Half of SC candidates qualify JEE Advanced 2026 as women hit a 6-year high

In the latest JEE Advanced results, a significant shift has been observed in the qualifying categories. The number of Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates qualifying increased from 12,499 to 15,856, while the number of Scheduled Tribe (ST) qualifiers rose from 5,008 to 6,379, marking a 27% growth for both groups. Remarkably, women achieved a 23.4% qualification rate, the highest in the past six years recorded by the Joint Implementation Committee (JIC) report from IIT Roorkee.

Despite a marginal growth in the overall pool, the change was primarily driven by the increased representation of SC and ST candidates. SC and ST qualifiers now account for nearly 39% of the total qualifiers, surpassing their share from the previous year. In contrast, the general category qualification rate declined by 3.2 points to 39.8%, and the OBC-NCL category slipped by 0.7 points to 17.5%.

Notably, women's participation reached a six-year high, making up 18% of all qualifiers. The top woman candidate scored 280 marks, securing All India Rank 77. Admissions in IITs have also seen a shift, with women constituting a larger share of admitted candidates, exceeding the 14% target.