The Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main 2026 Session 2 continued on April 5 with Shift 1, where students reported a moderate overall difficulty level, but with significant variation across subjects. Initial reactions suggest that time management once again played a crucial role, especially due to the lengthy Mathematics section.

📝 Overall Paper Review

Based on students’ feedback and expert insights, the paper was rated moderate, similar to previous shifts of the session. However, many candidates found the paper time-consuming, primarily due to lengthy calculations in Maths and some parts of Physics.

Across recent shifts, a consistent trend has been observed—Mathematics emerging as the most challenging and time-intensive section, while Chemistry remains relatively scoring.

📊 Subject-Wise Analysis

🔢 Mathematics – Lengthy & Time-Consuming

• Students unanimously reported Mathematics as the toughest section.
• Questions were calculation-heavy and multi-step, requiring more time per question.
• Many candidates could attempt only a limited number of questions due to time constraints.
• This section proved to be the rank-deciding factor, as seen in earlier shifts too.

👉 Overall: Difficult + Lengthy

⚡ Physics – Moderate but Tricky

• Physics was rated moderate in difficulty.
• Questions were largely concept-based, with a mix of numerical problems.
• Some questions were slightly lengthy, adding to the overall time pressure.

👉 Overall: Moderate

🧪 Chemistry – Easy & Scoring

• Chemistry was considered the easiest section in this shift.
• Most questions were NCERT-based and straightforward, especially from Inorganic and Organic Chemistry.
• Students found this section less time-consuming, helping balance the paper.

👉 Overall: Easy to Moderate (Scoring)

⏱️ Difficulty Order

Mathematics > Physics > Chemistry

This pattern aligns with trends seen in earlier JEE Main 2026 shifts, where Maths consistently remained the most time-consuming subject while Chemistry offered scoring opportunities.

📌 Key Highlights

• Overall paper: Moderate but lengthy
• Maths dominated time (biggest challenge)
• Physics required conceptual clarity
• Chemistry helped boost attempts and scores
• Speed + accuracy were crucial for a good attempt

🎯 Expected Good Attempts

• A balanced attempt strategy (strong Chemistry + selective Maths + steady Physics) was key
• Students who managed time well in Maths likely gained an advantage

📢 Conclusion

The April 5 Shift 1 paper of JEE Main 2026 maintained the ongoing trend of the session—moderate difficulty with high time pressure, mainly due to Mathematics. While Chemistry provided relief, success in this shift depended heavily on time management and smart question selection.