Mumbai: Economics has outpaced several traditional engineering streams at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay, often regarded as the mecca for engineering in India. This year, the Economics programme opened at a higher JEE rank compared to engineering disciplines such as Environmental and Civil Engineering, signalling a major trend change in student preferences at one of the nation's most sought-after institutions. Faculty at the Economics department said the four-year BS (Economics) programme is a popular choice among aspirants.
"Our Economics department opens a lot higher than many engineering colleges," said IITB director Shireesh Kedare. In fact, data shows that after Computer Science, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, Economics and Chemical Engineering tie at the fourth spot in the preference list of students aspiring to join IITB. This year, the Economics programme opened its admission counter at the 1,562 rank for the general category; the BS Economics programme was able to attract many female students.
At the same time, Energy Science and Engineering opened at 1,905, Civil Engineering at 2,244, Environmental Science and Engineering at 3,424, and Metallurgical Engineering at 2,690. Deputy director Milind Atrey explained that the admission rank range for the Economics programme falls between 1,000-2,000, which is "remarkable". "These students score just 2-4 marks lower in the JEE (Advanced) compared to all-India ranks of 500-600.
It's clear that high scorers .