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 2010:             28 November 2010 (Sunday) 

Time of NSEC2010:            12:30 pm to 02:30 pm

Last Date for Enrollment for NSEC:    15^th September 2010

Eligibility:

All Indian students who are born on or after July 1, 1991 and, in addition, are in Class XII or lower as of November 30, 2010, are eligible to appear for NSEC 2010 -- 2011. 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.

 
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.

Qualifying for the Second Stage:

Based on performance in NSEC, the top 300 students in order of merit qualify to appear for the Second Stage of the Olympiad program (INChO). In case there is a tie at the last position, all students with the same marks qualify for INChO.

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
Co-ordinator (NSE)
IAPT Office, I.I.E. Campus,
128/2, J. P. Naik Marg, Kothrud, Pune - 411 038.
Tel : (Off.) 020 - 25420163.
(9:00 AM to 7:00 PM)
Email: iapt@vsnl.net

OR

Prof. R.M.Dharkar
Chief Co-ordinator (IAPT Examinations)
Email: rmdharkar@gmail.com

Stage II: Indian National Chemistry Olympiad (INChO)

INChO is organized by HBCSE at about 15 centres in the country.

Eligibility: Students selected from Stage I examination (NSEC) are eligible to appear for INChO. In addition those students who have been exempted as described in the Enrollment page are also eligible to appear for INChO. Besides these two, there is no other way by which a student becomes eligible to appear for INChO.

The tentative date and time of INChO 2011 examination is as follows:

The confirmed date and schedule will be announced in the first week of January 2011 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 2011 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 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 43^rd IChO will be held tentatively in Ankara, Turkey tentatively in July 2011.