KVPY Exam 2022 (Discontinued): Selection Process combined with INSPIRE fellowship

Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY) is a national-level fellowship programme in the field of Basic Sciences. The KVPY Aptitude Test is conducted by the Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc), Bangalore every year.

Funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, the fellowship programme was launched in the year 1999. It aims to encourage students to take up research careers in Science. Under the programme, all the eligible students are offered scholarships and contingency grants until the pre-PhD level. 

There will be multiple-choice questions (MCQs) in the exam. The exam is conducted for a total of three hours.

Latest Updates:

• July 19, 2022: KVPY Exam cancelled from 2022 onwards, DST to club KVPY with INSPIRE fellowship

The KVPY 2021 exam was earlier scheduled to be conducted on November 7 but it got postponed after the Madras HC raised concerns over regional languages. The KVPY exam date was then shifted to January 9, but now, it has been conducted on May 22.

The KVPY application form 2021 was released on July 12 and the last date to register for the same was extended from August 25 till September 6.

KVPY eligibility has also been revised due to the prevailing circumstances due to coronavirus. The detailed eligibility requirements, as per the revised advertisement released on the official website of KVPY, have been mentioned below.

Also Read: Subject-wise KVPY Preparation Strategy

Last year, the KVPY Result was released on March 16, 2021, on the official KVPY website.

KVPY 2021 notification

The official website of KVPY states that the programme aims to assist the students in realising their potential while ensuring that the best scientific talent is groomed for research and development in the country. "Generous fellowship and contingency grants are provided to the selected KVPY Fellows up to the pre PhD level or 5 years, whichever is earlier. Besides, summer camps for the KVPY Fellows are organized in prestigious research and educational institutions in the country," it further reads.

Also Read: KVPY Aptitude Test: Advantages of the scholarship programme

Selection of the students is made from those studying in XI standard to 1^st year of any undergraduate Programme in Basic Sciences namely BSc/BS/BStat/BMath/Int. MSc/MS in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology having an aptitude for scientific research. Special groups / Committees are set up at IISc, Bangalore to screen the applications and conduct an aptitude test at various centres in the country. Based on the performance in the aptitude test, shortlisted students are called for an interview which is the final stage of the selection procedure. For receiving a fellowship, both aptitude test and interview marks are considered.

Empowerment initiative in the KVPY Fellowship Program

• A certain number of additional fellowships exclusively are awarded to students belonging to SC/ST community under the various streams as stated above.
• A certain number of fellowships under various streams as stated above will be operated exclusively for students under the category of Persons With Disability (Physically and Visually Challenged).

The KVPY exam has three streams:

• SA: Students pursuing Science and currently in Class 11^th
• SX: Students pursuing Science and currently in Class 12^th
• SB: Students pursuing a programme in Basic Science and currently in the first year of graduation

The KVPY Fellowships are offered to Indian Nationals who are willing to continue their higher education in India. The students intending to pursue/ those who are pursuing an undergraduate programme under the Distance Education scheme/correspondence course of any university, are not eligible to apply.

As a one-time measure, the KVPY eligibility criteria has been revised in view of the prevailing situation due to COVID-19.

Given below are the revised eligibility requirements that the students need to fulfil in order to apply for KVPY 2021:

KVPY Stream SA for Class 11

Due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation, as a one-time measure, students who have passed X Standard Board Examination and eligible to enrol in XI Standard (Science Subjects) during the academic year 2021-22, are eligible to appear for the aptitude test. The student should produce a study certificate of XI class once they are selected as a provisional KVPY fellow. Moreover, the fellowship of the students selected under this stream will be activated only if they join for an undergraduate course in Basic Science (B. Sc./B.S./B. Stat./B. Math./ Int. M.Sc./ Int. M.S.) in the academic year 2023-24 after having secured a minimum of 60% (50% for SC/ST & PWD) marks in aggregate in Science subjects in the XII Standard Board Examination. During the interim period of one year, they will be invited to the National Science Camp (Vijyoshi) and their travel expenses and local hospitality will be met by KVPY.

KVPY Stream SX for Class 12

Students enrolled in XII Standard (Science Subjects) during the academic year 2021–22 and aspiring to join undergraduate program in Basic Sciences (B.Sc./B.S./B. Stat./B. Math./ Int. M.Sc./ Int. M.S.) during the academic year 2022–23. The fellowship of the students selected under this stream will be activated only if they join for an undergraduate course in Basic Science (B.Sc./B.S./B. Stat./B. Math./ Int. M.Sc./ Int. M.S.) in the academic year 2022-23 after having secured a minimum of 60% (50% for SC/ST & PWD) marks in aggregate in Science subjects in the Class 12 standard Board Examination. 

