TCS NQT Pattern 2026: What Every Source Agrees On, and Where They Differ

By Pooja Goenka · Published 2026-10-14

The TCS NQT Foundation section is the part every prep source agrees on: 65 questions (20 numerical, 25 verbal, 20 reasoning), each sub-section on its own 25-minute clock, with no negative marking. The Advanced section is where the sources split, mainly on how many coding problems you get and how long you have for them, so check the instructions TCS sends for your own drive before you plan around any one figure.

LogicWiz is not affiliated with TCS, and nothing here comes from TCS's hiring team. I read TCS iON's own NQT page and five prep sites on 14 October 2026, and every figure below links to where I found it.

What you can rely on:

• Foundation is 65 questions in 75 minutes, split into three 25-minute sub-sections.
• Advanced has an aptitude block of about 15 questions in 25 minutes, then 2 or 3 coding problems in either 55 or 90 minutes, depending on the source.
• Most sites put the full test at 190 minutes. One says about 155.
• There is no negative marking. TCS iON states this on its own NQT page.
• Prep sites agree that Ninja offers rest on the Foundation score, while Digital and Prime also need the Advanced section.

The Foundation section at a glance

FACE Prep (dated May 2026), PapersAdda (revised 15 September 2026) and FreshersHunt all give exactly this table. GUVI (13 July 2026) gives the same three 25-minute timers without question counts. PrepInsta lists the same question counts but gives verbal 26 minutes, which makes its Foundation total 76 minutes. I can't tell whether that minute is a typo or a real difference from a drive they tracked, so I'd plan for 25.

The Advanced section: what each source says

This is the part to read carefully. Here is each source, side by side.

Four of the five agree on 25 minutes of advanced aptitude followed by 90 minutes of coding. FreshersHunt is the outlier with 55 minutes for coding. The count of coding problems is a genuine split between two and three.

My reading is that the 90-minute coding block is the safer assumption, and you should practise as if three problems could appear, because preparing for three costs you nothing if only two turn up. None of these sites says where its figures come from, and TCS iON's National Qualifier Test page does not publish question counts or section timings. The pattern TCS shows you on the day, or in the instructions for your drive on the TCS NextStep portal, is the one that counts.

Is there negative marking in TCS NQT?

No. TCS iON's NQT page says there will be no negative marking, and every prep site I read agrees. A wrong answer and a blank both score zero.

So answer every question, including the ones you are unsure about. Where you can rule out even one option, a guess beats leaving it blank. In the last minute of each sub-section, fill every remaining blank before the clock runs out.

TCS iON's page also says the NQT is held only in-centre at TCS iON authorised exam centres, in English, and that the score is valid for two years from the result date.

How the sectional clock changes your strategy

Each Foundation sub-section has its own 25-minute timer. When it ends you move on, and prep sites report that you cannot switch back. PrepInsta says section and sub-section switching are not allowed, though you can revisit questions inside the sub-section you are in. FACE Prep says the sub-sections cannot be reordered.

That changes how you should practise in three ways.

First, time you save in numerical ability does not carry over to verbal. Finishing early buys you review time inside that sub-section and nothing more, so use it to recheck your shakiest answers.

Second, you cannot leave a hard reasoning set for the end of the test. When the reasoning clock runs out, those questions are gone. The habit that helps is a two-pass approach inside each sub-section: answer everything you can do in under a minute, then return to the slower ones.

Third, your pace per question differs by sub-section. Twenty numerical questions in 25 minutes is 75 seconds each. Twenty-five verbal questions in 25 minutes is 60 seconds each, and reading comprehension eats into that. Practise each sub-section with its own timer, not one 75-minute block, or the pacing you learn will be wrong.

What to practise for each section

For numerical ability, prep sites consistently list arithmetic: percentages, profit and loss, ratios, time and work, speed and distance, simple and compound interest, averages, and basic data interpretation. Speed matters more than difficulty here.

For verbal ability, expect reading comprehension, sentence completion, error spotting, sentence ordering and vocabulary in context. Reading speed is the hidden variable, so practise passages under a timer.

For reasoning ability, the usual set is number and letter series, coding and decoding, blood relations, seating arrangements, syllogisms and data sufficiency. Arrangements take the longest, so learn to recognise them and decide early whether to attempt or move on.

For the Advanced section, aptitude questions are fewer and harder, and coding problems are in the style of standard data structures and algorithms questions. FACE Prep says a Prime offer needs at least one fully solved coding problem, so a complete, correct solution to one problem is worth more than partial attempts at all of them.

Ninja, Digital and Prime: which part decides what

The NQT is one integrated test, and the role you are considered for depends on how you score in each part. FACE Prep's track explainer (May 2026) says Foundation performance alone decides Ninja eligibility, Digital needs strong Foundation scores plus the Advanced aptitude section, and Prime needs top scores across both plus at least one fully solved coding problem. It also says a candidate who clears the Foundation cutoff with a weak Advanced score still gets a Ninja interview call.

TCS hasn't published this breakdown itself, so read it as the common understanding among people who track these drives.

Take a free Foundation-style mock

You can practise the Foundation timing on the TCS NQT-style Foundation mock on LogicWiz Exams. It copies the reported pattern above: 20 numerical, 25 verbal and 20 reasoning questions, each on its own 25-minute clock, with no negative marking, and a finished section cannot be reopened. It is free, you get solutions after each question and a percentile at the end, and you can start without an account. The questions are ours, written in the style of the reported pattern. They are not TCS questions, and LogicWiz is not affiliated with or endorsed by TCS.

If you are aiming for Digital or Prime, there is a separate TCS NQT-style Advanced aptitude mock with 14 advanced quant and 12 advanced reasoning questions, each block on a 25-minute clock. Neither mock includes the coding problems yet.

Before a full mock, it helps to drill each area on its own: quantitative aptitude, verbal ability and logical reasoning. If you are sitting other service-company tests in the same season, there are also Infosys-style, Wipro NLTH-style, Accenture-style and Cognizant GenC-style mocks, and I wrote up free coding quizzes and contests for college students for the coding side.

Common questions

How many questions are in the TCS NQT Foundation section?

65: 20 numerical ability, 25 verbal ability and 20 reasoning ability, each with 25 minutes. Every prep site I checked in October 2026 agrees on these counts.

Is there negative marking in TCS NQT?

No. TCS iON's NQT page says there is no negative marking, so a wrong answer costs you nothing more than a blank. Attempt every question.

Can I go back to an earlier section in TCS NQT?

Prep sites report that you cannot. Each sub-section has its own timer, and PrepInsta says section switching is not allowed, though you can revisit questions within the sub-section you are on.

How long is the TCS NQT in total?

Most sources say 190 minutes: 75 for Foundation and 115 for Advanced. FreshersHunt says about 155 minutes, with a shorter coding block. Check your drive's instructions.

Is the TCS NQT-style mock on LogicWiz free?

Yes. The Foundation-style and Advanced-style mocks are free, with solutions, and you can start without an account. LogicWiz is not affiliated with TCS, and the questions are our own.

How is the NQT different from Ninja, Digital and Prime?

The NQT is the test. Ninja, Digital and Prime are the roles. Prep sites say your Foundation score decides Ninja, and Digital and Prime also depend on the Advanced section.