The TCS NQT syllabus spans five sub-sections across two parts — Foundation and Advanced. Here is the complete, topic-level breakdown based on recent papers and official test information.
Exam pattern at a glance
| Part | Section | Questions | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation (75 min) | Numerical Ability | 20 | 25 min |
| Verbal Ability | 25 | 25 min | |
| Reasoning Ability | 20 | 25 min | |
| Advanced (115 min) | Advanced Quantitative & Reasoning Ability | 15 | 25 min |
| Advanced Coding | 2 problems | 90 min |
Numerical Ability
- Number System, HCF & LCM, Divisibility, Decimals & Fractions
- Percentages, Profit & Loss, Simple & Compound Interest
- Ratio & Proportion, Mixtures & Alligation, Averages, Ages
- Time & Work, Speed-Time-Distance, Trains
- Probability, Permutation & Combination, AP/GP
- Geometry, Mensuration, Coordinate Geometry, Linear Equations
- Data Interpretation — tables, pie charts, bar graphs
Verbal Ability
- Grammar — tenses, articles, prepositions, subject-verb agreement
- Error spotting and sentence correction
- Sentence completion (single and double blanks)
- Synonyms, antonyms, idioms & phrases
- Para jumbles and reading comprehension
Reasoning Ability
- Number and letter series, analogies
- Coding-decoding, blood relations, directional sense
- Seating arrangements, ranking and ordering puzzles
- Syllogisms, statements & conclusions
- Visual reasoning, cube folding, paper cutting
- Basic programming logic (pseudo-code flow)
Advanced Quantitative & Reasoning Ability
- Quadratic equations, surds, advanced probability and P&C
- Statistics — mean, median, mode, quartiles
- Advanced mensuration and coordinate geometry
- Data sufficiency, decision making, statement-argument questions
- Complex puzzles and advanced coding-decoding
Advanced Coding
- Arrays, strings and hashing problems
- Standard algorithms — GCD/LCM, sorting, greedy, prefix sums
- Simple dynamic programming (subsequences, subset sums)
- Simulation and implementation problems with exact I/O formats
- Languages allowed: C, C++, Java, Python, Perl
Email writing was part of the older TCS Ninja pattern but is not asked in the current TCS NQT — the exam is fully objective plus hands-on coding.