The Indian Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Examination (popularly known as IIT-JEE or just JEE) is an annual college entrance examination in India. A total of nine colleges use JEE as a sole criterion for admission to their undergraduate programs. The nine colleges include the seven Indian Institutes of Technology, IT-BHU Varanasi, and ISM Dhanbad. It is conducted by the various IITs by a policy of rotation. It is considered as one of the toughest exams in the world with a success rate of around 1 in 60. Candidates who successfully pass the IIT-JEE can apply for admission to the BTech (Bachelor of Technology), Dual Degree (Integrated Bachelor of Technology and Masters of Technology) and Integrated MSc (Master of Sciences) courses in the various institutes. Getting entrance into an IIT is often considered the pinnacle of achievement for a student of the science stream and the IITs along with the IISc attract most of the brightest students of the nation.

Current Examination Format

JEE 2007 is scheduled to be held on April 8, 2007 and is set to have two papers of three hours

duration each. The two papers will each contain maths, physics and chemistry sections (in previous years, there were separate maths, physics and chemistry papers, each of two hours' duration). The syllabus of the examination is based on topics covered by the CBSE Board Examination (AISSCE) and the ISC Board Examination , though all topics of the AISSCE and the ISC are not included in the JEE syllabus. The pattern of questions in JEE is deliberately variable so as to minimize the chance of students getting selected by cramming up the probable questions. Currently, the examination has objective type question paper for all the subjects and uses machine readable Optical mark recognition answer sheets.

Given the importance attached to the JEE by students all over India, the IITs follow a rigorous procedure when conducting it every year. The exam is set by the JEE Committee (consisting of a group of faculty members drawn from the admitting colleges) under the tightest security. Multiple sets of question papers are framed and the set that is to actually be used on the day of the exam is known to only about five individuals. In the past, the JEE has been noted for originality in its questions.

Seats

The number of students taking this examination has increased substantially each year with the JEE-2006 registering about 300,000 candidates (the number of exam-takers in each of the previous five years was under 200,000). The number of seats available in total is about 5500, indicating a selectivity of about 1 in 50. The break-up of seats for 2005 and 2006 is:

Institute	Intake (2005)	Intake (2006)
IIT Bombay	574	574
IIT Delhi	553	553
IIT Guwahati	302	365
IIT Kanpur	555	555
IIT Kharagpur	779	895
IIT Madras	550	520
IIT Roorkee	577	616
Total (IIT's)	3890	4078
IT-BHU	643	708
ISM Dhanbad	402	658
TOTAL	4935	5444

The age limit for appearing in IIT-JEE is 25 years. For candidates belonging to SC, ST and PD categories, the relaxed age limit is 30 years. Also, starting 2007, a candidate can take the JEE two times at the most. This has been done mainly to reduce stress on students and discourage the concept of "cram schools" — where students are made to memorize all types of possible exam questions. Furthermore, from 2007 onwards, students who are selected for admission to an IIT cannot attempt the examination again in the future.