JEE Main 2026 Answer Key Date (Out) LIVE: Session 1 response sheet on Feb 4; marks calculation

Predictably, BTech Computer Science Engineering (BTech CSE) is the hardest engineering branch to get into at NIT Tiruchirappalli, show past cut-off trends. Given below are the cut-offs at which admissions closed last year for gender-neutral, open seats for students from "other states". 

The NITs reserve 50% seats for students from the same state in which the NIT is located; the remaining 50% seats are for candidates from other states. Cut-offs for "other-state" quotas tend to be significantly higher. 

JEE Mains Answer Key: NIT Trichy (Image: Official website)

NTA will issue the JEE Main Answer Key 2026 along with the response sheet on the official website, jeemain.nta.ac.in, by Feb 4.

The total duration of JEE Main 2026 session 2 paper 1 (B.E./B.Tech), which includes Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, is three hours for non-PwD/PwBD candidates. Candidates with PwD/PwBD status who are eligible for a scribe will be provided an extended duration of four hours to complete the examination.

Candidates who have passed the Class 12 or equivalent examination in 2024 or 2025, or are appearing for it in 2026, are eligible to apply for JEE Main 2026 session 2. Those who passed the qualifying examination in 2023 or earlier are not eligible. The passing year will be considered as the year in which the candidate was first declared ‘pass’ in the Class 12 or equivalent examination.

For Numerical Value Questions in Section B of JEE Main 2026 session 2, negative marking will apply. Candidates will receive four marks for each correct answer and lose one mark for an incorrect response, while unanswered or marked-for-review questions will carry no marks. If a question is found to be incorrect or dropped after key verification, full marks will be awarded to all candidates of that shift. Answers must be calculated using the given constants and rounded off to the nearest integer.

The registration link for JEE Main 2026 session 2 registration will be available on the official website jeemain.nta.nic.in.

JEE Main 2026 is being conducted in two sessions for admissions in the upcoming academic year, giving candidates multiple advantages. The two-session format allows students to improve their scores, gain exam experience, avoid losing an entire year due to unforeseen circumstances, and choose whether to appear in one or both sessions. For candidates appearing in both attempts, the best NTA score will be considered for the final merit list and ranking.

The National Testing Agency is expected to release the JEE Main 2026 admit cards for Session 2 around three to four days before the examination begins. With the exams scheduled from April 2, candidates are likely to be able to download their hall tickets on March 30 or March 31 from the official website, jeemain.nta.nic.in.

JEE Main 2026 session 2 will be conducted in multiple formats based on the paper opted by candidates. Paper 1 (B.E./B.Tech) will be held fully in computer-based test (CBT) mode. Paper 2A (B.Arch) will have mathematics and aptitude in CBT mode, while the drawing test will be conducted offline on an A4-size sheet. Paper 2B (B.Planning) will be conducted entirely in CBT mode, covering mathematics, aptitude and planning-based questions.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) will issue the JEE Mains 2026 session 1 response sheet on February 4 and the result will be declared on February 12. 

The JEE Main 2026 cut-offs for NIT Srinagar across BTech in the last year were as follows.

A 97 percentile in JEE Main usually means a score between 130 and 155 marks, depending on how difficult the paper is. For a moderate paper, students often need around 140–150 marks, which generally results in a rank of about 30,000 to 35,000.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) will declare the JEE Mains 2026 session 1 result by February 12. 

The National Testing Agency (NTA) will use a tie-breaking method to award rank to candidates who have obtained the same scores in JEE Mains 2026. Tie between candidates obtaining same NTA scores will be resolved in the following order: 

• NTA score in Mathematics, followed by;
• NTA score in Physics, followed by;
• NTA score in Chemistry, followed by;
• Candidate with less number of attempted incorrect answers in all subjects
• Candidate with less proportion of a number of attempted incorrect answers and correct answers in Mathematics
• Candidate with less proportion of a number of attempted incorrect answers and correct answers in Physics
• Candidate with less proportion of a number of attempted incorrect answers and correct answers in Chemistry
• If there is a tie even after this, candidates will be assigned the same rank.

The National Institute of Technology Calicut (NIT Calicut) recorded its highest JEE Main cut-off in Architecture, with admissions closing at AIR 289 in the fifth round of JoSAA counselling for ‘Other State’ (OS), open, gender-neutral category. Among core engineering programmes, BTech Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) emerged as the most competitive, making it the second highest cut-off , AIR 5222.

NIT Calicut BTech JEE Main cut-offs.

The JEE Main BTech paper 1 will have 75 questions carrying 300 marks. While, section A will be multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and section B will contain questions whose answers are to be filled in as a numerical value. 

As per the marking scheme, there will be negative marking for incorrect answers in both sections. For Section B, candidates are required to choose an answer after rounding off it to the neared integer.

