JEE Main 2026 Session 1 Provisional Answer Keys Out (Representational Image)NTA JEE Mains 2026 Session 1 Answer Key Highlights The National Testing Agency (NTA) on February 4 released the provisional answer keys for the JEE Main 2026 session one. Aspirants can download the JEE Main answer key and the response sheets from the official websites – jeemain.nta.nic.in and nta.ac.in. The window to raise objections against the JEE Main 2026 provisional answer key will open on February 4 and continue till February 6. The results for session one will be announced on February 12.
For more updates on JEE Main answer key, result date and analysis, click here.
The BTech and BE papers of JEE Main were conducted between January 21 and January 28. Overall, the papers were of moderate difficulty, though the level varied across shifts and subjects. Compared with last year’s sessions, most shifts were assessed as easy to moderately difficult. However, in several shifts, the Mathematics section was perceived as moderately difficult.
JEE Main Rank Predictor 2026: Check Here
The official JEE Main cut-off will be announced by the National Testing Agency (NTA) with the final results of JEE Main after the conclusion of the JEE Main 2026 session 2 in April. Last year, the session one exam was held between January 22 and 30. In the final answer keys, 12 questions are dropped, with most questions in Physics.
The window to raise objections against the JEE Main 2026 provisional answer key will open on February 4 and continue till February 6. The results for session one will be announced on February 12.
Aspirants can download the JEE Main answer key and the response sheets from the official websites – jeemain.nta.nic.in and nta.ac.in.
The window to raise objections against the JEE Main 2026 provisional answer key will remain open till February 6 (11.50 pm).
On January 23, Chemistry was considered moderately tough, featuring long NCERT-based theory questions and time-consuming numericals that required careful attention to detail. On January 24, the paper was more balanced: Physical Chemistry focused on electrochemistry and thermodynamics, Inorganic Chemistry drew directly from NCERT topics such as coordination compounds and p-block elements, and Organic Chemistry tested conceptual understanding of reactions rather than rote memorization. By January 28, Chemistry was relatively easy, offering a good scoring opportunity for well-prepared students. Inorganic Chemistry questions were straightforward and NCERT-based, Physical Chemistry numericals were direct to calculate, and Organic Chemistry included basic reactions and reaction mechanisms.
Physics continues to be a consistently moderate subject during the JEE Main 2026 January session.
Physics remained consistent in overall scoring across all days. The Physics section of the exam on January 23 had moderate questions covering topics including the De Broglie wavelength and matter waves, electrostatics, magnetic effects of current, wave and ray optics, capacitors, semiconductors, and modern physics. The questions were designed to test the students’ understanding of the basic principles as well as their ability to apply them correctly.
The Physics section covered a significant number of topics like electrostatics, capacitors, current electricity, ray optics, and modern physics.
Many questions were based on formulae, and the majority of numerical problems were either direct or calculus-based.
The trend in the Physics section of the exam from January 21-28 showed a preference for accuracy over speed. Students who were well-prepared with their NCERT information and could demonstrate their knowledge of formulae benefited the most from this trend.
- nta.ac.in
- jeemain.nta.nic.in
If challenges against the answer key are found to be correct, the JEE Main 2026 Janaury exam answer key will be revised and applied in the response of all the candidates accordingly. Based on the revised final answer keys, the result will be prepared and declared. No individual candidate will be informed about the acceptance/ non- acceptance of his/her challenge. The keys finalised by the experts after the settlement of the challenge will be final, NTA said.
The JEE Main 2026 January session answer key can be challenged by February 6 (11.50 pm).
NTA has released the JEE Main 2026 provisional answer keys. The provisional answer keys of Paper 1 (BE /BTech) along with the question papers with recorded responses at jeemain.nta.nic.in.
The JEE Main 2026 January 24 morning shift exam was of moderate difficulty overall, as per experts in the field. All three subjects—Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics—were nearly of equal level, though Mathematics was slightly more challenging due to lengthy calculations, while Physics and Chemistry were relatively moderate. The paper was well-balanced in terms of question distribution and chapter coverage.
In the JEE Main 2026 January 24 afternoon shift paper, the mathematics section was rated moderate to tough by most students. The physics section was considered easy to moderate in difficulty and the chemistry section was rated moderate in difficulty.
As per Ajay Sharma, National Academic Director, Engineering at Aakash Educational Services Limited, the JEE Main paper conducted on January 23 morning shift was of an easy to moderate difficulty level. All three subjects — Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics — were nearly of equal difficulty, though Mathematics was slightly more challenging, while Physics and Chemistry were comparatively easier to moderate. The paper was largely balanced in terms of question distribution and chapter coverage.
The JEE Main paper conducted on January 23 afternoon shift was of moderate difficulty overall, according to experts in the field. All three subjects were nearly of equal difficulty. Mathematics was slightly more challenging, while Physics and Chemistry were relatively easier to moderate level. The paper was well-balanced in terms of question distribution and coverage across chapters.
The Day 2 papers of JEE Main 2026 was concept-focused and NCERT-driven and easy to moderate in overall difficulty.
