JEE Main is conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in coordination with the IITs. JEE Main (Joint Engineering Exam) exam enables students to secure admission to Undergraduate Engineering Programs at 30 NITs, 5 IIITs, 3 BITs and 265+ Maharashtra state govt. and private colleges. JEE Main also acts as a qualifying exam for students who want to appear for the JEE Advanced exam to secure admissions in IITs, NIITs and IIITs.

The Paper-1 (B. E./B. Tech.) of JEE (Main) will also be an eligibility test for the JEE (Advanced), which the candidate has to take if he/she is aspiring for admission to the undergraduate programmes offered by the IITs

The States of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Odisha have joined JEE (Main) system. Therefore, the candidates seeking admission to the institutions in these states, which were earlier admitting based on their State Level Examination, now have to appear for JEE Main

Admission to NITs will be based on 40% weightage for total marks obtained in Class 12 board exam/equivalent exam and 60% weightage to performance in JEE Main. A combined All India Rank is decided accordingly. Admission to State Engineering colleges, affiliated to State Universities has a separate merit list, based on 50% weightage for total marks obtained in Class 12 board exam/equivalent exam and 50% weightage to performance in JEE Main.