TCS NQT Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Eligibility, Important Dates

NQT is a set of variants, each bought separately and each giving its own score.

• English only.
• No negative marking.
• In-centre only, at TCS iON centres across India. No at-home option.
• A free psychometric test on workplace personality comes with every purchase.
• In a bundle, all variants are sat in the same session, possibly on different dates, with slots that don't overlap.

TCS iON doesn't say how many questions there are, how long each section runs or how long the whole test takes. The format changed at the March 2024 cycle, and scores from before it don't count in best-score comparison, so older pattern descriptions are out of date.

TCS iON describes what each variant covers but publishes no topic-by-topic syllabus.

IT is the cognitive material plus advanced IT programming in one sitting; its prep pack includes 150 or more hours of an IT Foundation course. Non Tech covers general quantitative, verbal and mental ability. BFSI tests skills for banking, financial services and insurance roles, though TCS iON says every variant's score applies to all industries.

Any stream or degree can sit any variant. Someone who graduated in 2021 is outside the window.

The score doesn't entitle you to anything. Each company sets its own degree, branch, percentage and passing-year rules and reads whichever parts of the scorecard it needs, and the final selection is the recruiter's.

1. Buy a variant on the TCS iON NQT page with Buy Now, or Activate Now if you have a licence code. Each variant is a separate purchase.
2. Sit it at the centre named on your hall ticket.
3. Get your score by email, or download it from View Past Results. It shows every section.
4. Apply to companies yourself. TCS iON doesn't arrange interviews and shares your score only with companies you've applied to, when they ask. Quote your registration number and score on their portals, or use the TCS iON Job Listing Portal (score holders only, profile 100 per cent complete).
5. The company's own process follows, interview or not.

If you miss the test or don't finish it for reasons of your own, there's no refund and no retest. Anyone caught in malpractice is barred for 1 year.

NQT is a test, not an employer, so there's no pay scale. Pay is set by whoever hires you. TCS iON markets the IT variant for roles paying 3 LPA to 8 LPA. Its 19 LPA figure is the highest single package it reports, not a typical one. The companies it names as reading the score include TCS, TVS Motor, Jio Platform and Asian Paints, across industries such as IT, BFSI, FMCG and EdTech, for roles from software developer and cloud engineer to sales executive and HR specialist.

Applying is a purchase on the TCS iON NQT page: no form scrutiny and no fee waiver.

Prices include taxes and are promotional, so check the live page. Learning content and practice tests can be bought on their own, without the e-form. Buying them twice gets you nothing new and no refund.

1. Click Buy Now or Activate Now, then log in to the TCS iON Digital Learning Hub or sign up.
2. Fill in your details and mode of assessment.
3. Pay, or enter a licence code from your college or company. Partners buy codes at a discount, so ask your placement cell first.
4. Repeat for each extra variant.

Applications close 10 to 15 days before the first exam date of each cycle. Until then you can edit or add tests through My Products under My Dashboard; after it the form locks.

TCS iON, a unit of Tata Consultancy Services, conducts the test and publishes the score. Your account, purchases, hall tickets, scorecards and job applications all sit on the TCS iON Digital Learning Hub.

On TCS iON's figures the score is read by 4,000 or more corporates, and 60 or more have hired through it. The current list of corporates is on the TCS iON NQT page. TCS is one of them, but an NQT score isn't an application to TCS; its own drives are on TCS India careers.

The test is held only at TCS iON authorised centres across India. You don't pick a venue: TCS iON allots one, and the date, time and centre arrive on your hall ticket two days before. Cycle dates are on the TCS iON NQT page.

There's no annual calendar. Tests run every 2 to 4 weeks, and applications for each cycle close 10 to 15 days before its first exam date. The hall ticket comes 2 days before the test. The current test date and apply-before date are on the TCS iON NQT page.

The hall ticket is emailed 2 days before the test, but only after you've paid or activated a code. It can't be transferred or used for a later sitting. If it hasn't arrived, contact TCS iON through Live Chat or the Help Desk. You can also download it from the TCS iON NQT page.

Your scorecard is emailed after the test and can be downloaded from View Past Results on the TCS iON NQT page. It shows each section, stays valid for 2 years, and only your best score is shown. Scores from before March 2024 aren't counted in that comparison.

There's no cut-off and no pass or fail. TCS iON gives a score, and each employer decides which levels it accepts, often section by section. Company-wise cut-offs you see online don't come from TCS iON. Check the TCS iON NQT page for the companies that accept the score.

Pick the right variant

Cognitive covers numerical, reasoning and verbal ability. IT adds advanced programming and is the one for software roles; buying Cognitive and then applying for developer jobs wastes a sitting. The programming half is what the extra ₹ 400 buys.

Answer everything

There's no negative marking, so leave nothing blank. And prepare in English, the only language offered.

Cover the less usual topics

Elementary statistics, propositional and visual-spatial reasoning, and appropriate usage in English are all named, and general aptitude books often skip them.

Use the official practice

Every purchase includes 1 free practice test and 30 or more hours of basic cognitive course. There's also a free sample test on the NQT page before you buy.

Plan around the closing date

If you start looking a week before a test, you've missed that cycle.

Apply once you have the score

A score in your inbox does nothing. Apply to companies directly, quoting it. Retaking is fine, since only your best score shows.

No previous year papers are available. TCS iON doesn't publish past NQT papers.

The official practice is a free Take a Sample Test link on the TCS iON NQT page, a free practice test with every purchase, and paid packs (2 practice tests at ₹ 198, 60+ hours of learning content at ₹ 349). The IT prep pack adds the IT Foundation course. Question sets sold elsewhere don't come from TCS iON, and anything from before March 2024 describes the old format.

• TCS iON NQT page: variants, prices, test and apply-before dates, hall ticket, past results, sample test and the list of corporates
• TCS iON: the Digital Learning Hub with your account and My Dashboard
• NQT candidate login: view or edit your application before the closing date
• TCS India careers: TCS's own hiring drives, separate from this test

Is this TCS's campus recruitment test?

No. TCS iON runs it and TCS is one of many companies that reads the score. TCS's own drives are on TCS India careers.

Is there negative marking?

No.

Can I take it from home?

No, only at a TCS iON centre.

What's the cut-off?

There isn't one. Each employer decides what score it accepts.

How long is my score valid?

2 years from the result.

Can I retake it?

As often as you like, paying each time. Your best score counts.

Will TCS iON get me an interview?

No. You apply to companies yourself.

What if I miss the test?

No refund and no retest. Buy a later cycle.