E-Paper
Two from Chandigarh tricity land perfect 100 percentile in JEE Main Session 2
As many as 26 candidates nationwide secured 100 percentile in the exam, even as 2,50,182 candidates qualified for JEE (Advanced), the gateway to the IITs
Two students from the tricity scored a perfect 100 percentile in the JEE (Main) Session 2 results, declared by the National Testing Agency on Monday.
Among them, Aarush Singhal of Chandigarh led with all-India rank (AIR) 8 and Arnav Gandhi of Panchkula bagged AIR 22.
As many as 26 candidates nationwide secured 100 percentile in the exam, even as 2,50,182 candidates qualified for JEE (Advanced), the gateway to the IITs.
Aarush, who lives in Sector 37-D with his parents and a younger brother, had already signalled his trajectory in Session 1 of JEE Main, held in January, where he scored 99.99 percentile.
His sights are set on IIT Bombay for computer science, a goal with roots going back to Class 4, when he first began participating in computer competitions, including web design and programming contests.
As for the future, he speaks of entrepreneurship as much as engineering, with an eye on building something of his own. Basketball is a regular outlet away from the books. His father, Nakul Singhal, is a software engineer and his mother, Malti Singhal, is a homemaker.
Aarush’s approach to one of the county’s most competitive examinations was, by his own account, deliberately unhurried.
Rather than grinding through 12 to 14 hour study sessions, he swore by shorter, more focussed stretches of work, intense in quality, but broken up with regular breaks. “Consistency matters more than long hours,” he said, summing up the philosophy that carried him to a perfect score.
Arnav, originally a resident of Sector 13, Hisar, has been staying in Bhavan Vidyalaya’s hostel in Panchkula for his studies, and had continued to go to school alongside his JEE preparation.
Also hoping to land a computer science seat at IIT Bombay, he cites an elder cousin studying at IIT Guwahati is a source of inspiration.
He plays tennis and follows cricket closely, with table tennis also in his regular rotation. His parents Dr Shikha Gandhi and Dr Premdeep Gandhi run their own dental clinics.
Arnav says he had made up his mind about engineering by Class 9. What followed was investment in conceptual clarity, working through problems rigorously rather than relying on shortcuts, that culminated in a score of 291 out of 300 and a 100 percentile. “Strong conceptual understanding and regular practice” is how he describes his method. Setbacks along the way, he says, were part of the process.
Niskarsh Verma added to the region’s tally with a 99.999 percentile and AIR 46, while Yajat Singhal secured AIR 100.
JEE Main is conducted in two sessions each year, in January and April, and students may appear in either or both. Where both are attempted, the better of the two scores is used. The Session 2 results declared on Monday evening are based on final answer keys released on April 20.
A perfect NTA score of 100 does not mean full marks. NTA scores are percentile based, normalised across shifts to account for variation in difficulty, and reflect the proportion of candidates who scored equal to or less than a given candidate in their particular shift.
The successful candidates are now eligible to appear for JEE (Advanced) 2026, scheduled for May.
For students who do not clear Advanced or do not attempt it, JEE Main scores are accepted for admissions at NITs, IIITs and other centrally funded technical institutions. In the tricity region, scores are accepted at Punjab Engineering College, UIET Chandigarh, CCET, Chandigarh College of Architecture, and Dr SSB University Institute of Chemical Engineering.
