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Mint
06-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
Women on campus: An uphill climb at India's top B-schools
The gender ratio in India's top business schools has been a mixed bag the past five years, with several premier management institutions struggling to ensure that at least half of their students are women. While the percentage of women students enrolled at the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) in Lucknow and Calcutta has dropped since 2020, other centres of India's premier business school have reported modest increases. 'I have observed that having mentors, seniors, role models, like, in this case, more women faculty, attracts younger women students," said Narayanan Ramaswamy, partner and head of the education and skill development practice at KPMG in India. 'Older IIMs have a legacy and established procedures to follow. This makes any change to their current status more gradual compared to their newer counterparts. So while the established B-schools are making efforts to improve women enrolment, it is taking a tad longer for them," Ramaswamy added. The struggle to ensure more women students in India's top B-schools comes even as companies emphasise diversity and inclusion while recruiting, making it crucial for management institutes to have a balanced gender ratio for better campus placements. At IIM-Visakhapatnam, which was established in 2015, the number of women students has increased from 31% of all students in the 2020-22 batch to 51% in the latest 2025-27 batch. Other new IIMs, however, haven't had similar success. IIM-Ranchi, which was established in 2009, saw its gender ratio drop from 39.84% women students in the 2020-22 batch to 26.6% in the 2022-24 batch before rebounding to 41.56% in last year's batch for the academic year 2024-26. At IIM-Raipur, which was established in 2010, the percentage of women students dropped from 41% in 2020-22 to 40% last year. However, its 2023-25 batch had 60% women students. The gender ratios for the Ranchi and Raipur school's latest batch weren't available. A lopsided feeder pool While the Kozhikode and Indore IIMs, both established in 1996, have more women students than men in their latest batch for the 2025-27 academic year, at IIM-Calcutta (of 1961 vintage) and IIM-Bangalore (1973), male students dominate. At the Xavier School of Management, Jamshedpur (XLRI), which offers one-year MBA programmes, the number of women students has increased from about 37% in 2020-21 to about 46% in the incoming batch of 2025-26. 'This disparity in gender comes from the lopsided feeder pool as CAT (the Common Admission Test for the IIMs)—which is more quantitative and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) heavy—generally has more male takers than females," said Avntika Tomar, partner at EY-Parthenon, education practice. 'Moreover, despite the campuses making efforts to improve the security and infrastructure of their campuses, the perception of some cities they are located in concerns parents as some of the IIMs are not located in the more desirable metro cities," Tomar added. In 2024, out of about 329,000 registered candidates for CAT, only about 119,000 were women. In the past couple of years, IIMs have had to work harder to secure placements for their students because of a hiring freeze following a post-pandemic hiring frenzy. The increasing corporate emphasis on diversity and inclusion, however, has India's premier management schools looking for ways to encourage more women students to enrol. 'IIMs have been focusing more on enrolling more female students, especially with bonus marking," said a senior official at one of the new IIMs. As part of the IIM admissions process, 2-10 additional points are awarded to women candidates. 'This helps in the placement process as corporates prefer recruiting female candidates over men when they have the same merits and calibre," the official said. Ria Dalal contributed reporting for this article.
