The National Testing Agency (NTA) successfully conducted the JEE Main 2026 Session 2 (April 2, Shift 1) exam from 9 AM to 12 PM across multiple centres in India. As per initial student reactions and expert analysis, the overall paper was rated easy to moderate, with Mathematics emerging as the toughest and most time-consuming section.

📊 Overall difficulty level

• The paper was moderate in difficulty overall
• Slightly tougher than the January session for some students
• Balanced mix of conceptual and application-based questions

Many candidates found the paper manageable, but time management played a crucial role due to lengthy calculations in certain sections.

📘 Section-wise analysis

🔵 Physics

• Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
• Mostly formula-based and concept-driven questions
• Topics included:
  • Current Electricity
  • Thermodynamics
  • Modern Physics
• Considered scoring and less time-consuming

🟢 Chemistry

• Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
• Largely based on NCERT concepts
• Included:
  • Organic reactions and mechanisms
  • Inorganic theory-based questions
  • Physical chemistry numericals
• Regarded as the most scoring section

🔴 Mathematics

• Difficulty: Moderate to Tough
• Most challenging and time-consuming section
• Featured:
  • Lengthy, calculation-heavy problems
  • High weightage from Calculus, Algebra, and Coordinate Geometry
• Many students reported difficulty completing this section on time

🧠 Student reactions

• Majority described the paper as “easy to moderate” overall
• Maths required extra time and accuracy, making it the deciding factor
• Physics and Chemistry helped balance the paper with relatively straightforward questions

📈 Good attempts & expected score

• Good attempts: 50–60 questions (with accuracy)
• Expected score vs percentile:
  • 180+ marks → 99+ percentile
  • 160–170 marks → 98–99 percentile
  • 140–150 marks → 96–97 percentile

📊 Comparison with January session

• Overall level: Slightly tougher
• Mathematics: More lengthy and difficult
• Chemistry: Shifted from easy → moderate
• Physics: Largely similar in difficulty

⚠️ Key takeaway for students

• Focus on accuracy over attempts
• Strengthen time management, especially for Maths
• Revise NCERT thoroughly for Chemistry
• Practice conceptual clarity for Physics

📝 Conclusion

The JEE Main 2026 April 2 Shift 1 paper maintained a balanced structure, but Mathematics stood out as the toughest section, making the exam slightly more demanding than previous sessions. While Physics and Chemistry provided scoring opportunities, performance in Maths is likely to play a crucial role in determining overall percentile.