Guwahati: The results of the IIT Joint Entrance Examination (IIT-JEE) is much better this year than earlier years for students who have taken the test from centres in Assam.

The number of students who have qualified in the main list is 43 this year compared to 22 in 2007 and 29 in 2008, registering an increase of 48 per cent this time.

A comparison of this year's results declared last week with the earlier ones shows another notable feature of a candidate from here, Avradeep Bhowmick, securing a high all India rank of 34.

As in the previous two years, this year 20 other candidates in Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe categories qualified for the preparatory course, in which students spend an extra year in an IIT in preparation for the four year engineering programme.

The trend was encouraging even though 260 candidates should have ideally qualified in terms of the population of Assam, said sources connected with IIT-JEE Entrance Examination.

The leading qualified candidates in the General category from Assam this year with all India ranking are Abhishek Das (2450th) and Gaurav Ajitsaria (2684th).

In the OBC category the successful candidates are Arindam Baruah (347th), Rishi Raj Borah (446th), while in the SC category are Sidharth Das (44th), Partha Pratim Das (47th) and ST category are Mrinal Kumar Mech (53rd), Swrangsar Basumatary (94th).

In the rest of the North East states, the results did not live up to expectations with only three in the main list and eight in the preparatory list qualifying, the sources said.

There was need for making more students aware of the preparations that are required for the IIT entrance examination, the sources added.