An analysis of Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA) counselling data from the past five years indicates that candidates seeking admission to National Institutes of Technology (NITs) under the Other-State (OS) quota typically require numerically lower (better) JEE Main ranks compared to Home-State (HS) candidates. This gap is most pronounced in top NITs for competitive programs like Computer Science and Engineering.
NIT Admission Quota System
NIT BTech seats are primarily divided into two quotas: Home-State (HS) and Other-State (OS). The HS quota allocates 50% of seats to candidates whose state of eligibility matches the NIT’s location. The remaining 50% of seats fall under the OS quota, open to candidates from all other states and Union Territories.
Cut-Off Gaps at Top NITs
Institutes such as NIT Tiruchirappalli, NIT Warangal, and NIT Surat exhibit significant gaps in closing ranks. For example, in 2025, NIT Tiruchirappalli’s Computer Science and Engineering (general) program recorded an OS closing rank of approximately 1449 . The HS closing rank for the same program and category was about 4569 . This indicates Other-State candidates needed a rank approximately 3,000 places better (numerically lower) for admission.
JoSAA data for NIT Warangal also reflects this trend. Other-State closing ranks for CSE ranged from approximately 2,300 to 3,200 across various rounds. Home-State closing ranks for the same branch were numerically higher (worse rank), confirming that Other-State candidates generally needed better ranks.
JEE Main 2026: Closing Ranks for Home and Other State Quotas (Open, Gender-Neutral)
The following table provides Computer Science and Engineering closing ranks for the Open, Gender-Neutral category for both Home-State and Other-State quotas in 2025 and 2024:
| Institute | Quota | Closing Rank (2025) | Closing Rank (2024) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dr. B R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar | HS | 16325 | 16940 |
| Dr. B R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar | OS | 11262 | 10957 |
| Malaviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur | HS | 6013 | 5435 |
| Malaviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur | OS | 5601 | 4711 |
| Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology Bhopal | HS | 11415 | 10832 |
| Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology Bhopal | OS | 9249 | 8830 |
| Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad | HS | 6562 | 5943 |
| Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad | OS | 4594 | 4191 |
| National Institute of Technology Agartala | HS | 75417 | 75987 |
| National Institute of Technology Agartala | OS | 22013 | 20298 |
| National Institute of Technology Calicut | HS | 8428 | 9271 |
| National Institute of Technology Calicut | OS | 5222 | 4482 |
| National Institute of Technology Delhi | HS | 10165 | 12455 |
| National Institute of Technology Delhi | OS | 7651 | 8018 |
| National Institute of Technology Durgapur | HS | 11587 | 14090 |
| National Institute of Technology Durgapur | OS | 9836 | 8765 |
| National Institute of Technology Goa | HS | 16198 | 34858 |
| National Institute of Technology Goa | OS | 13640 | 12511 |
| National Institute of Technology Hamirpur | HS | 22394 | 28278 |
| National Institute of Technology Hamirpur | OS | 12586 | 12236 |
| National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal | HS | 2800 | 2933 |
| National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal | OS | 1827 | 1615 |
| National Institute of Technology Meghalaya | HS | 59949 | 31545 |
| National Institute of Technology Meghalaya | OS | 24074 | 20039 |
| National Institute of Technology Nagaland | OS | 39594 | 31391 |
| National Institute of Technology Patna | HS | 17808 | 18320 |
| National Institute of Technology Patna | OS | 14996 | 14442 |
| National Institute of Technology Puducherry | HS | 64692 | 63717 |
| National Institute of Technology Puducherry | OS | 19758 | 18515 |
| National Institute of Technology Raipur | HS | 21913 | 21328 |
| National Institute of Technology Raipur | OS | 13559 | 13177 |
| National Institute of Technology Sikkim | HS | 185001 | 143919 |
| National Institute of Technology Sikkim | OS | 26616 | 28284 |
| National Institute of Technology Arunachal Pradesh | HS | 78084 | 71299 |
| National Institute of Technology Arunachal Pradesh | OS | 30607 | 28514 |
| National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur | HS | 11978 | 13775 |
| National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur | OS | 8902 | 7944 |
| National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra | HS | 8484 | 8475 |
| National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra | OS | 7037 | 6000 |
| National Institute of Technology, Manipur | HS | 215198 | 214958 |
| National Institute of Technology, Manipur | OS | 33098 | 30611 |
| National Institute of Technology, Mizoram | HS | 563566 | 712487 |
| National Institute of Technology, Mizoram | OS | 37751 | 33181 |
| National Institute of Technology, Rourkela | HS | 7853 | 7807 |
| National Institute of Technology, Rourkela | OS | 3431 | 2940 |
| National Institute of Technology, Silchar | HS | 23366 | 26892 |
| National Institute of Technology, Silchar | OS | 12665 | 11930 |
| National Institute of Technology, Srinagar | OS | 26171 | 36322 |
| National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli | HS | 4569 | 9721 |
| National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli | OS | 1449 | 2172 |
| National Institute of Technology, Uttarakhand | HS | 30851 | 41844 |
| National Institute of Technology, Uttarakhand | OS | 18491 | 28529 |
| National Institute of Technology, Warangal | HS | 3530 | 4683 |
| National Institute of Technology, Warangal | OS | 2409 | 3609 |
| Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat | HS | 8105 | 10759 |
| Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat | OS | 8130 | 11508 |
| Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur | HS | 7203 | 12192 |
| Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur | OS | 6359 | 9039 |
| National Institute of Technology, Andhra Pradesh | HS | 17349 | 16697 |
| National Institute of Technology, Andhra Pradesh | OS | 18183 | 24130 |
| Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur | HS | 16576 | 18284 |
| Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur | OS | 16765 | 22547 |
JEE Main 2026 Registration and Exam Details
The National Testing Agency (NTA) has opened registration for JEE Main 2026 on its official website, jeemain.nta.nic.in. The entrance examination will be conducted in two sessions. Session 1 is scheduled from January 21 to 30 , and Session 2 from April 2 to 9 .
Candidates who passed Class 12 or an equivalent examination in the last three years are eligible to apply. The registration deadline is November 27 . The NTA has clarified that virtual calculators are not permitted in the computer-based test, correcting a previous typographical error in the information bulletin.
Session 1 results will be declared on February 12 , and Session 2 results on April 20 . This year, the number of exam cities has increased from 284 to 323.