KCET 2026 Toppers List: Tanisha Karthik Tops Engineering, Navana Gopi Dominates Three Streams

KEA declared the KCET Results 2026 on June 6, 2026. Along with the result, KEA released the official KCET 2026 Toppers List across all streams.

The numbers from this year’s Karnataka Common Entrance Test tell an interesting story. Of the 3,09,014 candidates who appeared for KCET 2026, a total of 2,92,782 qualified. That is a qualification rate of over 94%. In simple terms, roughly 9 out of every 10 candidates who sat for the exam are now eligible for admission. Despite that high eligibility rate, the competition for top seats remains extremely narrow. The top 1,000 engineering ranks are separated by very small score margins, which means even a single mark can shift a candidate’s rank by hundreds of positions.

Tanisha Karthik of RV PU College, Jayanagar, Bengaluru secured Rank 1 in the engineering stream. Navana Gopi of Base PU College, Bengaluru topped three separate streams. In the Engineering stream, 2,82,603 out of 3,09,014 appeared candidates were declared eligible for admission.

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KCET 2026 Toppers List: Engineering Stream

Tanisha Karthik claimed the top position in the KCET 2026 Engineering stream. She is from RV PU College, one of Bengaluru’s well-known pre-university colleges. KEA announces Rank 1 holders along with the result itself, and her name was confirmed at the official press conference held at noon on June 6.

For reference, the KCET 2025 Rank 1 in engineering went to Bhavesh Jayanthi with a merit percentage of 99.06%. Historical data shows that the Rank 1 holder in engineering typically scores between 178 and 180 out of 180 marks in the CET component.

Rank	Candidate Name	College	Stream
1	Tanisha Karthik	RV PU College, Jayanagar, Bengaluru	Engineering
2	Srajan B S	KMWA PU College, Bengaluru	Engineering
3	Ninaad Vasishta	RV PU College, Jayanagar, Bengaluru	Engineering
4	Ira Jain	The Learning Centre PU College, Mangalore	Engineering
5	Rishon Fernandes	The Learning Centre PU College, Mangalore	Engineering
6	Advik Ganapathy M B	—	Engineering
7	Chinnmay G K	—	Engineering
8	Abhii Sannayya	—	Engineering
9	Abigail Varghese	—	Engineering
10	Anirudh S	—	Engineering

KCET 2026 Toppers List: All Streams

Navana Gopi of Base PU College, Bengaluru stood out as the most dominant performer across streams in KCET 2026. She topped at least three streams — Veterinary Sciences, BSc Nursing, and Yoga and Naturopathy. In Veterinary Sciences, she was followed by Amulya S (Rank 2) and Rithvik Kumar (Rank 3). The same top-two order held in BSc Nursing, with Amulya S at Rank 2 and Rithvik Kumar at Rank 3. In Yoga and Naturopathy, she topped again, with Amulya S at Rank 2 and Suchita M at Rank 3.

In Farm Sciences — which covers Agriculture, Sericulture, and Forestry — Ninaad Vasisht secured Rank 1. He was followed by Anmol Prabhu (Rank 2) and Samay A S (Rank 3). Other students in the Farm Sciences top 10 include Rishika K S, Ritul S Reddy, Ankit Ashok Dodawad, Arale Virupakshi, Rutika Mallikarjun Patil, Shreya Ballal Nidamboor, and Amulya S.

Stream	Rank 1	College
Engineering	Tanisha Karthik	RV PU College, Bengaluru
Veterinary Sciences	Navana Gopi	Base PU College, Bengaluru
BSc Nursing	Navana Gopi	Base PU College, Bengaluru
Yoga and Naturopathy (BNYS)	Navana Gopi	Base PU College, Bengaluru
Farm Sciences (Agriculture)	Ninaad Vasisht	—

KCET 2026 Result: Statistics

Understanding  KCET 2026 Result numbers helps put the KCET 2026 Toppers List in context.