Time of India
05-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
More women join top IIMs as gender diversity rises
Top Indian business schools like IIMs are admitting more women. The six older IIMs have 9% more female students in the Class of 2027. IIM-Indore's new batch is over 53% women. IIM-Ahmedabad also saw an increase. These institutes are giving diversity points to female and non-engineering candidates. This will help create more diverse and inclusive business environments. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Specific diversity points Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads India's top business schools are increasing the intake of women for their flagship programmes, which experts say will help produce 'top of the order' female managers and leaders at a time when industry is looking to improve diversity across data compiled by ET shows that the six old Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) together have 9% more female students in the Class of 2027, compared with last year's batch. These premier institutes have completed the admission process for this IIM-Indore, as much as 53.79% of the new students are women, the highest in the institute's 29-year history. Female students account for 30.84% of the new batch at IIM-Ahmedabad, the most in four years. Narayanan Ramaswamy, national leader (education and skill development) at KPMG India, sees more women joining top B-schools as a win-win for the institutes and industry. While the Bschools will benefit from this diversity as their curriculum, pedagogy and industry engagement become more holistic, recruiters, too, are looking for diversity, especially at top management and decision-making leadership levels, he said. IIMs said they are taking steps to improve gender diversity on their campuses. IIM-Indore incorporated a diversity factor starting the 2025 admissions cycle, allocating special weight to women and candidates with non-engineering out of the 100 points in the final selection stage are allocated to such candidates.'We have introduced the diversity factor to build classrooms that reflect the richness of the real world, one that is diverse in perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences,' said its director, Himanshu Rai. 'A diverse cohort equips our students to thrive in dynamic business environments where empathy, collaboration and inclusivity are critical to success.'IIM-Kozhikode is another institute where women will be in the majority: of its 489 students, close to 55% are women in the new batch. Female and transgender candidates receive specific diversity points in the interview shortlisting process, said admissions chairperson Ram Kumar the first time in the last four years, IIM-Ahmedabad has more than 30% female students among the 414 students in the Class of 2027. Both the batch size and gender diversity percentage have increased for this IIM, from 397 and 22.92% for the class of 2022-24.'To help increase the pool of female candidates selected for the admission interviews, we have introduced gender diversity points this year while preparing the interview shortlist,' Karthik Sriram, chairperson, admissions, account for close to 40% of the batch of the full-time twoyear post-graduate programme at IIM-Bangalore, which is almost like last year, said Mukta Kulkarni, dean of academic programmes. IIM-Bangalore also focuses on disability inclusion.
Mint
19-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
Ashoka University opens special window for students reluctant to go to the US
MUMBAI : Ashoka University has opened a 'special admission" round for students who secured admissions in the US-based colleges but are reluctant to move to the US amid the Trump administration's crackdown on campus protests. Analysts expect other private universities to follow suit as the Haryana-based private university claims to have received 'significant interest" from this group of students. 'This announcement has generated significant interest among students who had initially planned to study in the US, reflecting growing interest in high-quality education options within India," the university told Mint. Also Read: Study abroad: From class 9 to Harvard and Yale—how Indian teens are preparing for the Ivy League The announcement comes at a time when many Indian parents are concerned that political clashes and US education visa curbs will impact the future of their children. 'This will be followed by other private universities that have a global standing and want to be seen as an alternative option to a foreign degree," said Narayanan Ramaswamy, partner and leader for education and skill development practice at consulting firm KPMG. No longer the go-to country This may lead to other countries gaining popularity as well. The number of Indian students studying in the US in the 2023-24 academic year hit an all-time high of 331,602, rising 23% on-year, showed data provided by Open Doors, a portal for international students. However, the second Donald Trump administration has come down heavily on Ivy League universities, especially Harvard University, following a series of pro-Palestine protests throughout 2024. Also Read: Uncertainty for Indian students as Harvard loses right to enrol foreigners, sues US government The Trump administration asked Harvard to share information on foreign student misconduct, including its reported collaboration with the Communist Party of China (CPC)-affiliated entities, alleged failure to act against antisemitism, campus violence, and ties to foreign adversaries. When the university refused to comply, the US Department of Homeland Security revoked its certification to host international students for the 2025-26 academic year. The US government website states that the student and exchange visitor programme (SEVP) collects, maintains, analyses and provides information so that only legitimate foreign students or exchange visitors gain entry to the country. The battle is now in the courts. Ashoka University, whose founders include Sanjeev Bikhchandani, founder of job site R.K. Damani, founder of DMart; and Ashok Trivedi, co-founder of IGate, opened a special admissions window on Thursday for students who have received confirmed offers from universities in the US but are now seeking admission to the college's undergraduate programmes starting this August. Also Read: Columbia missed the bus of academic freedom that Harvard took 'To be considered, applicants must submit their confirmed offer from a US institution along with the original college application form submitted to that university," said the university.
