Ind-SAT 2020 was held online on July 22. Representational image/ file 

IND-SAT 2020: The first-ever Indian Scholastic Assessment Test, IND-SAT 2020 was conducted on July 22 under MHRD’s ‘Study in India’ programme. Nearly 5000 candidates from Nepal, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Sri-Lanka, Kenya, Zambia, Indonesia and Mauritius appeared for the proctored online exam conducted by the National Testing Agency.

Ind-SAT is held for granting scholarships and admissions to foreign students for studying in select Indian universities under the Study in India programme. The exam is designed to gauge the scholastic capability of students applying to study in India. The Ind-SAT scores will serve as a criterion to shortlist the meritorious students for the allocation of scholarships for undergraduate as well as postgraduate programmes under ‘Study in India’ programme.

The exam is a 90-minute online proctored test with multiple-choice questions. It is conducted in English and has the verbal ability, quant, logical reasoning as sub-sections with 40, 25, and 25 marks each. Every right answer gets one mark and there is no negative marking in the exam.

Study in India is a flagship programme of MHRD under which foreign students come to study in 116 select higher education institutions in the country for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. The selection of the students is based on their merit in class 12 / school-leaving exam.

Around 780 students had taken admission in the first year, which was increased to around 3,200 next year.