Central Seat Allocation Board is expected to release the CSAB Round 1 Cutoff 2026 for NITs, IIITs and GFTIs today, August 6. The first round seat allotment result is scheduled to be released after 5 PM. Usually, the Round 1 cutoff is released within 12-15 hours after the publication of the seat allotment. The cutoff includes the opening and closing ranks of NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs as per the special Round 1 seat allotment result.
Whether the CSAB Round 1 cutoff rises or falls completely depends on the number of students competing for each institute and course, plus the number of vacant seats category-wise. This year, over 15,000 vacant seats are available, and the competition level is expected to be higher. The cutoff in the CSAB counselling is determined based on the students' college preferences.
For example, if Student 'A' from the 'Open' category opted for the NIT Jalandhar Biotechnology course and his rank is 7800 in the JEE Main exam. No student from any caste category with a rank better than 7800 opted for this institute. Therefore, 7800 becomes the opening rank. Similarly, Student 'B' with a rank of 11,000 opted for the same institute, and no student beyond this rank opted for this college. Between ranks 7800 and 11,000, only 4 students opted for NIT Jalandhar Biotechnology, and the total number of vacant seats is 6. In this scenario, all 4 students will get admission. So the opening rank can be 7800, and the closing rank is 11,000. This is how the CSAB opening and closing ranks are defined.
As per the above example, it is almost impossible to predict the CSAB counselling cutoffs exactly because no one knows exactly which rank a student will get for which college. Only after the announcement of Round 1 cutoffs can one understand which rank candidates are choosing a college.
As the round 1 allotment releases after 5 PM, the cutoff can be expected either by the night of August 6 or by the morning of August 7.
