Can a non-CS student in NIT Surathkal sit for CSE placement?

There are no specific placements for CSE as it's just one of the many branches of engineering. Most companies like Oracle and Fidelity allow students of all branches to sit for placements while some big companies like Microsoft only allow B.Tech CSE ECE EEE, and M.Tech CSE students who have qualified for the CGPA cutoff 7. Every company has its own CGPA criteria and to stay on the safe side and be eligible for the maximum companies try to score 7+. So if you fulfill the criteria, you can apply for any company irrespective of the branch you are from. For shortlisting, CS companies conduct online coding tests after which you are selected for the interview. So no matter which branch you belong to, you have to be proficient in coding. 

In short, if you want to get selected for CSE placement,

• Maintain a CGPA of more than 8, every semester
• Actively participate in competitive programming right from the first year.
• Learn and practice from sites like Geeksforgeeks, and Techdelight.
• Be proficient in topics like C++, Data structures, and Algorithms to bag offers in big companies.
• Practice from coding Platforms like CodeChef, and Leetcode.

Basically, the more you become proficient in Competitive Programming, the better offers you will get!