CBSE registers 50,989 lesser number of applications for JEE Main 2018

Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has witnessed a dip in JEE Main applications for the consecutive fourth year. By January 1, the last date for JEE Main registrations, CBSE has reportedly received around 11,48,000 applications. As per a report by the national daily The Times of India (which quoted CBSE officials), for the academic year 2018-19, CBSE has received as many as 50,989 lesser number of applications as compared to 2017-18.

In comparison with the last year, there has been a fall of around 4% in JEE Main registrations. While the number of overall JEE Main applications has plunged, Maharashtra has registered a marginal growth in the number of candidates applying for the national level engineering entrance test. As per the official data released by CBSE, a total of 1.63 lakh candidates have registered for JEE Main this year whereas last year only 1.59 lakh candidates from the state had applied for the test.

The reason for the dip in JEE Main registrations has been attributed to the increasing difficulty level of JEE Main as compared to state level tests, students increasing awareness and interest towards other programmes like management and law.

Since 2014, JEE Main registrations have been witnessing a fall. According to the official data, in 2014, a total of 13,56,000 candidates had applied for JEE Main, while in 2015, only 13,04,217 had registered for the national level test. This number further saw a dip in 2016 and 2017 with as many as 12,07,257 and 11,98,989 registrations respectively.

Check the table below to know the official data about JEE Main applications from 2012 to 2018.

JEE Main Applications (2012-2018)

JEE Main 2018 application form was available from December 1, 2017 to January 1, 2018. However, the facility of JEE Main application fee payment was open till January 2, 2018. Candidates were also able to correct discrepancies in their photograph and signature till January 2.

JEE Main 2018 will be conducted by CBSE on April 8 in offline mode (pen-and-paper), while the online exam (CBT mode) will be held on April 15 and 16, 2018.

Every year, over 12 lakh candidates appear in JEE Main for admission to National Institutes of Technology (NITs), Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) and Centrally Funded Technical Institutions (CFTIs). JEE Main is also the first stage entrance examination for admission to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).