JEE Advanced 2026 Sees Over 10,000 Women Qualify, Highest in Six Years
A significant shift is visible in India’s engineering landscape this year as 10,107 women qualified JEE Advanced 2026—the first time in six years that the number has crossed the 10,000 mark.According to the Joint Implementation Committee (JIC) report prepared by Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, which conducted the 2026 examination, 43,112 women registered for the exam, while 40,562 appeared in both papers.The success rate among registered women candidates climbed from 21.7% in 2025 to 23.4% in 2026. In other words, nearly one in four registered women candidates made it through this year.The top-performing woman scored 280 marks, including 101 in mathematics, 86 in physics and 93 in chemistry, securing an impressive All India Rank of 77.Among the 3,814 women who eventually secured admission, 37 earned seats through the gender-neutral pool.SC and ST Candidates Make Strong GainsThe rise was not limited to women. Candidates from several reserved categories also recorded notable gains in qualification rates. The qualification rate for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates increased by 9.8 percentage points, while the rate for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates rose by 8.1 percentage points.The number of SC qualifiers increased from 12,499 in 2025 to 15,856 this year. ST qualifiers also rose sharply, from 5,008 to 6,379.Among EWS candidates, the number of qualifiers edged up from 6,291 to 6,377.56,880 Candidates Clear the ExamJEE Advanced 2026 was held on May 17 in two sessions. Of the 1,87,389 registered candidates, 1,79,694 appeared in both papers. A total of 56,880 candidates qualified.The report noted that category-wise qualifying criteria were relaxed to ensure that at least twice the number of candidates compared with available seats could qualify.IIT Seats Await the ToppersWith thousands of successful candidates now moving towards admission, IITs across the country are preparing to welcome the next generation of engineers. IIT Kharagpur has the highest seat allocation at 1,952, followed by IIT (BHU) with 1,590 and IIT Bombay with 1,366.The numbers from JEE Advanced 2026 point to a changing engineering classroom—one where more women and students from diverse backgrounds are increasingly making their mark.