Joint Entrance Examination – Main

The Joint Entrance Examination – Main (JEE-Main), formerly All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE), is an Indian standardized computer-based test for admission to various technical undergraduate programs in engineering, architecture, and planning across colleges in India. The exam is conducted by the National Testing Agency for admission to B.Tech, B.Arch, B.Planning etc. programs in premier technical institutes such as the National Institutes of Technology (NITs), Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) and Government Funded Technical Institutes (GFTIs) which are based on the rank secured in the JEE-Main. It is usually conducted twice every year: Session 1 and Session 2 (commonly known as January session and April session). It also serves as a preliminary selection and eligibility test for qualifying JEE (Advanced) for admission to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). Since mid 2019, the JEE has been conducted fully online as a computerized test. Before the NTA, the JEE was administered by the Central Board of Secondary Education.
The AIEEE was introduced in 2002, since the newly established NITs, IIITs and GFTIs wanted an entrance examination paper of a higher standard than the Common Engineering Test (CET), which was formerly used for admission to all non-IIT engineering colleges and some state government colleges also in few states, including even RECs and IIITs, owing mostly to the rising competition and the goal of maintaining the exclusiveness of such institutes of national importance. It was renamed to JEE-Main in 2013.
Until 2018, the exam was held both in pen and paper and CBT modes, as well as was held in the first week of April by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). It is conducted by National Testing Agency in CBT mode only from 2018 onwards.
The 2020 and 2021 exams were postponed and conducted later in the same years, due to the coronavirus pandemic. 2021 was the only year throughout JEE-Main history, when a maximum of 4 attempts were given to students. In general, for the rest of the years, most students took the JEE-Main exam in either 1 or 2 attempts, even though a maximum of 3 attempts is allowed during two consecutive years.
The examination consists of only two papers: Paper 1 for B.E./B.Tech courses and Paper 2 for B.Arch and B.Planning courses. A candidate can opt for any or both the papers. Paper 1 is mandatory a computer based test (CBT) (called online mode) from 2018 onwards. Until 2018, there was an option between offline pen and paper mode and online computer mode. The examination was conducted only in offline pen and paper mode till 2010. In 2011, as per the orders of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, CBSE conducted Paper 1 in Computer Based Test (CBT) mode for the first one lakh candidates who opted for the same, while the remaining students took the examination in the conventional pen and paper mode. The number of attempts which a candidate can avail at the examination is limited to three in consecutive years. As of 2018, the top 2,24,000 rankers of JEE-Main will qualify to take the second and final level of examination: JEE-Advanced. this number of 2.24 lakh is not fixed this may vary as per difficulty level of paper of JEE-Main.
In 2010, the Ministry of Human Resource Development announced plans to replace JEE with a common entrance test for all government engineering colleges which will be called Indian Science Engineering Eligibility Test (ISEET), by 2013. Accordingly, MHRD proposes to set up National Testing Service, which will be an autonomous and self-sustained agency to conduct this new common entrance test.
The JEE-Main also serves as a preliminary requisite examination for JEE-Advanced.
In 2024, NTA reduced JEE Main syllabus to reduce pressure and stress among students and to meet the same syllabus structure as that of the NCERT revised books.
In the latest 2025 Information brochure, the syllabus remained same as of 2024 but NTA reduced the number of question in Section - B of Paper - 1 (B.E/B-Tech) from 5 out 10 questions (to be attempted) to 5 out of 5 questions (compulsory) with negative marking.
The exam is offered in thirteen languages, namely English, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.
Institutes participating in the 2022 centralized seat allocation process included:
The number of applicants taking the JEE-Main has varied over the years, with a peak of over 1.35 million in 2014.
(From 2021)
(From 2021)
(Before 2021)
Earlier, counselling for the JEE-Main was conducted through the CSAB; but, now, the authorities have made changes in the counselling procedure. The JAB (Joint Admission Board), representing IITs, and the CSAB (Central Seat Allocation Board), making agreements on behalf of the NITs (National Institutes of Technology) and other CFTIs (Centrally Funded Technical Institutes), are now united to conduct counselling (common counselling) for the two exams of the IIT-JEE. The memo for the same was signed on 2 May 2015. These two together are known as the Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA). The ministry of education constituted Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA) consisting of the Central Seat Allocation Board (CSAB) and the Joint Admission Board of IITs (JAB-IITs) for joint counselling and seat allocation to IITs and the NIT+ system, which consists of 31 NITs, IIEST Shibpur, 26 IIITs, three Schools of Planning and Architecture (SPAs) and 37 GFTIs (Central/State Government Funded Technical Institutions).
In 2011, CBSE postponed the exam by a few hours after the questions were leaked in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh the night before. The CBSE sent alternative questions to exam centres. CBSE announced the postponement of the exam 30 minutes before the scheduled start of the examination.