Aspiring for Chemical Engineering from the IITs? Take a Look at the Seats and Expected Cut Offs

 

Chemical engineering is one of the most comprehensive branches of engineering which is highly profitable and has a huge scope in India. A common fear of the students that the chemical engineers work in hazardous work conditions is a fluke. From the food we eat to the cosmetics we wear to the fuel we use in our cars, everything encompasses chemical engineering. This specialised talent is recruited by varied industries in India: petroleum & petrochemicals, rubber, pharmaceuticals, paper, organic & inorganic industries, cosmetics etc.

A degree from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology not only provides you with the most sophisticated knowledge in the world of chemicals and reactors but also hones your skills in other areas of technology as well.

Only 10 IITs out of the 16 and ISM Dhanbad offer a specialisation in Chemical engineering. Hence, out of 9,867 seats, only 800 are available in these institutes for the aspirants to pursue this course which accounts to roughly 8% of the total seats for engineering. This not only implies a short percentage of the seats available to take up this course but also the fierce competition that it brings along amongst the aspirants. Still, chemical engineering has its own charm amongst the students as compared to the other disciplines of engineering. We’ll take a look at what makes this field so attractive and why is it in demand.

Chemical engineers are one of the most preferred engineers from the employment point of view as they help in supervision, design, installation and operation of any system. Chemical engineers are hired as Patent Associate, Application engineer, Process engineer, designer in plants and also in the research teams of companies. The placement scenario for this talent from IITs is also very good. IIT BHU recorded 100% placements from the branch with the highest paid salary (off campus) being a phenomenal 65 lakhs per annum in 2013. For IIT Madras, the highest on campus salary was Rs 21.85 lakhs per annum.

Companies such as Cadbury India, Dr.Reddy’s Laboratories, Hindustan Unilever, ITC, Larsen & Toubro, McKinsey & Company, PricewaterhouseCoopers, MRF,Reliance Industries, Renault, Nissan Technologies India, TVS Motor Company, Vodafone etc. recruit chemical engineers. The list of companies signifies the demand of chemical engineers across a varied group of industries- from telecom to infrastructure to automobiles to FMCG.

Given the demand for this sector, let us now take a look at the admission scenario of IITs by learning about the cut off ranks in the institutes for the stream in 2013.

IIT Bombay has the highest number of seats in the discipline followed by IIT BHU Varanasi & IIT Roorkee. On an average, the number of seats available at the IITs or ISM Dhanbad is nearly 70.

The graph given below highlights the opening and closing ranks for Chemical engineering at each of the 10 IITs as well as ISM, Dhanbad for the year 2013:

• The opening rank started at 253 and the closing rank was 6278, thereby signifying that despite the less number of seats, there is possibility of students getting admission from a reasonably big range.

• IIT Madras absorbed the student with the highest rank (253) amongst the aspirants of chemical engineering.

The JEE Main 2014 results were declared on May 3, 2014. Following the declaration of results, qualifying candidates appeared for JEE Advanced 2014 on May 25, 2014; the results of the same will be announced on July 19.

Aspirants can use the JEE Main 2014 Rank Predictor which will help you to understand your position in the qualifying round and your chance of cracking JEE (Advanced). All the best!