Can you calculate 637 * 32 + 437 orally? The answer is 20821. You may have used a calculator to get the solution but children participating in the World Oral Calculation Competition to be held in New Delhi later this year will not have this luxury. For as the name suggests, they will have to calculate the sum in their head and give the answer in seconds. Magical Methods Foundation, a brainchild of IIM Bangalore passout Pradeep Kumar, is organising the contest which will be held for the first time in the world. Along with children from Nepal, UAE, Muscat, Bahrain, Canada and Singapore, around 2 million students from all these countries are expected to participate in the contest. Students have to register through their schools. The competition will be held for four groups: Group Kid for students in class 4 and 5; Group Teen for students in class 6 and 7; Group Junior for students of class 8, and 10; and Group Senior for students in class 11 and 12. The contest will be held at multiple levels — school, zonal and final. Only those appearing for finals will have to answer orally. Pradeep Kumar said, “The questions will be asked according to the syllabus taught at school. It will include sums on multiplication, division, substraction, addition, square, square root and cube root among others. The competition will be held in English. He adds, “The techniques, formulae theories and methods devised by mathematicians revolves around calculation. Calculation should not be viewed as a mechanical process. It also involves analysis and synthesis. Encouraging oral calculation will sharpen kids’ analytical ability and understanding of mathematics. It will improve mental alertness and agility which is essential for critical thinking.” Competition details The school-level examination will be held on August 25 while the zonal exam will be held sometime in September or October. Children who score 90 per cent or more will be eligible for zonal contest. Three children from every group who excel in the zonal contest will enter the finals. In the finals, first three performers from each group will receive a prize. All the children who appear in the school-level exam will get a merit certificate. If a school has more than 100 participants, the student who scores the most will get a school topper medal. A merit certificate will be given to all participants of the zonal contest. Top three students in each group will receive medals and cash prizes ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 1 lakh. The winners of Group Teen, Group Junior and Group Senior will also get laptops. Group Senior toppers will also get a free trip to Germany. Mathematics museum Satish Mardia (India Head) of World Oral Competition said, “The contest is being held to identify and nurture future mathematicians and scientists at school level.