August 25 Shimla
Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL) has launched the Aakash National Talent Hunt Exam (ANTHE) 2026, opening registrations for students from Classes V to XII across the country. Now in its 16th year, the examination serves as both a scholarship opportunity and an academic assessment, allowing students to evaluate their preparation, identify their strengths, and understand the areas where they need to improve.
According to AESL, more than one crore students have registered for ANTHE since its inception, making it one of the country’s largest and longest-running student assessment initiatives. Over the years, ANTHE has evolved from a talent-identification examination into a structured academic benchmarking platform. The assessment is designed to give students a broader understanding of their preparedness rather than relying solely on their final scores.
The examination uses questions mapped to specific concepts and competencies to assess students across areas such as subject knowledge, aptitude, and analytical ability. The objective is to help students understand how effectively they have grasped key concepts and identify areas where additional preparation may be required.
Chandra Sekhar Garisa Reddy, MD and CEO of Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL), said that ANTHE’s purpose extends beyond determining scholarship eligibility. “For us, ANTHE has never been just an examination that determines a student’s scholarship. Its larger purpose is to help students understand their own academic potential at a stage when the right guidance can make a meaningful difference,” he said.
He added that the examination is intended to provide students with insights into their academic strengths, preparedness, and areas that need attention, helping them make more informed decisions about their future academic journey.
Scholarships and Cash Prizes
For ANTHE 2026, students can avail themselves of scholarships of up to 100 per cent, subject to applicable eligibility and programme criteria. The examination also offers ₹2.5 crore in cash prizes to top-performing students.The scholarships are applicable to Aakash’s Classroom, Hybrid, and Digital programmes, giving students an opportunity to pursue structured preparation for competitive examinations and other academic goals.
Online and Offline Examination
ANTHE 2026 will be conducted in both online and offline formats, allowing students to choose the mode that best suits them.The online examination will be held from October 27 to November 1, 2026. The offline examination will be conducted on October 11, October 25, and November 1, 2026.
The examination is open to students from Classes V to XII, covering different academic stages and allowing them to benchmark their preparation as they progress through school. Registrations for ANTHE 2026 are currently open through the official ANTHE portal and Aakash centres across India. The initiative aims to give students an opportunity to assess their academic standing, access scholarship benefits, and use the assessment as a benchmark while planning their preparation for the next stage of their academic journey.
