Important
KVPY is no longer held. In July 2022 the Department of Science and Technology (DST) announced that KVPY would be subsumed into its INSPIRE programme, and the KVPY aptitude test has not been conducted from 2022 onwards. There is no direct exam successor: INSPIRE fellowships go to students based on results such as JEE, NEET, NTSE or International Olympiad medals, not on a separate KVPY-style test. Do not prepare for KVPY; check INSPIRE's current rules instead.
Overview
The Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY) was a national fellowship programme that encouraged school and early undergraduate students to take up research careers in basic science. It was funded by the Department of Science and Technology and the aptitude test was run by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru. The programme ran from 1999 until 2022.
Selected students received a fellowship and a contingency grant during their basic science studies, and a good KVPY result was also used for admission to institutions such as IISc and the IISERs.
According to ThePrint, DST took the decision on the advice of an empowered committee, citing the high cost of running the test, exam stress and fees for families, and the small number of fellowships (about 300 a year) it produced. Students who already held a KVPY fellowship kept receiving it on the original terms. The official KVPY website could not be read for this page, so the details below come from secondary reports and describe the exam as it was in its final years.
Who could apply
The test had three streams, each tied to the student's year of study:
| Stream | Who it was for |
|---|---|
| SA | Students in Class 11 |
| SX | Students in Class 12 |
| SB | Students in the first year of an undergraduate science degree |
Two older streams for later undergraduate years (SP basic sciences and SP medicine) had been dropped around 2012-13.
Exam pattern
The aptitude test was a 3-hour multiple-choice test, offered in English and Hindi, covering Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology. It was out of 100 marks for every stream. The figures below describe the 2021 cycle.
| Feature | SA stream | SB and SX streams |
|---|---|---|
| Part I | 60 questions (15 per subject), 1 mark each | 80 questions (20 per subject), 1 mark each; answer any 3 of the 4 subjects |
| Part II | 20 questions (5 per subject), 2 marks each | 40 questions (10 per subject), 2 marks each; answer any 2 of the 4 subjects |
| Choice | All questions compulsory | Subject choice within each part |
| Negative marking | 0.25 in Part I, 0.5 in Part II | 0.25 in Part I, 0.5 in Part II |
| Total | 100 marks | 100 marks |
Unusually for an Indian science test, KVPY required both Mathematics and Biology. In earlier years shortlisted candidates also faced an interview, but there was no interview in the 2021 cycle.
After the exam
Selected fellows received a monthly fellowship and an annual contingency grant while studying a basic science course. Wikipedia lists ₹5,000 a month and ₹20,000 a year during undergraduate study, rising to ₹7,000 a month and ₹28,000 a year at postgraduate level, in the programme's final years.
Is KVPY still held?
No. DST announced in July 2022 that KVPY would be merged into INSPIRE, and the KVPY aptitude test has not been held from 2022 onwards. INSPIRE does not run a replacement test of its own.
What happened to students who already had a KVPY fellowship?
ThePrint reported that existing KVPY fellows continue to receive their fellowship on the terms under which it was awarded.
Are KVPY past papers still useful?
They can still be useful practice for science olympiads and entrance tests for research institutes, since they tested problem solving in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology. They will not lead to a KVPY fellowship.