The INMO is conducted by the MO Cell which is held on the third Sunday of January at 30 centers across the country. Prospective candidates first need to write the Pre-Regional Mathematical Olympiad then the Regional Mathematical Olympiad of their respective state or region. Around thirty students are selected from each region, to write the INMO. The best-performing students from the RMO qualify for the second stage INMO.
Restrictions on senior year students
About 6 top-performing students in RMO studying in the twelfth grade from each region are permitted to give INMO.
The qualifying students are invited to the International Mathematical Olympiad Training Camp, a one-month mathematics camp hosted by the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education in Mumbai. For first time participants, it usually extends from late April till the end of May, while it begins about 10-14 days later for senior participants. In this camp, the students are taught Olympiad mathematics and some other general mathematics. Four selection tests and two practice tests are held during this period and the top six students in the selection tests qualify to represent India in the International Mathematical Olympiad.
Pre-departure Training Camp for IMO
The selected team of 6 students goes through another round of training and orientation for about 10 days prior to departure for IMO.
International Mathematical Olympiad
The six member team selected at the end of IMOTC accompanied by a leader, a deputy leader and an observer represents the country at the IMO, held in July each year in a different member country of the IMO. Ministry of Human Resource Development finances international travel of the team, the leader and the deputy leader, while NBHM finances the other expenditure connected with the international participation and the entire in-country programme.
Post-IMOTC training of qualified candidates for subsequent seasons
Students who qualify the INMO once and come to attend the IMO Training Camp are sent postal problems during the period July -- December that they have to solve and send back. Based on their responses, some of the students are invited to the IMO Training Camp the next year directly. Others have to rewrite the INMO again. From 2021, postals have been scrapped and all students have to give INMO to be eligible for attending IMOTC.
Perks upon qualification
Students qualifying the INMO are automatically eligible for admission to the B.Sc. Mathematics course in the Chennai Mathematical Institute.
Since 2008, INMO awardees applying for B. Stat or B. Math courses of the Indian Statistical Institute are directly called for the interview without having to write the written test.
INMO awardees are also eligible for an NBHM scholarship that currently stands at about Rs. 2500 per month, if they continue their studies in mathematics. They are also offered a 4-year programme of training in Mathematics through correspondence and periodic contact with a chosen faculty. The programme is also available to INMO awardees who do not pursue an undergraduate degree in Mathematics but have special interest in the subject. They are offered an annual cash award of Rs. 9,000 subject to satisfactory performance in the programme.
Students who make it to the IMO are eligible for the Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana fellowship provided they pursue their studies in the science subjects in India. The fellowship amount stands at Rs. 5000 per month.
Indian team members who receive a gold, silver or bronze at IMO are given cash awards by the NBHM of Rs. 5,000, Rs. 4,000 and Rs. 3,000 respectively.
