The doctor-engineer ratio has been worsening among young Indians
The doctor- engineer ratio keeps declining among younger people and falls to 15.7 for the 20-24 year age-group. It is commonly believed that more women opt for medicine while men go for engineering.


Economic reforms have been blamed by some critics for widening the gap between the rich and the poor in India. They have also created another divide: between doctors and engineers. According to the 2011 census, India has 35 doctors for every 100 engineers in the 60-plus age-group. The doctor- engineer ratio keeps declining among younger people and falls to 15.7 for the 20-24 year age-group. It is commonly believed that more women opt for medicine while men go for engineering. The data confirms this as the doctor-engineer ratio is higher for women across all age-groups. However, the fall in this ratio from the oldest to youngest age-cohorts has been much sharper among women.


There are much lesser doctors than engineers among young Indians

Bars denote people in different age-groups with an education in medicine for every 100 people educated in engineering and technology for the 2011 census

To be sure, the ratio was skewed in favour of engineers in the 2001 census as well. However, this gap increased further between the 2001 and 2011 census. In 2001, there were 29.7 doctors per 100 engineers, which fell to 20.7 in 2011. The data also suggests that women became more open to careers in engineering after the 1950s. There were more women doctors than engineers in the 60-plus age-group in the 2001 census. This trend reversed itself in the 2011 census. But as mentioned above, the fall in this ratio from the oldest to youngest age-cohorts is also sharpest among women -- perhaps a function of rapid strides the IT services business has made in India. Women account for almost a third of the employees in Indian IT services companies


Doctor-engineer ratio has fallen between 2001 and 2011

Bars show difference between number of people educated in medicine for every hundred people educated in engineering and technology for different age-groups in 2001 and 2011 census

Does this mean the post-reform generation has shunned the medical profession for engineering? Mint has reported that there are currently 28000 seats in government medical colleges in India. According to the AICTE website, the sanctioned intake for under graduate course in government engineering and technology colleges for 2015-16 was 67,571. So, it is more difficult to get into a government medical college than an engineering college. To be sure, one can always get into a private college where capitation fees can be paid to get admission. Even through this route, medical college capitation fees are much higher than for engineering colleges, making it difficult to get admission in the latter.