Read More | JEE Main 2026 Jan 22 Analysis
According to candidates who appeared for the JEE Main 2026 January 21 exam, chemistry was a bit lengthy and maths and physics were moderate. Compared to last year, the paper had fewer direct and more formula-based questions that required critical thinking and conceptual clarity. The overall difficulty level of the exam was moderate.
NTA will release the response sheets of all the candidates along with the JEE Main provisional answer keys.
These are the JEE Main 2026 response sheet and answer key websites:
- nta.ac.in
- jeemain.nta.nic.in
The All India Rank (AIR) shall be compiled and declared after the conduct of Session 2 of JEE Main 2026 Examination.
Only paid challenges against JEE Main 2026 January session answer key made during the stipulated time through the key challenge link will be considered. Challenges without justification or evidence and those filed on any other medium other than the prescribed link will not be considered, NTA said.
The JEE Main 2026 answer key for paper 1 will be released by February 4, the NTA said while announcing the JEE Main answer key release date on a social media post.
As many as 13,00,368 candidates took the JEE Main January 2026 exam on January 21, 22, 23, 24 and January 28. According to data shared by NTA, the attendance across all shifts was recorded at 96.26 per cent. Of the total candidates who appeared for JEE Main 2026 January session exam, as many as 4,314 candidates belonged to PwD category.
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js📊 JEE (Main) 2026 | Session 1 – Key Highlights
— National Testing Agency (@NTA_Exams) January 28, 2026
📅 Exam Date: 28 Jan 2026
👥 Appeared till date: 13,00,368
📈 Attendance: 96.26%
♿ PwD Candidates: 4,314
Smooth conduct ensured with coordinated support from State & District authorities. ✅#jeemain2026 #nta #examupdate pic.twitter.com/31k05ydVjy
IIT Kanpur has started a short online course on Applied Data Science & Machine Intelligence: Fundamentals to Next Generation AI. The course will be held between June 1 and July 15. Prof Rajesh Hegde, IIT Kanpur, will be the course coordinator.
- Correct response: +4
- Incorrect response: -1
- Questions unanswered/ marked for review: 0
- jeemain.nta.nic.in
- nta.ac.in
The organising institute has introduced some changes in JEE Advanced 2026. From increasing the application fee for exam centres abroad to reducing exam centres, these are the changes in the engineering entrance exam
- JEE Advanced application fee
- JEE Advanced 2026 zonal institutes
- List of exam centres
Read More | JEE Advanced 2026: Application fee, exam centres; other changes introduced
In a move aimed at making the JEE Advanced exam “a better and less stressful assessment,” the IIT Council has recommended that an expert committee evaluate the possibility of making the test adaptive, where questions are dynamically generated and adjusted in real-time depending on the candidate’s ability.
Read More | IIT Council for ‘adaptive’ JEE Advanced: Exam changes based on student’s ability
The committee is learnt to have identified a “disconnect between school curricula and the demands of competitive examinations such as JEE and NEET”, and flagged the transition from Class 10 to Class 11 as a “stress point” for students.
Yes, candidates will get two-three days to raise objections against the answer key of JEE Main 2026 session 1 exam.
Many students preparing for JEE Main find their preparations complicated and filled with frustration, not from their inability to prepare but rather from missteps that could have been avoided.
Read More | JEE Main 2026: What mistakes should one avoid during JEE preparation?
NTA has activated helpdesks for candidate who might face difficulty in applying for JEE Main 2026 or accessing JEE Main January 2026 provisional answer key. In case of any difficulty, the JEE aspirants can contact 011-40759000 / 011- 69227700 or e-mail at jeemain@nta.ac.in.
The JEE Main 2026 aspirants should not fill more than one JEE Main application form. Any candidate with more than one application number will be treated as UFM (Unfair Means), even if found at a later stage, and strict action will be taken against such candidates.
If innovation and creativity excite you, AI & ML offers limitless possibilities in research and global tech leadership.
If stability, trust, and public safety resonate with you, Cyber Security provides immediate employability and global relevance.
In truth, the strongest professionals of the future will blend both developing AI systems that are not only intelligent but also secure.
Read More | BTech in AI & ML vs BTech in Cyber Security: The right choice
There are over 25 IITs within the IIT system, with an overall undergraduate seat intake of approximately 16,000 to 17,000 across all IITs. Out of these, around 3,000 to 3,500 are in Computer Science and Engineering. For IIT Bombay and Delhi, where CSE is one of the most popular disciplines, CSE seats are generally filled by prospective students with ranks between the 100th and 300th position in JEE Advanced. Consequently, fewer than 0.15 per cent of the candidates who qualify for the Advanced exam will be able to attain this rank.
IISc Bangalore will admit students to its BTech programme through the JEE Advanced ranks and Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA) 2026 counselling. IISc Bangalore offers these two undergraduate programmes – Bachelor of Science (Research) and BTech (Mathematics and Computing). The Institute has been admitting students to its BTech (Mathematics and Computing) through JEE Advanced scores using the IISc admission portal.
