The Indian National Physics Olympiad (INPhO for short) is an Olympiad in Physics held in India. It is part of the selection process for the International Physics Olympiad.
The theory part of the INPhO examination is held in end-January/beginning February of every year. It is conducted by the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education. School students (usually of standards 11, 12) first need to qualify the National Standard Examination in Physics (NSEP) held in November of the preceding year. Among the 30,000+ students who sit for the NSEP, only the top 1% are selected for the INPhO.
About 1% students are selected from the written examination. Selected students have to then give a practical examination. A total of 30 students is selected from these to attend the International Physics Olympiad Training Camp (IPhOTC), held at HBCSE, Mumbai. The team for the International Physics Olympiad is selected based on a rigorous procedure of theory and practical examinations at the IPhOTC.
The physics Olympiad program follows the following 5 stages:
Stage I: National Standard Examination in Physics (NSEP), Stage II: Indian National Physics Olympiad (INPhO), Stage III: Orientation cum Selection Camp (OCSC)in physics, Stage IV: Pre-departure Training Camp (PDT)for IPhO, Stage V: Participation in International Physics Olympiad (IPhO).
Stage I: National Standard Examination in Physics (NSEP)
Eligibility for Stage 1(National Standard Examination in Physics (NSEP)
1) Must be an Indian citizen.
2. Date of birth between 1 July 2004 and 30 June 2009, both days inclusive.
3. Must not have completed (or scheduled to complete) class 12 board examination earlier than 30 November 2023.
4. Must not have commenced (or planning to commence) studies in a university or equivalent institution by 1 June, 2023.
5. Must not be appearing in NSEJS 2023
Examination dates for National Standard Examination in Physics (NSEP)
26 Nov 2023 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM
Syllabus : Same as Senior secondary
Stage II: Indian National Physics Olympiad (INPhO)
ELIGIBILITY FOR Indian National Physics Olympiad (INPhO)
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.
(a) 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.
(b) 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 11 score equal to or 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.
(c) 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 (www.iapt.org.in; olympiads.hbcse.tifr.res.in).
(d) 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: i. 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). 12 ii. 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. (e) Previous International Representation Clause: Candidates who have represented India in the International Olympiad on a previous occasion (IOAA, IBO, IChO, IJSO and IPhO) 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 first 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
(f) Minimum Total Number Clause: In each subject, after all the above criteria have been applied, it is possible that the target number of 300 students to be selected for INO is not reached (due to nonavailability of enough number of students in some states who satisfy Eligibility Clause (a)). In such an event, additional students will be selected purely merit-wise, provided Eligibility Clause (a) is satisfied, till the target number of 300 is reached. Other clauses will not apply for these students. In case of a tie at the last position, all students with the same marks at this position will qualify to appear for the INO Stage II examination.
The second stage in the selection process, the Indian National Olympiads in Physics (INPhO) will be organized by HBCSE in early 2024. These examinations will be held at about 18 centres in the country. The list of students selected for the INOs according to the criteria given below will be published by January 15, 2024 on the IAPT website: www.iapt.org.in All students appearing in INOs must register themselves on the HBCSE website (olympiads.hbcse.tifr.res.in) after the publication of the list in order to obtain their INO admit cards. This registration is mandatory for appearing in INO. Failure to register for INO will result in disqualification of the candidate for INO.
Examination dates for Indian National Physics Olympiad (INPhO)
4 Feb 2024 9 AM to 12:00 AM
Syllabus : Same as Senior secondary
Stage III: Orientation cum Selection Camp (OCSC)in physics,
On the basis of performance in the Indian National Olympiads students will be selected in each subject for the Orientation-Cum-Selection Camp (OCSC) in that subject. At these camps orientation is provided to students for Olympiad level of theoretical, experimental and observational (for astronomy) tasks. Emphasis is laid on developing conceptual foundations and problem-solving skills. Students are exposed to innovative experiments with focus on conceptual and procedural understanding in experimental science. In astronomy, students are trained in basic notions in astrophysics, astronomical data analysis and night sky observations.
Around 5 students will be selected from this camp to represent India in International Physics Olympiad (IPhO).
Pre-departure Training Camp (PDT)for IPhO
The selected Indian teams undergo a rigorous training programme at HBCSE in theory and experiment and in case of astronomy, observational astronomy prior to their departure for the international Olympiads. Special laboratories have been developed in HBCSE for this purpose. Resource persons from different institutions across the country are invited to the training camps. The maximum period of training may be limited in some subjects as per the statutes of the respective international Olympiads
Stage V: Participation in International Physics Olympiad (IPhO).
Finally the students with 2 teacher will participate in International Physics Olympiad (IPhO)
Tentative dates are July/dec 2024 All the information about Physics olympiad/syllabus/Past Papers can be obtained at the below link