This is the time of year when reports of "100 per cent placement" at Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) catch people's attention; nonetheless, the most recent batch of students at IIT Bombay is facing a major setback.
712 of the 2,000 students who applied for the 2024 positions at IIT-Bombay this year, or almost 36 per cent of the total, have not yet found jobs. The placement season will officially end by May.
This story gained attention since it contrasts with the regular "100 per cent placement" reports that typically surround institutions like IITs and IIMs. The information about the job placement struggle was made public by Dheeraj Singh, an alumnus of IIT Bombay and founder of the Global IIT Alumni Support Group, who has been actively mentoring students for over two years.
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An official from IIT-Bombay’s placement cell told Hindustan Times that it was a struggle “to invite companies to the campus compared to last year due to the global economic meltdown”.
“Most companies were unable to accept salary packages pre-decided by the institute. It took many rounds of negotiations before they agreed to come over,” he said.
“For the first time, registered students from the computer science and engineering branch, which are most in demand, have not seen 100% placement among those registered,” the officer added.
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Additionally, the majority of the 380 companies that participated in the placement drive were from the domestic market. Traditionally, international companies are known to outnumber Indian companies.
In December, during the initial phase of placements, it was initially reported that 85 candidates had received offers exceeding Rs 1 crore. However, this figure was later corrected, revealing that only 22 students had actually received such offers.
The news of students struggling with job placements at one of the country's prestigious institutes has come as a shocker and led to discussions on social media platform X.
