In the Indian Institutes of Management, the change has been even more pronounced: under the postgraduate programme at 14 IIMs for which data are available, the share of women students has risen from 26.3% in FY18 to 37.7% in FY24—nearly one in three.
More recent admission data released by individual IIMs indicate the upward trend has continued.
IIM Kozhikode, for instance, reported that women constitute 66% of its flagship PGP batch for 2026-28 (329 women out of 499 students), the highest share recorded so far by any IIM.
The expansion has occurred alongside a broader increase in enrolment, as per the SBI report.
The combined student strength of IITs and NITs stood at approximately 2.44 lakh in FY24, up from about 1.62 lakh in FY18—a 27% rise. Across all programmes, the total number of students in IIMs nearly doubled from 9,298 in the academic year 2017-18 to 18,243 in 2023-24.
These numbers are accompanied by strong placement outcomes. The report records that 93% of students across these institutes are placed.
Median salary across institutions of national importance reached ₹34.6 lakh in FY24, a 105 per cent increase since FY16. At the IIMs, the median has crossed the ₹40 lakh mark.
The same period has also seen rising representation of students and teachers from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes. SC,
ST and OBC students together account for 62% of total higher-education enrolment, while the share of teachers from these categories has climbed to 45%.
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