KVPY Stream SB for UG (Undergraduate)

Due to prevailing COVID-19 situation, as one-time measure, students who have passed XII Board Examination and eligible to enroll in the 1st year of B. Sc./B.S./B. Stat./B. Math./ Int. M.Sc./ Int. M.S. during the academic year 2021–22 are eligible to appear for the aptitude test. The student should produce a study certificate of 1st year B. Sc./B.S./B. Stat./B. Math./ Int. M.Sc./ Int. M.S. once they are selected as a provisional KVPY fellow. Moreover, the fellowship of the students selected under this stream will be activated only if they join an undergraduate program in Basic Science (B. Sc./B.S./B. Stat./B. Math./ Int. M.Sc./ Int. M.S.) in the academic year 2021-22 and secured a minimum of 60% (50% for SC/ST & PWD) marks in aggregate in Science subjects in 1st year of B.Sc./B.S./B. Stat./B. Math./Int. M.Sc./Int. M.S.

• All India Rank List – General Merit and cut off marks:

  • Stream – SA (51.00 % and above)
  • Stream – SX (52.00 % and above)
  • Stream – SB (45.00 % and above)

  All India Rank List under Empowerment Initiative for SC/ST students in the KVPY Fellowship Program and cut off marks:

  • Stream – SA (40.00 % and above)
  • Stream – SX (40.00 % and above)
  • Stream – SB (32.00 % and above)

  All India Rank List under Empowerment Initiative for PWD students in the KVPY Fellowship Program and cut off marks:

  • Stream – SA (40.00 % and above)
  • Stream – SX (40.00 % and above)
  • Stream – SB (32.00 % and above)

KVPY 2021 registration commenced on July 12. The application forms were released on the official website of KVPY. The last date to apply for KVPY examination was August 25. The KVPY application process comprises 4 major steps as mentioned below:

1. KVPY 2021 registration
2. Filling KVPY 2021 application form
3. Upload photo and signature
4. Application fees payment

KVPY fellowship follows a two-stage selection process:

• Stage 1: Aptitude Test
• Stage 2: Personal Interview

Aptitude Test

All the candidates who meet the eligibility requirements are called to appear for the KVPY Aptitude Test which is conducted in both Hindi and English languages at different exam centres across the country. The KVPY aptitude test contains questions from Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Last year, the KVPY Aptitude Test was conducted successfully on November 3.

Interview

Basis the candidate's performance in the aptitude test, all the shortlisted candidates are called to appear for a round of interview which is the final stage of the selection process.

The combined performance of the KVPY aptitude test along with the interview will form the basis of the scholarship grant. But, due to COVID-19 outbreak, this year, no interviews will be conducted and the scholarship will solely be based on the aptitude test.

Candidates must know the KVPY exam pattern to get an insight into the marking scheme, difficulty level of exam, duration, among other things. They must go through the complete KVPY syllabus which varies with the stream of the exam. Students appearing for SA stream must go through their books covered till class 11, those appearing for SX stream need to cover the CBSE syllabus till class 12 while students applying for SB stream have to finish preparing from books till their first year of undergraduate course. Students can go through the KVPY preparation tips to strategise their studies. Solving and analysing KVPY previous years' question papers is very important to know the type of questions asked in the exam. Those who successfully manage to clear the two stages are awarded the prestigious fellowship. Candidates studying in Class 11^th to the 1^st year of any undergraduate programme in Basic Sciences can apply for KVPY exam, provided they meet the eligibility requirements.

Each KVPY Fellow will be issued an Identity Card for access to National Laboratories/ Universities which have agreed to extend special privileges such as the library, laboratory facilities, etc. to KVPY Fellows on the production of the ID card.

National Science Camp (Vijyoshi)

Vijyoshi is an annual national science camp in India organised by KVPY in collaboration with INSPIRE programme, IISc Bangalore and IISc Kolkata. The camps include lectures and discussion sessions.

The aim of the annual National Science (Vijyoshi) Camps is to provide a forum for interactions between bright young students and leading researchers in various branches of Science and Mathematics. These camps serve as an ideal platform for the young participants to get an exciting global viewpoint of questions relating to basic sciences as well as application-oriented themes.

