The JoSAA 2026 Round 1 cut-off has been declared, marking one of the most crucial moments for lakhs of JEE Advanced and JEE Main qualified candidates aiming for seats in IITs, NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs. The Joint Seat Allocation Authority has announced the Round 1 seat allotment result for JoSAA Counselling 2026, and candidates who registered for the counselling process can now check their allotted institute and programme by logging in to the official website, josaa.nic.in, using their application number and password.
JoSAA 2026 Round 1 Cut-off: Key Highlights
As expected, Computer Science Engineering at the top IITs once again recorded the steepest competition. For the General category, IIT Bombay CSE closed at AIR 65, IIT Delhi at 123, and IIT Madras at 149 in Round 1 — figures that align closely with historical trends, where IIT Bombay CSE closing rank in the open category has remained in the 60 to 70 AIR range across 2023 to 2025, reflecting extremely stable demand at the very top, while IIT Delhi and IIT Madras CSE have seen a slight upward trend in closing ranks, indicating marginally higher competition year on year.
Industry experts had already projected similar numbers ahead of the counselling. A JEE Advanced rank under 100 has historically been the benchmark for CSE at IIT Bombay or Delhi, making these among the most competitive undergraduate seats in India. Similarly, for top IITs like Bombay, Delhi, and Madras, a rank under 200 is typically required for CSE admission.
JoSAA 2026 Round 1 Cut-off: How Allotment Works
The JoSAA 2026 Round 1 Cut-off results were generated based on a combination of factors specific to each candidate. The allotment has been prepared based on candidates’ JEE Main or JEE Advanced ranks, category, preferences filled during choice locking, and seat availability. The opening rank of JoSAA counselling indicates the starting rank from which an institute begins offering seats to candidates in a course, while the closing rank indicates the rank at which the seat allotment ends.
It’s important to note the distinction in rank systems used for different institutes. JoSAA 2026 cutoff for IITs is based on JEE Advanced 2026 ranks, while the JoSAA cutoff for NITs, IIEST, IIITs, and other GFTIs is based on JEE Main 2026 ranks.
JoSAA 2026 Round 1 Cut-off: Scale of Counselling
This year’s counselling cycle covers a massive number of seats and institutes across the country. The cutoff is released for all 138 institutes, including 23 IITs, IISc Bengaluru, 31 NITs, IIEST Shibpur, 26 IIITs and 56 Other-Government-Funded Technical Institutes. As per the seat matrix, there are a total of 67,323 seats, of which 64,219 are regular seats, while 3,014 are female supernumerary category seats. The Joint Seat Allocation Authority is conducting a total of five rounds of counselling for admission into IITs, NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs this year.
JoSAA 2026 Round 1 Cut-off: CSE Remains Top Choice
Computer Science Engineering continues to dominate as the most preferred branch across all participating institutes. Since Computer Science and Engineering remains the most preferred course among top JEE Advanced rank holders, the opening and closing ranks for IIT CSE are always highly competitive across leading IITs such as IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Madras, IIT Kanpur, and IIT Kharagpur. Usually, the JoSAA cutoff is the highest for the computer science branch across the IITs and the NITs, and historical data shows that IIT Bombay’s CSE branch witnesses the highest cutoff every year.
Beyond CSE, other emerging specialisations are also seeing fierce competition. AI & Data Science and Mathematics & Computing (MnC) cutoffs now rival or exceed ECE/Electrical at most IITs.
JoSAA 2026 Round 1 Cut-off: Next Steps for Candidates
With the JoSAA 2026 Round 1 Cut-off results now declared, candidates allotted seats must move quickly to secure their admission. Now that results are out, candidates must complete online reporting, upload documents, pay the seat acceptance fee, and choose among freeze, float, or slide options within the prescribed deadline. Each counselling round follows a standard four-step process: seat allotment, confirmation of the seat online, online reporting with submission of documents to the allotted institute, and fee payment to finalise the admission.
Key Takeaway: With the JoSAA 2026 Round 1 cut-off now out — IIT Bombay CSE at AIR 65, IIT Delhi at 123, and IIT Madras at 149 — candidates should immediately log in to JoSAA. Nic.in reviews their allotment and decides on freeze, float, or slide options before the reporting deadline.
