JEE-Main results: 12 candidates bag 100 score in first edition of exam

New Delhi: Twelve candidates secured a perfect NTA score of 100 in the Joint Entrance Examination Main 2026, with Rajasthan producing the highest number of top scorers, the National Testing Agency announced on Monday. The result came after more than 13.04 lakh candidates appeared for the first session of the engineering entrance examination.

Rajasthan accounted for three of the 12 candidates with a score of 100. Andhra Pradesh followed with two candidates, while Delhi, Bihar, Odisha, Haryana, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Telangana contributed one candidate each. All the top scorers are male and 11 of them belong to the general category.

The candidates who achieved the top score are Kabeer Chhillar, Chiranjib Kar and Arnav Gautam from Rajasthan, Narendrababu Gari Mahith and Pasala Mohith from Andhra Pradesh, Shreyas Mishra from Delhi, Shubham Kumar from Bihar, Bhavesh Patra from Odisha, Anay Jain from Haryana, Madhav Viradiya from Maharashtra, Puroht Nimay from Gujarat and Vivan Sharad Mahiswari from Telangana.

Sources said that at least nine questions were removed from the final answer key after students and other stakeholders flagged discrepancies across multiple shifts. “For the nine questions dropped across multiple shifts, full marks will be awarded to all candidates who appeared for that particular shift,” a source said. Last year, six questions were dropped from the final key.

Officials reiterated that the NTA score should not be confused with the percentage of marks. “NTA scores are normalised scores across multi-shift papers and are based on the relative performance of all those who appeared for the examination in one shift. The marks obtained are transformed into a scale ranging from 100 to 0 for each shift of examinees,” a senior official said.

To ensure smooth conduct, the agency set up a Central Control Room and coordinated with state and district authorities. OTP-based Aadhaar e-KYC was introduced for the first time during registration to curb impersonation. Examination centres were placed under live CCTV surveillance with analytics, supported by AI-based video monitoring and virtual observers. Officials said 5G jammers were installed at all centres to prevent the use of mobile phones or electronic devices, while recordings were reviewed post-examination to detect malpractice.