The first step towards International Science Olympiad is to register for the Indian Olympiad Qualifier Examination (IOQ), which is the combination of the National Standard Examination (NSE) and the Indian National Olympiad (INO). International Science Olympiad (ISO) is a means to identify and encourage the scientific creativity of children in schools on different levels (national & international).
Students have to register for the Indian Olympiad Qualifier Examination (IOQ) which is conducted in two parts, National Standard Examination (NSE) for the subjects that they are interested in and Indian National Olympiad (INO), a written test that requires students to write long answers.
Table of Contents
- IOQ 2023 Registration
- IOQ 2023 Important Dates
- ISO 2023 Registration
- ISO 2023 Eligibility Criteria
- OCSC Selection Procedure
IOQ 2023 Registration
A student can register for multiple subjects while following the criteria below. Students enrolled in IOQ part 1, i,e, NSE subjects NSE Physics (NESPh), NSE-Chemistry (NESCh), NSE-Biology (NESB), and, NSE-Astronomy (NESA) cannot write NSE-Junior Science (NSEJS) and vice versa.
Students do not require to register twice. IOQ is a single qualifier exam, where students can write both parts 1 and 2 (NSE and INO). But evaluation for part 2, i.e., INO is eligible one through the student's performance in IOQ part 1 (NSE).
Students have to go to their nearest enrollment or registration center to register for the exam.
Below are the steps to register for IOQ,
- Visit an enrollment center: students can register for IOQ from thier institution if it is a registered center. If the institution where the student is studying is not an NSE register, they can check the list of registration centers (available online at the IAPT website) and register there.
- All registration centers are instructed to accept applications from every student.
- Provide required details such as full name, the name of the school, exam interested in registering for, etc.
- Registration fees: students have to pay an amount of Rs. 150 for each exam they are attempting.
IOQ 2023 Important Dates
Any state/central recognized school or college can become an NSE center if a minimum of 20 students is enrolling at that particular center. Online center registration on the IAPT website will be between August to September 2023.
Given below are the dates of enrollment for IOQ part 1, NSE Olympiad 2023-24.
| Event | Dates |
| center Registration | September 2021 |
| Student Registration | September 25, 2021 |
ISO Exam 2023 Registration
Students who have been selected for INO for a particular subject are selected using the following criteria.
- Students who have represented India in the International Olympiad (IOAA, IBO, IChO, IJSO, and IPhO, APhO, or IAO- Jr) previously need not appear for IOQ for that particular subject.
- Such students can send a written request to the national coordinator for that particular subject. If approved, they can directly sit for the second stage, i.e., Indian National Olympiad provided they satisfy other eligibility criteria. The student should score above the Minimum Admissible Score (MAS).
- If students score above the merit score, they are automatically selected for IOQ part 2, INO.
All students who are selected for INO are required to register themselves in the INO portal on the HBCSE website. Once they have logged in to their profile, they can download their letter of selection and admit card. Students who ignore to do will face disqualification and will not be able to sit for INO.
ISO 2023 Eligibility Criteria
The road to ISO is divided into five stages for all Indian students with each stage having its own set of eligibility criteria. Students should make sure that he/she satisfies all the eligibility criteria before applying/registering for the exam as they will be disqualified if they are found to have not met the eligibility criteria at a later stage.
Given below are the eligibility criteria for each different stage of ISO conducted by IAPT and by HBCSE.
IOQ NSE Olympiad 2023 Eligibility
These criteria given below are true for all stages and students can register for National Standard Exam (NSE) if they clear the following criteria. The criteria are divided by the different exams conducted by the Indian Association of Physics Teachers (IAPT).
Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics:
- Only students who hold an Indian passport are eligible. Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) will not be eligible to be selected as a member of the team representing India. These students can, however, participate and are selected till OCSC and can also write the selection tests conducted during OCSC.
- Date of birth between Jul 1, 2000 and Jun 30, 2005, both days inclusive.
- Must be residing and studying in India since Nov 30, 2017 or earlier or must be studying in an Indian school system since Nov 30, 2017 or earlier.
- Must not have completed (or scheduled to complete) class 12 board examination earlier than Nov 30, 2020.
- Must not have commenced (or planning to commence) studies in a university or equivalent institution by Jun 1, 2020.
