The government is allowing us to do that. Foreign corporations are eager to participate, in part due to India's reputation as a source of inexpensive computer programming talent. In our endeavor to keep up our standard of research and training, we have dramatically changed our funding pattern,'' Raju says. You could say that IIT is adjusting to the post-liberalization era. What hasn't changed are rigorous academic standards.
Indian students compete fiercely for scarce places.
Last year, a million young people sought admission to the entire IIT system, studying for two years just to prepare for the brutal entrance exam. Fewer than one out of a hundred are admitted - and only a handful are women. Nevertheless, those women who make the cut don't complain about a lack of dimension to their lives. Certainly the environs are as restful as the coursework is rigorous. The tree-lined Delhi campus sprawls over 130 hectares in the chic Hauz Khas neighborhood.