New Delhi: While the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) Bombay and Delhi continued to be the top choices among the toppers of JEE (Advanced) this year, many of the newer IITs failed to attract even a single student from among the top 2,000 candidates, according to a report.
The Joint Implementation Committee (JIC) report was released by the joint implementation board, comprising members from all IITs, last week. This year’s exam, which was conducted by IIT Kanpur on 19 May, saw a total of 1,87,223 candidates registered for JEE (Advanced) 2025, and 1,80,422 appeared for both papers. Of those who appeared, 54,378 candidates qualified.
In the end, 18,188 seats across IITs were allotted to the candidates.
IIT Bombay top choice
According to the report, IIT Bombay was chosen by 73 of the top 100 candidates, an increase from 72 last year, and also attracted 414 of the top 2,000 as well as 755 of the top 5,000 candidates, showing that the institute continued to remain the top choice among toppers.
IIT Delhi remained the second most preferred choice among toppers with 19 of the top 100 candidates, 303 of the top 2,000, and 577 of the top 5,000 selecting the institute this year.
Besides, IIT Madras has enrolled six of the top 100 candidates, 224 out of the top 2,000 and 478 of the top 5,000.
Also, like last year, 99 of 100 candidates opted for computer science.
Officials said the preference for computer science is not just limited to IITs but is widespread across engineering institutes. “Even in AICTE-affiliated colleges, computer science is the top choice due to better job opportunities,” one of the officials added.
Preference for new IITs low
Meanwhile, new IITs, including those in Bhubaneswar, Mandi, Jodhpur, ISM Dhanbad, Bhilai, Goa, Palakkad, Jammu, and Dharwad did not have a single student among the top 2,000 candidates opting for enrolment.
Among the top 5,000 candidates of JEE Advanced 2025, only one student each chose IIT Dharwad and IIT Palakkad, two selected IIT Bhilai, three opted for IIT Goa, and just four decided on IIT Jammu.
“The trend clearly shows that toppers prefer older IITs, which is a natural choice. For instance, there is a huge variation in the closing ranks of older and younger IITs even in popular courses. The closing rank in Computer Science in the general open category at IIT Bombay was 66, whereas at IIT Mandi it was 3,123, and at IIT Palakkad, it was 6,454. This clearly reflects students’ preferences,” a senior official at IIT Kanpur told ThePrint.
“Even the closing rank at IIT Delhi’s newest Abu Dhabi campus for the course was 1,761 in the general open category. It means candidates are even choosing newer branches of older IITs,” the official said.
Overall women’s enrolment up 20%
The overall women’s enrolment has increased this year to 20.15 percent, up from last year’s 19.75 percent. Among the 23 IITs, 18 have achieved 20 percent or higher women’s enrolment, with IIT Tirupati recording the highest at 21.57 percent, followed by IIT Madras at 21.09 percent of total enrolment, and IIT Delhi and IIT Indore, both at 20.63 percent.
The government introduced 20 percent supernumerary seats in IITs in 2019 with an aim to increase women’s representation.
The institutes where women’s enrolment remained below 20 percent this year are IIT Bombay at 19.57 percent, IIT Bhubaneswar at 19.96 percent, IIT Kharagpur at 19.19 percent, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad at 19.95 percent, and IIT Ropar at 19.97 percent.
Officials at these institutions said that efforts are on to touch the 20 percent mark. “IIT Bombay is attracting the best talent among candidates. Various programmes and schemes are being run by the government to encourage female enrolment. We are at 19.57 percent which is very close to the 20 percent mark,” a senior official at IIT Bombay told ThePrint.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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