JEE Main Paper Review 2026 January 21 (Available): Mathematics Moderate to Tough, Check student and expert reviews

JEE Main Exam Analysis 2026 January 21 Shift 2: National Testing Agency concluded JEE Main January 21 Shift 2 Exam 2026 today at 6 PM. Multiple sources suggest that the examination’s overall difficulty level was moderate, with the Physics section being easy, the Chemistry being moderate, and Mathematics sections being moderate to tough. The paper was time-consuming as Mathematics involved a lot of manual calculations, but it was somehow doable. From Physics, the majority of the questions appeared from Ray Optics, Modern Physics, Thermodynamics, Capacitors, and Electrostatics. Chemistry questions mostly dealt with Coordination Compounds, Chemical Kinetics, Biomolecules, GOC, and d and f block elements. The Mathematics section mostly focused on Conic Sections, with some being asked about 3D Vectors, Straight Line, Matrices and Determinants, and Complex Numbers.

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JEE Mains 2026 January 21 Shift 2 Student Reviews

For a comprehensive analysis, the CollegeDekho team visited multiple exam centres in Guwahati, Anantapur, and Delhi and collected student feedback on Day 1 Shift 2. Here are the reviews compiled below:

• Natasha from Guwahati, Assam: ‘The paper was overall moderate. Physics questions were mostly formula-based, so anybody who has a good grasp of the formulas can get good marks in the upcoming shifts. Maths was really time-consuming, I couldn’t complete the paper. Chemistry was okayish, not very easy or tough’.
• As per a student, the weightage of questions from Inorganic Chemistry was more than that of Organic Chemistry.
• Rohan from Delhi: ‘I found the paper somewhere between moderate to difficult. Physics questions were direct and from the syllabus; I did not face much difficulty answering them. Chemistry questions were a little tricky, especially Physical Chemistry. The questions from Complex Number were the most difficult to solve.’
• According to some students, previous year questions were repeated from all sections - Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics. Physics was the saviour, among all the sections.
• Priyanka from Guwahati, Assam: ‘I am more or less happy with the paper. Except for Chemistry, the other two sections weren’t very time-consuming. Only a few questions from Mathematics were lengthy to solve, but I could finish them. I struggled the most with theory-based questions from the Chemistry segment. Physics was very good for me. I think I will get most of the questions right.’
• Sameera from Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh: Out of the three sections, I think Mathematics was the most difficult. Some questions were fresh and unexpected, some came from the previous year’s. But most of it needed time to solve. Physics was easy and straightforward. Chemistry was not as time-consuming as Mathematics, but it was not easy either. The salt analysis question was a little difficult.
• Rajesh from Delhi: Paper was fine. Not much change in trend, except for a few questions in Mathematics, which I think were quite challenging to solve. The expected number of good attempts can be 44.

Subject Expert Review on JEE Mains 2026 January 21 Shift 2 Question Paper

Our subject expert, Mahima Gupta, who has over 10 years of experience in guiding JEE aspirants for brilliant performance in the examination, shared insights on JEE Mains 2026 January 21 Shift 2 Question Paper with reference to the previous year’s trend. She opined that this year, the questions from all three sections - Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics maintained their difficulty level. Not much trend change has been observed. Mathematics was time-consuming (as expected), with more questions from Conic Sections, Matrices, and Determinants. Chemistry questions were of moderate difficulty, except for Physical Chemistry. Physics was the easiest among all; some questions were repeated, and the rest were directly from the syllabus.

No out-of-syllabus questions were there from any of the sections. Questions appeared more from Class 12 syllabus than from Class 11. Students who have studied the syllabus well are likely to get good marks. According to my anticipation, the total number of good attempts can be 50-60. For the upcoming shifts, questions from Coordination Compounds, Solutions, Work and Energy, Circle, Conic Sections, d and f Block Elements are highly likely.

JEE Main 2026 January 21 Shift 2 Topic-Wise Weightage (Memory-based)

The following table displays JEE Main 2026 January 21 Shift 2 Topic-Wise Weightage for all subjects, which is based on memory-based questions, and the exact number can vary:

Final Verdict on JEE Main 2026 January 21 Shift 2 Question Paper by CollegeDekho

CollegeDekho's verdict on JEE Main 2026 January 21 Shift 2 paper analysis is that the overall difficulty level was moderate, with Physics being easy to moderate, Chemistry being moderate, and Mathematics being moderately tough. Physics questions were formula-based, with topics like Ray Optics, Modern Physics, and Electrostatics dominating the section. Chemistry had a mix of straightforward and tricky questions, covering Coordination Compounds, Chemical Kinetics, and Biomolecules. Mathematics was time-consuming due to lengthy calculations, with questions from Conic Sections, 3D Vectors, and Straight Lines.

The exam analysis suggests that students who prepared well can expect to score good marks, with an expected 50-60 good attempts. The question paper was balanced, with no out-of-syllabus questions, and covered topics from both Class 11 and Class 12 syllabi.

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