Read More | IISc Bangalore to use JEE Advanced ranks, JoSAA counselling
Google will also introduce AI-powered JEE Main practice tests through its Gemini AI platform. India currently ranks as the top country globally in terms of using AI for learning. Students can access the practice tests by prompting “JEE Main practice test” on Gemini, with options to personalise difficulty levels, add more questions, and align tests with their preparation strategy.
According to Sandeep Mehta, IIT alumnus and co-founder, Vidyamandir Classes, the JEE Main 2026 cut-off to become eligible for JEE Advanced 2026 will be based on the difficulty level of the exam, number of aspirants, and overall performance. Going by recent trends, the General category cut-off is expected to hover between the 93.5 to 95 percentile, which is approximately equivalent to over 140 marks out of 300. For OBC-NCL and EWS candidates, the JEE Main 2026 cut-off is likely to be a bit lower, around 79.5 to 81.5 percentile, with scores over 90 marks.
For SC candidates, the cut-off percentile is likely to be around 61 to 63 and for ST candidates, around 48 to 51 percentile. This implies that candidates belonging to these categories might need to secure over 45 and 60 marks. EWS candidates are likely to have a lower cut-off at around 81 to 83 percentile, IIT alumnus and co-founder said.
The JEE Main session 2 application started on February 2. Candidates aspiring for admission to BTech, BArch, and BPlanning programmes must complete their applications by February 25 through the official portal, jeemain.nta.nic.in.
If a question is dropped, full marks for that question will be awarded to all candidates who appear for that particular shift.
If all options are found to be correct among the options, then four marks (+4) will be awarded to all those who have attempted the question.
If more than one option is found to be correct among the four options in JEE Main 2026 paper 1, then four marks (+4) will be awarded to only those who have marked any of the correct options.
Tie between candidates obtaining the same total NTA scores will be resolved in the following order:
1. NTA score in mathematics, followed by;
2. NTA score in physics, followed by;
3. NTA score in chemistry, followed by;
4. Candidate with less proportion of a number of attempted incorrect answers and correct answers in all the subjects in the test, followed by;
5. Candidate with less proportion of a number of attempted incorrect answers and correct answers in mathematics in the test, followed by;
6. Candidate with less proportion of a number of attempted incorrect answers and correct answers in physics in the test, followed by;
7. Candidate with less proportion of a number of attempted incorrect answers and correct answers in chemistry in the test followed by;
8. If there is a tie even after this, candidates will be assigned the same rank
Citing the moderate overall difficulty of the physics and chemistry sections, Dr Saurabh Kumar, founder and CEO of Shiksha Nation said that Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main 2026 cut-offs are expected to rise slightly compared to previous years when the exams were more challenging. However, he also added that significant increases are unlikely and the key factor in determining top percentiles will be performance in mathematics relative to peers who are strong across all subjects.
JEE Main 2026 paper 1 comprised 3 subjects - physics, math and chemistry. Each subject had two sections. Section A was of Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs) and Section B contained questions whose answers were to be filled in as a numerical value. There was negative marking for incorrect answer in Section A and Section B. For each question in Section B, a candidate had to enter the correct integer value of the answer using the mouse and the on- screen virtual numeric keypad in the place designated to enter the answer. For Section B, the answer should be rounded off to the nearest integer.
Correct Answer or the most appropriate answer would fetch four marks (+4), incorrect answer would mean deduction of one mark (-1) and unanswered, question marked for review (without selecting any option or without filling any Numerical value) will fetch 0 mark.
Overall, the JEE Main 2026 January session papers were of moderate difficulty. The difficulty level of the JEE Main 2026 session 1 varied across shifts and subjects - physics, chemistry and math. Compared with last years' JEE Main sessions, most shifts were assessed as easy to moderately difficult. However, in several shifts, the mathematics section was perceived as moderately difficult.
Read More | JEE Main Session 1 Difficulty Level
NTA held the JEE Main 2026 January session exam from January 21 to January 29. On January 21, 22, 23, 24 and 28, NTA held the JEE Main paper 1 or the BE and BTech paper. The JEE Main paper 1 was held in two shifts on all days – one in the morning (9 am to 12 noon) and second in the afternoon (3 pm to 6 pm).
The JEE Main Paper 2 or the 2A BArch, Paper 2B BPlanning or Paper 2A and 2B both was held on January 30. The JEE Main paper 2 was held only in one shift from 9 am to 12.30 pm).
Initially, an advisory released on October 19 had said that the first session will be held from January 21 to 30 and the second session of JEE Main 2026 will be conducted from April 1 to 10.
The JEE Main 2026 January session answer key will be released on the official website of JEE Main - jeemain.nta.nic.in and the official website of NTA - nta.ac.in.
The overall difficulty level of the JEE Main paper across all days was moderate. On certain days, some shifts — particularly in Physics and Chemistry — were slightly easier, while on others, especially during evening sessions, the Mathematics section featured several lengthy and complex problems, pushing the overall difficulty to moderate to difficult. Morning shifts, by contrast, were generally more balanced than afternoon or evening shifts. Despite these variations, the degree of shift-wise fluctuation over the four-day examination window remained within the expected range.
