JEE Main 2026 Jan 28 Live: Shift 2 & 1 Question Paper Analysis (OUT), Students Reactions & Answer Keys

NTA will soon start the registration process for session 2 of the JEE Mains exam at jeemain.nta.nic.in.

The JEE Mains 2026 session 1 result will be out on or before February 12.

The January attempt of JEE Main 2026 exam ended today, with Paper 2 exam ending at 12:30 pm today.

The session 1 answer keys and results will be available in the first and second week of February, respectively.

A total of 10 shifts were held for JEE Main 2026 Paper 1 in the January session. As per the official NTA data, across the 10 shifts, 13,00,368 candidates have appeared out of the 13,50,969 candidates scheduled to appear.

Read More: Record Breaking Turnout in JEE Main 2026; Over 13 Lakh Appear for BE/BTech in Session 1

• Number of aspirants who appeared for JEE Main - More is the number of appearing candidates, the higher the cutoff.
• Difficulty level - A more challenging exam session typically results in a lower cutoff percentile because overall candidate performance drops.
• Fixed intake - The number of students who can qualify for JEE Advanced is fixed at approximately 2.5 lakh
• Total number of applications received - Higher registration numbers generally lead to an increase in the qualifying percentile.
• The category under which admission is sought - Cutoffs are determined separately for various categories, including General (CRL), OBC-NCL, EWS, SC, ST, and PwD

NTA conducted the JEE Main 2026 Session 1 exam across 10 shifts, out of which 8 shifts have already been completed. As per students’ reactions and expert analysis of memory-based questions, the Jan 23 Shift 2 paper stands out as the most challenging.

A tougher shift does not mean that the candidates will have a bad rank or lower chances of selection. A tougher paper makes it easy to get a good percentile for students who are well-prepared.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) will release the JEE Main result 2026 by February 12. The JEE Main result 2026 link will be activated on the official website - jeemain.nta.nic.in. Candidates who appear for the exam can check their JEE result using their application number and date of birth/password.

NTA releases the JEE Mains response sheet with the answer keys under the login of the candidates. The JEE Main 2026 response sheet will have the answers marked by the candidates on the exam day. The response sheet of JEE Main is nothing but a replica of the answers that the candidates mark on the exam day.

Using the JEE Main response sheet 2026, candidates can compare their answers with the correct answers given on the JEE Main answer keys. This will give the candidates the number of correct and incorrect answers they have marked in the exam. Using the JEE Mains marking scheme, candidates can calculate the raw marks in the exam.

In the JEE Main 2026 January session, the Chemistry section was no longer the traditional "easy and scoring" one. It was on the other hand, it had many complex questions with multi-concept problems.

In fact, unlike previous years where direct NCERT-based questions dominated, the 2026 papers featured many statement-based questions. Some questions included up to six or seven statements that required individual verification, making them both tricky and time-consuming.

Physical chemistry questions were calculation-heavy

Physical Chemistry was notably calculation-heavy. Candidates who attempted the January 24 (Shift 2) exam said that the questions from physical chemistry were "very calculation-heavy" and "lengthy," with a significant focus on topics like Equilibrium, Thermodynamics, and Electrochemistry.

Candidates appearing for future shifts should prioritise Vectors, 3D Geometry, and Coordinate Geometry for Mathematics.

For Physics, mastering Mechanics and Modern Physics is essential as they consistently appear across shifts.

Chemistry preparation should focus on Coordination Chemistry and reaction mechanisms.

Because difficulty varies across shifts in JEE Mains, NTA uses a normalisation process to ensure fairness. In tougher shifts, candidates can achieve a high percentile even with lower raw marks. Conversely, easier shifts require higher raw scores to reach the same percentile level.

Across all shifts, students repeatedly mentioned running out of time. Even well-prepared candidates struggled to attempt all questions.

Teachers advised students not to panic over low attempts in JEE Mains 2026. This paper rewards accuracy, not blind attempts.

Many students and experts who have appeared for JEE Mains January session exam have called JEE Main 2026 January session one of the toughest JEE Main exams in recent years. Based on student feedback, shift wise paper analysis, and expert reviews across multiple platforms, it has been noted that the majority have rated exams held till now as challenging and unexpected.

On the exam day, candidates have to carry the printed copy of the admit card with a valid government ID proof. Without the NTA JEE Main admit card, no candidate will be allowed inside the exam centre. All important details about the exam, like the allotted exam centre name, address, shift, JEE Main exam day guidelines, instructions, and reporting time, will be available on the JEE Mains exam admit card.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) will release the JEE Main result 2026 by February 12. The JEE Main result 2026 link will be activated on the official website - jeemain.nta.nic.in. Candidates who appear for the exam can check their JEE result using their application number and date of birth/password. The result will be available as JEE Main 2026 scorecard. Along with the JEE Main result, NTA will announce the JEE Main 2026 toppers.

