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INAIO 2027 · Stage 1 · Classes 9–12

Stage 1 is on Sunday 13 December. Here’s a calm plan for the weeks in between.

The first round of the Indian National AI Olympiad (INAIO), run by ACM India, is an online objective paper. Here is a week-by-week way to get there, practising in the style of past papers, with every answer explained.

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INAIO 2027 · Stage 1

Sunday 13 December 2026

10 am–12 pm · online and proctored

  • Objective questions only
  • No AI tools
  • Classes 9–12

The plan to get there

  1. Prep TestWeek 1
  2. Units 1–4Oct–Nov
  3. Units 5–8Nov
  4. Full mocksDec
  5. Stage 113 Dec

Then Stage 2 on 24 January 2027, for students who go through.

The facts

What parents ask first.

From inaio.in, where ACM India publishes the rules. They can change between editions, so check there before you register.

Open inaio.in (opens in a new tab)
Who runs it

ACM India, with ACM IKDD

INAIO is India’s route to the International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence (IOAI). ProofNPixel AI is independent of both.

Who can take part

Classes 9–12, from any board

Indian citizens studying in India, born after 1 July 2007. Some students, such as INOI medallists and INMO qualifiers, enter at Stage 2 directly.

When

Sunday 13 December 2026, 10 am–12 pm

Online and proctored.

The paper

Objective questions only

The 2026 paper ran 90 minutes for 70 marks, with no negative marking. Cut-offs for Stage 2 were set separately for Classes 9–10 and 11–12.

Section A · 30 marksMaths, logic and algorithmsSection B · 40 marksIntroductory machine learning
What’s allowed

No AI tools

Machine learning methods are explained in the questions that use them.

Registration

On inaio.in

Students register themselves. The 2027 registration dates and fee are not published yet, so check inaio.in (opens in a new tab) for them.

After Stage 1

Stage 2 on 24 January 2027

Objective and long-form questions, plus hands-on modelling in a notebook with a dataset. An AI assistant is allowed in some sections.

What Stage 1 tests

Seven areas. Eight Summit units.

The Stage 1 syllabus has seven areas. Summit’s first eight units are built around them, with drills at Trail, Ridge and Peak, and Unit 8 ends with a full Stage 1 mock.

Maths, logic and algorithms

Section A in 2026 · 30 marks

  1. Logical and computational thinking

    Patterns, rule discovery, puzzles and basic programming constructs

    • Unit 1 · Logic & data
    • Unit 5 · Code & algorithms

  2. Algebra

    Functions, polynomials, series and sums, AM-GM and Jensen’s inequalities

    • Unit 2 · Algebra & series

  3. Probability and statistics

    Bayes’ theorem, descriptive statistics, correlation and causation

    • Unit 3 · Probability & statistics

  4. Matrices and optimisation

    Linear systems, optimisation with constraints, maxima and minima

    • Unit 4 · Matrices & optimisation

  5. Data representation

    Base-n coding, tables, graphs and charts

    • Unit 1 · Logic & data

Machine learning

Section B in 2026 · 40 marks

  1. ML foundations and metrics

    RMSE, MAE, precision, recall, F1, ROC and AUC, with definitions given

    • Unit 6 · ML foundations & metrics

  2. Algorithms explained in the question

    Regression, linear classifiers, k-NN, decision trees, k-means and hierarchical clustering, PCA, Naive Bayes, PageRank, TF-IDF

    • Unit 7 · Algorithms from definitions
    • Unit 8 · Famous algorithms & Stage 1 mock

After Stage 1. Summit’s Units 9–11 prepare for Stage 2 (Python for data; Vision, language & embeddings; Gen AI & responsible AI), and Unit 12 is an exam sprint with mini and full mocks.

See every Summit unit

The plan

Week by week, to 13 December.

Summit is designed for about 3–4 hours a week, about a unit a month. Eight units in nine weeks works by testing out of what your child already knows. It is a suggested plan, not a promise: if a unit is new to your child, give it longer and move faster elsewhere.