- Must not be appearing in NSEJS 2023-24.
Junior Science:
- Only students who hold an Indian passport are eligible. Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) will not be eligible to be selected as a member of the team representing India. These students can, however, participate and are selected till OCSC and can also write the selection tests conducted during OCSC.
- Date of birth between Jan 1, 2005 and Dec 31, 2006, both days inclusive.
- Must be residing and studying in India since Nov 30, 2018 or earlier or must be studying in an Indian school system since Nov 30, 2018 or earlier.
- Must not have completed (or scheduled to complete) class 10 board examination earlier than Nov 30, 2020.
- Must not be appearing in any of NSEA, NSEB, NSEC or NSEP 2023-24.
IOQ INO Exam 2023 Eligibility
Indian National Olympiad (INO) is the second stage after NSE. About 300 students per subject (500 in the case of Astronomy) are selected to write the exam.
Eligibility: Students will be eligible for INO in the particular subject if he/she scores equal to or greater than the Minimum Admissible Score (MAS). The MAS for a given subject will be 50% of the average of the top ten scores in that subject truncated to the integer.
Merit List Rule: Students who score above then a score called the Merit Index (MI) would automatically qualify for INO stage II of IMO for each subject. It is defined by the formula, 80% of the average of the top ten scores in that subject is truncated to the lower integer.
Proportional Representation Clause: The clause states that students from all states and union territories are to be represented in the INO stage II. The quota for each State and Union Territory will be similar to the quota of students as decided by the National Talent Search Examination (NTSE). The total number of students to be selected per subject is 300 ( 500 for Astronomy).
These numbers will include all the students who scored marks equal to or greater than the merit index, and then the remaining students are selected using the proportional representation clause. All students with the same score at the last position are selected to appear for INO stage II in case of a tie provided they satisfy all other criteria.
Minimum Representation Clause: A minimum of one student must be selected from each State or Union Territory irrespective of the proportional representation clause. These students must, however, satisfy all the other eligibility criteria.
Total Number of Selection: HBCSE selects 300 students for the INO stage 2, but if the total count of 300 is not met, then additional students will be selected. The selection will be purely merit-wise, provided they score more than MAS till the target number of 300 is reached. In case of a tie, all students with the same score at the last position are selected to appear for INO stage II.
Previous International Representation Clause: Students who have represented India in previous International Olympiads (IOAA, IBO, IChO, IJSO and IPhO, APhO or IAO- Jr) can sit directly in the INO. Such students can send a written request to the national coordinator for that particular subject, and if approved, they can directly sit for the second stage, i.e., Indian National Olympiad provided they satisfy other eligibility criteria.
Eligibility for Astronomy (INAO 2023)
The student appearing for NSEA will be divided into two groups:
- Group A consists of students who are in class 12 as of Nov 30, 2020.
- Group B consists of students who are in class 11 or lower as of Nov 30, 2020.
For stage II (INAO), a target number of 250 students will be selected from each group.
MI and MAS will be calculated separately for each of these groups. All the clauses mentioned above will be applied separately to each group.
OCSC Selection Procedure
The number of students for each subject selected for Orientation-Cum-Selection Camp (OCSC) is fixed unless declared otherwise before IOQ part 2 (INO).
The table below shows the number of students.
| Subject | Number of Students selected for OCSC |
| Biology | 35 |
| Physics | 35 |
| Chemistry | 35 |
| Junior Science | 35 |
| Astronomy |
|
In the event of a tie, all students with the same score at the last position are selected to appear for IOQ part 2 (INO) stage II.
The following procedure will be applied for the selection of students for OCSCs.
- A student can qualify for only IMOTC/ OCSC in a particular subject. If a student qualifies in more than one subject, he/she will be selected to OCSC/IMOTC depending on the preference he/she fills before IOQ part 2 (INO)/INMO.
- The procedure starts before IOQ part 2 (INO)/ INMO when a student who has qualified to appear in more than one subject in IOQ part 2 (INO)/INMO will be asked to arrange those subjects in order of preference of attending the OCSC/IMOTC (and therefore competing for selection in the international team).
- Students should also see the ISO syllabus to understand the topics they have to concentrate on and better understand concepts they are weak in.
Note: Candidate can put their query or comment related to Olympiad Exams in the given comment section.
