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The math requirements have increased in difficulty, more women are passing, and the cutoff scores have dropped for the top engineering universities in India. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), which is in charge of administering the Joint Entrance Examination Advanced (JEE Advanced), releases a report on the exam after each round, including information on the number of applicants, JEE Advanced result data, the total number of seats in IITs, and more. The JEE Advanced top scorer from last year qualified with the highest percentage score since 2013, according to the 2021 report from IIT Kharagpur.
On August 28, JEE Advanced 2022 was administered. On September 11, the organising organisation, IIT Bombay, will release the JEE Advanced 2022 results. In order to understand how the exam for the top engineering colleges in the nation has changed and how students have performed over the years, we examined ten years’ worth of data on the JEE Advanced and IIT-JEE before 2013. The test itself has altered over the past ten years. As of 2013, the IIT-JEE was no longer a distinct, stand-alone entrance exam but connected to the JEE Main. Only the top scorers are permitted to take the IIT test, which was first administered by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and is now administered by the National Testing Agency (NTA). JEE Main acts as a preparatory stage.
The number of IITs has increased to include seven new ones, and the engineering college at Banaras Hindu University has been renamed IIT-BHU Varanasi. The overall number of seats increased by 68.6% between 2011 and 2021; starting in 2018, the exam was entirely computer-based; more women were admitted due to new policy decisions, and the Covid-19 pandemic also necessitated a revision in the exam’s format. Students graduating from schools associated with the (CBSE), most of which are private, have consistently had a disproportionately high success rate in the JEE Advanced. The following 10 graphs show the JEE Advanced over the last ten years.
Total seats in IITs
The number of seats is taken into consideration while calculating the JEE Main and JEE Advanced qualifying cut-offs, which determine whether applicants are eligible to take the IIT exam. From 9,627 in 2011 to 16,232 in 2021, the total number of seats increased by more than 68%. There are now more seats available thanks to the addition of seven new IITs: IIT Palakkad, Tirupati, Bhilai, Dharwad, Jammu, and Goa. Two existing engineering colleges also changed their names to IIT-BHU and IIT-ISM Dhanbad. With a starting enrollment of 120 candidates each, IIT Tirupati and IIT Palakkad both began operations in 2015.
IIT Seats: Growth (2011-21)
| Year | Seats |
| 2021 | 16,232 |
| 2020 | 16,053 |
| 2019 | 12,461 |
| 2018 | 11,279 |
| 2017 | 10,988 |
| 2016 | 10,572 |
| 2015 | 10,006 |
| 2014 | 9,784 |
| 2013 | 9,867 |
| 2012 | 9,369 |
| 2011 | 9,627 |
With more seats available, in 2017 the top 2.2 lakh JEE Main candidates—up from the initial one lakh, which had been increased to 2 lakh over the previous few years—were permitted to write JEE Advanced.
Qualifying JEE Advanced
2,50,597 applicants who qualified for JEE Main in 2021 were declared eligible to write JEE Advanced. 30% of the 1,41,699 candidates who took the exam in the end qualified. The previous high was in 2017 when it reached about 32%. In just these two years in the previous ten years, the proportion of students who qualified hit or above 30%. This came about as a result of the pre-determined qualification standards outlined in the information brochure being “lowered down” or loosening up to accommodate more students—at least twice as many as there were seats available for each category—in the process.
The proportion of students who meet the requirements, or even just the number of them, does not necessarily reflect the applicants’ overall talent or skill level. Following the exams, final qualifying cut-offs are determined depending on the number of seats, degree of difficulty, and overall score. The JEE Advanced cut-off scores have been set by the IITs in recent years, allowing two times as many candidates to qualify. When there were fewer seats available, fewer candidates qualified; as the number of seats expanded during the past ten years, more candidates qualified even though fewer people were taking the exam.
