Stages

 

The chemistry Olympiad program follows the following 5 stages:

 

•   Stage I: National Standard Examination in Chemistry (NSEC),
•   Stage II: Indian National Chemistry Olympiad (INChO),
•   Stage III: Orientation cum Selection Camp (OCSC) in chemistry,
•   Stage IV: Pre-departure Training Camp (PDT) for IChO,
•   Stage V: Participation in International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO).

Stage 1 is entirely the responsibility of IAPT. All the remaining stages are organized by HBCSE.

The detailed information about eligibility and structure of the stages is given below:
 

Stage I: National Standard Examination in Chemistry (NSEC)

 

NSEC is the first stage of selection of students in the chemistry Olympiad Programme which is organised by the Indian Association of Physics Teachers (IAPT). Every student aspiring to go through successive stages of the programme must enroll for NSEC. NSEC is held at a large number of centres in the country.

Date of NSEC 2014:           23 November 2014 (Sunday) 

Time of NSEC 2014:            12:30 pm to 02:30 pm

Last Date for Enrollment for NSEC:    15^th September 2014

Eligibility:

All Indian students who are born on or after July 1, 1995 and, in addition, are in Class XII or lower as of November 30, 2014, are eligible to appear for NSEC 2014 -- 2015. A student may appear for more than one subject provided the examination schedule allows it. See information about the examination schedule under various subjects. Students who have passed Class XII are not eligible to enroll for NSEC.

It is the student's responsibility to ensure that the eligibility criteria are satisfied. In case at any stage of the programme it is found that the student does not satisfy the eligibility criteria, he/she may be disqualified from the programme.

 

Syllabus:

 
The syllabus for NSEC is broadly  equivalent to the senior secondary level (Class XI and Class XII) of CBSE Chemistry. This is only a rough guideline, and there is no detailed syllabus given for NSEC.

 

Question Paper:

NSEC emphasizes comprehension of the subject, not rote memory.  Its format will be as follows:

The question paper will consist of 80 multiple choice questions, each with only one of the four options correct.

Language   :   English.

 

Stage II: Indian National Chemistry Olympiad (INChO)

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 overly compromising on merit. Hence the selection for the Stage II examinations i.e. Indian National Olympiad Examinations (INOs) is based on the following scheme.

 

 

1. Eligibility Clause: To be eligible for the Stage II INO 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.

 

2. Merit Index Clause: There will be a high score called the Merit Index (MI) associated with each subject in Olympiads. 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 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 73.6. Then the MI in that subject will be 73. All candidates with a score equal to or above 73 in that subject will automatically qualify for INO stage II.

 

3. Proportional Representation Clause: Students from all States and UTs 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 IAPT and HBCSE websites. List can be accessed here.

(www.iapt.org.in; http://olympiads.hbcse.tifr.res.in)

 

4. Minimum Representation Clause: Notwithstanding the proportional representation clause the number of students selected for INO from each State and UT must be at least one, provided that the eligibility clause is satisfied.

 

The above criteria are illustrated with the following examples:

1. Let the quota on the basis of the Proportional Representation Clause (c) for a State S1 be 20. Suppose the number of students satisfying the Merit Index Clause (b) in a subject is 10. These 10 students will qualify for the second stage INO exam in the given subject and an additional 10 students from the State S1 in the given subject will be selected merit-wise, provided they satisfy the Eligibility Clause (a).

 

2. Let the quota on the basis of the Proportional Representation Clause (c) for a State S1 be 20. Suppose the number of students satisfying the Merit Index Clause (b) in a subject is 30. 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.

 

Candidates who have represented India in the International Olympiad on a previous ocassion (IPhO, IChO, IBO, IOAA and IJSO) 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 1^st stage NSEs may be allowed, on written request, to the respective National Coordinator, 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.

 

There will be no other criterion or provision for selection to the Indian National Olympiad Examinations (INOs).

 

All students who qualify to appear for INChO get a certificate of merit from IAPT.

 

For any queries or clarifications and for any difficulties regarding enrollment for NSEC, please contact:

Prof. M. L. Oglapurkar

 

Chief Coordinator (IAPT Examinations)

IAPT Office, Sheela Vihar Colony,

7, Heramb Coop HSG Society,

Near Kimaya Hotel, Karve Road,

Kothrud, Pune 411 038

Tel: 0202542 0163; 0202025 2754(O)

Email: iaptpune@gmail.com

 

INChO is organized by HBCSE at about 15 centres in the countryThe tentative date and time of INChO 2015 examination is as follows:  

January 31, 2015 (Saturday):    01.00 p.m. --- 04.00 p.m. (3 hours)

 

The confirmed date and schedule will be announced in the first week of January 2015 on this website and communicated by post to the eligible students.  Students appearing for INChO are eligible for TA/DA as per the norms of the programme.

 

Syllabus : The syllabus for INChO is broadly similar to NSEC. However, the syllabus is only a broad guideline. Questions and problems in National Olympiads are usually non-conventional and of high difficulty level, comparable to International Olympiads.

 

On the basis of performance in INChO, the top 35 students in the merit list will be selected for Stage III: Orientation Cum Selection Camp (OCSC) in chemistry.

In the event, there is a tie at the last position, all students with the same marks at this last position will qualify for OCSC.

There will be no other criterion or provision for selection to OCSC.

 

Stage III: Orientation Cum Selection Camp (OCSC) in Chemistry

 

OCSC in chemistry will be organized by HBCSE sometime in April to June 2015 for 2-3 weeks. The precise dates will be announced prior to or along with the announcement of the selection list for the OCSC.

 

Eligibility for OCSC : Only the students selected from the merit list of Stage II (INChO) are eligible. There will be no other criteria or provision.

The dates of OCSC 2015 will be announced later.

The camps include several theoretical and experimental tests.  Orientation is provided to students especially in experiments. The camps conclude with a valedictory function  where distinguished scientists are invited to speak to the students.

The merit list of OCSC is prepared on the basis of the combined theoretical and experimental score aggregated over all the tests in the camp, with 60% weightage for theory and 40% weightage for experiment. Performance in previous stages (NSEC and INChO) will not be a consideration for the merit list and awards of the OCSC.

 
The top 4 in the OCSC chemistry merit list are declared to be special merit awardees. These special merit awardees are given Rs. 5,000/- each in the form of books and cash. In addition there are special prizes to recognize meritorious performance in theory and experiments.

 
The 4 special merit awardees in chemistry selected at the end of the OCSC constitute the 4 member student team for the International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO), provided they satisfy required criteria such as age limit, holding valid Indian passport, medical fitness, parental consent, etc.

 

Stage IV: Pre-departure Training (PDT) Camp for IChO

The selected 4 member Indian team undergoes a rigorous training programme at HBCSE in theory and experiments. Special laboratories have been developed at HBCSE for the purpose of experimental training. Resource persons from HBCSE and different institutions across the country train the students. The duration of training is subject to IChO regulations.

 

Stage V: Participation in International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO)

The 4-member student team, 2 teacher leaders and 1 scientific observer constitute the delegation to represent India at the International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO).

 The 47^th IChO will be held in Baku (Azerbaijan), in July 2015.