The NTA will award four marks for each correct answer and deduct one marks for each incorrect response. No marks will be awarded for unanswered questions, as per the JEE Main marking scheme 2026. 

The JEE Main official answer key for session 1 exams conducted from January 21 to 29 will be published by February 1 on the official website, jeemain.nta.nic.in. 

A 97 percentile in JEE Main usually means a score between 130 and 155 marks, depending on how difficult the paper is. For a moderate paper, students often need around 140–150 marks, which generally results in a rank of about 30,000 to 35,000.

A 96 percentile in JEE Main is a good score. It means you did better than 96% of the candidates and usually results in a rank of around 40,000 to 50,000.

Once the answer key for the JEE Main 2026 session 1 is released, follow the instructions below to download it.

• Go to the official website, jeemain.nta.nic.in.
• Click on the "JEE Main Answer Key and Response Sheet" link.
• Enter the valid JEE Main application number and date of birth.
• Click on the 'Submit' button.
• Download the answer key and response sheet PDF.

The provisional answer key for JEE Main 2026 session 1 is expected to be released by the NTA in the first week of February 2026, likely on February 3 or 4, following the conclusion of exams on January 29.

The JEE Main 2026 results for session 1 will be declared on February 12, 2026, about ten days after the exam. Candidates can download their JEE Main scorecard from the official website using their application number, birthdate, and password.

According to last year's trends, the National Testing Agency (NTA) will release the JEE Main 2026 session 1 provisional answer key and response sheet in the first week of February.

As per NTA, a total of 13,00,368 candidates appeared for the JEE Main 2026 exam till Jan 28. Also, 4,314 PwD candidates appeared for the exam. The overall attendance has been recorded at 96.26% for JEE Main 2026 session 1 

The JEE Main 2026 cut-offs for NIT Srinagar across BTech in the last year were as follows.

JEE Main 2026: NIT Srinagar cut-offs

According to the JEE official brochure, the JEE Main 2026 result date for session 1 is February 12. Candidates can check JEE Main session 1 result on the official website, jeemain.nta.nic.in.

IIT Delhi will host an open house for JEE Advanced 2026 aspirants in Kota, Rajasthan. IIT Delhi’s open house will be held at Vardhman Mahaveer Open University's auditorium in Kota on January 31. 

IIT Delhi to hold open house for JEE Advanced 2026 aspirants in Kota

Google India has signed an agreement with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship to introduce JEE Main practice tests on Gemini in collaboration with Careers360 and other educational platforms.

Google announces JEE Main mock tests in Gemini, Rs 85 crore push for AI learning in India

The expected JEE Mains 2026 marks vs percentile for each marks between 90 to 75 is as follows.

NTA JEE Main 2026 session 1 overall exam analysis for shifts 1 and 2 is shown in the table below.

The JEE Main 2026 January 28 Shift 2 paper was easier compared to the Shift 1 exam. Students appearing in the afternoon session said that Mathematics was the most difficult section, whereas Chemistry and Physics were relatively easier. The questions asked were mostly statement-based. The Mathematics section was lengthy, while Chemistry was balanced, and Physics was formula-based.

JEE Main 2026 Jan 28 shift 2 paper easy overall; mathematics toughest

The NTA is expected to announce the JEE Main 2026 response sheet release date soon on its official website. As per last year’s trends, the response sheet is likely to be released in the first week of February.

The NTA held JEE Main 2026 Session 1 from January 21 to 28 in two shifts for BE/BTech, and on January 29 in a single shift for BArch and BPlanning. As per student feedback, most papers were moderate to difficult, with lengthy, calculation-heavy Mathematics, concept-driven Chemistry, and relatively easier, well-balanced Physics.

Also read: JEE Main 2026 Overall Analysis: Session 1 ‘moderate’ in difficulty; toughest BE, BTech shift

The expected JEE Main 2026 marks vs percentile for Jan 28 shift 1 and 2 are given in the table below. 

The JEE Main 2026 January 22 shift 1 paper is considered one of the easiest shifts of session 1. Students who were aiming for average percentiles needed high marks and said that it was an easy-to-score paper.

As per the expected JEE Main cutoff 2026, the qualifying percentile for the general category is 93- 95 percentile, for OBC-NCL it is 80-82 percentile, and for SC and ST it is 60-49 percentile.

NTA will conduct JEE Mains 2026 exams session 2 from April 2 to 9. 

NTA is yet to announce the JEE Main session 2 registration dates. Once announced, candidates can apply for JEE Main 2026 on the official website, jeemain.nta.nic.in.

As per the NTA JEE official brochure, JEE Main 2026 session 1 results are expected to be announced by Feb 12. 

The National Testing Agency (NTA) conducted the JEE Main session 1 exams 2026 from January 21 to 29 across various cities in two shifts.