JEE Advanced: Qualified candidates
| Year | Appeared | Qualified (%) |
| 2021 | 1,41,699 | 30 |
| 2020 | 1,50,838 | 28.64 |
| 2019 | 1,61,319 | 23.99 |
| 2018 | 1,55,158 | 21 |
| 2017 | 1,59,540 | 31.99 |
| 2016 | 1,47,678 | 24.75 |
| 2015 | 1,17,238 | 22.47 |
| 2014 | 1,19,580 | 22.7 |
| 2013 | 1,15,971 | 17.96 |
| 2012 | 4,79,651 | 5.02 |
| 2011 | 4,68,280 | 2.81 |
The IIT JEE was a distinct exam in 2011 and 2012, and there was a considerably larger pool of direct students who didn’t go through a screening process first. Between 2011 and 2021, the total number of qualified applicants increased by approximately 200%. The greatest number of students to pass the JEE Advanced exam in ten years was 51,040 in 2017. However, the papers don’t go into detail on why the number shot up that year. It was the final time that JEE Advanced was administered using paper and pencil.
The proportion of female applicants who pass the JEE Advanced has continuously increased, while the number of applicants has stayed above 30,000 for four years. The IITs introduced supernumerary seats for women in 2018, with a maximum of 20%. From 1.32% in 2011 to 19.98% in 2021, the exam’s female qualifying percentage has increased dramatically over time. The year 2017 had the highest percentage of women who passed the JEE Advanced exam. Nearly a quarter of them did so.
Women qualifying for JEE Advanced
| Year | Appeared | Qualified | % Qualified |
| 2021 | 32,285 | 6,452 | 19.98 |
| 2020 | 32,851 | 6,707 | 20.41 |
| 2019 | 33,249 | 5,356 | 16.10 |
| 2018 | 31,021 | 4,179 | 13.47 |
| 2017 | 29,872 | 7,259 | 24.3 |
| 2016 | 27,778 | 4,570 | 16.45 |
| 2014 | 21,447 | 3,009 | 14.02 |
| 2013 | 23,089 | 2,366 | 10.24 |
| 2011 | 1,08,653 | 1,443 | 1.32 |
Since 2011, the number of Scheduled Caste students taking the JEE Advanced exam has increased by three times. In 2019, when 8,742 Dalit students passed the exam, it reached a record level. 15% of seats in all centrally administered institutions, including the IITs, are set aside for applicants from the SC community under the central reservation policy.
JEE Advanced: SC students
| Year | Qualified | % Qualified |
| 2021 | 7,726 | 15 |
| 2020 | 7,852 | 18.17 |
| 2019 | 8,742 | 23 |
| 2018 | 5,471 | 17 |
| 2017 | 4,840 | 9 |
| 2016 | 7,324 | 20 |
| 2015 | 2,571 | 10 |
| 2014 | 4,475 | 16 |
| 2013 | 2,990 | 14 |
| 2012 | 3,465 | 14 |
| 2011 | 1,951 | 15 |
In the past ten years, there has been a 426% increase in the percentage of Adivasi students that pass the exam. It climbed from 646 students in 2011 to 2,757 students in 2021. Of course, the increase in seats is a role, but the largest percentage of students from Scheduled Tribes to qualify was 13,490 in 2017, translating to a 26% qualification rate. For students from the Scheduled Tribes, 7.5% of seats are set aside.
JEE Advanced: ST students
| Year | Qualified | % Qualified |
| 2021 | 2,757 | 7 |
| 2020 | 2,811 | 6.5 |
| 2019 | 3,084 | 8 |
| 2018 | 1,786 | 6 |
| 2017 | 13,490 | 26 |
| 2016 | 2,386 | 7 |
| 2015 | 1,745 | 7 |
| 2014 | 1,271 | 5 |
| 2013 | 856 | 4 |
| 2012 | 1,112 | 5 |
| 2011 | 646 | 5 |
The percentage of students from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) to qualify has also grown. It was highest in 2020 with 6.09% of the students qualifying; 27% of seats are reserved for OBC candidates.