Mint
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Mint
US Embassy in India cautions students against skipping classes or leaving midway
The US Embassy in India has cautioned students that skipping classes or leaving the program without informing authorities will lead to visa revocation, as the Trump administration mounts scrutiny of overseas students. 'If you drop out, skip classes, or leave your program of study without informing your school, your student visa may be revoked, and you may lose eligibility for future US visas,' the embassy posted on social media platform X. The warning comes when the Trump administration is embroiled in a battle with Harvard University. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revoked Harvard's certification to admit foreign students for the 2025-26 academic year. The university sued the US administration in the district court of Massachusetts, which blocked the order, providing temporary relief. The Trump administration has already ended Federal grants worth more than $2 billion to Harvard. It also aims to cancel remaining contracts, the NYT reported. While 788 Indian students are studying at Harvard, thousands of others are enrolled in colleges across the US. According to data provided by Open Doors Report, a portal for international students, the number of Indian students studying in the US in the 2023-24 academic year hit an all-time high of 331,602, rising 23% over the previous year. 'If you have applied for a student visa, you cannot misuse the opportunity to leave it mid-way and take up a job, etc. for which the visa process is different,' Narayanan Ramaswamy, partner and head of the education and skill development practice at KPMG in India, told Mint. 'Although similar reinforcements have happened before, this message comes at a time when there is scrutiny over government interference in US universities.' Many Indian parents are concerned that political clashes will impact the future of their children. As a result, other destinations may see a rise in popularity. 'The Trump administration has upped its scrutiny over international students. The latest post is the US government warning students to stay away from campus politics, or participate in any activity that the government considers "illegal" and not be part of groups who often take up jobs to make ends meet when they do not have the correct visa,' said Suchindra Kumar, partner and education sector leader at PwC. The other reason for increased scrutiny are allegations that students often use their visas to work without valid documents. Over the last couple of years, even Canada, the UK and Australia have increased their checks for incoming international students. In 2023, Australia announced that it would no longer permit international students to enrol in affordable vocational courses immediately upon arrival in the country. In an attempt to clamp down on large-scale immigration, the UK tightened visa rules for international students, making it tougher to bring in dependents. In 2024, Canada, too, tightened visa rules. According to data provided by the Indian government in Parliament in March, 750,000 Indians were studying abroad in 2022. That number shot up to 892,000 in 2023 but dipped to 759,000 in 2024 in the wake of geopolitical crises and visa curbs.
Mint
24-04-2025
- Business
- Mint
J&K colleges to see fewer admissions in upcoming season due to attack: Analysts
Education analysts caution that the recent attacks in Kashmir's Pahalgam will hit a number of students who plan to take admission in Jammu and Kashmir's top institutes such as IIM Jammu, IIT Jammu, NIT Srinagar, etc., in the coming years. "It (the attack) is definitely bad news for admissions in institutions in the region. People might look for alternatives to institutions in Jammu and Kashmir, because as parents, the first concern would be the safety and wellbeing of their children. All education institutes in Jammu should be worried,' said Narayanan Ramaswamy, partner and head of education and skill development practice at consulting firm KPMG in India. 'Having said that, a swift and definitive action by the Government with visible measures to assuage security concerns will go a long way in positioning J&K institutions as potential destinations,' Ramaswamy added. Faculty members at the institutions in the valley are assuring that campuses are secure and functioning as usual. 'We are working today. All of us are in office and safe. Terrorist attacks can happen anywhere, they have happened in the past in Mumbai too. It won't really affect the education here, so we are not concerned about placements or admissions,' an official at the Indian Institute of Management Jammu told Mint on Wednesday. Registrar of National Institute of Technology, Srinagar, Atikur Rehman, also said, 'There is no law and order situation here. The campus is safe. Our institute is a national-level institute and we are not concerned about admissions or placements at all. Everything is fine.' This is not the first time students in Jammu and Kashmir are facing such a situation. 'Only the Central institutes in J&K have got any substantial number of outside state students in the state. Except NIT Srinagar others are not based in the valley and are considered safe,' highlighted Suchindra Kumar, partner and sector leader for education sector at consulting firm PwC. 'There have been multiple issues during the last decade of local vs non-local issues at NIT campus itself, and the administration has taken agile steps to end the crisis, and bring the focus back on teaching-learning quickly. There have been cases of remote classes, and classes in Jammu for brief periods,' Kumar added. 'While the disruptions do impact the teaching and learning, the quality of students coming through JEE criteria, and the NIT brand has ensured continuity…Even during the 2010s when there was quite some disturbances in the valley, NIT Srinagar has operated on almost 90%+ of the total intake capacity,' Kumar said. State of J&K colleges In NIRF 2024, IIM Jammu ranked 42nd among the country's top management institutes and IIT Jammu and NIT Srinagar ranked 62nd and 79th respectively among the top engineering colleges. In the overall ratings, University of Kashmir was ranked 69th rank while the University of Jammu (JU) was at rank 87. As per the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2020-21, the latest data available on number of students studying in Jammu and Kashmir over 230,966 students are enrolled in under graduation courses and 20,278 post graduation as of 2020-21.