The Vijyoshi Camp 2021 will be held from December 10 to 12, 2021, at Virtual camp, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore - 560012.

Who all can participate?

• KVPY Stream -SA (2019 and 2020 Students Provisionally awarded)
• KVPY Fellows (2019 SX and SB Students joined first-year Undergraduate in Basic science.)
• Selected Inspire Scholars from  NISER / IISERs / IIT's (first year BS /MS program joined in 2020-21)
• Students from IISc (first year BS program joined during 2020-21)
• Total number of participants expected to attend 2500

KVPY Aptitude Test 2021 will be held online in the following cities across India:

Provided below is the KVPY Exam Centres' list 2021 in the eastern and north-eastern zones:

Given below is the KVPY Exam Centres list for the West and Central Zones:

The KVPY Aptitude Test 2021 will be conducted in the following areas in the southern zone:

The KVPY Aptitude Test 2021 will be conducted in the following areas in the northern zone:

KVPY Syllabus 2021

IISc Bangalore does not prescribe any specific KVPY syllabus. KVPY exam is held to test the analytical ability and understanding of candidates rather than their factual knowledge. So students must cover all topics of Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology of class 10, 12 and 1st year of B.Sc., B.S., B.Stat., B.Math., Int. M.Sc. or M.S., depending on the stream they have applied for.

KVPY Exam Pattern 2021

Students must go through the KVPY exam pattern to get an idea about the number of questions asked, marking scheme, total marks, the medium of paper, duration, among other things.

KVPY Result 2021

The Indian Institute of Science Bangalore (IISc) has released the KVPY Result on June 24, 2022. The KVPY Result has been released on the official website of the institute and also the KVPY website along with the cutoff.

We at Shiksha interviewed the students to know the difficulty level of the KVPY 2019 exam and their preparation strategy. Below is the excerpt from one of the students who had appeared for the fellowship programme last year. Jasraj Juneja from Vishwa Bharati Public School, Noida, presently studying in Class 12^th with Physics, Chemistry and Biology, told us about his preparation strategy and what kept him motivated during the preparations for the KVPY exam. Read more below.

Q. Tell us something about yourself.

A. Hi, I am Jasraj Juneja of Vishwa Bharati Public School, Noida. I'm currently studying in class 12^th with PCM stream.

Q. How was the exam overall- easy, moderate or difficult?

A. I would say, the level of difficulty of the exam was between moderate to difficult. A few questions were direct while most of them were asked in a twisted way.

Q. How did you come to know about KVPY? What made you apply for it?

A. I came to know about the exam from my cousin who asked me to register for it. I thought of it as a practice (competitive) exam that would help me with JEE in the future.

Q. Did you manage to attempt all the questions?

A. No, I couldn't attempt all the questions because of negative marking. Also, I couldn't do it as there was time constraint.

Q. Did you take up any kind of coaching for the exam? If yes, how much did that help you?

A. I didn't take any kind of coaching for KVPY. All I did was self-study.

Q. When did you start preparing for KVPY and what kept you motivated throughout the preparation?

A. I started my preparation about two weeks prior to the exam and the only thing that kept me motivated was the fact that I'd gain at least some experience in competitive examinations.

Q. Would you like to share some tips with the aspirants of KVPY who will be appearing next year?

A. For aspirants who will be appearing for KVPY next year, I'd only say that they must practice sample papers that are available online. They would help a lot in understanding the type of questions asked while interlinking things together to be able to solve them accurately.

Q. How many marks are you expecting in KVPY this year? 

A. My paper didn't go 'great' but I'm expecting marks between 50 and 60, which are considered decent.

Q. Tell us something about your preparation strategy and daily routine for KVPY?

A. I tried to solve as many questions as I could, which ranged from JEE Mains to JEE Advanced as well as some KVPY papers that were available online.

Q. Which books did you refer for your preparation?

A. For my preparation, I referred to some FIITJEE and VMC modules, workbooks, guides etc. along with some solved papers online.

Q. Have you appeared for any other competitive exams?

A. This was my first time appearing in a competitive exam but I'm going to be appearing for JEE Mains (and maybe JEE Advanced) soon.

Q. How are you preparing for the next round of KVPY- interview?

A. As of now, I'm not able to focus a lot towards the Interview as I have my pre-boards in school but I intend to take some lessons online for the same.