Female-only supernumerary seats are extra seats for girls at IITs, NITs and other institutes, and they are not a reservation. Girls compete for them first and for gender-neutral seats too. In 2026 the female-only closing rank at IITs was typically about 1.9 times the gender-neutral one, and women got 20.22% of IIT seats.
To raise the share of women to at least 20%, the Ministry of Education asked IITs, IISc, NITs, IIEST and some IIITs to create supernumerary seats for female candidates (clause 31). Every program has two pools: Gender-Neutral and Female-Only (clause 32B).
JoSAA stresses this is not a reservation: the top-ranked girls fill the Female-Only seats first, so they don't take Gender-Neutral seats away from boys ranked just below them.
In the 2026 final round, the female-only closing rank was later than the gender-neutral one for every IIT program we checked (300 programs closing after rank 500), typically about 1.9 times the gender-neutral rank. At NITs (Other State) the median was about 1.4 times.
| Program | Rank type | Gender-neutral close | Female-only close |
|---|---|---|---|
| IIT Bombay CSE | JEE Advanced | 67 | 395 |
| IIT Delhi CSE | JEE Advanced | 128 | 733 |
| NIT Trichy CSE | JEE Main | 1,373 | 3,545 |
| NIT Warangal CSE | JEE Main | 2,581 | 4,777 |
| NIT Rourkela CSE | JEE Main | 4,266 | 7,133 |
Source: JoSAA 2026 Opening and Closing Ranks, Round 5 (final), OPEN; NITs Other State quota.
All 23 IITs together had 18,826 seats, of which 3,776 were female-only seats. In the final round 18,861 seats were allotted and 3,814 went to women: 20.22%. Every one of the ten older IITs we cover was between 19% and 22% (JEE (Advanced) 2026 Report, Volume I, section 4.4, p. 8).
Only 37 of those 3,814 women got their seat through the gender-neutral pool; the rest came through female-only seats (JEE (Advanced) 2026 Report, Volume I, executive summary). For girls, the female-only pool is where the seat almost always comes from.
On the CRL list, the last rank offered IIT admission was 28,480 in the gender-neutral pool and 29,824 in the female-only pool (JEE (Advanced) 2026 Report, Volume I, section 13.5).
Extra seats created only for female candidates in IITs, IISc, NITs, IIEST and some IIITs, to bring women to at least 20%. Girls compete for these first and also for gender-neutral seats.
No. JoSAA says it is fundamentally different from reservation: female-only seats are added on top, and gender-neutral seats for boys were not reduced.
In 2026 the female-only closing rank at IIT programs was typically about 1.9 times the gender-neutral one. IIT Bombay CSE closed at 67 gender-neutral and 395 female-only.
Yes. A girl is first considered for a female-only seat and then for a gender-neutral seat of the same program.
20.22%: 3,814 of the 18,861 seats allotted in the final round, as per the JEE Advanced 2026 report.
Sources: JoSAA 2026 Business Rules (1 June 2026), Section XV (clauses 31 to 33); JEE (Advanced) 2026 Report, Volume I, sections 4.4 and 13.5; JoSAA 2026 Opening and Closing Ranks, Round 5.
