Most Popular Board in India: CBSE, ICSE, and State Boards Compared

When it comes to school boards in India, CBSE, the Central Board of Secondary Education, is the most widely chosen board for students preparing for competitive exams like JEE and NEET. Also known as Central Board of Secondary Education, it’s the default choice for families who want a syllabus that lines up directly with national entrance tests. It’s not just popular—it’s practical. CBSE’s structure is built for efficiency: fewer topics, clearer patterns, and heavy emphasis on NCERT textbooks, which are the exact source for JEE Main and NEET questions.

Compare that to ICSE, the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education, which offers a broader, more detailed curriculum with greater focus on English and project-based learning. Also known as Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations, ICSE is respected for depth, but it’s not optimized for exam speed. Meanwhile, state boards, like Maharashtra State Board or Uttar Pradesh Board, vary wildly in difficulty and recognition. Some are easier, some are tougher—but none have the nationwide acceptance CBSE does. If you’re aiming for engineering, medicine, or a government job, CBSE gives you the clearest path. That’s why over 20,000 schools across India use it, and why coaching centers design their entire curriculum around CBSE’s pattern.

You don’t have to be in a CBSE school to succeed, but if you’re serious about JEE, NEET, or competitive exams, choosing CBSE removes a huge layer of guesswork. It’s not about being the "hardest" board—that’s ICSE or Karnataka’s state board—but about being the most predictable. The questions repeat. The weightage is fixed. The NCERT is law. And that’s why millions of parents, teachers, and students keep coming back to it. Below, you’ll find real breakdowns of how CBSE stacks up against others, what makes certain chapters easier to score in, and why coaching institutes like Aakash and Allen build their materials around CBSE’s structure—not the other way around.