The Joint Entrance Examination Main (JEE Main), conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for admission in undergraduate engineering programmes does not have any qualifying marks. The cut-off marks announced by the NTA with the JEE Main result are for screening students who will be allowed to appear for JEE Advanced for admission to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT). Therefore, every student who appears for JEE Main, including the ones who have got negative marks in any or all three subjects, is assigned a JEE Main rank. Plus, all students assigned ranks are eligible to participate in the seat allocation process of Joint Seat Allocation Authority, or JoSAA counselling . Screening for admissions is based on the Class 12 qualifying status and the JEE Main rank.
The paper 1 JEE Main 2026 exam pattern 1 is as follows.
Exam Mode | CBT mode |
Exam duration | 3 hours |
Exam medium | English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Malayalam, Odisha, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. |
Type of Questions |
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Number of Sections |
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Total questions |
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This means that a student who has passed Class 12 with the minimum specified marks and who has appeared for JEE Main and secured a rank will be eligible for admissions in the order of their merit, or position on the rank list. This has allowed students with relatively low ranks, such as between two lakh and eight lakh and even below, to secure admission in some of the National Institutes of Technology (NIT). This unique situation is restricted to the NITs where each institute has 50 percent seats reserved for students from the same state in which the NIT is located. This is the home state quota. Here’s a look at the NITs where students with JEE ranks from two lakh to eight lakh and below have secured admissions.
For this analysis, Careers360 has considered only open category seats in the home state quota.
Given below are the ranks at which general category candidates secured admission in NIT Agartala in 2023.
Counselling Course Name | Opening Rank | Closing Rank |
---|---|---|
Production Engineering | 198832 | 326262 |
Chemistry (5 Years BSc-MSc Dual Degree)) | 250740 | 316556 |
Engineering Physics (5 Years BTech-MTech Dual Degree) | 233128 | 295549 |
Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering | 85416 | 287950 |
Chemical Engineering | 109154 | 280589 |
Civil Engineering | 94302 | 245373 |
Mathematics & Computing (5 Years BSc-MSc Dual Degree)) | 154516 | 242884 |
Physics (5 Years BSc-MSc Dual Degree)) | 45913 | 237897 |
The above table shows that at NIT Agartala, branches like Production Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering (CE) and Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering are not as popular as other branches like Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE), Computer Science Engineering (CSE) or Electrical Engineering(EE).
The dual degree courses like Engineering Physics and Chemistry also are not as popular as the core branches.
NIT Meghalaya has seen allotments to JEE Main ranks below 2 lakh but only for home state quota for three out of five branches, including Electrical and Electronics Engineering (EEE), ECE and CE.
Counselling Course Name | Opening Rank | Closing Rank |
---|---|---|
Civil Engineering | 142261 | 257202 |
Electrical and Electronics Engineering | 138346 | 237583 |
Electronics and Communication Engineering | 121773 | 220988 |
CSE and ME are the branches where students under two lakh rank opt for in NIT Meghalaya.
NIT Sikkim admitted students with below two lakhs to all its programmes. In one case, the closing ranking in JoSAA seat allotment dropped to below 10 lakh.
Counselling Course Name | Opening Rank | Closing Rank |
---|---|---|
Civil Engineering | 527505 | 1005918 |
Mechanical Engineering | 311356 | 817562 |
Electronics and Communication Engineering | 174848 | 713531 |
Electrical and Electronics Engineering | 251666 | 639272 |
Computer Science and Engineering | 78672 | 405836 |
While NIT Sikkim has seen the last seat in Computer Science Engineering, one of the most popular branches, allotted to students with JEE Main ranks around four lakh, other core branches like ME, CE, ECE and EEE have seen allotments to JEE Main ranks below six lakh.
The table below shows that the closing rank was below six lakh to 10 lakh for several courses.
