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Olympiad

IOQM

Indian Olympiad Qualifier in Mathematics

HBCSE Stage-1 for the Indian math olympiad chain (RMO → INMO → IMOTC → IMO). 30 questions in 3 hours, integer answers 00–99, no calculus.

30 Qs100 marks180 minNegative: None📅 Dates & updates📋 Full syllabus🎯 Expected cutoff🧠 Tricks & mnemonics📖 How to crack it🔁 Mistake Notebook

🏁 IOQM is done. What next?

  • 🔑 Answer key: 6 Sept (expected)
  • 📊 Result: 15 Oct (expected)
🎯 What score qualifies

➡️ Next exam in your track: SOF IGKO on 22 Sept (official)

Alert me when the answer key or result is out

How was the paper?

13 students rated this paper: 15% easy, 69% moderate, 15% tough

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🎓 Preparing for IOQM? Get a free day-by-day plan to exam day. Rebuilt every morning around what you actually did — miss a day, nothing is lost.Build my plan →
~900 vacancies(indicative / typical)✓ Verify on Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE) ↗

Updated 31 Aug 2026 ·Vacancy counts change every cycle — always confirm the exact number in the latest official notification before applying.

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Source: official exam authority notification · refreshed weekly. How this works →

Free IOQM preparation on Shishya

Take expert-curated mocks, practise previous year papers, and Ask Shishya when you're stuck — verified by students who cleared the same path. All free, no credit card. Sign in with Google to begin.

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✦ Try a IOQM question — free, no signup

How many real solutions does the equation |x − 2| = |x + 1| have?

Tap an option to check your answer.

Start with a diagnostic

10 questions across the syllabus to see where you stand.

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One email when the official result is out, nothing else.

🧩 Build your own mock — pick exact topics → · every mock readable in हिंदी + 12 languages inside the test

IOQM eligibility

Verified against the official notification. Source ↗ · last reconciled 2026-05.

Education
Currently studying in Class 8-12 in a recognised Indian school.
Attempts
One attempt per academic year (per cycle).
Nationality
Indian citizen, OCI, or studying in Indian schools.

IOQM cutoffs

Historical cutoffs are a guide, not a prediction. Use them to set a realistic target, not to predict next year's exact number.

IOQM cutoff (qualifying for RMO)

out of 100 marks

HBCSE picks ~25 students per region per class for RMO. Cutoffs vary by region and year — figures here are representative of metropolitan regions.

YearCategoryCutoff
2024Class 12 students (Top ~1,200)~50 – 55
2024Class 11~45 – 50
2024Class 9-10~35 – 45
2024Class 8~25 – 35

Source: official ↗ · verified 2026-05.

IOQM paper analysis — what actually got asked

Topic-by-topic weightage averaged across 2022-2024 papers. Use this to decide where to invest study hours, not where to skim. Source ↗ · verified 2026-05.

Number Theory

25/100 marks avg

  • Divisibility + modular arithmetic + Diophantine equations

    ~25 marks(25%)

Algebra

22/100 marks avg

  • Polynomials + functional equations + inequalities (AM-GM, Cauchy-Schwarz)

    ~22 marks(22%)

Combinatorics

24/100 marks avg

  • Counting + pigeonhole + graph theory basics

    ~24 marks(24%)

Geometry

22/100 marks avg

  • Euclidean geometry (triangles, circles, similarity, power of a point)

    ~22 marks(22%)

Other

7/100 marks avg

  • Estimation, integer answer (TITA) format

    ~7 marks(7%)

Takeaways for prep planning

  • IOQM is integer-answer (TITA) format — no negative marking, no partial credit. Either you solve, or you don't.
  • Number theory and combinatorics are the two highest-yield areas — they cover ~50% of marks but only ~30% of standard JEE Math prep.
  • Standard NCERT/CBSE Math does NOT prepare you for IOQM. Use Pranesachar's Challenges + Mathematics Olympiad books + AoPS resources.

IOQM — Frequently asked questions

Is Shishya free for IOQM preparation?
Yes. Every IOQM mock test, previous-year paper, and study tool on Shishya is completely free — no subscription and no credit card. Shishya is community-verified, so questions are checked by students and educators who have cleared the same exam.
How many IOQM practice questions does Shishya have?
Shishya has 86 student-verified IOQM practice questions, available as adaptive mock tests with a worked solution for every question.
Are IOQM previous year question papers available?
Yes. Shishya has free IOQM previous-year papers covering 2021–2025 (5 years). Each is a timed practice set with full solutions.
How long is the IOQM exam?
The Indian Olympiad Qualifier in Mathematics (IOQM) runs for 3 hours. Shishya's mock tests mirror this duration so you can practise under real exam-time pressure.

Previous year papers

70 questions across all years

Some years hold a set of questions from that paper, not the full paper — each card shows how many.

Mock tests

All my attempts →

Take any mock in your preferred language — use the language picker inside the mock to switch (Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, and 15 more).

New to IOQM? Start small:a 25-question subject test first — 4 in 5 aspirants finish these; full mocks after your first win.Pick a subject test ↓

  • IOQM — Quick Practice

    FULL

    20 questions · 180 min

    Start mock →

  • IOQM — 2024 (Previous Year)

    FULL

    10 questions · 180 min

    Start mock →

  • IOQM — 2025 (Previous Year)

    FULL

    27 questions · 180 min

    Start mock →

  • IOQM — Full-Length Mock (Real Pattern: 30Q · 180 min)

    FULL

    30 questions · 180 min

    Start mock →

  • IOQM — 2021 (Previous Year)

    FULL

    10 questions · 180 min

    Start mock →

Practice by subject & topic

Full-length subject tests below — 25 questions each, real exam format, instant scoring. Want to drill a single topic? Every topic has its own 10-question test in the syllabus.

  • Mathematics

    86 Qs

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Questions
Difficulty

Your rank

vs everyone who has taken this exam

Take a mock to see where you stand on the leaderboard.

Students

52

Mocks taken

196

Average score

39%

Top score

100%

What can I get from IOQM?

Mock-score → expected rank → likely outcome. Use the mocks below to find your current band, then plan how many marks you need to climb.

AI-curated from historic cut-off patterns. Always verify with the latest official notification before making decisions.

News & timeline

See older updates →

Latest news

Important dates

  1. Student registration end (all modes)

    passed

    Mon, 27 Jul, 2026

    Last date for both centre-based and individual registration; fee payment allowed till July 29

  2. Registration correction window

    passed

    Mon, 3 Aug, 2026

    Edit facility available from August 3-5, 2026 through Student Login

  3. IOQM 2026 admit card released

    passed

    Sat, 8 Aug, 2026

    Hall tickets available for download at ioqm.mtai.org.in

  4. 🏅IOQM 2026 exam day

    passed

    Sun, 6 Sept, 2026

    3-hour, 30-question OMR-based exam; no negative marking

  5. IOQM 2026 answer key (expected)

    passed

    Sun, 6 Sept, 2026

    Provisional answer key typically released on exam day evening; based on 2024-25 pattern

  6. IOQM 2026 result (expected)

    34 days away

    Thu, 15 Oct, 2026

    Results typically declared 4-6 weeks after exam; qualifiers advance to RMO 2026

Syllabus

Tap any topic for its study notes + a 10-question topic test