Aryabhata Ganit Challenge 2026: Your Child's School Has Until November 18 to Register

If your child is in Class 8, 9 or 10 at a CBSE school, there is a national maths challenge happening in the next few weeks that most parents never hear about until it is over. It is called the Aryabhata Ganit Challenge, CBSE has announced it for 2026, and the first stage is completely free. The catch: your child cannot sign up on their own, and neither can you. The school has to register on CBSE's portal, and that window closes on Wednesday, 18 November 2026 - one week from today. If the school misses it, your child is out for this year, whatever their maths ability.

What the challenge actually is

CBSE's 4 November circular describes the Aryabhata Ganit Challenge as a way to test how well students apply mathematics to everyday situations - not how fast they can reproduce a formula. The paper draws on six content areas: geometry and spatial sense, quantitative aptitude, algebra, data analysis and probability, number sense, and mensuration. Alongside those, it scores competencies most school exams never touch directly: strategic approach, creative and abstract thinking, logical reasoning, visualisation, conceptual understanding and problem solving.

In other words, this is closer to a thinking-skills paper than a school unit test. A child who is strong at method but weak at applying it to unfamiliar problems will find it stretching - which is rather the point.

The two stages, and every date that matters

Stage 1 happens inside your child's own school. CBSE supplies the question paper through its portal; the school prints it, conducts the test on campus, marks it with the board's answer key, and names its top three students. If more than three students tie at the top, the school can run its own internal screening round to pick the three. Stage 2 is a national, online, computer-based test run by CBSE itself for those top three students per school. After it, the top 100 students in every CBSE region receive a Merit Certificate from the board. Schools that mobilise the most Stage 1 participants - the top ten in each region - receive an Appreciation Certificate, which is worth mentioning to a school that is hesitating.

What the test looks like

Both stages follow the same format: one hour, multiple-choice questions only, 40 marks in total, and - unusually for a competitive paper - no negative marking. That last detail matters for how your child should approach it: an educated guess costs nothing, so no question should be left blank. Stage 1 is conducted by your child's school on its own campus with the paper CBSE supplies; Stage 2 is on a computer.

What it costs - and who pays

Stage 1 is free. No fee for the school, no fee for your child. Stage 2 carries a fee of Rs 900, but read the circular carefully: that is Rs 900 per school, not per student, and it is the school that pays it online when registering its three students. If anyone asks you as a parent to pay a registration fee for Stage 1, that request is not in CBSE's circular. Fees once paid are non-refundable, the board notes.

What parents should do this week

1. 1Ask the school before Wednesday, 18 November whether it has registered for the Aryabhata Ganit Challenge. A short message to the class teacher or the maths coordinator is enough: the circular number is Acad-74/2026, dated 4 November 2026, and registration happens on the AGC portal linked from cbseacademic.nic.in.
2. 2If the school has not registered, share why it is worth the effort: Stage 1 costs nothing, CBSE provides the paper and the answer key, and the school only needs to conduct a one-hour test on campus.
3. 3If your child makes the school's top three, confirm the school completes Stage 2 registration between 27 and 30 November - a school that runs Stage 1 but misses that second window loses its students' places.
4. 4When your child sits the paper, remind them of the one tactical fact: no negative marking, so attempt every question.
5. 5Keep the certificate if one arrives. CBSE notes that participation and success in the challenge can be documented in the student's personal portfolio - useful evidence of applied skill, not just marks.

For questions, CBSE's circular lists a helpline - +91-9968313254 (phone and WhatsApp, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on working days) - and an email address, agccbse@cbseshiksha.in. Those are for schools and parents alike.