# National Standard Examination in Physics (NSEP) (NSEP) — Shishya exam context

> Machine-readable context for National Standard Examination in Physics (NSEP), maintained by Shishya (https://shishya.in) — India's end-to-end free government exam preparation platform. All facts below are free to cite; link back to https://shishya.in/exams/NSEP. Human page: https://shishya.in/exams/NSEP

## Exam pattern
- Category: OLYMPIAD · national
- Questions: 60 · Total marks: 216 · Marks per question: 3.6
- Duration: 120 minutes
- Negative marking: −1 per wrong answer
- Languages offered: EN

## Eligibility & vacancies
- Age: 15–19 years (before category relaxation: OBC +3, SC/ST +5)
- Education: Students in Class 10, 11, or 12 who have not completed Class 12 board exams
- Approximate annual vacancies: 300
- Note: Must be Indian citizen; cannot have started university studies; serves as first stage for International Physics Olympiad selection
- Official portal: https://iapt.org.in (Indian Association of Physics Teachers (IAPT))

## Key dates
- 2026-08-01 — Centre registration start
- 2026-08-01 — Centre registration opens
- 2026-08-01 — NSEP 2026-27 centre registration opens
- 2026-08-20 — Centre registration end
- 2026-08-20 — Centre registration closes
- 2026-08-20 — Centre registration closes
- 2026-08-21 — Student enrolment start
- 2026-08-21 — Student enrollment opens

## Syllabus outline
### Mechanics (weight 0.3)
Newton's Laws & Friction · Work, Energy & Momentum · Fluids & Elasticity · Gravitation & SHM · Kinematics & Projectiles · Rotational Mechanics

### Electricity & Magnetism (weight 0.25)
Current Electricity & Circuits · Electrostatics · Electromagnetic Induction & AC · Magnetic Effects & Materials

### Thermal Physics (weight 0.15)
Heat Transfer & Calorimetry · Kinetic Theory & Thermodynamics

### Waves & Optics (weight 0.15)
Ray Optics · Wave Optics · Waves & Sound

### Modern Physics (weight 0.15)
Atomic & Nuclear Physics · Photoelectric Effect & Dual Nature · Semiconductors & Electronics

## Expected cutoffs (category-wise)
| Category | Expected Cutoff (Indicative) |
|----------|------------------------------|
| General | 75–85 marks (35–39%) |
| OBC | 68–78 marks (31–36%) |
| SC | 60–70 marks (28–32%) |
| ST | 55–65 marks (25–30%) |
| PwD | 53–63 marks (25–29%) |

**Guidance:**

- General-OBC gap typically ranges 4–7%, with SC/ST receiving additional 7–10% relaxation from General cutoffs; these are *qualification* thresholds for INPhO eligibility, not performance tier boundaries.
- Year-to-year shifts depend on paper difficulty (±5–8 marks common), candidate pool strength, and number of INPhO seats allocated—easier papers push cutoffs toward 40%, harder ones compress to 32–35% for General.
- High scorers (>150/216 or ~70%) enter INPhO contention regardless of category; the table reflects *minimum qualifying* cutoffs where category reservations apply most distinctly.

Full cutoff page: https://shishya.in/exams/NSEP/cutoff

## Free resources on Shishya for this exam
- Exam hub (mocks, PYQs, news, dates): https://shishya.in/exams/NSEP
- Full syllabus + free study notes: https://shishya.in/exams/NSEP/syllabus
- Category-wise expected cutoffs: https://shishya.in/exams/NSEP/cutoff
- Memory tricks & mnemonics: https://shishya.in/exams/NSEP/tricks
- How to crack it (strategy guide): https://shishya.in/exams/NSEP/guide
- Free day-by-day study plan (personal coach): https://shishya.in/coach
- Free AI tutor (22 Indian languages, no login): https://shishya.in/chat

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