Olympiads are internationally recognised competitions in various fields of knowledge. These are the highest level examinations and are hosted by different countries every year.
Participation in any of these Olympiads has worldwide recognition and is considered as a great achievement. Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, TIFR is the nodal centre of the country for Olympiad programmes in mathematics and sciences including astronomy. The programmes aim at promoting excellence in science and mathematics among pre-university students and selecting teams of students to represent India at the International Olympiads in these subjects.  The Olympiad in Junior Science has been added from the year 2008. The programme is financially supported by Board of research in Nuclear Science of Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Space and Ministry of Human Resource Development. National Standard Examinations (NSE) in Sciences is the first stage of selection of students in the Science Olympiad Programme which is organised by the Indian Association of Physics Teachers (IAPT) in collaboration with HBCSE. Every student aspiring to go through successive stages of the programme must enroll for NSE. NSEs will be held at a large number of centres in the country.
The Olympiads are conducted by Indian Association of Physics Teachers every year as per the following five stages: 
Stage I  National Standard Examination in the subject (NSEP, NSEC, NSEB, NSEA and NSEJS)
Stage II Indian National Olympiad in the subject          (INPhO,INChO,INBO,                                  
                      INAO,INJSO)

Stage III Orientation cum selection camp

Stage IV Pre-departure training camp

Stage V Participation in International Olympiad

Stage I competition is conducted by Indian Association of Physics Teachers in different parts of the country generally in the month of November every year. This competition has CBSE Class XII syllabus standard level. All the remaining stages are organized by Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, Mumbai.

The exam schedule for the session 2012-2013 is as follows:
Date of NSE : Sunday, 24 November 2012
Physics (NSEP)       9:30 to 11:30 A.M.
Chemistry (NSEC)     12:30 to 2:30 P.M.
Biology (NSEB)     3:00 to 5:00 P.M.
Astronomy (NSEA)     3:00 to 5:00 P.M.
Junior Science  (NSEJS) 3:00 to 5:00 P.M..
Last Date for Enrolment: 15 September 2012

Eligiblility
Science students studying in class XI or class XII  and born after  July 1993 are eligible to take part in these competitions.  Those who have already passed class XII examination are not eligible.  For National Standard Examination in Junior Science, students of class X or lower classes and born on or after July 1998 are eligible. The detail information and students brochure is available on www.iapt.org.in

Mode of Application
Any student can apply through his/ her school for participation in any one of these Olympiads.  The Principal/ Senior Faculty Coordinator in the subject will contact IAPT office at Pune and get the institution registered for the conduct of examination after  completing necessary formalities. The information about forthcoming National Standard Examinations and Olympiads is  available on website of IAPT. The Registration form for applying to IAPT, Pune office is also available on this website.
Examination Fee
Examination fee of Rs. 100/- per student per subject is to be paid only to the Coordinator in the school desiring to enroll itself as a centre. In no case, the fee is to be sent to CBSE or IAPT.  Any further information with regard to the Olympiad can be had from 

           Prof. M.L Ogalapurkar
 NSE Co-ordinator
 I.A.P.T Office, I.I.E Campus
 128/2, J.P Naik Marg, Kothrud
 Pune – 411 038
 Maharashtra
 Tel (Off.) 020-25420163;    email iapt@vsnl.net

Format of Examination
 Set of last four years’ question papers with answers/solutions (in Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Astronomy) is available. It can be obtained by sending a DD of Rs. 100/- in favour of “IAPT”, payable at Pune, to IAPT office and set will be dispatched by Regd. Post / Courier. Applicants are advised to write your name and complete postal address.
A set of last four years’ question papers with answers/solutions (in Junior Science) is also available. It can be obtained by sending a DD of Rs. 50/- in favour of “IAPT”, payable at Pune.

Registration of Schools as Examination Centres
The IAPT website displays details of the centres which were registered previous year.  This may be of help to candidates in locating the centre nearest to their residence and in enrolling their name at the centre by paying the required fee.  If any school/ College wants to get itself registered for the first time, the form for the Registration can be downloaded from IAPT site and sent to IAPT office, Pune at the above address. Any further information can also be had from IAPT Examination office by sending a self addressed envelope (25cmX10cm) with Rs.5/- stamp affixed  to it.
For students of Kashmir valley, one of the centres is department of Chemistry, university of Kashmir. Dr Altaf Pandith of the department may be contacted for the purpose.

Incentives for participants
Top 10 % at each centre:  Certificate
Top 1% at state level:   Merit Certificate
Top 1% nation-wide:   Special Merit Certificate and Book
Gold Medals are awarded to the Top 35 students  from INPhO, INChO and INBO examinations.
Merit-wise top 300 students will be called for the Indian National Olympiad in respective subjects. About 35 students selected on the basis of their performance at the National Olympiads will be eligible for the respective Orientation cum selection Camps (OCSC) at the HBCSE, Mumbai. The final teams for International Olympiads will be chosen from these students at the end of these OCSC Camps.
 The entire selection process for International Olympiads starts from these five examinations. Fee mentioned above are the only fees to be paid by a student. No additional fee are charged in the selection process anywhere anytime. Students appearing in Indian National Olympiads and International Olympiads are eligible for TA/DA.

Probable dates of INOs :                  2-3 Feb  2013
Expected dates of results of INOs :             1st March 2013
OCSCs   :                            April– June 2013.
International Olympiads   July 2013 onwards

Author is Life Member IAPT. Feedback at ask _rubab@yahoo.co.in

Lastupdate on : Sun, 2 Sep 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 2 Sep 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 3 Sep 2012 00:00:00 IST