Regional Mathematical Olympiad (RMO)

Mathematical Olympiads are mainly organized to spot mathematical talent in pre-University students. Regional Mathematical Olympiad (RMO) held in India is the first step for an Indian student to get a chance to represent India in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) - the world championship mathematics competition for high school students.

Those who clear Regional Mathematical Olympiad are eligible to sit for the Indian National Mathematical Olympiad (INMO), which is conducted by the Mathematical Olympiad (MO) Cell of the Homi Bhabha Centre of the Science Education (HBCSE) under the aegis of the National Board of Higher Mathematics (NBHM).

Mathematical Olympiad

The Maths Olympiad Programme which leads to participation in the IMO- International Mathematical Olympiad,constitutes of the following stages: 

Stage 1: Regional Mathematical Olympiad (RMO)

Regional Mathematical Olympiad is held in each region normally between September and the first Sunday of December each year. A regional coordinator makes sure that at least one centre is provided in every district of the region. RMO is a 3-hour written test which contains about 6 to 7 problems. All high-school students up to class XII are eligible to appear for RMO. To appear for RMO, interested students should get in touch with the RMO co-ordinator of their region well in advance, for enrolment and payment of a nominal fee.

Each regional coordinator has the freedom to prepare his/her own question paper or to obtain the question paper from NBHM. The regions which opt for the NBHM question paper hold this contest on the 1st Sunday of December. On Based on theirperformance in RMO, certain number of students from each region are selected to appear for the second stage. The regional coordinators charge nominal fees to meet the expenses for organizing the contests. 

Stage 2: Indian National Mathematical Olympiad (INMO)

Indian National Mathematical Olympiad is held on the first Sunday of February every year at differentcentres in different regions. Just the students who are selected on the basis of RMO from various regions are eligible to appear for the INMO. It is a 4-hour written test. Its question paper is set centrally and the test is common throughout the country. Only the top 30-35 performers in INMO receive a merit certificate. 

Stage 3: International Mathematical Olympiad Training Camp (IMOTC)

This is a training level for the INMO certificate awardees. They are invited for a month long training camp (for junior batch) conducted in May-June, each year. Also in addition, INMO awardees of the previous year who have satisfactorily completed the postal tuition throughout the year are again invited for a second round of training (called the senior batch). 

Stage 4: International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO)

A leader and deputy leader are chosen by the NBHM from among mathematics teachers/researchers involved in the Mathematics Olympiad activity.So the team selected at the end of the camp, the leader and the deputy leader, represent India at the International Mathematical Olympiad that is normally held in July in a different member country of IMO each year. The IMO consists of two written tests held on two days with a gap of at least one day. Both the tests are of four-and-a-half-hours.

India has 25 regions along with three independent groups that conduct Regional Math Olympiad. Each region has its own Regional Coordinator, who is responsible for conducting RMO in his/her region.

They are:

Regional Coordinators have the discretion of using central RMO paper set by the HBCSE or set the examination paper themselves. Regions that choose to go with the centrally prepared RMO paper have to conduct a pre-RMO to screen students for the central RMO examination.

The format of the pre-RMO paper and criteria for short listing student for RMO is decided solely by the Regional Coordinator.

Eligibility

Only students of class IX, X, XI and XII are eligible to participate in Regional Mathematical Olympiad. However, Regional Coordinators have the discretionary power to allow any Class VIII student with exceptional mathematical talent to sit for the RMO.

Syllabus for Mathematics Olympiads-

• Syllabus for Mathematics Olympiads (regional, national and international) is class 9^th to 12^thstandard mathematics.

• The typical areas of problems are: number theory,algebra, geometry, and combinatorics.

• The topics covered under these areas are: number systems, geometry, arithmetic of integers,quadratic equations and expressions, co-ordinate geometry, trigonometry,systems of linear equations, factorisation of polynomials, permutations and combinations,inequalities, probability theory,elementary combinatorics,  number theory, complex numbers, elementary graph theory and , infinite series.

• The syllabus does not include statistics and calculus.

• Though the syllabus is roughly spread over class IX to class XII levels, still the problems under each topic are of an exceptionally high level in difficulty and sophistication as compared to the text book problems.

• The difficulty level keeps increasing from RMO to INMO to IMO.

Books for preparation of Mathematical Olympiads

The following books treats the topic which are covered in the different levels of the olympiad and also are a rich source of problems-

*(Contains problems and solutions of International Mathematical Olympiad from 1986-1994)

Apart from the above listed books dedicated for the Olympiad purpose, the following books listed below form the recommended topic-wise reading for the various math competitions. From the given reads, some are elementary, and some are not so elementary.

Books on Geometry

Books on Number Theory

Problem Books

• I M O Problem Collections

• General Problems

Books for General Reading 

Selection Procedure

Students who clear INMO but are not selected for International Math Olympiad (IMO) receive postal problems during the period of July to December. Based on their responses, they might be invited to the pre-departure training camp for IMO directly or asked to sit for INMO again (without having to sit for the Regional Math Olympiad).

Exam Structure

RMO has six or seven problems that students have to solve in three hours. The syllabus for RMO basically covers pre-degree college mathematics. The major areas covered in the syllabus are algebra, geometry, number theory and combinatorics. Calculus and statistics are not within the scope of the exam but students are allowed to use approaches based on them to solve problems.

The questions generally have high difficulty level and sophistication which only increase from RMO to INMO to IMO.

One should go through Regional Mathematical Olympiad past year papers as well as Regional Mathematical Olympiad sample papers to fully understand what is to be expected in the exam.

How can Askiitians help you?

Askiitians offers excellent and affordable packages to prepare students for Regional Mathematical Olympiad. These include Regional Mathematical Olympiad past paper with answer as well as test papers with correct and accurate Regional Mathematical Olympiad answer key. The comprehensive RMO study material offered at Askiitians includes all the topics covered in RMO syllabus.

To prepare for RMO 2018, please contact 0120-4616500.