In a significant development for engineering aspirants, the Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA) has officially released the seat matrix for 2026 to 27 confirming a total of 67,323 engineering seats across 121 premier government-funded institutions. This marks an increase of 4,470 seats over last year’s 62,853, making this the largest JoSAA seat pool in the history of the counselling process.
A landmark inclusion this year is IISc Bangalore joining JoSAA counselling for the first time, bringing four new BTech programmes into the centralised seat allocation system. IISc is India’s top-ranked research institution and consistently holds the number one position in the National Institutional Ranking Framework.
Complete Seat Distribution Across Institutions
| Institution Type | Regular Seats | Female Supernumerary | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| IITs including IISc (23 plus IISc) | Over 15,000 | Over 3,000 | 18,160 plus |
| NITs (31 institutes) | 24,500 plus | 600 plus | 25,162 |
| IIITs (26 institutes) | 9,000 plus | 800 plus | 10,000 plus |
| GFTIs (40 plus institutes) | 9,800 plus | 200 plus | 10,000 plus |
| Grand Total | 64,219 | 3,104 | 67,323 |
What Female Supernumerary Seats Mean
Female supernumerary seats are additional seats created above the standard intake specifically to increase female representation in engineering education. These seats are not taken from male candidates’ pool. At IITs, the target is approximately 20 percent female intake. Female candidates should check the seat matrix carefully and include these seats in their JoSAA choice list.
Three New IISc BTech Programmes
IISc Bangalore is offering the following through JoSAA 2026 for the first time:
- BTech in Mathematics and Computing (existing course now under JoSAA)
- Three additional new BTech programmes as announced by IISc
Given IISc’s national standing and research-intensive environment, these seats are expected to attract extremely high competition from top JEE Advanced rankers.
Why Students Should Act Now
- Choice filling is active until June 11 at 5:00 PM at @josaa.nic.in
- Mock Allotment Round 1 on June 8 gives a preview before locking
- Round 1 Seat Allotment on June 13 — no action is possible after the June 11 deadline
- Candidates who miss the choice filling window will be ineligible for all five rounds of seat allotment
