INAO Eligibility Criteria

The Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE), in partnership with the Indian Association of Physics Teachers (IAPT), organises the Indian National Astronomy Olympiad (INAO), a national olympiad examination for those who have qualified for the National Standard Exam in Astronomy (NSEA). The INAO exam is conducted near the end of November. It is the second stage, and only those who passed the first exam, which is the NSEA, are eligible to take it.

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About IAPT

The Indian Association of Physics Teachers, or IAPT, is a body that, along with the HBCSE, coordinates the Physics Olympiad for India. Its goal is to improve the quality of physics education and physics teachers at national and international levels. In November of each year, the IAPT conducts the National Standard Examination in Physics, along with National Standard Examination in Chemistry, the National Standard Examination in Biology, the National Standard Examination in Astronomy, the National Standard Examination in Junior Science, and the National Graduate Physics Examination throughout India.

Next Exams

The top 1% of the achievers of the first stage later compete in the Indian National Physics Olympiad, from which the top thirty students are chosen for the International Physics Olympiad Training Camp, which is usually held at HBCSE. The team for the International Physics Olympiad is chosen from this stage, and the team, along with an IAPT Leader and Deputy Leader, proceed to the examination. This year, IAPT conducts the first stage, namely the NSE (NSEP, NSEC, NSEB, NSEJS etc.), and HBCSE (Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education) is in charge of the subsequent stages.

Eligibility Criteria

Every exam has a set of rules that allows the candidate to attempt the examination. A candidate who fulfils all the eligibility standards is able to take the examination. The INAO eligibility criteria for 2022 are listed below.

• All Indian students in Class XII or below born between July 1, 2002, and June 30, 2007, inclusive of both dates, are eligible to take the INAO 2021–2022 exam.
• Students who have completed Class XII are ineligible to compete in INAO.
• Candidates must have been living in India and attending an Indian school since November 2019 or earlier.
• Candidates must not have planned to begin studies at universities or comparable institutes by June 1, 2021.
• The candidate must have passed the Class XII board examination or its equivalent by November 30, 2020.
• The candidate is not permitted to take the NSEJS 2021.

Subjects Covered

The INAO examination includes three main subjects. They are physics, mathematics and astronomy. The INAO exam follows the same format as the National Standard Examination in Astronomy (NSEA), but the questions are much more difficult. It incorporates concepts from CBSE textbooks in physics, mathematics, and astronomy. INAO questions are graded on a 10-point scale and are intended to assess the candidate’s higher-order thinking abilities.