Bhubaneswar: Scoring full marks in JEE Main is no small feat and Odisha’s Om Prakash Behera has done it twice.
A resident of Bhubaneswar, Om secured the perfect 300/300 in both sessions of JEE Main 2025 held in January and April, securing a 100 percentile NTA score. He secured 23rd position in the list of 24 All India Toppers with 100 percentile score.
His disciplined approach, dedicated self-study for about 8 to 9 hours, and strategic planning helped him to excel in one of India’s most challenging exams. What stood out was the Gen Z’s conscious decision to not have a phone and stay away from social media to focus on his preparations. “I stayed away from social media as it will affect my concentration and focus on studies. Also social media, according to me, is a waste of time,” he told the media.
Om had moved to Rajasthan’s Kota for his preparations and appeared the exam as a candidate from Rajasthan.
After attending the morning and evening shift classes at a coaching institute, he would practise the previous year question papers. “I did a chapter-wise analysis as per the syllabus as the date for the exam drew nearer, which helped me with the questions in the JEE Main,” he elaborated.
The JEE Main topper credited his parents and teachers for the success. His mother, Smita Rani Behera, a college lecturer in Odisha, paused her career for three years to move with him to Kota, ensuring he had an optimal study environment. His father, Kamalkant Behera, is an officer in Odisha Administrative Services.
Om is now focusing on his JEE Advanced preparations to achieve his goal of gaining admission to IIT. “My dream is to pursue BTech in Computer Science from IIT Bombay, and for that I have to get a good rank in JEE Advanced,” he added.
Nabaneet Priyadarshi, a Class XII student of DAV Public School, Unit-VIII, has topped the exam in Odisha with 99.989 percentile.
