JEE Main 2026 Exam Pattern (Revised) - Changed Paper Pattern, Number of Questions, Marking Scheme

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JEE Main 2026 Exam Pattern Overview

What is JEE Main and who conducts it?

JEE Main is the entrance exam for admission into NITs, IIITs, and other Centrally Funded Technical Institutions across India, and it also serves as the qualifying exam for JEE Advanced. Since 2019, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has conducted JEE Main; CBSE ran it until 2018. NTA was set up by the Ministry of Education as an independent body to conduct standardized entrance tests.

How many sessions and papers does JEE Main 2026 have?

JEE Main 2026 is held across two sessions — January and April — giving you two attempts to improve your rank.

💡 Expert Tip by Saransh Gupta, IIT Bombay AIR-41: Treat your January attempt as a real exam, not a trial run — but if it doesn't go your way, NTA merges your best score from both sessions for the final merit list, so April genuinely is your redemption round.

There are three separate papers, each for a different course:

Each paper runs for 3 hours (3.5 hours if you attempt both B.Arch and B.Planning; 4 hours for PwD candidates), and is available in 13 languages — English, Hindi, and 11 regional languages. For the full breakdown of topics and weightage, check the JEE Main syllabus and the official JEE Main exam dates.

Paper 1: B.Tech Exam Pattern Explained

Paper 1 is your route into NITs, IIITs, and CFTIs, and it's also your JEE Advanced qualifier. It tests conceptual clarity across Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics along with your problem-solving speed.

How many questions and marks does Paper 1 carry?

Each subject contributes exactly 100 marks, for a 300-mark total, split into two sections:

• Section A: 20 MCQs per subject, four options, one correct answer
• Section B: 5 numerical-answer questions per subject — and here's the key change: all 5 are now compulsory, with no more "choose 5 out of 10" option

Each correct answer earns +4 marks; each incorrect answer costs -1 mark, across both MCQs and numericals.

What is the time duration for Paper 1?

3 hours (180 minutes) in Computer-Based Test mode — roughly 2.4 minutes per question. PwD candidates get 4 hours. Since every numerical is now compulsory, skipping tough questions is no longer an option, which makes chapter-wise practice from the JEE Main syllabus more important than before.

Paper 2A: B.Arch Exam Pattern Breakdown

B.Arch testing blends analytical and creative skill — a computer-based section for calculations, and a physical drawing sheet for creativity.

What does the Mathematics and Aptitude Test cover?

• Mathematics: 20 MCQs + 5 numerical questions (same syllabus as B.Tech), 100 marks, +4/-1 marking
• Aptitude Test: 50 MCQs worth 200 marks — the single highest-weightage section in this paper, checking three-dimensional perception and spatial reasoning, awareness of buildings, architects, and materials, and geometric understanding

💡 Expert Tip by Saransh Gupta, IIT Bombay AIR-41: Don't treat the Aptitude Test as general knowledge. It's worth double the marks of Drawing, yet most B.Arch aspirants over-practice sketching and under-practice this section.

What does the Drawing Test involve?

A fully offline, pen-and-paper section — bring your own pencils, geometry box, colours, and crayons; the centre supplies A4 sheets. You'll sketch urbanscapes, landscapes, or rural-life scenes from memory, not from a reference. 2026 update: drawing questions have been reduced from 3 to just 2, each now worth 50 marks instead of 33.33, so proportional accuracy and shading matter more.

Time allowed: 3.5 hours (4 hours for PwD candidates).

Paper 2B: B.Plan Exam Pattern Details

What sections make up Paper 2B?

Paper 2B runs entirely in CBT mode across three sections:

• Mathematics: 20 MCQs + 5 numericals, 100 marks (numericals answered via an on-screen virtual keypad)
• Aptitude: 50 MCQs, 200 marks — the highest-weightage section, testing spatial visualization and analytical reasoning
• Planning: 25 MCQs, 100 marks — covering urban development awareness, government programmes, and analytical thinking

What's new in the 2026 Planning section?

All 5 numerical questions in Mathematics are now compulsory (previously it was 5 out of 10), and the +4/-1 marking scheme now applies uniformly across every section. The Planning section also has a greater emphasis on map reading and chart interpretation. Time allowed: 3 hours (4 hours for PwD candidates), available in English, Hindi, or any of the 11 regional languages.

Marking Scheme and Key Changes in 2026

What is the marking scheme for JEE Main 2026?

A uniform +4 for every correct answer, -1 for every wrong answer, across all three papers — B.Tech, B.Arch, and B.Planning. No attempt means zero marks.

💡 Expert Tip by Saransh Gupta, IIT Bombay AIR-41: In earlier years, numerical questions carried no negative marking, so students attempted them freely. That safety net is gone in 2026 — random guessing on numericals can now actively hurt your percentile.

Is there negative marking for numerical questions in JEE Main 2026?

Yes — and this is the biggest structural change this year. Two shifts matter most:

1. No more optional numericals: all 5 Section B questions per subject are compulsory; you can no longer pick 5 out of 10.
2. Universal negative marking: numerical questions now carry the same -1 penalty as MCQs.

This means you need strong conceptual clarity across every topic, not just your strong chapters — since you can no longer sidestep the ones you're weak in.

How This Pattern Should Shape Your Strategy

Three papers, three structures, one exam window to get right. The core numbers to hold in your head: Paper 1 is 75 questions for 300 marks with a pure PCM focus, Paper 2A is 77 questions for 400 marks with a drawing component, and Paper 2B is 100 questions for 400 marks in full CBT mode.

The practical implication of the 2026 changes is simple: precision now matters more than speed. With every numerical compulsory and negative marking applied everywhere, a rushed guess costs you the same as a wrong MCQ. Build your revision around full-syllabus coverage rather than chapter-skipping, and use your January attempt to get used to the exam's pressure before your April attempt counts for more.

Once you've internalised the pattern, cross-check your prep against past trends using the JEE Main question paper archive, and if IIT admission is the target, track what score typically clears the cutoff via IIT Bombay's cutoff data and the JEE Advanced marks vs rank trends. If NITs are the goal, the top NIT colleges list is worth reviewing early so you know what rank range to aim for.

If you're still confirming basic eligibility before diving into pattern-level prep, the JEE Main eligibility criteria page covers that groundwork, and the JEE Main overview page ties all of this together in one place.

Structured, faculty-guided preparation makes it easier to convert this pattern knowledge into actual marks — if you want that kind of guidance from IIT Bombay faculty, eSaral's JEE courses are worth exploring alongside your self-study.