What it is
The National Standard Examination in Physics (NSEP) is the first stage of India’s route to the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO). It is set and run by the Indian Association of Physics Teachers (IAPT), a voluntary association of physics teachers that has conducted NSEP for decades. Every later stage, from the national olympiad onwards, is run by the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE) in Mumbai, the national centre for the science and maths olympiads.
IAPT is direct about it: the NSEs are the only screening tests in India leading to the international science olympiads in their subjects. There is no other way in.
Who can take it
NSEP is for students in Classes 10, 11 and 12. For the 2026–27 cycle, a student needed to:
- be eligible to hold an Indian passport (students with OCI cards may take part up to the selection camp, but under current court orders cannot be picked for the Indian team);
- be born within a birth-date window set for the year;
- have been living and studying in India, or studying in an Indian school system, since a cut-off date;
- be in Class 10, 11 or 12, and not have finished Class 12 board exams before a cut-off date;
- not have started, or plan to start, university before a cut-off date in the following year;
- not be writing NSEJS, the junior science exam, in the same year.
Eligibility rules are strict and change from year to year. Check the official eligibility rules for this year on the IAPT and HBCSE sites. A student who turns out not to meet them can be disqualified at any stage.
The paper
In the 2026–27 cycle, NSEP was a two-hour multiple-choice paper at Class 12 level, in two parts: 48 questions with one correct option (with a penalty for wrong answers) and 12 questions that can have more than one correct option, where credit comes only when exactly the right options are marked. The paper was offered in English, Hindi and several other Indian languages. HBCSE describes the syllabus as broadly CBSE physics up to Class 12, with mathematics to the same level expected.
The stages
| Stage | Who | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| NSEP | Eligible students in Classes 10–12 | Two-hour multiple-choice paper, run by IAPT |
| INPhO | Selected from NSEP | The Indian National Physics Olympiad, a three-hour written exam at centres across India |
| OCSC | Top INPhO scorers | About two weeks at HBCSE with theory and experiment tests |
| Pre-departure training | The selected team | Intensive theory and lab training at HBCSE |
| IPhO | India’s team of five | Theory and experimental exams, usually in July |
How students move from NSEP to INPhO
The selection rules are worth understanding, because they are not simply “top marks nationally”. In the 2026–27 brochure:
- Students are split into two groups, Class 12 and Classes 10–11, and each group is ranked separately.
- Everyone needs a minimum admissible score, set at half the average of the top ten scores.
- Anyone above a higher merit index, set at 80% of that average, qualifies automatically.
- Each state and union territory has a quota, so that every part of India is represented.
- If too few students qualify, more are added on merit, and extra places are added, where scores allow, so that girls make up at least a fifth of those selected.
Students who qualify must then register on HBCSE’s site to get an admit card for INPhO. Missing that registration means missing the exam.
India also sends a team to the Asian Physics Olympiad (APhO). IAPT organises that participation, and students reach it through NSEP and INPhO in the same way; IAPT’s site has the details.
When it happens
Schools register as NSE centres, usually in August. Students then enrol through their school if it is a registered centre, or directly on IAPT’s site, usually from late August into September. NSEP is usually written in November, INPhO around late January or early February, the camp in the spring, and IPhO in July. Use IAPT and HBCSE’s pages for this year’s dates.
How to prepare
HBCSE notes that the first two stages do not necessarily need coaching outside the regular school system. What they do need is real understanding.
- Master Class 11 and 12 physics from first principles. Derive results rather than memorising them, and be comfortable with the calculus and vectors physics uses.
- Solve past papers. IAPT publishes past NSE papers with answer keys, and HBCSE publishes past INPhO papers with solutions.
- Work through a standard physics problem book slowly, with full working, especially problems that combine topics.
- Respect the negative marking. In the single-answer section, an unsure guess can cost more than it earns.
- Do experiments. From the camp onwards, practical tasks carry real weight, and HBCSE also publishes books of experimental problems.
A Class 10 or 11 student who writes NSEP is ranked against others in the same group, so an early attempt is not wasted even if the paper feels hard. Our science prep guide has more on building a weekly routine.
Where daily practice fits
Physics olympiads are won on long, multi-step problems, so a daily quiz is a supplement and nothing more. Ado is a free daily quiz of 8 questions, including a 60-second sprint, across maths, science, English, GK and reasoning, ranked only against students the same age. The quick maths and science questions can keep calculation speed and core ideas sharp on busy days, while the real NSEP work happens over a problem book.