Overview
- The National Testing Agency conducted the session across January 21, 22, 23, 24, 28 and 29, with multiple-shift variability making normalisation central to score parity.
- Analysts report Mathematics as the key rank-decider due to lengthy, calculation-heavy problems, while Chemistry was largely NCERT-based and high-scoring and Physics emphasized application-focused questions.
- Several shifts, including January 22 (shift 2), January 23 (shifts 1 and 2) and January 28 (shift 2), were flagged as among the tougher papers, driven largely by Mathematics and select Physics items.
- Once the provisional key is issued, candidates can challenge responses via the NTA portal at Rs 200 per question before the final key is published and scores are released.
- Education experts anticipate slightly higher qualifying percentiles than last year, with estimates for General candidates around 93.5–95 percentile (about 140+ marks), though official cut-offs will follow later with final results.