New Delhi, Oct. 15: If you are a girl without an engineering background and want to study management at IIM Calcutta next year, you stand a better chance than before.

The institute has decided to award grace marks to girl students and candidates from non-engineering backgrounds from next year to achieve a balance in academic and gender diversity. These extra marks will be given at the time of final selection to those who have already cleared the Common Admission Test (CAT).

The IIMs tend to attract BTech graduates, mostly boys, which has given rise to an impression that these premier B-Schools are not for humanities or general science students.

“We shall give additional marks to students from non-engineering backgrounds to increase domain diversity, and to girls to enhance gender diversity,” IIM Calcutta director Shekhar Chaudhury told The Telegraph.

Three extra marks will be given to girl candidates and two to candidates from streams such as the arts, general sciences, commerce, computer applications, business administration, pharmacy, law, medicine or dentistry. This means, a girl from a non-engineering background will get an extra five marks.

Engineering graduates usually perform better in CAT, which tests quantitative ability, data interpretation, verbal ability and logical reasoning.

“In quantitative ability, we ask mathematics questions of Class X standard, which can be answered by humanities students. But it’s a question of mindset,” CAT chairperson and IIM Kozhikode director Debashis Chatterjee said.

IIM Lucknow had introduced similar grace marks last year, said faculty member Himanshu Rai. “Earlier, 90 per cent of our students were engineers but this year it fell to 73 per cent. The percentage of girl students has increased from around 15 to 37,” Rai said.

IIM Bangalore director Pankaj Chandra said grace marks might not be the only way to facilitate the entry of humanities students.

“Candidates’ performances in Class X, Class XII, the undergraduate level and group discussions are also factors in selection. Maybe something can be done at these levels to help the non-engineers. The IIMs are discussing what changes can be brought in,” Chandra said.

IIT Kozhikode said 214,068 candidates had registered for CAT, to be held from October 11 to November 6, compared with 205,345 last year. About 3,500 seats are on offer.

Delhi accounts for 21,224 candidates, followed by Bangalore (19,553), Mumbai (16,895), Hyderabad (16,138), Pune (13,368) and Calcutta (10,718).