The National Board for Higher Mathematics (NBHM), Department of Atomic Energy, Anushakti Bhavan, C.S.M. Marg, Mumbai-400 001, has invited applications for the Written Test leading to the award of Doctoral and Master’s Scholarship Schemes 2026 for pursuing doctoral and master’s studies in Mathematics.

The scholarships are open only to Indian nationals and are administered through the scholar’s institution. It cannot be held concurrently with any other scholarship. The recipient must remain continuously enrolled in a qualifying PhD/Master’s programme.

The test is the first stage of a two-stage selection process for the award of scholarships for 2026. A single written test is used for both scholarships. Applicants may choose to be considered for either or both. Shortlists shall be drawn based on test performance, following which shortlisted candidates will be interviewed online. Final selection shall be based on performance in a written test and interview but may also rely on the applicant’s academic track record.

Eligibility for Doctoral Scholarship: Applicant must be enrolled in a qualifying PhD programme by September 2027 or must be already enrolled.

The doctoral scholarship is initially awarded for 4 years, subject to annual renewal based on satisfactory progress. It may be extended for one more year at NBHM’s discretion. Benefits include: Monthly stipend of Rs. 37,000/- for the first 2 years; Rs. 42,000/- thereafter (subject to review), Yearly contingency grant of Rs. 40,000/-; HRA as per Government of India norms; Maternity leave for women scholars subject to rules. For candidates who are (or have been) already in a PhD programme prior to August 2026, the tenure and benefits shall be suitably modified.

Eligibility for Master’s Scholarship: Applicant must be enrolled in a qualifying Master’s programme for 2026–27, and should not have previously drawn the NBHM Master’s Scholarship.

For Master’s, a monthly stipend Rs 8,000/- is payable for up to 2 years. For those already in the second year of a qualifying Master’s programme during 2026–27, the tenure is limited to one year. For those who enrol in the first year in 2026–27, continuation for second year is applicable, but is contingent on satisfactory progress in the first.

‘Qualifying Programme’ should be a recognised full-time programme offered by an accredited university or institution in India; and the name of the degree that it leads to should contain at least one of, Mathematics/ Statistics/ Mathematical Science(s). The ‘final year of a Master’s programme’ could mean the second year of a two-year Master’s programme, or the fifth year of a five-year Integrated Master’s programme, or the second year of an Integrated PhD programme.

The detailed Notification is available at https://www.imsc.res.in/~nbhm/

The Test will be held from 10.30 to 13.30 IST on Saturday, 24 January 2026. It assesses mathematical skills relevant to Master’s and Doctoral study. While there is no prescribed syllabus, question papers from 2005 onwards along with keys are available at https://www.imsc.res.in/~nbhm/. The pattern and level of difficulty of the test may however vary from those of previous editions.

Applicant should be (i) Currently enrolled or wanting to enrol by September 2027 in a qualifying PhD programme or (ii) Currently enrolled or wanting to enrol by August 2026 in a qualifying Master’s programme or (iii) Wanting to enrol during the academic year 2026–27 in a programme that uses the NBHM test scores for admission. Foreign nationals may also appear for the test although the Scholarships are open only to Indian nationals. The test scores serve purposes other than the Scholarships.

For selection purposes, the country is divided into 5 geographical zones, each led by a Zonal Coordinator. Contact information of these coordinators is provided in the Notification. Test will be held at the centres (Zone wise) listed in the Notification. The procedure for Short-listing, Interviews, and Final Selection is given in the Notification.

Application: Application can be submitted online at https://www.imsc.res.in/~nbhm/ latest by 23:59 hrs, IST on 21 December, 2025. Application fee is Rs. 400/- for a single scholarship (either Master’s or Doctoral) and Rs. 700/- for both scholarships.

Applicants will get an opportunity to request a centre change, challenge the key to published after the test, challenge their evaluation etc; during appropriate brief intervals of time, for a fee. The dates are given in the Notification.

The test scores are also used by select institutions to screen applicants for admission to their PhD / Integrated PhD/ Master’s programmes. They include (i) Harish-Chandra Research Institute (HRI) (ii) Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Berhampur; Bhopal, Mohali, Pune, Thiruvananthapuram (iii) Kerala School of Mathematics (KSoM) (iv) Krea University (Krea) (v) National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) (vi) The Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMSc). The manner in which these institutions use the scores should be ascertained from the institutions concerned directly. NBHM has no role in their selection process.