National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) is a national level scholarship program (Examination) conducted by NCERT (National Council of Education Research and Training) to identify Talent and nurturing them for the betterment of the nation.

The qualified students are facilitated by financial assistance provided in the form of a monthly scholarship for an entire academic career. The examination is conducted every year at 2 levels: Level 1 (State Level) and Level 2 (National level). The first level is a state level examination and is conducted by all the Indian states and Union Territories (UT). Number of students selected by a State or UT is dependent on the proportional size and population of the state or UT. From Maharashtra, around 800 students are selected for Level II examination.
NTSE Examination comprises of two papers i.e.

a) Mental Ability Test (MAT) of 100 marks
b) Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) of 100 marks.

Level I of the examination follows State Board syllabus whereas Level II of the examination follows CBSE syllabus. SAT paper comprises of General Science (40 marks), Social science (40 marks) and Mathematics (20 marks).
NTSE level II examination is conducted for those students who qualify the first level. Around 13,000 students selected through Level I from all Indian states and UTs participate in Level II exam. About 2,000 students are selected nationally for scholarship for different stages of education as follows:

a) Scholarship of Rs. 1250/- per month for Class XI to XII.
b) Scholarship of Rs. 2000/- per month for Undergraduate and Post-Graduate.
c) Amount of Scholarship for Ph.D. is fixed in accordance with the UGC norms.