JEE Mains 2026: Over 96% attendance as record numbers show up

India Jan 23, 2026

JEE Main 2026's first session is seeing a massive turnout—96.15% of candidates scheduled to appear have already shown up by January 23.
Out of 8,01,326 candidates scheduled to appear for this round, about 7.7 lakh actually made it to the exam halls across two daily shifts.
The session runs from January 21 to January 29, 2026 (daily, two shifts).

Why does it matter?

With so many students aiming for top engineering colleges, the competition is seriously intense.
The NTA credits smooth exam days to teamwork with local authorities and candidates' discipline, making this huge event run surprisingly well—even special assistance was provided for over two thousand students with disabilities.