The JEE Main result is prepared by converting the raw marks of the candidates out of the aggregate marks in the exam into percentile scores. The percentile calculation is done for each subject - Maths, Physics, Chemistry and also the overall score is converted to percentile marks.

Candidates can know their expected JEE Main marks using response sheet and answer key released by NTA. To calculate score, they need to notedown their correct and incorrect answers as per NTA answer key and response sheet. Alott 4 marks for every correct and 1 marks for incorrect answers. The sum obtained upon subtracting total of incorrect answers from correct answers will be candidates marks in exam. 

Registration for the JEE Main 2026 Session 2 (April Session) is expected to begin in the last week of January 2026. The registration process will be available on the official website jeemain.nta.nic.in. The deadline to register is expected to be in the third week of February 2026. 

Looking at all eight shifts, the overall difficulty of JEE Main 2026 Session 1 can be rated moderate to tough. No shift was extremely easy or extremely tough, but some shifts were very lengthy. This balance is expected to result in close percentile competition. Experts advised students not to overanalyse one shift alone.

Experts advised JEE Main 2026 April session aspirants to focus on time management and beyond NCERT-based preparation, especially for Chemistry.

Experts predicted that the JEE Main 2026 percentile for JEE Advanced qualification may remain similar to last year, with minor downward movement. General category cut-off is expected to stay in the high 85 percentile range. Final confirmation will depend on the total number of candidates and overall score distribution.

NTA will release the provisional answer keys and response sheets on the official website - jeemain.nta.nic.in. Students are eager to calculate expected scores and analyse mistakes. Teachers advised candidates to cross-check answers carefully and not rush into assumptions. Even a few marks can significantly affect the percentile due to tight competition.

Across all shifts of the JEE Main 2026 session 1, time management emerged as the real deciding factor. Students who planned section-wise time allocation performed better. Teachers stressed that speed without panic is the key lesson from Session 1.

NTA will conduct the JEE Main 2026 session 2 exam between April 2 and 9.

JEE Main 20226 session 1 result will be declared on February 12, as per the official notification. Students can check their result at JEE Main candidate login using their application number and password. 

Based on student feedback, the relative difficulty of the sections was as follows:

Mathematics > Physics > Chemistry

The Chemistry section was easy to moderate. Questions were evenly distributed among Organic, Inorganic, and Physical Chemistry, with a slightly higher emphasis on Organic Chemistry. Many questions were statement-based and closely aligned with NCERT concepts, making the section scoring for well-prepared students.

The Mathematics section was moderate to difficult. Questions covered the entire syllabus, with higher weightage from Integral Calculus, Conic Sections, and Algebra. Topics like 3D Geometry, Vectors, and Complex Numbers had an average presence. Algebra appeared slightly dominant, while Coordinate Geometry maintained moderate representation. Lengthy calculations and tricky problems made this section the most challenging of all.

The Physics section was of moderate difficulty. Questions were asked from almost all major chapters. Mechanics had a fair representation, with a slightly higher number of questions from Electromagnetism, while Optics and Waves had relatively fewer. Topics such as Electromagnetic Waves, Thermodynamics, and Modern Physics were also included. A few questions were time-consuming, requiring careful calculation and conceptual clarity.

The JEE (Main) paper conducted on January 28, 2026 (Evening Shift) was of moderate difficulty overall. Among the three subjects, Mathematics was the most difficult and time-consuming, while Chemistry was easy and Physics was relatively moderate. The paper was well-balanced in terms of question distribution and chapter coverage.

NTA has announced that the session 1 result of JEE Main 2026 exam will be out by February 12.

It is expected that NTA will release the JEE Main 2026 provisional keys in the firts week of February 2026.

Session 1 of JEE Mains 2026 Jan exam is over for Paper 1 candidates.

Paper 2 candidates will appear for the January session exam tomorrow, January 29. The exam will be heldnin one shift only from 9 am to 12:30 pm.

As per the candidates and experts, the toughest shift of the JEE Main 2026 Jan session is the January 28 shift 2.

• The last shift of the JEE main 2026 jan exam was the easiest of all as per the students because they were able to attempt most number of questions in this paper.
• Questions in chemistry were lengthy; however, physics was easy and took much less time to solve.
• Maths was lengthy as well, but doable.

As per the candidates and experts, the toughest shift of the JEE Main 2026 Jan session is the January 23 shift 2.

This shift was called the toughest because:

• In this shift, maths was lengthy, and there were many multi-step problems.
• Chemistry was also calculation-heavy. Many mixed concept questions were regarded as JEE Advanced level and were also tricky.
• Physics has conceptual questions, and there were hardly any formula based questions.

