New Delhi, November 29, 2025: The Supernumerary Seats Scheme (SSS) introduced by the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in 2018 has proven to be a transformative policy in increasing female representation in undergraduate engineering programmes, according to a recent study published in the journal Higher Education (Springer). By creating additional seats exclusively for female students, the scheme has not only doubled women’s enrolment across IIT BTech programmes but also enhanced access for women from Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) backgrounds and influenced the choice of traditionally male-dominated engineering branches.

The study, titled “A Foot in the Door: Evaluating the Supernumerary Seats Scheme for Girls in the IITs,” was conducted by IIT Delhi faculty members Nandana Sengupta and Ravinder Kaur, along with Rohit Munshi, a PhD scholar at the University of Houston. It is the first rigorous, data-driven evaluation of the scheme and provides insights into its effectiveness, regional variations, and broader social impact.

The Supernumerary Seats Scheme was introduced to address the long-standing gender disparity in IITs. Prior to 2018, female representation in IIT BTech programmes stagnated at 7–9%, despite the fact that at the national level, women constituted 28–29% of engineering undergraduates between 2013 and 2020. In contrast, female enrolment in undergraduate arts and science programmes hovered around 50%, with even higher participation at the postgraduate level. This highlighted the unique gender imbalance in engineering, particularly in elite institutions like the IITs.

The SSS works by adding extra seats exclusively for female students rather than reducing the number of seats available to male candidates. For example, in a programme with 100 seats, 20 additional female-only seats may be added, raising the total capacity to 120. The original 100 seats remain gender-neutral, ensuring that male candidates are not displaced. For programmes that already had 20% or more female representation prior to 2018, no additional seats were introduced.

The study finds that the policy had a rapid and measurable impact. By 2020, the share of women in IIT BTech programmes nearly reached the 20% target and has largely remained at that level since. Prior to SSS, although 11–13% of JEE-Advanced qualifiers were female, only 7–9% were allotted seats at IITs. The introduction of supernumerary seats allowed IITs to raise female participation without reducing opportunities for male students, effectively creating a more equitable system of affirmative action.

Regional variations, however, persist. While most IITs reached the 20% target by 2020, IIT Kharagpur lagged behind, with female enrolment still below the benchmark in 2024. Researchers suggest that the institute’s relatively remote location may deter some female candidates, even though the Kharagpur zone has one of the highest success rates in the country after the Madras zone. Southern IITs, including IIT Madras, Hyderabad, Palakkad, and Tirupati, have historically exhibited higher female participation. IIT Madras, for instance, had already allotted more than 14% of its seats to women in 2015, effectively meeting the SSS target ahead of time. In 2022, 28% of students from the Madras zone admitted to IITs were female, reflecting both historical educational advantages and broader socio-economic trends in southern states.

The study also emphasizes the intersectional benefits of the scheme. Within each reserved category, 20% of seats are designated female-only. Given that 22.5% of IIT seats are reserved for SC/ST candidates, this implies a minimum representation of 4.5% for SC/ST women across all seats—a significant boost that was not an explicit aim of the policy but flows naturally from its design.

Beyond boosting numbers, the SSS has also influenced branch choices and peer dynamics. Traditionally male-dominated branches, such as mechanical, electrical, and civil engineering, saw increased female participation, while branches like biotechnology and chemical engineering, which already had higher female representation, required fewer or no supernumerary seats. The scheme appears to have encouraged high-ranking female students to choose competitive branches where their peers were predominantly male, creating more diverse and supportive learning communities over time.

Anecdotal evidence from students reinforces the positive impact of the scheme. Akshya Jha, a third-year BTech student at IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, studying mineral and metallurgical engineering, noted, “SSS is very helpful in motivating females to aim for studying engineering in IITs. The scheme is creating a community of women engineers who will further motivate other girls to pursue higher studies in engineering.”

The study also clarifies misconceptions regarding merit and seat allocation. Under SSS, female candidates are first allocated female-only seats and only then considered for gender-neutral seats. No female student with a lower rank can displace a male candidate from a general seat. Unlike caste-based reservation, the number of supernumerary seats varies across branches, ensuring the affirmative action is targeted rather than uniform.

The authors recommend enhanced communication and support to maximize the policy’s impact. They suggest that IITs provide clear information about the SSS, reinforce that male seats are not reduced, and offer additional support systems to help female students thrive in historically male-dominated programmes. Strengthening mentoring, peer support networks, and academic assistance will further improve outcomes for beneficiaries.

In conclusion, the study finds that the Supernumerary Seats Scheme has been highly effective in achieving its core goal of increasing female participation in IIT undergraduate programmes. By creating additional opportunities, the scheme has addressed historical gender disparities, enhanced access for underrepresented groups, and encouraged high-performing women to pursue challenging and prestigious engineering branches. As such, SSS represents a model for targeted affirmative action that balances equity, merit, and institutional capacity while fostering a more inclusive academic environment in India’s premier engineering institutions.