National Mathematics Talent Contest
Mathematics talent search by AMTI for class 5 to 12
The National Mathematics Talent Contest (NMTC) is a mathematics problem-solving contest for school students, run every year by the Association of Mathematics Teachers of India (AMTI), a Chennai-based society founded in 1965. It is built around Olympiad-style questions rather than textbook exercises, and it has separate contests for Classes 5 and 6, Classes 7 and 8, Classes 9 and 10, and Classes 11 and 12.
This page explains how the contest works: who can take part, how schools register, the two stages, the topics asked, how students move from the first stage to the final, and what the awards are. Details that change every year are kept in labelled tables, and anything that could not be confirmed from an official AMTI document is marked as reported or tentative.
Table of Contents
NMTC at a Glance
Contest Levels and Eligible Classes
Important Dates
How Registration Works
Stages and Exam Pattern in Brief
Syllabus Summary
Selection, Results and Awards
Where NMTC Fits in the Olympiad Pathway
How to Prepare for NMTC
A Short Guide for Parents
Official Sources
NMTC at a Glance
Particular | Details |
|---|---|
Full name | National Mathematics Talent Contest (NMTC) |
Conducting body | Association of Mathematics Teachers of India (AMTI), Chennai |
Who can take part | School students of Classes 5 to 12 across boards; a separate Senior contest exists for degree-level students |
Medium | English only, at all levels |
Stages | Stage 1 (Preliminary Test) and Stage 2 (Final Test); the Senior level has the final test only |
Mode of registration | Through the school or institution; AMTI's circular states that individual registrations are not accepted |
Fee | Rs. 150 per candidate in AMTI's 2025-26 circular, the latest official one available for this page |
Stage 1 format | Objective paper of 2 hours, held in the school |
Stage 2 format | Subjective paper of 3 hours, held at an allotted centre |
Advancement | Top 10% of candidates at each level move from Stage 1 to Stage 2 |
Official website |
The numbering of the contest helps when you read older notices. The 57th NMTC ran in 2025-26, and the 58th NMTC is the 2026-27 cycle that is now close to its final stage.
Contest Levels and Eligible Classes
NMTC is organised by level, not by age. The class a student is studying in decides the contest. Each level is named after an Indian mathematician.
Level | Contest name | Classes | Stages |
|---|---|---|---|
Primary | Gauss Contest | Classes 5 and 6 | Stage 1 and Stage 2 |
Sub-Junior | Kaprekar Contest | Classes 7 and 8 | Stage 1 and Stage 2 |
Junior | Bhaskara Contest | Classes 9 and 10 | Stage 1 and Stage 2 |
Inter | Ramanujan Contest | Classes 11 and 12 | Stage 1 and Stage 2 |
Senior | Aryabhata Contest | Degree classes in arts, science and technical institutions | Final test only |
Some third-party pages swap the names Bhaskara and Ramanujan. AMTI's own circular gives Bhaskara to Classes 9 and 10 and Ramanujan to Classes 11 and 12, and that is the version used on this page. For a full explanation of who qualifies and what the circular says about boards and medium, see the NMTC eligibility criteria page.
Important Dates
AMTI follows a steady annual rhythm: registration closes around the start of July, Stage 1 is held in late August, Stage 2 in the last week of October, and final results come in December. The table below separates the dates in AMTI's official circular from the dates reported for the current cycle.
Event | 57th NMTC, 2025-26 (official circular) | 58th NMTC, 2026-27 (reported) |
|---|---|---|
Registration deadline | 1 July 2025 | July 2026; sources differ between 15 and 25 July, so confirm with your school |
Stage 1 (Preliminary Test) | 23 August 2025, 10 a.m. to 12 noon | 30 August 2026, 10 a.m. to 12 noon |
Stage 1 result | 4 September 2025 | 7 September 2026 |
Stage 2 (Final Test) | 25 October 2025, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. | 25 October 2026, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. |
Final result | First week of December 2025 | First week of December 2026 |
Prize distribution | AMTI Annual Conference, December 2025 | AMTI Annual Conference, December 2026 |
The 2026-27 dates come from coaching and education sites that quote AMTI's schedule, because the 2026-27 circular itself could not be opened for this page. Treat them as reported dates and check the notice your school received. Dates can change, and AMTI has said it does not send individual reminders. Track the official website and your school's circulars.
Where this cycle stands: as per the reported schedule, both stages were due to be completed by 25 October 2026, and the wait is for the final result and merit list in the first week of December. Recent cycles have closed registration in July, so schools usually start the process a few weeks earlier, but the dates for the next cycle have not been announced.
How Registration Works
A student does not apply directly. The school, junior college or other institution registers its students in a batch. The AMTI circular says individual registrations are not accepted, so a student who wants to take part should speak to the mathematics teacher or the principal well before the deadline.
The school completes the Data Consolidation Sheet and the Name List, in AMTI's prescribed format, online at the AMTI website.
The school pays the fee by NEFT, IMPS or another online transfer, using the bank details in the circular. Registration is not complete until payment is properly made.
AMTI confirms the registration on the registered email within about ten days. Schools are asked to apply early.
The school receives the Stage 1 question paper and response sheets by email and conducts the test on its own premises on the AMTI date.
Fee item | Amount in the 2025-26 circular |
|---|---|
Fee per candidate | Rs. 150 |
Portion the institution may claim for expenses | Rs. 25 per candidate |
Refund | Payments are non-refundable |
Extra fee for the final | None is mentioned in the circular |
Some pages mention an early-bird deadline and a late deadline for 2026. The 2025-26 circular only mentions a single deadline and says late entries may not be entertained, so do not count on a grace period.
