JEE Advanced and Main examinations this year have undergone some major changes in whole, due to the unexpected turn of events, caused by COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. When COVID-19 was first reported and later declared to be a global pandemic, the preset schedules of JEE exams along with all other minor and major exams world-wide, were left in a state of uncertainty. 

JEE Advanced for this year was previously scheduled for May 17, 2020. After rescheduling twice due to COVID-19 outbreak, it is now to be conducted on September 27, 2020, Sunday.

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However, as stated by the latest reports of various national dailies, several candidates from different states of India have filed a plea in the Supreme Court, for cancellation of exams like JEE Main 2020 and NEET till the pandemic is under control and the normalcy returns. Candidates are in anticipation for the decision of the Supreme Court in this regard. 

Each year, JEE Advanced is conducted by the seven zonal IITs of India, in turn. This year, IIT Delhi is in charge of conducting JEE Advanced 2020. It is important that the candidates should be aware of all the updates and changes made in the entrance examination. Here are all the crucial changes that have happened for JEE Advanced 2020.

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Increase in Eligible Number of Candidates in JEE Main Qualifiers

There has occurred a marginal increase in the maximum number candidates who are selected after JEE Main qualifiers, to appear for JEE Advanced 2020.In 2019, the maximum number of candidates eligible for JEE Advanced was 2,45,000. Check JEE Advanced Eligibility

This year, it has been increased to 2,50,000. This decision is made to ensure that more opportunities are available, considering the increase in the number of candidates who appear for JEE every year. It is to be noted that, there will be a slight increase in the above-said eligibility in case of a 'tie in ranks or marks' of two or more candidates, as the candidates are considered equally eligible if the tie remains even after the different tie-breakers are applied.

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Changes in JEE Advanced Application Fee Structure

Another major change for JEE Advanced 2020 is in the application fee structure of different categories. The application fee for all categories of Indian candidates has been increased and the application fee for foreign candidates was decreased, in comparison to last year's fee structure. Read More

Here is a comparison of the JEE Advanced application fee for Indian students and overseas students for 2019 and 2020.

Time Schedule for JEE Advanced 2020

The schedule for this year's JEE Advanced papers has also been updated with slight changes. Out of the two papers with a 3-hour duration each, there is a change in the timing of Paper 2. The break between Paper 1 and Paper 2 is now two-and-half hours.

Increase in Supernumerary Seats

Institutions like IITs and NITs are among the top-most colleges all over India. There are lakhs of aspirants who appear for JEE exams every year. Among those, only the top performers are qualified for admission in these institutions.

But due to social constraints and lack of support and opportunities, the gender ratio at such institutions are imbalanced. The number of female students studying at these prestigious institutions is much lower when compared to the number of male students who take admissions. There were reported incidents where an eligible female candidate didn't join for the programme.

To improve the gender balance in undergraduate programmes at IITs, and to encourage the admission of female students by giving them a fair chance, the supernumerary seats available for them in the different specialisation of undergraduate programmes has been increased by 3% from that of last year.

• The percentage of supernumerary seats available for female students was 17% of the total seats, in the year 2019.
• IITs have increased it to 20%, effective from this academic year, in the hope that the opportunities are equally available and are utilised.

Increase in Total Seats at IITs

With new updates that has been introduced to JEE Advanced 2020 and admission criteria to IITs, there has been a slight increase in the number of seats at different IITs this year.

*The final announcement regarding the number of seats available this year will be made by Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA), after the declaration of JEE Advanced results and counselling sessions.

For detailed data about the distribution of seats in different categories, refer to the table below.

Revised Test Centres for JEE Advanced 2020

For JEE Advanced 2020, a few changes have been made in the number of JEE Advanced Exam Centres. A total of 16 new test centres were added in India. Test centres in 4 cities of India were removed. In the case of overseas exam centres, 2 Cities were removed and 1 new country was included.

There was also an update from the official authorities that overseas candidates who are now in India can choose a test centre in India, as the restrictions in international transportation have not been lifted due to the current COVID-19 outbreak. The latest notification on the JEE Advanced 2020 official website dated 7th August 2020 states that the JEE Advanced 2020 will ONLY be conducted at exam centres in India.

New Exam Centres in India

IIT Bombay Zone - Belgavi (Belgaum), Hubballi (Hubli) and Shimoga

IIT Guwahati Zone - Dimapur

IIT Kanpur Zone - Ujjain

IIT Kharagpur Zone - Sambalpur & Kolkata

IIT Madras Zone - Bhimavaram, Chirala, Kadapa, Tadepalligudam, Vellore & Kodad

IIT Roorkee Zone - Karnal, Yamunanagar, Muzaffarnagar

Removed Exam Centres in India

4 Cities - Ambala, Panipat, Madgaon, Faizabad

Overseas Exam Centres

No exam centers overseas for this session.

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Relaxation in Eligibility Criteria for JEE

Following the widespread of COVID-19, many major higher secondary boards of India like CBSE and ICSE reduced the number of examinations. The evaluation system was adapted, to not burden the students in this pandemic scenario. Postponed examinations were cancelled, and marks were awarded for already conducted examinations.

Considering this rare situation, the authority and IITs jointly decided to relax the eligibility criteria for JEE Advanced 2020. Previously, a minimum of 75% marks in 12th board exams was one of the criteria to fulfil eligibility to apply for JEE Advanced. Check JEE Advanced Eligibility

For this academic session, it was informed that the 12th board marks will not be considered, rather, a minimum pass marks in the board examination is only required.

This decision was made because of the uneven mark distribution of 12th board examinations for different boards might create a problem in the fair analysis of eligibility of the candidates.

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No Change in JEE Advanced Syllabus

The questions for JEE Advanced 2020, is said to be more of descriptive format.IIT Delhi authorities confirmed that there would not be any reduction in the JEE 2020 exam syllabus, ruling out the possibilities of reducing the syllabus, considering the current events. The official statement after joint discussions of IITs states that, as the candidates are already prepared for JEE Advanced 2020, which was previously scheduled on May 17, it is unnecessary to reduce the syllabus for this year's examination. Read More

Candidates who are appearing for JEE Advanced 2020 should follow the official news updates from the website. Though the dates of JEE Main and JEE Advanced have been declared, there are still possibilities for changes in the dates, following the collective plea made by candidates. The day-by-day increasing number of COVID-19 cases in India and all over the world and the uncertainty in inventing a proper vaccination has made it difficult to predict the next changes that may occur. All the admissions and competitive examinations are on hold or postponed due to this and it is already a quarter of the 2020-21 academic year. This year's JEE exams have encountered a lot more changes and adaptations as compared to any of the previous years.