IIMs reserve academic diversity seats for non-engineers to ensure balanced classroom discussion, reflect industry demand for diverse skills, and avoid engineer-monoculture. The rant thread OP's claim of "70-80% of all seats practically reserved for engineers" is correct - engineers still dominate IIM batches at 55-65% despite diversity initiatives. At IIM Ahmedabad (Rs 27.
5L fees, Rs 35.22 LPA avg, 99%+ CAT cutoff), roughly 35-45% of the batch is non-engineer post-diversity adjustment, up from 15-20% a decade ago. The rationale from IIMs: management roles require diverse perspectives - law, pharma, arts, finance backgrounds add insights engineers cannot.
The thread commenter correctly noted: "Make no mistake, the non engineer quota isn't because the IIMs feel sorry for Non engineers. But because the industry demands a LOT more than what engineers have to offer." Specific roles suited for non-engineers: FMCG brand management (BCom/arts preferred), pharma marketing (life sciences preferred), HR specialists (arts/psychology preferred), financial research (BCom/finance backgrounds preferred).
The Reddit thread got 619 upvotes and 369 comments because it touched the engineer-non-engineer tension that exists at IIMs. The resolution: seats allocated by sector demand, not perceived merit. For engineers frustrated with non-engineer diversity: focus on cracking 99.
9+ percentile; engineers dominate regardless of diversity rules. Check your eligibility at collvera.