Amidst the IIT admission scenario for 2023, 17,340 candidates secured coveted seats across 23 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) through the Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA) counselling process. Notably, 3,422 female candidates celebrated successful allotments. In an unprecedented turn, 45 seats were left vacant, breaking the trend of consistent seat allotment surpassing initial availability over the past five years.
This anomaly finds its explanation in the creation of supernumerary seats during admission rounds, especially in tie-break situations for popular IIT branches. Professor Bishnupada Mandal, the organizing chairperson of JEE Advanced 2023, emphasized that the presence of supernumerary seats might create a perception of more seats being allotted than initially available, potentially causing confusion about the actual vacancy.
The unexpected vacancy this year hints at potential shifts in student preferences post-pandemic. An anonymous IIT Delhi professor suggested that students may be exploring non-IIT options more actively than before. Another contributing factor to the observed difference could be students opting out of JoSAA if they anticipate not securing admission to their desired course or IIT, choosing instead to explore non-IIT institutes.
Professor Mandal proposed an alternative explanation, speculating that the seat discrepancy might be due to fewer or no tie-break scenarios, reducing the necessity for creating supernumerary seats. He emphasized the need for a more in-depth analysis of the data to arrive at definitive conclusions.
In the realm of top IIT choices, IIT Bombay continues to assert its dominance as the most preferred institute, attracting 245 candidates from the top 1000 JEE Advanced rankers. IIT Delhi closely follows with 208 candidates. Noteworthy is the increasing interest in new-generation IITs, with IIT Hyderabad, IIT BHU, and IIT Indore witnessing heightened attention, securing 38, 23, and 2 students from the top 1000 rankers, respectively.