So far, the JEE Main 2026 January 23 shift 2 exam is considered the toughest shift. Check the marks vs percentile expectation for this shift below:

Download the JEE Main 2026 Jan 28 Shift 1 memory-based questions with solutions here.

PDF for JEE Main Jan 28 Shift 1 Question Paper and Solutions - Maths

Download the JEE Main 2026 Jan 28 Shift 1 memory-based questions with solutions here.

PDF for JEE Main Jan 28 Shift 1 Question Paper and Solutions - Chemistry

Download the JEE Main 2026 Jan 28 Shift 1 memory-based questions with solutions here.

PDF for JEE Main Jan 28 Shift 1 Question Paper and Solutions - Physics

Coordination Compounds, Amines, Chemical Kinetics, Ionic Equilibrium (Buffer), and Inorganic Chemistry

For 99 percentile candidates will need 180 + marks in this JEE Mains January 28 shift 2 exam.

Electrostatics, Current, ray optics, fluids, modern physics, heat and thermodynamics, KTG, wave optics, units and dimensions, error, magnetism.

Calculus, integration, straight lines, circles, conic sections, quadratic, sequence and series, probability, permutation and combination, binomial, matrices and determinants, vectors and 3d

As per many candidates, the physics section of the JEE Main 2026 Jan 28 shift 2 exam was the easiest of all shifts.

As per many students, the January 28 shift 2 exam can be the easiest shift of the January session.

As of now, the JEE Mains 2026 January 23 shift 2 is the hardest shift of the exam till now.

Session 2 of JEE Main 2026 will be held between April 2 and 9, and the registrations will commence by January 31, tentatively.

The JEE Mains 2026 January 28 shift 2 exam will be available soon. The candidates have left the centre and the immediate reactions will be updated shortly.

The shift 2 of the JEE Main 2026 Today exam is over. The candidates are leaving their centre. With this, the paper 2 of the JEE Main 26 January session is over.

The paper 2 exam will be held tomorrow, from 9 am to 12 noon.

The JEE Main 2026 January shift 2 exam now ended. The students are leaving the exam hall, and the student reactions with expert analysis will be available here shortly.

The JEE Main 2026 January 28 shift 2 exam will end at 6 pm. After the exam, candidates can check here memory based questions, answer keys and solutions.

 The National Testing Agency (NTA) will release the JEE Main result 2026 by February 12. The JEE Main result 2026 link will be activated on the official website - jeemain.nta.nic.in..

National Testing Agency is expected to released provisional answer key for JEE Main 2026 session 1 soon. As per past year’s trends, it is expected that the JEE Main provisional answer key can be released by the first week of February 2026.

Read More: JEE Main 2026 Provisional Answer Key Session 1 Date; Know How to Download

JEE Main 2026 session 2 exams will be held between April 2 and 9. The exact exam dates will be announced later on by NTA.

Candidates can download JEE Main 2026 answer key using the instructions given here

1. Visit jeemain.nta.nic.in.
2. Click on answer key link.
3. Login using your JEE Main 2026 application number and password/date of birth.
4. The answer key will be displayed on the screen along with the response sheet.
5. Download the answer key and take its printout.

It is expected that official answer keys will be out in the first week of February 2026.

 NTA will activate the JEE Main application form 2026 window for registration anytime soon. The expected JEE Mains 2026 application form date is January 31.

National Testing Agency will be conducting JEE Mains 2026 Paper 2 for BArch (Paper 2A) and BPlan (Paper 2B) tomorrow, January 29. As per the released schedule, JEE Main paper 2 exam for BArch and BPlan will be held in single shift from 9 am to 12:30 pm. 

Read More: JEE Main 2026 Paper 2 Tomorrow: What BArch and BPlan Candidates Must Carry and Follow

Many students and experts who have appeared for JEE Mains January session exam so far have called JEE Main 2026 January session one of the toughest JEE Main exams in recent years.

Read More: JEE Main 2026 Jan Session Among the Toughest in Recent Years; Say Students and Experts

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi will hold an Open House for JEE aspirants on January 31, 2026, at the auditorium of Vardhman Mahaveer Open University in Kota, Rajasthan. The idea of the Open House is to get the questions from many JEE Main aspirants aiming to crack JEE Advanced answered by the students & faculty of IIT Delhi.

This Open House registration form is only for students appearing for JEE Mains to qualify for JEE Advanced 2026. Candidates have to register online at iitd.ac.in for the open house invitation. The deadline to fill out the form is January 28, 2026, by 11:59 pm.

Read More: IIT Delhi Open House for JEE Main 2026 Aspirants on January 31; Registrations Invited

The toughest shift of the JEE Main 2026 January session is January 23 Shift 2. The overall exam was lengthy with a moderate to tough difficulty level.

