IIT JEE Advanced: Mumbai boy gets AIR 8, fewer aspirants qualify this year

The Agarwal household in Parel on Sunday morning was basking in the glow of success. Their oldest son, Rishi, had cleared the JEE Advanced (JEE-Adv) 2018 with an All-India Rank (AIR) of 8. Rishi, 17, was named the male topper for IIT-Bombay zone (which includes several states) and Vadodara girl Meghana Missula was named the female topper of the zone with her AIR of 80 by scoring 278/360 in the JEE Advanced.

Overall, the number of students qualifying for admissions to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) has dropped by 64% this year. Last year, 50,455 students qualified to apply for 10,988 seats across the 23 IITs. This year, only 18,138 students have qualified and will be vying for 11,290 seats. A senior official at the JEE Advanced organising chairperson’s office said the reduced number was due to the fact that no bonus marks were awarded to students this year.

“Not a single question was dropped this year from the exam, which means after several years no bonus marks were awarded to candidates. This is the main reason why the number of students qualifying the exam is controlled at 18,138 this year,” the official said. The minimum qualifying marks too dropped from 128 last year to 126 this year in the open category.

Rishi, who scored 315 marks out of 360 in the examination, said he was “beyond elated” that his hard work got this recognition. “I’ve put in a lot of effort to ensure I was up to date with the syllabus. I am very happy with my score,” said the teenager, who wants to pursue computer science at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B). An avid reader, Rishi also participates in several sports activities. “I also participate in karate championships regularly and that’s how I bring a balance between studies and co-curricular activities,” said Rishi, who is the Maharashtra state topper in JEE-Adv 2018.

Meghana’s father’s works for a state-owned company and his job ensures the family keeps moving across the country. While Meghana, 17, appeared for her examination in Vadodra, she is currently in Delhi where her family recently shifted. “I’ve changed several schools in the past 12 years. Hopefully I’ve scored well enough to bag a seat in the Computer Science department at IIT-B,” she said.

Pranav Goyal from Panchkula in Haryana topped the JEE Advanced 2018, the examination held for admissions to the 23 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) across the country. He scored 337 marks. Sahil Jain from Bundi in Rajasthan ranked second and Kailash Gupta from Delhi got the third position.

Last year, the exam authority awarded 18 bonus marks to students due to errors in questions or answers and it had given a much-needed push to thousands of candidates. “Special thanks go to our expert committee of professors who put together the question paper this year, and ensured it was error-free,” added the senior official.