A typical week · about 3–4 hours

Topic drills
5 questions in 5 minutes, a few times a week
Topic guides
Read before a new idea, with worked examples
A unit test
8 questions in 12 minutes; 80% tests out
A mini mock
10 questions in 20 minutes, then its review
A full mock
From late November: 90 minutes, with case studies
  1. Week 1 · 12–18 Oct

    Find the starting point

    Free, no plan needed

    • Take the free Prep Test together: 20 questions in 30 minutes, with a score for each of four areas and every answer explained.
    • Read the area scores together. They show which units your child can move through quickly and which need time.
    • Start Summit Unit 1, which is free: logic and data representation, cleared at Trail.
  2. Weeks 2–4 · 19 Oct–8 Nov

    Move fast through what’s familiar

    Summit Units 1–4: the maths foundations

    • Try each unit test first: 8 questions in 12 minutes. A score of 80% tests out of the unit and opens the next.
    • Below 80%, read the topic guide, then clear the topics with Trail and Ridge drills before trying the test again.
    • Diwali is on 8 November. Plan a lighter week around it.
  3. Weeks 5–7 · 9–29 Nov

    Algorithms and machine learning

    Summit Units 5–8

    • The same pattern: test out where you can, and drill where you can’t.
    • One mini mock a week: 10 questions in 20 minutes, mixed or on one area.
    • Unit 8 ends with the first full Stage 1 mock.
  4. Weeks 8–9 · 30 Nov–12 Dec

    Full mocks and review

    Exam practice

    • A full mock each week: 12 questions and 3 case studies in 90 minutes. Sit one at 10 am on Sunday 6 December, the time of day of the real paper.
    • Go through every wrong answer with its explanation, then use the mistakes review and Ridge drills on the topics that cost marks.
    • Keep the last two days light, and read the organisers’ instructions for the test.
  5. Sunday 13 December · 10 am–12 pm

    Stage 1

    Stage 2 follows on 24 January 2027 for students who go through.

Starting later? Take the Prep Test first, then join the plan at the current step. Test out wherever you can, and keep the last two weeks for full mocks.

With the Sprint? It is for students who have already studied the syllabus, and has its own week-by-week plan: drills area by area, then full mocks and a rehearsal. Unit tests and test-out are part of Summit.

Try one

A question in the Stage 1 style.

In 2026, machine learning carried 40 of the 70 marks. Stage 1 gives the definitions a question needs, so here they are. Try it with your child.

Definitions

Precision
Of the emails the filter flags as spam, the share that really are spam.
Recall
Of all the spam emails, the share the filter flags.

Try one · Machine learning · Metrics

A spam filter raises its threshold so that it flags fewer emails. What usually happens?

Plans

Two ways to practise.

One-time prices plus GST: Summit for 12 months, the Sprint until 20 December 2026. The Prep Test, Summit Unit 1, the topic guides and the simulators are free.

  • Summit for the guided path, unit by unit, with tests to move fast through what your child knows. The plan above follows it.
  • Sprint for students who have already studied the syllabus: drills and mock tests on a week-by-week plan to 13 December, with access until 20 December 2026, made to pair with a teacher.

Year 2 · Olympiad preparation

Summit

Classes 9–12 with some grounding

₹19,999+ GST · one-time · 12 months

₹23,599 with 18% GST · about ₹1,667 a month + GST

  • 12 Summit units: 8 for Stage 1, 3 for Stage 2 and an exam sprint
  • Unit tests, with test-out at 80%
  • Unlimited mini mocks, and full mocks with case studies
  • All the Sprint’s questions and mocks, for 12 months
Start free

INAIO 2027 Stage 1 · until 20 December

Sprint

Students in Classes 9–12 who have already studied the syllabus, often with a teacher

₹6,999+ GST · one-time · until 20 Dec

₹8,259 with 18% GST

  • A week-by-week plan to 13 December, with a rehearsal mock at 10 am on the Sunday before
  • Drills on all 25 Olympiad topics at Trail, Ridge and Peak
  • Unlimited mini mocks, and full mocks with case studies
  • Made to pair with a teacher (our bootcamp is planned)
Start free

Paid plans can be bought here shortly. Start free now: everything you do carries over.

Compete · planned

Prefer a teacher for the final weeks?

We’re planning a four-week Stage 1 bootcamp from mid-November: live evening sessions, a Saturday full mock with review, and daily practice on the platform. It isn’t running yet.

Join the bootcamp waitlist

FAQ

Questions parents ask.

Something else? Get in touch.

The AI Prep Test · Free

Thirty minutes to find where to begin.

Sit with your child for the Prep Test: 20 questions across four areas, every answer explained, and a recommended place to start. No account needed.

Take the free Prep Test See plans