JEE Advanced 2025: Supernumerary seats for women candidates – JEE Advanced 2025 registration process has started on April 23 for admission to IITs. Only the top 2.5 lakh JEE Main-qualified candidates can appear for this exam. In IITs, there is provision for supernumerary seats for women candidates, as the rule says that 20 percent of seats in each IIT will be allocated to women candidates.
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Reservation Percentage for Women (Supernumerary Seats)
- These seats are created in addition to the existing seat matrix, ensuring that the number of seats available to non-female candidates is not reduced
Purpose and Implementation
- The supernumerary seats for women are part of an initiative by the IIT Council and the Ministry of Education to improve gender balance in undergraduate programs at IITs
- Each IIT must ensure that at least 20% of its undergraduate enrolment consists of female students, achieved by creating these additional seats if the standard intake does not reach this threshold
JEE Advanced 2025: Supernumerary Seats for Women Candidates (Eligibility)
- Eligibility: Only those female candidates who qualify for JEE Advanced 2025 are eligible for these supernumerary seats
- No Additional Relaxation: There is no relaxation in eligibility criteria or qualifying marks for women candidates applying under supernumerary seats. Female candidates must meet the same academic and examination requirements as those applying for gender-neutral (open) seats
Key Points
- Supernumerary seats are over and above the regular seat matrix. It does not affect existing category reservations (SC, ST, OBC, etc.)
- The detailed implementation and seat allocation process are outlined in the JoSAA Business Rules each year
- Male candidates are not eligible for these supernumerary seats for women.
JEE Advanced 2025: Supernumerary Seats for Women Candidates (Summary Table)
| Criteria | Details |
| Percentage reserved for women | 20% (supernumerary, i.e., additional) |
| Who is eligible? | Female candidates qualified in JEE Advanced 2025 |
| Relaxation in eligibility/marks? | No, same as for gender-neutral seats |
| Impact on other reservations | No, it does not reduce seats for other categories |
This initiative significantly increases opportunities for female candidates aspiring to join IITs. However, all must still meet the standard eligibility and performance criteria.
Allocation Mechanism Among IITs
- Institute-wise Determination: Each IIT decides the number of supernumerary seats to add so that the total female enrolment reaches 20% of its undergraduate intake. This means institutes with larger sanctioned intakes will have more supernumerary seats for women.
- Program-wise Allocation: Within an IIT, supernumerary seats are distributed among different programs (branches) to maintain the 20% female ratio across the entire undergraduate cohort. For example, if a branch had 45 general seats previously, it might increase to 50 seats with 5 supernumerary seats reserved for females, ensuring the female quota is met at the branch level as well.
- Merit-based Allocation: These supernumerary seats are allocated strictly based on JEE Advanced merit ranks of female candidates. Female candidates first fill the female-only supernumerary seats. If the number of female candidates exceeds these seats, the remaining females compete for the gender-neutral seats as well.
- No Impact on Other Reservations: The supernumerary seats for women are over and above the existing reservation categories (SC, ST, OBC, EWS), so those categories’ seat counts remain unaffected.
