IITs, IIMs see more women joining than ever as placements and salary packages rise

IIMs have also nearly doubled their total enrolment over the same period. At the same time, women’s representation has gone up across these institutions, particularly in management education; this year, in the 2026 intake, two out of every three students were women at IIM Kozhikode.

The growth has also translated into a larger number of students entering the workforce, with SBI Research estimates showing that around 93% of students are placed on average across these institutions, with a further share opting for higher studies.

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More institutions, more students

India had 16 IITs and 13 IIMs in 2014. Their numbers have since increased to 23 IITs and 22 IIMs. There are also 31 NITs providing technical education. Overall, the number of IITs, IIMs and NITs has risen by 17 institutions in 12 years.

This expansion has been accompanied by higher enrolment. The total number of students across all programmes in IIMs increased from 9,298 in 2017-18 to 18,243 in 2023-24, almost doubling in six years. The combined strength of IITs and NITs increased from about 1.62 lakh to 2.44 lakh during the same period, based on NIRF data.

(Note that SBI Research summary cites the combined IIT/NIT figure as about 2.44 lakh for 2023-24; the institution-level figures provided in the data total 2.26 lakh)

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Spike in women’s participation 

The increase in overall enrolment has also come with a gradual rise in women’s representation. Among 14 IIMs for which programme-level information was available, women accounted for 26.3% of students in 2017-18. This increased to 37.7% in 2023-24.

The rise has also been visible in IITs and NITs, although their shares remain lower than in the IIMs. Women accounted for 8.1% of IIT students in 2017-18 and 20% in 2023-24. In NITs, the share increased from 18.4% to 21.8%.

This, according to the research, means that by 2023-24, roughly one in five students in IITs and NITs were women, while women made up more than one in three students in the IIM PG programmes covered by the data.

Placements have grown with the student pool

The larger student base has also been accompanied by a rise in the number of students entering placements. IIM placements increased from 7,552 in 2015-16 to 13,693 in 2023-24. IIT placements rose from 9,474 to 17,467 during the same period. NIT placements increased from 18,492 to 28,468.

The increase has not been uniform every year. NIT placements, for instance, fell from 21,197 in 2018-19 to 19,697 in 2019-20 before rising to nearly 30,000 in 2022-23. IIT placements also saw a sharper increase after 2020-21. SBI Research puts the average placement rate across these institutions at about 93%.

Salaries have risen sharply

The rise in placements has been accompanied by higher median salaries. At IIMs, the median salary increased from Rs 28.5 lakh in 2015-16 to Rs 43.6 lakh in 2023-24. The median at IITs rose from Rs 17.6 lakh to Rs 36.1 lakh, while NITs moved from Rs 10.5 lakh to Rs 20.7 lakh.

The IIT median salary has therefore more than doubled over the nine-year period, while the NIT median has nearly doubled. IIM median salaries crossed the Rs 40 lakh mark in 2022-23 and stood at Rs 43.6 lakh in 2023-24.

SBI Research also notes that students choosing higher studies at IITs and NITs were at a record high in 2023-24, indicating that a portion of graduates are continuing into advanced study and research rather than entering placements immediately.