Stages and Exam Pattern in Brief
Stage 1: Preliminary Test
Stage 1 is an objective test of 2 hours, with questions such as multiple choice and fill in the blanks. It is conducted by the school itself. The school evaluates the response sheets using the answer key that AMTI supplies soon after the test. AMTI describes the paper as roughly one-fifth moderate questions and four-fifths higher-order, Olympiad-style questions, which means that even strong school students should not expect to finish easily.
Stage 2: Final Test
Stage 2 is a subjective test of 3 hours. Students write full solutions, not just answers. AMTI says the questions follow the syllabus of the pre-regional, regional and national mathematical olympiads and the international olympiad. The Stage 1 selection certificate acts as the hall ticket.
Question counts, marks and negative marking are not given in the official circular, and secondary sources disagree on them. The NMTC exam pattern page lays out what is confirmed and what is only reported.
Syllabus Summary
AMTI publishes the syllabus as a cumulative list: each level includes the topics of the level below it and adds more. The topics below are a summary of the official list.
Level | Topics added at this level |
|---|---|
Primary (Classes 5 and 6) | Fractions, percentages, profit and loss, divisibility, LCM and HCF, ratio and proportion, calendar; triangles, quadrilaterals, circles; basic algebra; lines and angles |
Sub-Junior (Classes 7 and 8) | Roots, alligation, averages, time and work, time and distance, circular travel; solid mensuration; linear and quadratic equations, factorisation, indices, surds; Pythagoras' theorem; primes; logical problems |
Junior (Classes 9 and 10) | Higher-degree equations, remainder theorem, logarithms, sequences and series, number bases, induction, inequalities; circle theorems; modular arithmetic; counting, permutations and combinations, pigeonhole principle |
Inter (Classes 11 and 12) | Polynomials, Cauchy-Schwarz inequality, functional equations; trigonometry, vectors, coordinate geometry, complex numbers; Fermat's and Wilson's theorems, Diophantine equations; recurrence relations |
The full topic-by-topic list, with advice on where to start, is on the NMTC syllabus page.
Selection, Results and Awards
NMTC has no fixed pass mark. Advancement is rank-based: the top 10% at each level in Stage 1 are selected for the final, and names beyond that share are not accepted. The final result is a merit list prepared by AMTI. The circular also says AMTI may use interviews to decide merit for the final, that results are cross-checked, and that requests to change scores are not entertained. AMTI's decision is final.
Recognition | What the circular says |
|---|---|
First place at each final level | Cash prize of Rs. 5,000 and a merit certificate |
Second place | Cash prize of Rs. 2,500 and a merit certificate |
Third place | Cash prize of Rs. 1,250 and a merit certificate |
Other finalists | Merit certificate and Rs. 500 for those who show mathematical maturity |
Honorary Mention | For an elegant solution to a final-level question |
Enrichment | Contact courses may be offered to promising toppers |
More detail on how advancement and rank work is on the NMTC cut-off and results page.
Where NMTC Fits in the Olympiad Pathway
NMTC is a separate contest from the national mathematical olympiad programme that leads to the International Mathematical Olympiad, but the two overlap. AMTI sets its Stage 2 questions on the syllabus of the pre-regional, regional and national olympiads, so work done for NMTC carries over directly. A student in Classes 9 to 12 who prepares well for NMTC is also preparing for the olympiad screening papers. Younger students use NMTC to build the habit of writing proofs and reasoning step by step, which school exams rarely demand.
How to Prepare for NMTC
Because Stage 1 is mostly higher-order problems and Stage 2 asks for complete solutions, the best preparation is regular problem solving, not memorising formulas.
Build the base first: Finish the topics of your own level and the level below it, since the syllabus is cumulative.
Solve before you read the solution: Spend 15 to 20 minutes on a hard problem before checking the answer. The struggle is where the learning happens.
Practise writing: For Stage 2, write each solution in full, with reasons for every step, and then check whether a stranger could follow it.
Keep an error log: Note each mistake with its cause, such as a wrong idea, a calculation slip or a misread question.
Time yourself: Stage 1 gives 2 hours for 20 to 30 problems, so practise sets in that window.
For timed practice, you can attempt NMTC-style online tests on Testkart once they are available for this exam, and use the analysis to see which topics cost you marks. The NMTC mock tests page explains how to use practice papers in the weeks before Stage 1. Students who want to organise their revision can also look at the NMTC study notes guide.
A Short Guide for Parents
NMTC is a good fit for children who enjoy puzzles and mathematics, but it is not a school exam and there is no pressure to score high marks in the first attempt. Parents can help in four practical ways.
Talk to the school early: Registration happens through the school, so ask the mathematics teacher about the deadline and the fee collection process.
Choose steady practice: A few problems a day for several weeks works better than long sessions near the exam.
Keep expectations realistic: Only the top 10% move to the final, so a first attempt is mostly about learning how Olympiad questions work.
Use practice resources sensibly: Children can try a few timed sets on Testkart to get used to the format, but the main gain still comes from reviewing every mistake together.
Official Sources
For registration notices, circulars and results, use AMTI's own website and the notices your school receives. Do not depend on third-party summaries for dates or fees.
Official website: https://www.amtionline.com/
AMTI book list, which includes sample questions and problem-solving books: https://www.amtionline.com/booklist.html