HSC stands for the Higher Secondary Certificate — the Class 12 qualification awarded by several Indian state boards, marking the end of senior-secondary schooling. It is the state-board equivalent of the CBSE's AISSCE and the CISCE's ISC, and its result is used for college and university admissions. It follows the SSC, the Class 10 certificate, in the same boards.
In Indian schools
Class 12 results feed directly into college admissions, where cut-offs and deadlines move fast. A school or college that keeps its student records in order can hand students on — and run its own intake — without losing anyone to a slow process.