NTPC Exam

What is NTPC?
Setup in 1975, NTPC is the largest power company in India with 19.1% total installed capacity of the country (as on 31 Mar 2008). It contributed 28.50% of the total power generation of the country during 2007-08. NTPC is among the largest five companies in India in terms of market capitalization and ranks 411th in Forbes list of World’s 2000 Largest Companies for the year 2007. And it ranked No. 1 in Best Workplaces for Large Organizations and eighth overall in 2008 by Great Places to Work in collaboration with the Economic Times

Pattern of NTPC written test:

NTPC written test consists of two papers: Aptitude & Technical. While the questions of Aptitude test is common, questions of the Technical test would depend on which among the six disciplines (Electrical, Mechanical, Civil, Control & Instrumentation, Human Resources & Finance) you belong to.

There are 55 questions in Technical test & 35 in Aptitude – so a total of 90 multiple-choice questions, which needs to be answered in 2 hours. Thus you have 1 min. 20 seconds aprox. to answer each question – the questions as such are not difficult and therefore your main focus would be to answer the questions correctly.

Notes of caution: There is negative marking: 1/4th mark will be deducted for each wrong answer. So if you make a guess, make it wisely!

For Aptitude test the questions asked are of type: Synonyms, Antonyms, Comprehension passages, Word analogies, Fill in the sentences with the most suitable word, Aptitude problem solving skills (train probs, loss profit sums, ratios, etc.).

Age Eligibility:
For EET:Maximum 27 years as on 01.01.2010 i.e. candidates born before 01.01.83 is not eligible. This age limit is relaxed by two years for the candidates with Post graduation degree.
For ET-HR & ET-Fin: Maximum 29 years as on 01.01.2010 i.e. candidates born before 01.01.81 is not eligible.

NTPC Syllabus for Executive Trainee- Discipline: ELECTRICAL And Electronics ENGINEERING:

Electric Circuits and Fields:Network graph, KCL, KVL, node and mesh analysis, transient response of dc and ac networks; sinusoidal steady-state analysis, resonance, basic filter concepts; ideal current and voltage sources, Thevenin’s, Norton’s and Superposition and Maximum Power Transfer theorems, two-port networks, three phase circuits; Gauss Theorem, electric field and potential due to point, line, plane and spherical charge distributions; Ampere’s and Biot-Savart’s laws; inductance; dielectrics; capacitance.

Signals and Systems: Representation of continuous and discrete-time signals; shifting and scaling operations; linear, time-invariant and causal systems; Fourier series representation of continuous periodic signals; sampling theorem; Fourier, Laplace and Z transforms.

Electrical Machines: Single phase transformer - equivalent circuit, phasor diagram, tests, regulation and efficiency; three phase transformers - connections, parallel operation; auto-transformer; energy conversion principles; DC machines - types, windings, generator characteristics, armature reaction and commutation, starting and speed control of motors; three phase induction motors - principles, types, performance characteristics, starting and speed control; single phase induction motors; synchronous machines - performance, regulation and parallel operation of generators, motor starting, characteristics and applications; servo and stepper motors.

Power Systems: Basic power generation concepts; transmission line models and performance; cable performance, insulation; corona and radio interference; distribution systems; per-unit quantities; bus impedance and admittance matrices; load flow; voltage control; power factor correction; economic operation; symmetrical components; fault analysis; principles of over-current, differential and distance protection; solid state relays and digital protection; circuit breakers; system stability concepts, swing curves and equal area criterion; HVDC transmission and FACTS concepts. Numeric Relays.

Control Systems: Principles of feedback; transfer function; block diagrams; steady-state errors; Routh and Niquist techniques; Bode plots; root loci; lag, lead and lead-lag compensation; state space model; state transition matrix, controllability and observability.

Electrical and Electronic Measurements: Bridges and potentiometers; PMMC, moving iron, dynamometer and induction type instruments; measurement of voltage, current, power, energy and power factor; instrument transformers; digital voltmeters and multimeters; phase, time and frequency measurement; Q-meters; oscilloscopes; error analysis.

Analog and Digital Electronics: Characteristics of diodes, BJT, FET; amplifiers - biasing, equivalent circuit and frequency response; oscillators and feedback amplifiers; operational amplifiers - characteristics and applications; simple active filters; VCOs and timers; combinational and sequential logic circuits; multiplexer; Schmitt trigger; multi-vibrators; sample and hold circuits; A/D and D/A converters; 8-bit / 16-bit microprocessor basics, architecture, programming and interfacing.

Power Electronics and Drives: Semiconductor power diodes, transistors, thyristors, triacs, GTOs, MOSFETs and IGBTs - static characteristics and principles of operation; triggering circuits; phase control rectifiers; bridge converters - fully controlled and half controlled; principles of choppers and inverters; basis concepts of adjustable speed dc and ac drives. Variable speed control of AC machines.

Syllabus for NTPC Executive Aptitude Test:

Executive Aptitude Test is common to all disciplines. It will be consist of 50 objective type questions on:

01. Vocabulary

02. Verbal comprehension

03. Quantitative aptitude

04. Reasoning ability to determine data sufficiency

05. Interpretation of graphs/ charts/ tables

06. Numerical ability etc.