In Maharashtra, the Common Entrance Test (CET) examinations for the academic year 2026-27 witnessed a substantial increase in participation, with 16.29 lakh students appearing, up from 12.46 lakh last year, marking a rise of approximately 3.83 lakh candidates. The State CET Cell reported that 18.12 lakh students registered for the exams conducted between March 24 and May 20, with a high attendance rate of 89.89%. The MHT-CET PCM group led with 8.01 lakh registrations, while the PCB group had 4 lakh and the MBA-MMS CET recorded 1.86 lakh registrations. To enhance accessibility, a second-attempt facility was introduced for certain examinations, aligning them with national standards like the JEE (Main). This year's data underscores the significance of engineering, medical, and management admissions, which constituted over 76% of total registrations. Additionally, more than 1.10 lakh students participated in the BEd CET, and over 69,000 in the three-year LLB CET, highlighting the diverse educational interests among students in Maharashtra.