JEE Main at a glance
The Joint Entrance Examination (Main) is the entrance exam for B.E./B.Tech. at the NITs, IIITs and other centrally funded institutes, and the qualifying step for JEE Advanced, the IIT entrance exam. It is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA).
Exam pattern (Paper 1)
| Subject | Section A MCQ | Section B numerical | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physics | 20 | 5 | 100 |
| Chemistry | 20 | 5 | 100 |
| Mathematics | 20 | 5 | 100 |
| Total | 60 | 15 | 300 |
Section A questions have four options with one correct answer. In Section B there are no options: you type a number on the on-screen keypad. From 2021 to 2024 Section B had 10 questions per subject, of which you answered any 5; since JEE Main 2025 there are 5 and all are compulsory. Paper 2A (B.Arch.) and Paper 2B (B.Planning) are separate papers.
Marking scheme
- +4 Correct answer
- −1 Wrong answer
- 0 Question left unanswered
The −1 applies to wrong numerical answers in Section B too, not just to MCQs, so a guessed number can cost you. Check the bulletin for your year: the rule for Section B has changed before.
Who can take it
- Age: no age limit for JEE Main.
- Qualification: Class 12 passed in the previous two years, or appearing this year, with Physics and Mathematics and one of Chemistry, Biology, Biotechnology or a technical vocational subject.
- Attempts: because of the Class 12 rule you can take JEE Main in three consecutive years, with up to two sessions in each.
- For NITs, IIITs and CFTIs: 75% in Class 12 (65% for SC and ST), or a place in the top 20 percentile of your board.
Percentile and NTA score
- Per shift: the exam runs in many shifts with different papers, so raw marks are turned into a percentile within your own shift.
- NTA score: the percentage of candidates in your shift who scored the same as you or less, to 7 decimal places. It is not the percentage of marks you got.
- Two sessions: if you take both, the better of your two NTA scores is used for your All India Rank.
The usual year
- October – NovemberNTA publishes the information bulletin; applications for Session 1 open.
- JanuarySession 1 exams, then its answer key and NTA scores in February.
- February – MarchApplications for Session 2 (you can skip Session 1 and take only this one).
- AprilSession 2 exams, then the final result with All India Ranks and the JEE Advanced cut-off.
- May – JuneJEE Advanced for those who qualify, then JoSAA counselling.
Dates change from year to year. Always go by the latest notice on jeemain.nta.nic.in.
After the result
- JEE Advanced: the top 2,50,000 in Paper 1 (across all categories, split by reservation) can register for JEE Advanced, the exam for the IITs. It is set by one of the IITs each year; you can take it at most twice, in two consecutive years, and there is an age limit (see jeeadv.ac.in).
- JoSAA counselling: one joint process for the IITs (by JEE Advanced rank) and the NITs, IIITs and other government-funded institutes (by JEE Main rank). You fill in your choices once and seats are allotted over several rounds (josaa.nic.in).
- Other admissions: many state and private engineering colleges also admit on JEE Main scores, through their own counselling.
Syllabus
Published by NTA with the bulletin, based on Class 11 and 12Physics
Units and measurements, kinematics, laws of motion, work, energy and power, rotational motion, gravitation, properties of solids and liquids, thermodynamics, kinetic theory, oscillations and waves, electrostatics, current electricity, magnetism, electromagnetic induction and AC, electromagnetic waves, optics, dual nature of matter, atoms and nuclei, electronic devices, experimental skills.
Chemistry
Physical chemistry (mole concept, atomic structure, bonding, thermodynamics, solutions, equilibrium, redox and electrochemistry, kinetics), inorganic chemistry (periodicity, p-, d- and f-block elements, coordination compounds) and organic chemistry (purification, basic principles, hydrocarbons, compounds with halogens, oxygen and nitrogen, biomolecules, practical chemistry).
Mathematics
Sets, relations and functions, complex numbers and quadratic equations, matrices and determinants, permutations and combinations, binomial theorem, sequences and series, limits, continuity and differentiability, integral calculus, differential equations, coordinate geometry, three-dimensional geometry, vectors, statistics and probability, trigonometry.
This page is a summary to help you plan. MCQIndia is not connected with NTA or the IITs. Check the official NTA information bulletin for your year: it has the final word on the pattern, marking, eligibility and dates.