JEE Main 2026 Jan 21 Shift 1 Ends; Check Difficulty Level & Student Reactions

JEE Main 2026 Jan 21 Shift 1 Ends; Check Difficulty Level & Student Reactions

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Sanjana Surbhi
Assistant Manager
New Delhi, Updated on Jan 21, 2026 12:25 IST
JEE Main 2026 day 1 paper analysis and student reactions for shift 1 exam can be checked here.Now, that JEE Main day 1 shift 1 has concluded, students and experts have also shared their initial feedback, offering insights into overall difficulty level, section-wise analysis and important question asked

JEE Main 2026 day 1 paper analysis and student reactions for shift 1 exam can be checked here. Candidates can get detailed JEE Main shift 1 day 1 exam analysis, including toughest and easiest sections, important topics etc here. 

JEE Main 2026 Jan 21 Shift 1 Paper Review

JEE Main 2026 Jan 21 Shift 1 Paper Review

JEE Main Exam Analysis 2026: National Testing Agency conducted JEE Main 2026 January 21 Shift 1 exam today across multiple centres in India. JEE Main morning shift, was held from 9 AM to 12 PM. Now, that day 1 shift 1 has concluded, students and experts have also shared their initial feedback, offering insights into overall level of JEE Main 2026 difficulty, section-wise analysis and important question asked. 

Real time updates: JEE Main 2026 Jan 22 LIVE: Complete Exam Day Analysis, Answer Key and Question Papers

As per reaction of students, JEE Main 2026 shift 1 day 1 exam was moderate to tough. Physics and Maths were tough, whereas Chemistry was easy for them. Paper 1 for BTech/BE had 75 multiple-choice questions with a total of 300 marks. NTA is conducting JEE Main session 1 exams on January 21, 22, 23, 24 and 28 for paper 1 BE/BTech and on January 29 for BArch/BPlan.

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JEE Main 2026 Jan 21 Shift 1 Overall Difficulty Level

According to student reactions and experts, overall JEE Main day 1 shift 1 difficulty level of paper was moderate, with a balanced mix of easy, moderate and some challenging questions. Compared to some previous years, JEE Main Jan 21 shift 1 paper was lengthy but manageable.

Section-Wise JEE Main Shift 1 Paper Analysis 2026 

Q&A Icon
Commonly asked questions
Q:   What is the qualifying score in JEE Main?
A: 
There is no minimum qualifying marks in JEE Main. Exam. However, any candidate who wish to appear in JEE Advanced need to obtain the minimum cutoff marks in JEE Main. Candidates gets all India rank in JEE Main on the basis of the score they get in the exam. Admission to the institutes like NITs, IIITs and GFTIs is given on the basis of all India rank of candidates. Candidates who wish to apply for JEE Advanced need to get the minimum JEE Main qualifying cutoff marks only after which they can apply for admission to IITs.
Q:   Is one month sufficient for JEE Main preparation?
A: 
One month is not sufficient for JEE Main preparation if a student has not started preparing or have not studied earlier for the exam. As the syllabus of JEE Main is vast, studying all the topics and remembering them take a lot of effort. However, class 12 student can get a decent score in JEE Main if time after the bard exam is devoted exclusively for the JEE preparation. Since most topics of JEE Main and class 12 are similar, students need to revise all the topics and solve previous year JEE Main question papers. Start solving JEE Main mock test papers at last 3-4 days before the exam to make yourself comfortable with the exam.
Q:   How many months are required to prepare for JEE Mains exam?
A: 

The time period required to complete the JEE Main preparation depends mainly on the students. Every student has their own pace of study. Ideally, 6-month time is good enough to complete the JEE Main preparation. Students who have started preparing from class 11 or 12 can easily prepare for JEE Main in 6 months considering the topics of JEE syllabus have already been studied in classes 11 and 12.

JEE Main preparation is most effective with classes 11 and 12 as almost 90-95 percent of topics are similar in both exams. This way students can easily complete the entire JEE Main syllabus as well as the syllabus of classes 11 and 12. After the board exams, students get 1-2 months' time where they can focus entirely on JEE Main. Students who have started late for the JEE Main exam can make a 6-month plan where in the first three months they have to focus on revising the syllabus studied in classes 11 and 12. In the next two months focus on solving questions of JEE Main and analyzing the mistakes being made, if any. The last month should be focused on solving mock tests and JEE Main previous year question papers.

Check table to know section wise difficulty level for JEE Main exam 

Sections 

Difficulty Level

Physics 

Moderate

Chemistry

Easy

Maths 

Tough

Overall 

Moderate 

JEE Main 2026 Jan 21 Shift 1 Student Reactions

Many students described JEE Main shift 1 paper as moderate to tough, however, questions were based on syllabus. While Chemistry was scoring, Mathematics tested endurance and accuracy. Physics was also tough. In maths most question were from vector and 3d. JEE Main 2026 exam was similar to the previous year's exams. Some students said that in Chemistry, there were 5 to 6 options in some questions. JEE Mains generally has 4 options for all questions. This time, some students are claiming that there were 5 to 6 options in some questions.

Expected JEE Main 2026 Cut-off Trends

If upcoming shifts maintain similar difficulty level then, JEE Main cut-offs may remain stable or slightly higher than the previous year. Check table to know expected JEE Main cutoff 2026 

Categories

Cutoff 2026 Expected

General

93.3045326

Gen-EWS

81.4387917

OBC-NCL

80.7456432

SC

61.3526948

ST

48.2456783

UR-PwD

0.0082349

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About the Author
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Sanjana Surbhi
Assistant Manager

Sanjana Surbhi is education focused content specialist with over five years of experience in education sector. She covers engineering and government exams. She holds Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication from Patn

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