The results of JEE Advanced 2026 showcase a significant concentration of high-performing candidates within India’s premier engineering institutes. Notably, three IIT zones, namely IIT Madras, IIT Bombay, and IIT Delhi, collectively represent 408 of the top 500 rankers nationwide. This accounts for 81.6 per cent of the total, indicating their dominance in this competitive examination.

IIT Madras stands out at the forefront, with 174 candidates appearing in the top 500. Following closely is IIT Bombay, which has 120 candidates, while IIT Delhi contributes 114 candidates to this elite group. The demographic distribution among the remaining four IIT zones is considerably lower, with IIT Roorkee at 46 candidates, IIT Bhubaneswar at 23, IIT Kanpur at 16, and IIT Guwahati at 7.

Dominance Among Top Candidates

The pattern of concentration is evident not only in the top 500 ranks but also among the highest achievers. In the top 100, the three leading IITs together accounted for 87 candidates. This trend continues as their aggregate number rises with broader rankings; 168 candidates are found in the top 200, 245 in the top 300, and 329 in the top 400. Thus, these three IIT zones consistently secure over 80 per cent of the highest ranks across the entire spectrum.

The concentration is particularly pronounced in the top 10 ranks, with IIT Delhi having five candidates, IIT Madras three, and IIT Bombay two. No other IIT zone features in this exclusive bracket, underlining the competitive edge of these institutions.

Overall Qualified Candidates and Rankings

IIT Madras also leads overall with the highest number of qualified candidates, totalling 14,294. IIT Bombay follows with 12,389 qualified candidates, while IIT Delhi has 10,697. The distribution of candidates among the top 500 highlights IIT Madras’s strong performance as 174 of its total qualified candidates made it into this elite group, whereas IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi had 120 and 114 respectively.

The top-ranked candidates from each of these IIT zones have also been identified. Shubham Kumar from IIT Delhi achieved the highest rank nationwide, obtaining AIR 1. Mohit Shekher Shukla from IIT Madras secured AIR 4, and B Jayakrishna Srinivas from IIT Bombay achieved AIR 6. This further emphasises the competitive stature of these IIT zones.

The contrasts with other IIT zones become apparent when examining their representation among the top 500. Despite IIT Roorkee qualifying 5,637 candidates overall, only 46 are in the top 500. Similarly, 23 of IIT Bhubaneswar’s 5,428 qualified candidates and 16 of IIT Kanpur’s 5,552 qualified candidates have made it to this ranking. IIT Guwahati’s performance is the weakest among these groups, with merely seven candidates appearing in the top 500 from a pool of 2,883 qualified candidates.

In total, 56,880 candidates qualified for JEE Advanced 2026, but a clear disparity emerges at the top levels, where IIT Madras, Bombay, and Delhi collectively dominate the highest ranks, reinforcing their prestige in the engineering education landscape.

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