Counselling Course Name | Opening Rank | Closing Rank |
---|---|---|
Mechanical Engineering | 636017 | 1014892 |
Mathematics and Computing | 834722 | 834722 |
Electronics and Communication Engineering | 589620 | 809789 |
Civil Engineering | 234729 | 678406 |
Electrical Engineering | 560594 | 661107 |
Computer Science and Engineering | 284473 | 516872 |
Seats under the home state quota in NIT Mizoram for all branches including core branches have been allotted to students with JEE Main ranks below 2 lakh. All these courses had their cut-offs dropping to below 2 lakh, even in the first round of JoSAA counselling.
Just one programme admitted at ranks lower than 2 lakh in NIT Puducherry.
Counselling Course Name | Opening Rank | Closing Rank |
---|---|---|
Civil Engineering | 186956 | 225349 |
The last seat in Civil Engineering at NIT Puducherry in 2023 was allotted to a home state student with a JEE Main rank below 2 lakh. NIT Puducherry is a relatively new NIT compared to NITs in Agartala, Mizoram or Meghalaya.
All branches of NIT Manipur admitted students with rank below two lakh. Core branches like ME and EE had students with ranks above four lakhs too.
Counselling Course Name | Opening Rank | Closing Rank |
---|---|---|
Electronics and Communication Engineering | 341866 | 749669 |
Mechanical Engineering | 157954 | 667509 |
Electrical Engineering | 101231 | 407152 |
Computer Science and Engineering | 93261 | 364827 |
Civil Engineering | 97608 | 229695 |
On Question asked by student community
Hello,
You can get the JEE 2025 Syllabus from this link : JEE Main Class 12th Syllabus 2026
Hope it helps !
Hello,
You cannot "renew" your September 2025 certificate. You must apply for a completely new EWS certificate after April 1, 2026.
EWS certificates are linked to a specific financial year.
Your certificate issued in September 2025 is valid for the financial year 2025-26. It is based on your family's income from the previous financial year (i.e., 2024-25).
The certificate required for JEE counselling in mid-2026 must be valid for the financial year 2026-27. This certificate must be based on your family's income from the financial year 2025-26 and must be issued on or after April 1, 2026.
Since they are based on two different income periods, they are considered completely different documents.
Hope it's helpful to you.
For JEE Main 2026, NTA has said that students should update their Aadhaar, category certificate, and UDID if applicable before applying. During registration, you will need to upload your 10th marksheet, photo, signature, and ID proof. The registration is expected to start in October or November 2025.
https://jeemain.nta.ac.in/
Hi! Don’t worry, you can correct your category this year while filling out the JEE Main 2025 application form. If you belong to BC/OBC category and have the valid caste certificate, you can apply under OBC NCL now. It will not be a problem if last year you had applied as General/EWS, since each year’s application is considered separately.
OBC NCL is for candidates from socially and educationally backward communities (non creamy layer) with income below 8 lakh, while EWS is for students from the general category (not SC/ST/OBC) with family income below 8 lakh. Since your family income is less than 2 lakh and you are BC, applying under OBC NCL is the right choice and will give you reservation benefits.
Hello,
To get below AIR 100 in JEE Advanced 2027, you need a strong and focused plan. Here’s a simple guide:
Clear Concepts : Make sure all NCERT basics are strong. Focus on Physics, Chemistry, and Maths concepts deeply.
Advanced Practice : Solve previous years’ JEE Advanced papers and high-level questions from books like HC Verma, I.E. Irodov, OP Tandon, and Cengage.
Regular Mock Tests : Take full-length tests every week. Analyse mistakes and improve weak areas.
Time Management : Learn to solve questions quickly and accurately. Work on speed and accuracy together.
Short Notes : Make notes/formulas for quick revision.
Consistency : Study daily and avoid long breaks. Consistent practice is key.
Focus on Weak Areas : Identify topics you struggle with and spend extra time on them.
Stress Management : Stay healthy, sleep well, and avoid last-minute panic.
If you follow a structured plan and stay consistent, AIR below 100 is achievable.
Hope it helps !
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