Overview
The Mathematical Olympiad Programme in India, which leads to the participation of Indian students in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is organized by the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE) on behalf of the National Board for Higher Mathematics (NBHM) of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Government of India. This programme is one of the major initiatives undertaken by the NBHM. Its main purpose is to spot mathematical talent among pre-university students in the country.
For the purpose of training and selection of students for the Olympiad contest several regions all over the country have been designated and each assigned a Regional Coordinator. Additionally, two groups of schools: Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNV) and Kendriya Vidyalayas (KV) are also treated as separate regions and have a ‘Regional Coordinator’ each.
Official website: https://olympiads.hbcse.tifr.res.in/
- Stage 1: Indian Olympiad Qualifier in Mathematics(IOQM)
- Stage 2: Regional Mathematical Olympiad (RMO)
- Stage 3: Indian National Mathematical Olympiad (INMO)
- Stage 4: Pre-Departure Camp
- Stage 5: International Mathematical Olympiads (IMO)
Important Dates 2026
- June 01, 2026 (Monday) – June 29, 2026 (Monday)
Centre Registration - June 01, 2026 (Monday) – July 25, 2026 (Saturday)
Student Enrollment at Centre - June 29, 2026 (Monday) – July 25, 2026 (Saturday)
Online Student Enrollment - September 06, 2026 (Sunday)
Examination Day
Syllabus
https://olympiads.hbcse.tifr.res.in/how-to-prepare/syllabus/#uagb-tabs__tab6
Official Updates Feed
Eligibility criteria for IOQM
- Students born between August 1, 2007 and July 31, 2014 , and studying in Class 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12, are eligible to write IOQM 2026. Please note that NO student born on or after August 1, 2014 will be allowed to write IOQM 2026.
- The students must be eligible to hold Indian passport. Provisionally, students with OCI cards are eligible to write the IOQM 2026 subject to conditions as explained below:
As per the orders of the Madras High Court, students with OCI status will not be eligible for selection to the Indian team in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO), Asian Pacific Mathematics Olympiad (APMO). However, such students are provisionally eligible for selection at ALL prior stages, up to and including the International Mathematical Olympiad Training Camp (IMOTC) and the European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad Training Camp (EGMOTC) provided they fulfil all other criteria. They are also provisionally eligible to write the selection tests at the IMOTC and EGMOTC. This policy is subject to revision without prior notice depending on any further orders issued by the courts, or by a competent Government authority. - The student must be residing and studying in India since 30 October 2024 or earlier
OR
must be studying in an Indian school system since 30 October 2024 or earlier.
If the student is residing abroad and is studying in an Indian school system then the student will have to come to India to write IOQM 2026 and the examinations of the subsequent stages (i.e Regional Mathematical Olympiad (RMO) 2026 and Indian National Mathematical Olympiad (INMO) 2027) in case s/he qualifies for these examinations. The student will be regarded as one who has enrolled from the Delhi-NCR and the same selection criteria for RMO 2026 and INMO 2027 will apply to him/her as for any student residing and studying in India who has enrolled from Delhi-NCR. The student will have to bear the expenses for the onward journey to India and the return journey from India. - The student must NOT have qualified (or scheduled to appear) class 12 board examination earlier than 30 October, 2026. Please note that forfeiture of class 12 board examination results in order to meet eligibility criteria of IOQM 2026 is NOT ALLOWED and any student adopting such a means will be DISQUALIFIED from the IOQM 2026.
- The student must NOT have commenced (or planning to commence) studies in a university or equivalent institution by 1 June, 2027.
- The INMO 2026 Awardees are eligible to write INMO 2027 directly WITHOUT qualifying through IOQM 2026 and RMO 2026 provided they fulfil the age criteria mentioned in point no.1, they haven’t commenced (or planning to commence by June 1, 2026) studies in a university or equivalent institution and they fulfil the eligibility criteria for IMO 2027 and EGMO 2028. Please note that the OCI students are not eligible to represent India in IMO 2027 and EGMO 2028.
- For the eligibility criteria for IMO 2027 please refer to
https://imof.co/students-alumni/how-can-i-compete-at-an-imo/. - Eligibility criteria for EGMO 2028:
A country’s contestants should normally be citizens or residents of that country, and should be selected through that country’s national Mathematical Olympiad or equivalent selection programme. Contestants must have been born less than twenty years before 1 April in the year of participation at the EGMO. Contestants must have been normally enrolled in full-time primary or secondary education on or after 1 December in the year prior to the EGMO, or, in the case of home-schooled students, must not have received a high-school diploma (or equivalent), and must be working toward such a credential on 1 December.