JEE Advanced: OBC students
| Year | Qualified | % Qualified |
| 2021 | 5,105 | 3.60 |
| 2020 | 9,195 | 6.09 |
| 2019 | 7,526 | 4.66 |
| 2018 | 6,900 | 4.47 |
| 2017 | 9,437 | 5.91 |
| 2016 | 7,743 | 5.24 |
| 2014 | 6,356 | 5.31 |
| 2013 | 4,244 | 3.65 |
| 2012 | 4,853 | 1.01 |
One of the most challenging admission tests to pass is EE Advanced. The data in the reports demonstrate that, between 2012 and 2021, the average percentages of correct answers in the physics sections of papers 1 and 2 increased unpredictably. For paper 1’s physics portion, the average percentage of right answers in 2021 was 20.16%; for paper 2, it was 13.06%. The 2013 cohort scored the highest on both tests, with 32.82% on paper 1 and 32.12% on paper 2, respectively. Because there were a fixed number of candidates for each paper, it was possible to average the percentages of correct answers for each question. Since 2012, the average percentage of right answers in papers 1 and 2 of the math section has steadily declined.
In 2021, the average percentage of correct responses in paper 1 maths was 14.67% and in paper 2, 11.24%. The maximum correct responses in papers 1 and 2 were in 2017, averaging 35% in paper 1 and 37% in paper 2.
JEE Advanced: Average % of correct responses
| Year | Physics Paper 1 | Physics Paper 2 ) | Maths Paper 1 | Maths Paper 2 | Chemistry Paper 1 | Chemistry Paper 2 |
| 2021 | 20.6 | 13.06 | 14.67 | 11.24 | 11.96 | 13.38 |
| 2020 | 16.25 | 7.85 | 7.74 | 10.1 | 17.6 | 12.08 |
| 2019 | 13.27 | 16.48 | 10.5 | 10.83 | 24.1 | 23.29 |
| 2018 | 23.95 | 24.45 | 17.52 | 18.1 | 12.16 | 15.65 |
| 2017 | 26 | 25 | 35 | 37 | 26.8 | 28.14 |
| 2016 | 18.85 | 16.42 | 13.19 | 22.62 | 20.64 | 22.8 |
| 2014 | 24.42 | 29.66 | 26 | 26.28 | 22.73 | 38.2 |
| 2013 | 32.82 | 32.12 | 27.47 | 26.77 | 28.27 | 31.62 |
| 2012 | 17.93 | 19.94 | 15.15 | 16.95 | 22.29 | 17.61 |
Starting in 2016, the IITs began publishing the cut-off percentage scores for JEE Advanced qualification. The cut-offs have gotten lower ever since for all candidate groups. The cut-off scores for entering various rank lists, both category-specific and overall, are shown in the table below (CRL).
JEE Advanced Cut-offs: Minimum % Aggregate Marks
| Year | No. qualified | Common Rank List | SC | ST | OBC |
| 2021 | 41,862 | 17.5 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 15.7 |
| 2020 | 43,204 | 17.5 | 8.7 | 8.75 | 15.75 |
| 2019 | 38,705 | 25.0 | 12.5 | 12.5 | 22.5 |
| 2018 | 31,988 | 35.0 | 17.5 | 17.5 | 31.5 |
| 2017 | 51,040 | 35.0 | 17.5 | 17.5 | 31.5 |
| 2016 | 36,566 | 35.0 | 17.5 | 17.5 | 31.5 |
The cut-off percentages have fallen rather sharply with the increase in seats. With an increase of 5,660 seats and 5,296 candidates over 2016-21, cut-offs fell by 50 percentage points.
Numerous students from CBSE institutions passed the JEE Advanced exams between 2010 and 2018. The greatest percentage of all years of students who took CBSE classes in 2015 passed the JEE Advanced exam at 68.17%. Since 2019, the school board has not made the distribution of students publicly available. Before that, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh boards usually finished second or third every year. The table below lists the boards with the second and third highest number of students who met the requirements for each year.
