TCS tells you the NQT structure down to the minute. Here is how to train for the Foundation half

TCS publishes the structure of its NQT Foundation section: Numerical Ability, Verbal Ability and Reasoning Ability, 25 minutes each. Our reasoning test covers numerical tables and verbal passages in a 45-minute test, which is close to two of those three sections together. The CCAT practice test has the logic questions that Reasoning Ability involves.

TCS's verbal section is not shaped like our True, False or Cannot say passages, and its Reasoning Ability section is logic puzzles that our reasoning test does not contain. The Advanced half of the NQT adds advanced quantitative and reasoning questions and a 90-minute coding section. We do not cover those.

According to TCS's careers FAQ, the NQT is an integrated test of 190 minutes in two mandatory parts. Part A, Foundation, is 75 minutes, split into Numerical Ability, Verbal Ability and Reasoning Ability at 25 minutes each. Part B, Advanced, is 115 minutes: Advanced Quantitative and Reasoning Ability for 25 minutes, then Advanced Coding for 90.

Your results decide which interview track you reach. TCS says the Advanced section is mandatory if you aim for a Digital or Prime offer, though it encourages everyone to attempt both. Shortlisted candidates are evaluated mainly on the skill they chose at registration, in addition to the usual interview process.

The NQT has changed. Placement notices from 2025 describe verbal (24 questions, 30 minutes), reasoning (30 questions, 50 minutes), numerical (26 questions, 40 minutes), programming logic and two coding tasks, totalling about 180 minutes. A notice for the 2023 batch lists numerical, verbal and reasoning at 25 minutes each, advanced quantitative for 20 minutes, advanced reasoning for 15 and advanced coding for 55, for 166 minutes. A 2018 TCS release calls it a 90-minute test.

Only the first structure above comes from TCS's current FAQ. The others come from college placement notices and earlier TCS material. When a friend quotes you a different number, they are probably quoting a different year. Use the current TCS page and your registration email.

The free test above has 25 numerical questions followed by 25 verbal ones in 45 minutes. TCS gives you 25 minutes for numerical and 25 for verbal, so the totals are within shouting distance. If you finish both halves of the practice test, you have built the stamina for two of the three Foundation sections.

The Numerical Ability section is quantitative aptitude, which usually means percentages, ratios, averages, time and work, and speed-distance-time. The business tables in our test are a narrower style, but the calculation habits are the same. The Verbal Ability section is English. Our verbal half is close in skill (reading closely, answering from the text) but not in format, so add grammar and vocabulary drills on top.

Reasoning Ability is the third Foundation section and the one our reasoning test does not cover. For that, take the CCAT practice test, which includes number series, deduction and shape sequences, and drill seating arrangements, blood relations and coding-decoding questions from a placement book. Those are staples of Indian aptitude papers.

A habit that helps in all three Foundation sections: TCS does not publish question counts, so decide your own rule in advance. If a question has eaten a minute, mark it, move on and come back with what time is left.

TCS publishes sample question papers for some of its hiring programmes, including a Smart Hiring sample paper for B.Sc candidates. Use TCS material for question style and for your first full timed attempt. Use ours for repetition and for the habit of finishing a long run strongly.

Check that any sample you rely on matches the current structure. A paper written for an older format will mislead you on timing.

TCS says shortlisted candidates are evaluated mainly on the skill they chose at registration. That choice shapes your interview, so decide it deliberately, not in the last hour. If you intend to aim for Digital or Prime, plan to give Part B real time, because the Advanced section is mandatory for those offers.

These come from anonymous reviews, university careers pages and prep guides. They often disagree, and TCS has not confirmed them. Read them as leads, not rules.

• Placement notices from 2025 describe a verbal section of 24 questions in 30 minutes, reasoning of 30 questions in 50, numerical of 26 in 40, a programming logic section of 10 questions in 15 and two coding tasks in 45 minutes.
• A notice for the 2023 batch lists numerical, verbal and reasoning at 25 minutes each, advanced quantitative for 20 minutes, advanced reasoning for 15 and advanced coding for 55, totalling 166 minutes.
• A 2020 TCS iON release calls the NQT a standardized, quarterly test of verbal, numerical and reasoning ability, with scores valid for two years. That is not the current integrated format.