India, June 2 -- Four students from preparatory centres at Rajasthan's coaching hub of Kota have secured the first, second, sixth, and seventh positions in this year's Joint Entrance Examination - Advanced (JEE-Advanced) for admissions to premier engineering colleges.

Rajit Gupta, 18, who secured the first rank, said his father, Deepak Gupta, a sub-divisional engineer in Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, inspired him. "My father has been an inspiration," said Rajit Gupta, whose mother, Shruti Agrawal, teaches home science at a Kota college.

He added that his father prepared for the Rajasthan Pre-Engineering Test (RPET) at the same Kota institute where he studied. "He ranked 48th in RPET in 1994," said Rajit Gupta, who ranked 16th in the JEE...