Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, Mumbai

OLYMPIADS / YOUR NEXT CHAPTER

INMO — Indian National Mathematical Olympiad

Every proof starts with a possibility.

Explore the Indian National Mathematical Olympiad and its focus on mathematical reasoning.

Explore the pathway Official website ↗

StageMathematics olympiad pathway

Where it leadsProofs, reasoning & mathematical exploration

Conducting bodyHomi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE)

National olympiad programme setting; the image is not an admission guarantee.

Photo: Anto Libin · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Displayed with responsive cropping.

UNDERSTAND THE BIGGER PICTURE

Your pathway, at a glance.

Second stage of the Math Olympiad pathway, open to IOQM qualifiers. Top performers are invited to the IMO training camp.

Know the requirements

Check the eligibility and exam-cycle information published by the conducting body.

Build your preparation

Use the official syllabus and paper pattern to guide your study plan.

Explore what follows

Proofs, reasoning & mathematical exploration. Selection depends on the applicable programme rules.

ELIGIBILITY

Who can take this exam?

Eligibility

Open only to students who qualify through IOQM (or an equivalent state-level Olympiad route) in the same academic year — a limited number of top-ranked qualifiers per region are invited.

Academic requirements

IOQM (or equivalent) qualification in the same year, plus a strong grounding in Olympiad-level mathematics carried over from the qualifying stage.

APPLICATION

Make your application count.

Application process

Invitation-based — HBCSE issues admission directly to qualifiers; there is no separate open application.

PATTERN

Know what you are preparing for.

Exam pattern

A subjective, proof-based paper — typically around six problems requiring full written mathematical proofs rather than numerical answers, in a single long-duration sitting.

SYLLABUS

Build your subject foundation.

Syllabus

The same core areas as IOQM (Number Theory, Algebra, Geometry, Combinatorics), but at significantly greater depth and aligned with international-Olympiad-standard proof-writing.

PREPARATION

Prepare with a sense of direction.

Preparation strategy

Shift from answer-finding to rigorous proof-writing: study Olympiad-standard texts, practice writing complete proofs, and review past INMO/IMO shortlist problems under exam conditions.

Learning resources ↗Browse courses ↗Practice & assessments ↗

CHECK THE ORIGINAL SOURCE

Dates, notices & documents.

INMO 2026-27 (Stage 3) Exam DateCycle: 2026-272027-01-17

Full official noticeboard ↗Visit INMO — Indian National Mathematical Olympiad portal ↗

A FEW THINGS YOU MIGHT WONDER

Good questions. Clearer answers.

What is the exam pattern for INMO?

Six long-form, proof-based questions worth 17 marks each (102 total), answered over 4.5 hours — a very different, descriptive format from IOQM's objective test.

What is the path to INMO?

Students first take IOQM (Stage 1, objective/OMR), then the Regional Mathematical Olympiad (RMO, Stage 2, proof-based); only RMO qualifiers advance to INMO (Stage 3).

Does doing well in these Olympiads directly help my career or college admission?

Officially, no direct benefit is promised — HBCSE describes the Olympiad programme as intended 'to provide a stimulus to begin a career in science or mathematics' rather than a credential with guaranteed admission or job benefits, though some institutes do give Olympiad achievement favourable consideration in their own separate processes.

Can I compete for more than one subject Olympiad (Maths, Physics, etc.) in the same year?

You can appear in the qualifying stages of multiple subject Olympiads in the same year, but you can only go on to represent India internationally in one subject per year.

What happens after INMO if I do well?

Top performers (roughly the top several dozen) are invited to the International Mathematical Olympiad Training Camp (IMOTC), from which India's 6-member team for the IMO is eventually selected.