asian Physics Olympiad (APhO) and the International Astronomy Olympiad Junior (IAO-Jr) need not appear for the 1st stage NSEP and NSEA Examinations respectively. Those candidates who thus qualify to skip the first stage NSEs may be allowed, on written request, to the National Coordinator Science Olympiad (nc_olympiad@hbcse.tifr.res.in) to directly appear for the second stage Indian National Olympiad (INO) examination, provided they satisfy other eligibility criteria such as age, pre-college status, etc. (f) Minimum Total Number Clause In each subject, after all the above criteria have been applied, it is possible that the target number of 300 students to be selected for INO is not reached (due to non-availability of enough number of students in some states who satisfy Eligibility Clause (a)). In such an event, additional students will be selected purely merit-wise, provided Eligibility Clause (a) is satisfied, till the target number of 300 is reached. Other clauses will not apply for these students. In case of a tie at the last position, all students with the same marks at this position will qualify to appear for the INO Stage II examination. There will be no other criterion or provision for selection to the Indian National Olympiad Examinations (INOs). Eligibility for INAO and OCSC-Astronomy The rules for selection for Stage II (INAO) will be same as that of previous year.
7. The eligibility criterion for NSEA has been given on the above.
8. The student pool of NSEAwill be divided into two groups: (i) Group A: Students who are in Class XII. (ii) Group B: Students who are in Class XI or lower .
9. For Stage II (INAO), a target number of 250 students will be selected from each group. Thus, a total of 500 students.
10. The MI and MAS will be calculated separately for each of these groups.
11. All the clauses [(a) to (f) above)] of selection will be applied separately to each group.
12. The question papers of NSEA and INAO will be identical for the two groups. Similar groups A+B may be for Physics, Chemistry and Biology also from this year. There will be no other criterion or provision for selection to the Indian National Olympiad Examination (INOs) A complete data of students shortlisted for INO is posted on both IAPT & HBCSE websites. Shortlisted students have to register at HBCSE website for INO. This is a must. All INOs are organized by HOMI BHABHACENTRE for SCIENCE EDUCATION (HBCSE) Mumbai. For the next stage students are chosen on the basis of their performance at these INOs. These students in each subject attend Orientation Cum Selection Camp (OCSC) in respective discipline for about 2 weeks at HBCSETIFR, Mumbai. Indian team to participate in International Olympiad is selected from the students attending OCSC in respective subjects.

In each subject, after all the above criteria have been applied, it is possible that the target number of 300 students to be selected for INO is not reached (due to non-availability of enough number of students in some states who satisfy Eligibility Clause (a)). In such an event, additional students will be selected purely merit-wise, provided Eligibility Clause (a) is satisfied, till the target number of 300 is reached. Other clauses will not apply for these students. In case of a tie at the last position, all students with the same marks at this position will qualify to appear for the INO Stage II examination. There will be no other criterion or provision for selection to the Indian National Olympiad Examinations (INOs). Eligibility for INAO and OCSC-Astronomy The rules for selection for Stage II (INAO) will be same as that of previous year.

1. The eligibility criterion for NSEA has been given on the above.
2. The student pool of NSEAwill be divided into two groups: (i) Group A: Students who are in Class XII. (ii) Group B: Students who are in Class XI or lower .
3. For Stage II (INAO), a target number of 250 students will be selected from each group. Thus, a total of 500 students.
4. The MI and MAS will be calculated separately for each of these groups.
5. All the clauses [(a) to (f) above)] of selection will be applied separately to each group.
6. The question papers of NSEA and INAO will be identical for the two groups. Similar groups A+B may be for Physics, Chemistry and Biology also from this year. There will be no other criterion or provision for selection to the Indian National Olympiad Examination (INOs) A complete data of students shortlisted for INO is posted on both IAPT & HBCSE websites. Shortlisted students have to register at HBCSE website for INO. This is a must. All INOs are organized by HOMI BHABHACENTRE for SCIENCE EDUCATION (HBCSE) Mumbai. For the next stage students are chosen on the basis of their performance at these INOs. These students in each subject attend Orientation Cum Selection Camp (OCSC) in respective discipline for about 2 weeks at HBCSETIFR, Mumbai. Indian team to participate in International Olympiad is selected from the students attending OCSC in respective subjects.