- For the eligibility criteria for IMO 2027 please refer to
- It will be the responsibility of the student to ensure that the above eligibility criteria are satisfied. In case it is found at any later stage of the programme that a student does not meet the eligibility criteria, he or she may be disqualified from the programme.
Selection criteria for RMO
Criteria for qualification from IOQM 2026 to RMO 2026
- A student has to score at least 10% of the total marks of the IOQM 2026 paper in order to be eligible to appear for RMO 2026 but this is NOT the sole qualifying criterion.
- Any student who has scored at least 10% of the total marks of the IOQM 2026 paper and enrolled for IOQM 2026 as a student of one of the classes 8,9,10,11 will be classified as a Category A student.
- Any student who has scored at least 10% of the total marks of the IOQM 2026 paper and enrolled for IOQM 2026 as a student of class 12 will be classified as a Category B student.
- The list of students who qualify for the RMO 2026 will be prepared according to the following rule:
- From each region (list of regions: https://www.mtai.org.in/rmo-region-codes/)
- the top 200 students from Category A will qualify for RMO 2026 along with those tied in the 200th position;
- the top 40 students from Category B will qualify for RMO 2026 along with those tied in the 40th position;
- 5 additional girl students from Category A irrespective of the number of girl students qualifying in the top 200 students from Category A will qualify for RMO 2026 under Girls’ quota along with those girls tied in the 5th position.
- There is no separate Girls’ quota for Category B. A girl student of Category B can qualify for RMO 2026 from IOQM 2026 if and only if she is selected among the top 40 students in Category B as described in the previous section (point 4(a)ii. above).
- any overseas student eligible to write IOQM 2026 will not be counted for generating cutoffs of the region from where s/he appears for IOQM 2026.
- From each region (list of regions: https://www.mtai.org.in/rmo-region-codes/)
Stage 1 : IOQM
The first stage examination, the Indian Olympiad Qualifier in Mathematics(IOQM) (Previously PRMO) is a three hour examination with 30 questions. The answer to each question is either a single-digit number or a two-digit number and will need to be marked on a machine-readable OMR response sheet. The IOQM question paper will be in English and Hindi.
Official website: https://ioqm.mtai.org.in/
Syllabus for Mathematical Olympiad
The syllabus may be found here.
Sample/Previous Years’ IOQM questions can be downloaded from here.
Queries regarding IOQM may be sent by email to ioqm@mtai.org.in or alternatively you can visit: https://www.mtai.org.in/
Queries will not be replied to individually, but via the FAQ section on this website.
Stage 2: RMO
The second stage examination, the Regional Mathematical Olympiad (RMO) is a three-hour examination with six problems. The RMOs are offered in English, Hindi and other regional languages as deemed appropriate by the respective Regional Coordinators. The problems under each topic involve a high level of difficulty and sophistication.
INMOTC
The Indian National Mathematical Olympiad Training Camps (INMOTC) are held at regional levels where students are trained for the INMO.
Stage 3: INMO
The best-performing students from the RMO qualify for the third stage – the Indian National Mathematical Olympiad (INMO). The INMO is held on the third Sunday of January across the country.
Stage 4: IMOTC
The top students from the INMO (approximately 65) are invited for the fourth stage, the International Mathematical Olympiad Training Camp (IMOTC) held at HBCSE (or any other institute in India) from April to May. At this camp, orientation is provided to students for the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). Emphasis is laid on developing conceptual foundations and problem-solving skills. Several selection tests are held during this camp. On the basis of performance in these tests, six students are selected to represent India at the IMO. Resource persons from different institutions across the country are invited to the training camps.
PDC (Pre-Departure Camp for IMO):
The selected team of 6 students undergoes a rigorous training programme for about 8-10 days at HBCSE prior to its departure for the IMO.
Stage 5: IMO
This is the final stage where the Olympiad program concludes with the participation of the Indian students in the IMO. The six students are accompanied by four teachers or mentors.
Duration of Examination
Duration of Examination of IOQM:-
Time: 3 Hours
Max Marks: 100
Question numbers: 30
Duration of Examination of RMO:-
Time: 3 hours
Maximum marks: 102
Question numbers: 6
Duration of Examination of INMO:-
Time: 4.5 hours
Maximum marks: 102
Question numbers: 6
Mode of Examination
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