What is the KVPY Entrance Exam? Should You Take It?
KVPY or the “Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana”, is an initiative of the Government of India which is a program introduced by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), in the year of 1999. This program was introduced in consideration of the students who were studying Basic Sciences, to encourage them to take a research career in Science. The aim of the KVPY program is to identify talented and motivated students, and thus encourage them to pursue a career in science and research.
KVPY provides assistance to the students to help them realize the potential and capabilities that they possess so that their scientific talent can be well-groomed for research and development in the country. The selected KVPY fellows are benefitted from generous fellowships offered monthly and annual grants up to the extent of their pre PhD level or 5 years, whichever is earlier.
Moreover, summer camps are also organized for the KVPY Fellows, which are often organized in various prestigious research and educational institutions in the nation.
The Department of Science and Technology (DST) has entrusted the overall responsibility for organizing and running of KVPY Programmes to the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and has set up a Management Committee and a National Advisory Committee (NAC) to keep a check on the implementation of the program. The core committee thus formed is entitled to the responsibility to look after both the day-to-day and academic aspects of the KVPY Program.
The KVPY entrance exam details are provided below;
The KVPY examination consists of two stages, which are divided into an Online Aptitude Test (Science and Math), organized in the month of November. And, the other stage is the Interview, which is generally organized for those qualified in the first stage and is organized in the month of January- February. A highlight of this examination and the KVPY program is that it is only available for those students who belong to the field of science.
The KVPY examination does not have any specified syllabus mentioned by KVPY, rather it aims to examine one’s analytical ability and aptitude of his/her in the field of science. Moreover, the syllabus is often similar to that from standard 10th/12th or 1st year of B.S./ B.Sc./ B.Math./B.Stat./M.S./Int. M.Sc. Keeping this under consideration, the examination is conducted in 3 divisions, namely
- SA: for the students studying in 11th standard, science stream
- SX: for the students studying in 12th standard, science stream
- SB: for the students studying in the 1st year of B.S./ B.Sc./B.Math./B.Stat./M.S./Int. M.Sc.
Each of these streams includes questions from Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology, and Physics, and is generally conducted via online mode. The applicants get to choose the language in which they want to appear for this multiple-choice questions (MCQs) type examination, available in two languages: Hindi and English.
Even though the syllabus of the KVPY aptitude test is not specified, there is uniformity in the examination pattern followed every year. The applicant must prepare for the examination from the syllabus of the standard he/she is studying in, to qualify for the examination.
A student, who has successfully qualified for the KVPY aptitude test as well as the interview, becomes eligible for the fellowship. This helps him/her to continue their education in the science stream and also motivates them to contribute to research projects in the subjects which are related to basic sciences. The students are provided with an identity card which helps them with the benefit of getting access to the national laboratories/ universities that have agreed to expand their special privileges such as the library, laboratory facilities, etc to the KVPY fellows.
Also, the students receive a fellowship every month and also contingency grants each year.
For details of the fellowship given:
| Basic Sciences | Fellowship (Monthly) | Contingency Grant (Annually) |
| SA/SX/SB- during 1st-3rd years of B.SC./B.S./ B. Stat./ B. Math/ Integrated M. Sc./ M.S. | INR 5,000 | INR 20,000 |
| SA/SX/SB- During M. Sc./ 4th-5th years of Integrated M. Sc./ M.S./ M. Math/ M. Stat | INR 7,000 | INR 28,000 |
It is necessary that a student maintains a certain level of marks or the first class, to keep the fellowship ongoing in the subsequent years. Also, they have to pass every subject which is included in the curriculum of a particular year. The Dean or the Head of the institution of that particular academic institution is given the responsibility for certifying the marks/grades of the applicants.
If an applicant fails to score an aggregate of 60% (50% for SC/ St/ PWD) or equivalent grade points, then his/ her fellowship will be terminated. Each applicant receives the benefits of the fellowship up to their pre- PhD level or 5 years, whichever is completed earlier. But this requires a certain criterion that each fellow is able to score the prescribed marks. The fellowship of a student will be forfeited if he/she chose to retire from the field of basic sciences.
Thus, if a student is enthusiastic about research and wants to build a successful career in that particular line, he/she must appear for the KVPY fellowship examination. Also, the students can refer to the NCERT textbooks while preparing for the examination, as these books intend to deliver a thorough explanation of the concept.
KVPY benefits a well enthusiastic student with various opportunities and also scholarships, which are given from the 1st year onwards as mentioned above. Moreover, a KVPY scholar gets free access to all National libraries in the country, and the chance to attend every science camp. Thus, having a qualification and the experience of attending an interview will also help the student in his/her future, whether selected or not. Hence, KVPY is a good choice for the students who belong to the science stream.
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