Indian Association of Physics Teachers [IAPT]: Olympiad Programme in Physics

The Olympiad programmes in physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy (junior and senior level) and junior science will be a five stage process for each subject separately. The first stage for each subject will be organized by the Indian Association of Physics Teachers (IAPT). All the remaining stages will be organized by the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE).

Physics
The International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) is an annual event, which is held in the month of June - July in a different country every year. This activity has been conducted regularly for the past 37 years. However, India began to participate in the IPhO only recently - since 1998. It is hoped India's participation in the IPhO will boost the level of science education in the country. The physics olympiad programmes in India aim to promote excellence in physics at the pre-university stage and to select and train participants for the IPhO.

Stages
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 is entirely the responsibility of IAPT. All the remaining stages are organized by the HBCSE.

The detailed information about eligibility and structure of the stages is given below:

Stage I: National Standard Examination in Physics (NSEP)
NSEP is the first stage of selection of students in the physics 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 NSEP. NSEP will be held at a large number of centres in the country.
Eligibility:
All Indian students of Class XI or Class XII (Science stream) and born after December 31, 1989 are eligible to appear for NSEP. 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 NSEP 2008.
It is the student's responsibility to ensure that the eligibility criteria are satisfied. In case at any stage of the program it is found that the student does not satisfy the eligibility criteria, he/she may be disqualified from the program.
Syllabus:
The syllabus for NSEP is broadly equivalent to the senior secondary level (Class XI and Class XII) of CBSE Physics. This is only a rough guideline, and there is no detailed syllabus given for NSEP.

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

All students who qualify to appear for INPhO, will get a certificate of merit from IAPT.

Stage II: Indian National Physics Olympiad (INPhO)

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

Eligibility: Only students selected from Stage I examination (NSEP) are eligible to appear for INPhO.

Syllabus : The syllabus for INPhO is broadly similar to NSEP but the difficulty level of the questions will be higher.
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 INPhO, the top 35 students in the merit list will be selected for Stage III: Orientation Cum Selection Camp (OCSC) in physics.
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 criteria or provision for selection to OCSC.

Stage III: Orientation Cum Selection Camp (OCSC) in Physics

OCSC in physics will be organized by HBCSE sometime in April to June 2009 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 (INPhO) 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 (NSEP and INPhO) will not be a consideration for the merit list and awards of the OCSC.
The top 5 in the OCSC physics 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 5 special merit awardees in physics selected at the end of the OCSC constitute the 5 member student team for the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO), provided they satisfy the required criteria such as age limit, holding valid Indian passports, medical fitness, parental consent, etc.

Stage IV: Pre-departure Training (PDT) Camp for IPhO
The selected 5 member Indian team undergoes a rigorous training programme at HBCSE in theory and experiment. Special laboratories have been developed at HBCSE for the purpose. Resource persons from HBCSE and different institutions across the country are invited to train the students.

Stage V: Participation in International Physics Olympiad (IPhO)
The 5 member student team, 2 teacher leaders and 1 scientific observer constitute the delegation to represent India at the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO). The 40th IPhO is to be held in Mexico tentatively in July 2009.

http://olympiads.hbcse.tifr.res.in/subjects/physics/stages/stages