The last shift of the JEE Main 2026 January session exam has started. After 6 pm, the overall paper analysis will be updated here. Stay tuned.

Candidates can doenload the JEE Mains 2026 January 28 shift 1 question paper with solutions below:

• JEE Main 28 Jan shift 1 question paper with answer key PDF

In the JEE Main 2026 Jan 28 shift 1 papers, the chemistry section was easy to moderate. Questions were evenly distributed among Organic, Inorganic, and Physical Chemistry, with a slightly greater emphasis on Organic Chemistry. Many questions were statement-based and closely aligned with NCERT concepts. While not very difficult, some required careful reading and conceptual understanding.

In JEE Mains 2026 28 Jan shift 1 exam, the Mathematics section was moderate to difficult and the most time-consuming. Questions were well spread across the syllabus, with higher weightage from Integral Calculus, Conic Sections, and Algebra. Topics like 3D Geometry, Vectors, and Complex Numbers had an average presence. Algebra appeared slightly dominant, while Coordinate Geometry maintained moderate representation. The lengthy calculations and tricky problems made this section the toughest of all.

In JEE Main 2026 Jan 28 shift 1, the Physics section was on the easier side. Questions were asked from almost all major chapters, with a higher number from Electromagnetism, while Optics and Waves had relatively fewer. Mechanics had an average representation. A few questions were time-consuming, but overall the section was manageable. Topics such as Electromagnetic Waves, Thermodynamics, and Modern Physics were also adequately represented.

For the shift 2 JEE Main 2026 Jan session exam today, gates will close at 2:30 pm.

The JEE (Main) paper conducted on January 28, 2026 (Morning Shift) was of moderate to difficult level. Among the three subjects, Mathematics was the most difficult and time-consuming, while Chemistry and Physics were of almost equal difficulty. The paper was overall well-balanced in terms of question distribution and chapter coverage. The lengthy and calculation-intensive Mathematics section made it challenging to complete the paper within the given time.

Blank paper sheets for rough work of A4 size will be provided in the JEE Mains exam hall tomorrow.

Important instructions for candidates:

• Candidates must write their name and Roll Number at the top of each of the sheets.
• After the exam, they must drop the sheet(s) in the designated drop box without fail, before leaving the exam hall. Failure to do so may result in a non-evaluation of your answers.

As per Aakash, the difficulty level order for all subjects in JEE main 28 Jan shift 1 exam is Mathematics > Chemistry > Physics.

As per the initial expert analysis of the January 28 shift 1 exam, the expected marks vs percentile for this shift is as follows:

• 228+ -> 99.9 Percentile
• 170+ -> 99 Percentile
• 114+ -> 95 Percentile
• 102+ -> 93.24 Percentile

Experts and students recommended covering the complete syllabus and solve variety of questions. Time management must be practised more diligently for a good score in JEE Mains 2026.

As per the initial analysis of the experts, the marks vs percentile for JEE Main 2026 Jan 28 shift 1 can be 175 marks for 99 percentile. More detailed analysis will be updated soon.

The overall JEE Main 2026 January 28 shift 1 paper was lengthy however, as compared to the toughest shift (Jan 23 Shift 2), this shift was easier.

• In maths, questions came from 3d and vectors
• In chemistry, questions were asked about coordination compounds, d-block
• In physics, questions came from ray optics, electrostatics, semiconductors, current electricity

The time management in JEE Main 2026 Jan 28 shift 1 exam has been a problem today too. Candidates were not able to attend many questions from maths, as physics and chemsitry took there time.

• Physics took the most time. The level of the physics section was moderate.
• Overall paper was moderate and very lengthy
• Maths was moderate to lengthy.
• Chemistry was moderate.

The students are now leaving their JEE Main centres. We will soon report on the JEE Main 2025 Jan 28 student reactions on the difficulty level, topics asked, expected cutoff, marks vs percentile and more. Stay tuned.

The JEE Main 2026 Jan 28 shift 1 exam has ended. The student reactions are coming soon.

As per the initial reaction, the overall exam was moderate.

The shift 1 of the JEE Main 2026 28 January exam is now over. Soon, the candidates will leave the exam hall and share their reactions on the exam. We will report on live student reactions from the centres here. Stay tuned. 

• Out of the 8 completed shifts, January 23 Shift 2 is considered the toughest.
• January 22 Shift 2 ranks as the second toughest shift.

The JEE Main percentile score obtained by a candidate is determined only after applying normalisation to the marks obtained by a candidate. JEE Main Percentile scores indicate the percentage of candidates who have scored equal to or below that particular percentile in the examination. A percentile score is measured on a scale of 100 to 0 for each session of examinees. The formula to calculate JEE Mains marks vs percentile is