No JEE rank needed: IIT Kharagpur plans additional admission pathways for 2026 session

IIT Kharagpur is set to introduce alternative admission pathways for its BTech and BS programmes from the next academic session, moving beyond the conventional JEE Advanced rank-based system. Officials told TOI that the move aims to attract students from diverse academic and extracurricular backgrounds while maintaining the JEE Advanced qualification as a baseline requirement.

Director Suman Chakraborty said the institute’s Senate has approved the plan in principle. “From the next academic session, we will be admitting students through alternate routes without disturbing the primary channel of admission through JEE Advanced. The institute is exploring possibilities such as Sports Excellence Admission (SEA) and Science Olympiad Excellence Admissions (SCOPE) as benchmarks of acceptance,” he said, adding that a student’s JEE rank will not be a determining factor for these alternative channels,as per a report by TOI.

Chakraborty said the initiative seeks to make the admission process more inclusive and attract a broader talent pool. Other IITs, including IIT Madras, IIT Kanpur, IIT Bombay, IIT Gandhinagar, and IIT Indore, already offer similar pathways through Olympiad and sports excellence routes.


An IIT Kharagpur official said a committee with representatives from each department will be set up to determine the final modalities and oversee the implementation. The institute also plans to consult IITs that have already implemented similar admission routes.

Proposed eligibility criteria for Olympiad and sports categories

Campus sources told TOI, students who have participated in international Olympiads such as the International Mathematical Olympiad, International Physics Olympiad, International Chemistry Olympiad, International Biology Olympiad, or International Olympiad in Informatics will be eligible for consideration under the Olympiad category. The proposal includes the creation of a limited number of supernumerary seats for such candidates to recognise their academic excellence beyond conventional entrance exams.

For the sports excellence route, it has been proposed that candidates must have won at least one medal in the last four years in national or international-level competitions. Eligible events may include the World Championship, Olympics, Commonwealth Championship, SAF Games, Senior National, Federation Cup, All India Inter-University, and Khelo India University Games.

(With inputs from TOI)