New Delhi: A total of 26 candidates scored a perfect 100 NTA score in JEE (Main) 2026, even as 2,50,182 candidates qualified for JEE (Advanced), the gateway to IITs. The number of perfect scorers is up from 24 last year, indicating intensifying competition at the top end. Among the 26 perfect scorers, one candidate belongs to General-EWS category and one belongs to OBC-NCL.Among the 26 toppers, there is no woman candidate with 100 percentile this year. Malavarapu Asana from Telangana emerged as the highest scoring female candidate with around 99.998%. The absence of 100 percent of women marks a change from 2025, when at least one girl was among the top scorers.State-wise, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana dominated the list of top scorers with five candidates each. Rajasthan followed with four, while Delhi accounted for three. Maharashtra and Haryana had two each, and one each from Chandigarh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Gujarat, reflecting a high level of persistent concentration in a handful of states.No candidate from SC or ST categories is among the 100 percentile scorers, continuing the pattern seen in previous years.In comparison, JEE Main 2025 had 24 candidates with 100 NTA scores, including 10 from the April session alone. Rajasthan led the way with seven toppers followed by Maharashtra, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh. Notably, there was at least one female topper among the top scorers in 2025, indicating a slight shift in gender representation this year. JEE (Advanced) is one of the toughest entrance exams globally, serving as the sole gateway to Indian Institutes of Technology. Based on the category wise cut-off, only the candidates with top performance in JEE (Main) are eligible to appear. The exam ultimately filters candidates for around 17,000 IIT seats, making the selection ratio highly competitive.This year, 96,873 general category candidates qualified for JEE (Advanced), followed by 67,597 OBC candidates, 37,522 SC, 25,009 EWS and 18,790 ST candidates, taking the total to 2,50,182.In total, 16,04,854 unique candidates registered for JEE (Main) 2026 in both the sessions, out of which 15,38,468 appeared. In the April session alone, 11,10,904 candidates registered and 10,34,330 candidates appeared, showing an attendance rate of over 93%. The Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main is India’s premier engineering entrance examination and serves as a gateway to undergraduate programs in institutions such as National Institutes of Technology (NITs), Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) and other centrally funded technical institutes. Conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), the examination is conducted in two sessions every year in a computer-based format, candidates are allowed to appear in one or both sessions and their best score is considered for ranking. Scores are reported as NTA percentiles, which normalize performance across multiple shifts.Key highlightsPerfect scorers26 candidates secured 100 NTA percentile.Up from 24 in 2025Topper Distribution (100 percent)Andhra Pradesh: 5Telangana: 5Rajasthan: 4Delhi: 3Maharashtra: 2Haryana: 2Others (1 each): Chandigarh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, GujaratCategory Snapshot (100 percent)General-EWS: 1OBC-NCL: 1Eligible for JEE (Advanced): 2,50,182General: 96,873OBC: 67,597SC: 37,522EWS: 25,009ST: 18,790Participation (both sessions combined)Registered: 16,04,854Impressions: 15,38,468Repeat actors.Pasala Mohit from Andhra Pradesh and Shobham Kumar from Bihar are the two candidates who scored 100 percentile in both the sessions (January and April).
