Ujjwal Mehta tops Punjab with 99.99 percentile in IIT JEE Main exam

17-year-old from Jalandhar, who has been studying in Patiala since Class 9, admits he’s not net savvy and stays away from social media to focus on his studies for eight hours a day

Ujjwal Mehta, 17, has topped the IIT JEE Main exam in Punjab by scoring 99.99 percentile.

Ujjwal Mehta after he was declared the Punjab topper in the IIT JEE Main exam, in Patiala on Saturday. He aims to pursue computer sciences at Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, and is now focused on doing well in the IIT JEE Advanced exam in April. (Bharat Bhushan/HT)

Ujjwal, who hails from Jalandhar, has been taking coaching from a private institute in Patiala since Class 9.

“I attempted this exam with sincerity and did not lose confidence even for a second while preparing for it. I’ve been staying in a hostel here for the past three years,” he said.

He said he will continue to prepare for the next level of JEE Advanced to be held in April.

“I’m not internet savvy and stay away from social media. I avoid using the smart phone to concentrate on my studies. I study for at least eight hours a day,” he said.

Ujjwal scored 97.6% in Class 10 and is a student of Patiala’s Apollo Public School at present. “I aim to take up computer sciences at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai,” he said.

His father, Naveen Kumar Mehta, is the financial manager in a private company, while his mother, Seema, is a homemaker.