Particulars	Number
Total registered candidates	3,30,646
Total candidates appeared	3,09,014
Total candidates qualified	2,92,782
Engineering stream eligible	2,82,603
B.Pharm stream eligible	2,86,609
Pharma-D stream eligible	2,86,965
Overall qualification rate	~94.7%
Female candidates appeared	1,86,099
Male candidates appeared	1,44,380

One of the notable trends in KCET 2026 is the gender composition. Female candidates at 1,86,099 outnumbered male candidates by over 41,000. This continues a pattern seen in recent KCET cycles where women’s participation has grown year on year.

KCET 2026 Toppers List: What the Qualification Rate Actually Means

A 94.7% qualification rate can be misread. Qualifying in KCET does not mean getting into a top college. It simply means a candidate is eligible to participate in counselling. The actual seat allotment depends on rank.

In Engineering, only the top few thousand ranks can expect seats in top government and autonomous colleges like RVCE, MSRIT, BMS, NMIT, and PES University Bengaluru. Based on historical KCET cutoff data, a rank below 5,000 in the General Merit category is typically needed for CSE or ECE at premier colleges. A rank between 5,000 and 20,000 still gives access to mid-tier government colleges and reputed private colleges.

Of the 2,82,603 candidates eligible in Engineering, a rough breakdown based on historical rank-to-marks patterns looks like this:

Rank Range	Approximate CET Score	Expected Profile
1 – 1,000	170 – 180	Top government engineering colleges, premier branches
1,001 – 5,000	155 – 170	RVCE, MSRIT, BMS for popular branches
5,001 – 20,000	130 – 155	Mid-tier Bengaluru colleges, some branches at top colleges
20,001 – 50,000	100 – 130	Regional and district-level government colleges
50,001+	Below 100	Remaining eligible candidates, limited top-college options

Note: These score ranges are indicative. Official cutoffs will be released after each round of KCET 2026 Counselling.

KCET 2026 vs Previous Years: Participation Trend

The KCET 2026 cycle saw registration numbers remain stable compared to 2025.

Year	Registered	Appeared	Qualified
KCET 2026	3,30,646	3,09,014	2,92,782
KCET 2025	3,30,787	3,11,996	2,75,000

The qualification count in 2026 is higher than 2025 in absolute terms. This also means slightly more candidates will compete for the same pool of roughly 60,000 government engineering seats in Karnataka.

About the KCET 2026 Exam

KEA conducted KCET 2026 in offline, pen-and-paper mode on April 22, 23, and 24, 2026. The exam covered Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics (for engineering) and Biology (for medical streams). Each correct answer carried one mark. There was no negative marking.

A total of 11,51,367 OMR sheets across all subjects were uploaded to the KEA website within five days of the exam for public review. The final answer key was released after the challenge window closed. KEA then compiled PUC marks, ran technical scrutiny, and declared the result on June 6.

How to Check KCET Result 2026: Visit cetonline.karnataka.gov.in or karresults.nic.in. Click on the UGCET 2026 Result link. Enter your application number and date of birth. Download your scorecard.

KCET 2026 Rank Card: What It Contains

The KCET Rank Card 2026 available on the official KEA portal contains the following details.

• Candidate’s name and application number
• Subject-wise scores (Physics, Chemistry, Maths or Biology)
• CET total score
• PUC / qualifying exam marks
• Combined merit percentage
• Stream-wise rank
• Category and sub-category rank

Candidates need their rank card for document verification and for option entry during KCET 2026 Counselling.

KCET 2026 Counselling: What Comes Next

KEA has announced that KCET 2026 Counselling will begin on June 10, 2026. Mock results will be announced four days after the rank list is published. The counselling process involves document verification, option entry and locking, mock allotment, final seat allotment, fee payment, and reporting to the allotted institution.

Candidates who qualified in Engineering, Pharmacy, Agriculture, Veterinary Sciences, Nursing, BNYS, and related courses are eligible to participate in counselling based on their rank and category. You can also use the KCET Rank Predictor to estimate where your score stands in the 2026 merit list before counselling begins.

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