JEE Advanced: CBSE edge among qualified students
| Year | % CBSE | Second highest board, % qualified | Third highest board, % qualified |
| 2018 | 55.71 | Telangana8.92 | Andhra Pradesh7.42 |
| 2017 | 51.9 | Telangana8.08 | Maharashtra7.74 |
| 2016 | 53.51 | Telangana7.75 | Maharashtra6.69 |
| 2015 | 68.19 | NA | NA |
| 2014 | 55.08 | Andhra Pradesh 17.48 | Maharashtra6.70 |
| 2013 | 56.12 | Andhra Pradesh16.98 | Rajasthan6.60 |
| 2012 | NA | NA | NA |
| 2011 | 56 | NA | NA |
| 2010 | 57.93 | NA | NA |
According to reports, the percentage score of JEE Advanced top scorers is normally in the low 90s. The top scorer in the JEE Advanced 2021 exam was 348 out of 360, or 96%. Depending on whether questions are omitted because of errors or the change in paper format, applicants are given a total score out of which they are evaluated. As a result, the overall scores change from year to year.
JEE Advanced topper scores
| Year | AIR1 score | Total marks | % of total marks |
| 2021 | 348 | 360 | 96 |
| 2020 | 352 | 396 | 88.88 |
| 2019 | 346 | 372 | 93 |
| 2018 | 337 | 360 | 93 |
| 2017 | 339 | 366 | 92 |
| 2016 | 320 | 372 | 86 |
| 2015 | 469 | 504 | 93.05 |
| 2014 | 334 | 360 | 92.77 |
| 2013 | 332 | 360 | 92.22 |
| 2012 | 385 | 401 | 96 |
| 2011 | 440 | 480 | 91.66 |
The number of questions and patterns has evolved during the past ten years. In paper 1 there were two sections with 20 questions in each between 2011 and 2014, while in paper 2 there were three sections. In each area, there were now 18 questions from 2016 through 2019, and there were only two sections in every paper. Later, between 2017 and 2021, each segment had 19 questions. The JEE Advanced top scorers are broken down by subject in the table below. Only in Physics did the two highest scorers, 2021 and 2013, achieve a perfect score.
JEE Advanced toppers scores by subject
| Year | TotalMarks | Chemistry | % in Chemistry | Maths | % in Maths | Physics | % in Physics |
| 2021 | 120 | 112 | 93 | 116 | 96 | 120 | 100 |
| 2020 | 132 | 118 | 89 | 124 | 93 | 110 | 83.33 |
| 2019 | 124 | 112 | 90 | 121 | 97 | 113 | 91.12 |
| 2018 | 120 | 114 | 95 | 106 | 88.33 | 117 | 97.5 |
| 2017 | 122 | 115 | 94 | 120 | 98.36 | 104 | 85.24 |
| 2016 | 124 | 105 | 84 | 102 | 82.25 | 113 | 91.12 |
| 2015 | 168 | 142 | 84 | 162 | 96.42 | 165 | 98.21 |
| 2014 | 120 | 108 | 90 | 117 | 97.5 | 109 | 90.83 |
| 2013 | 120 | 118 | 98 | 113 | 94.16 | 120 | 100 |
| 2012 | 136 | 133 | 97 | 132 | 97.05 | 132 | 97.05 |
| 2011 | 160 | 138 | 86 | 154 | 96.25 | 156 | 97.5 |
The Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA) under the ministry of education now conducts counselling, the process of allocating BTech seats to competent applicants, online. In National Institutes of Technology (NIT) and other institutions, JoSAAcounselling is provided to those applying only on the basis of their JEE Main results. In place of a system of sporadic manual seat allocation inspections, the idea of “computerised” validation of seat allocation was adopted in 2015. Even the IITs, which are regarded as the best engineering institutes, have open seats, despite the fact that they are becoming fewer in number. There were only 21, down from 118 the year before.
IIT: Vacant seats
| Year | Vacant Seats |
| 2019 | 21 |
| 2018 | 118 |
| 2017 | 119 |
| 2016 | 73 |
| 2015 | 50 |
| 2014 | 52 |
| 2012 | 340 |
| 2011 | 333 |
