TCS NQT: complete guide for freshers

What TCS NQT is

The TCS National Qualifier Test is the entry test Tata Consultancy Services uses for most fresher hiring in India. Instead of a separate test for each college, students from many colleges take the same test in a drive, and TCS shortlists candidates for interviews from the scores. It is conducted through TCS iON, the company’s own assessment platform.

For you, this means one well-prepared attempt can open the door to the largest IT employer in India. It also means the test is predictable: the sections and topics change only a little between drives, so steady practice works far better than last-minute cramming.

Ninja, Digital and Prime: the three roles

The same test is used to hire for three levels of role. You do not apply for one of them separately; your scores and interview decide which one you are offered.

Treat these salary figures as indications from recent drives, not promises. They can change from year to year and can differ for undergraduate and postgraduate candidates. The figure in your offer letter is the only one that counts.

Who can apply

The rules are published with each drive and can change, so read the notice on the TCS NextStep portal before you register. These are the conditions recent IT drives have used:

• Degree: full-time B.E., B.Tech, M.E., M.Tech, MCA or M.Sc (usually computer science, IT or related fields).
• Pass-out year: usually the current final-year batch and the previous one or two years.
• Marks: many drives ask for 60 percent or a CGPA of 6.0 in class 10, class 12 (or diploma) and your degree; some recent notices have used a lower bar, so check yours.
• Backlogs: at most one active backlog when you take the test, cleared before joining. Some notices allow none.
• Gap in education: up to 24 months in total, and every gap must be declared on the application form.
• Age: 18 to 28 years in recent drives.

How to register on TCS NextStep

Registration happens on the TCS NextStep portal. Take it slowly: most problems later come from mistakes here.

1. Choose the IT category. On the NextStep portal, select IT (not BPS) and click Register Now.
2. Create your profile. You get a reference ID that starts with CT or DT. Save it; you will need it for every step.
3. Fill in your details exactly as on your marksheets. Names, dates of birth and percentages must match your documents.
4. Apply for the drive. Creating a profile is not enough. Click Apply For Drive and choose the current NQT drive.
5. Check your status. Your application should show “Applied for Drive”. If it does not, you are not registered.
6. Watch your email. The test date, slot and instructions come by email from TCS and on the portal.

TCS NQT exam pattern

Recent drives have used a single test of about 190 minutes in two parts. Each section has its own timer, and once a section ends you cannot go back to it.

The exact number of questions moves a little between drives, so treat the table as a guide and read the instructions screen on the day. There has been no negative marking in recent drives.

The Foundation section

The Foundation part is the gate. Clearing its cut-off is needed for every role, and it is the main basis for Ninja offers. The level is school maths and everyday English, asked under time pressure.

Numerical ability

Percentages, profit and loss, ratios, averages, simple and compound interest, time and work, time speed and distance, number systems and data interpretation from small tables or charts.

Verbal ability

Reading comprehension, sentence completion, error spotting, rearranging sentences into a paragraph, and synonyms or antonyms. Reading one editorial or long article every day for a month helps more than memorising word lists.

Reasoning ability

Number and letter series, coding-decoding, blood relations, seating arrangements, directions, syllogisms and data sufficiency.

For a topic-by-topic study list with more worked examples, use our aptitude test preparation guide.

The Advanced section and coding

The Advanced part decides who is considered for Digital and Prime. The aptitude questions are fewer but harder: multi-step arithmetic, probability, permutations, and longer reasoning puzzles.

Coding

You get two or three problems and solve them in an online editor. Recent drives have allowed C, C++, Java, Python and C#. Your program reads input and prints output, and hidden test cases check it, so the output format must match exactly.

• Arrays and strings: reversing, counting, searching, sorting
• Basic maths: primes, GCD, factorials, digit sums
• Patterns and matrices: loops inside loops
• Simple greedy and two-pointer problems for Digital
• Hash maps for counting and duplicates
• Recursion and basic dynamic programming for Prime

A 30-day preparation plan

About two hours a day. If you are already strong in coding, give more of the time to aptitude, and the other way round.

Interview rounds

Candidates who clear the test are invited to interviews. They are often held on one day, online or at a TCS office. There are usually three parts, sometimes combined into one panel.

1. Technical round. Your final-year project, the language you coded in, OOP concepts, DBMS and SQL basics, and sometimes a short coding question. Digital and Prime interviews go deeper.
2. Managerial round. Mostly for Digital and Prime: how you handle a problem, teamwork, and situations such as a missed deadline.
3. HR round. Willingness to relocate and work in shifts, your documents, and why you want to join TCS.

Questions freshers are commonly asked:

• Tell me about yourself and your final-year project.
• What is the difference between a class and an object? Explain inheritance with an example.
• Write a SQL query to find the second highest salary in a table.
• What is the difference between an array and a linked list?
• Are you willing to relocate to any city in India?
• Why TCS, and where do you see yourself in three years?

Practise answers out loud with our interview questions guide, and keep your resume to one clear page: the interviewer will ask about everything on it.

After the interview

Results and offer letters are shared on the NextStep portal and by email from TCS. The offer then moves through document verification and background checks. Joining dates are sent later, sometimes months after the offer, and new joiners usually start with TCS’s Initial Learning Program, a training period before project work.

• Someone asks for a fee to “confirm” your TCS offer, book a training slot or speed up your joining.
• An offer letter arrives from a Gmail, Yahoo or WhatsApp account instead of an official TCS address.
• You are told to skip the NQT because of a “direct” or “backdoor” entry.

All of these are scams. TCS does not charge candidates. Read our fake job and scam guide to check an offer, and use the email templates to accept an offer or ask about your joining date politely.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Creating a NextStep profile but never clicking Apply For Drive, so you are not registered for the test.
• Entering marks or dates that do not match your documents.
• Spending ten minutes on one hard question when there is no negative marking and other questions are easy.
• Practising coding on paper only, and then struggling to read input in the online editor.
• Ignoring the verbal section, which has the most questions in the Foundation part.
• Joining the test late or from a noisy room for a remote slot, or without the ID the instructions ask for.

Practise and learn more

Start with the official portal for the notice and your registration, then use free practice sites for aptitude and coding.

• TCS NextStep portal Official registration, drive notices, test slots and offer letters.
• TCS iON The platform TCS uses to run the test; useful for checking system requirements for remote tests.
• HackerRank Free coding practice with an online editor similar to the test.
• IndiaBIX Topic-wise aptitude and reasoning questions with explanations.

These are independent websites. We are not affiliated with them and do not control their content.

Preparing for Infosys too? Read our Infosys recruitment guide. When you are ready, see the latest openings on TCS jobs and fresher jobs, and apply only through official links.

Frequently asked questions