Home › Engineering › JEE Main › Analysis
Analysis 2 Nov 2026 · 5 min read
CSAB 2026: NIT seats closed a median 24% later than in JoSAA
In CSAB 2026, NIT seats closed a median 24% later than in JoSAA, IIIT seats 32% later and GFTI seats 148% later. Three years of data, branch by branch.
By CutoffBridge team · Published 2 Nov 2026, 2:30 pm
Key takeaways
- In 2026, the typical NIT seat closed 24% later in the CSAB Special Rounds than in JoSAA (OPEN, gender-neutral, Other State or All India quota).
- 333 of 334 NIT seat pools closed later in CSAB; the gap was almost the same in 2024 (25%) and 2025 (25%).
- IIIT seats closed a median 32% later and GFTI seats 148% later in CSAB.
- NIT Computer Science closed about 22% later in CSAB, close to the NIT average.
In the CSAB Special Rounds 2026, the typical NIT seat closed 24% later than it did in JoSAA. For IIITs the gap was 32%, and for GFTIs 148%. A later closing rank means a seat was easier to get, so CSAB gave students with weaker JEE Main ranks a real second chance at the same seats.
We compared each seat pool's highest JoSAA closing rank of 2026 with its highest CSAB closing rank of 2026. A seat pool is one program, quota, category and gender at one institute. To compare like with like, we used only OPEN, gender-neutral seats in the Other State or All India quota. Both counsellings rank these by the JEE Main CRL. B.Arch and B.Plan are left out because they use Paper 2 ranks.
Three years, the same pattern
| Institute type | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Seat pools in 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NITs (with IIEST Shibpur) | +25% | +25% | +24% | 334 |
| IIITs | +36% | +36% | +32% | 127 |
| GFTIs | +166% | +145% | +148% | 228 |
The figures are medians: half of the seat pools moved more, half less. In 2026, 333 of 334 NIT seat pools closed later in CSAB than in JoSAA. The only exception was Information Technology at NIT Surathkal, which closed at 2,891 in CSAB against 3,088 in JoSAA.
GFTIs move much further because many of their seats already close at late ranks in JoSAA. When those seats are offered again in CSAB, they go to students far down the list.
Branch by branch at NITs
| Branch group (NITs, 2026) | Seat pools | Median: CSAB vs JoSAA |
|---|---|---|
| Computer Science & IT | 78 | +22% |
| Electronics & Communication | 60 | +24% |
| Electrical | 25 | +23% |
| Mechanical & Production | 47 | +24% |
| Civil | 35 | +20% |
| Chemical | 25 | +22% |
| Metallurgy & Materials | 24 | +19% |
| Biotechnology | 13 | +43% |
| Science (Physics, Maths, Chemistry) | 20 | +33% |
Popular branches moved about as much as the rest. Computer Science still closed only about a fifth later, so CSAB is not a back door to top NIT CSE seats at much weaker ranks.
Computer Science at the top NITs
| Institute (B.Tech CSE, Other State, OPEN) | JoSAA 2026 closing | CSAB 2026 closing |
|---|---|---|
| NIT Tiruchirappalli | 1,373 | 1,471 |
| NIT Surathkal | 1,954 | 2,265 |
| NIT Warangal | 2,581 | 3,119 |
| NIT Rourkela | 4,266 | 4,508 |
| MNNIT Allahabad | 5,375 | 5,800 |
| MNIT Jaipur | 5,868 | 6,597 |
| NIT Calicut | 5,769 | 6,999 |
| VNIT Nagpur | 7,419 | 9,320 |
At the top NITs, CSE closed a few hundred to about 1,900 ranks later in CSAB. Every NIT is in the CSAB cutoff explorer.
How to use this
- Read CSAB numbers as CRL. CSAB publishes every closing rank as the All-India CRL, also on category seats. Compare your CRL with CSAB ranks and your category rank with JoSAA ranks. The CSAB cutoff explorer does this for you once you enter your ranks.
- Expect noise in small pools. CSAB ranks count only students newly allotted or upgraded in that round, so a pool with one or two students can jump from year to year. Look at all three years before you rely on one number.
- Seats only appear in CSAB if they are empty after JoSAA. A pool with no empty seats has nothing to offer, however late it closed last year. The explorer shows the empty seats listed before each year's Special Rounds.
- If you hold a JoSAA seat, choose carefully. If CSAB allots you any seat, your JoSAA seat is cancelled automatically, as the CSAB 2026 brochure explains. List only programs you prefer to the seat you have.
To see where your own rank stood, pick the nearest rank on CSAB seats by JEE Main rank, or compare both counsellings for every seat with JoSAA and CSAB side by side.
Enter your ranks once. We compare the right rank with every seat pool.
Sources
Spotted a wrong number? Tell us and we will fix it in public.