JEE Advanced 2026: Women Qualifiers Cross 10,000 For First Time In 6 Years; Female Success Rate Rises To 23.4%

Mumbai: In the 2026 edition of the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Advanced, a record number of 10,107 women qualified, marking the highest female qualification rate in six years, according to the Joint Implementation Committee's report. The female success rate surged to 23.4 percent, up from 21.7 percent in 2025. Among those who appeared for both papers, the qualification rate among women reached 24.9 percent.

Despite this progress, women still constituted only 17.76 percent of the total 56,880 JEE Advanced qualifiers, revealing a persistent gender gap. The top female candidate secured an impressive rank of 77, scoring 280 marks with 101 in Mathematics, 86 in Physics, and 93 in Chemistry. Additionally, there was a significant rise in the qualification rates for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates.

SC qualification rates increased from 40.41 percent in 2025 to 50.16 percent in 2026, with a total of 15,856 SC qualifiers. Similarly, ST qualification rates rose from 33.99 percent to 42.14 percent, with 6,379 ST qualifiers. However, the qualification rate for General category candidates declined from 43 percent to 39.8 percent, with 15,883 qualifiers.

The OBC-NCL qualification rate also dropped slightly from 18.2 percent to 17.5 percent. Maharashtra has introduced OBC-like education benefits for Maratha students starting in 2026-27, while COEP has reduced fees for eligible Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, and Other Backward Class (SEBC) candidates.