Most IITs have also witnessed a rise in domestic recruiters and an increase in compensation. However, there has been a decline in the number of international offers, said both IIT-Madras and Kanpur

Despite pandemic and a shrinking economy, the number of offers have remained unaffected at the Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) in the first round of placements. The institutes say there has been a surge of offers, especially from Asian countries, with virtual placements helping bridge the gap between recruiters and students’ placement cell.

IIT-Roorkee and Kanpur said that the hybrid — online and offline — model has worked for them and will likely remain a permanent feature in campus placements. “We may go for mixed-mode, with more focus on the online mode. A small issue of connectivity or call-quality may be impeding the chances of hiring a deserving person. Nonetheless, the virtual mode will benefit firms, especially international firms, who otherwise may not plan to travel to the institute,” said Dr Kantesh Balani, chairman, IIT-Kanpur student placement office.

Most IITs have also witnessed a rise in domestic recruiters and an increase in compensation. More than 753 offers have been made in the first 10 days of the placement at IIT Madras.

However, there has been a decline in the number of international offers, said both IIT-Madras and Kanpur. “Last year, 23 international profiles were offered, and this year 19 international offers were extended to the students,” said IIT Kanpur’s chairman. For IIT-Roorkee, the number of international offers from Asian countries has fairly increased. For IIT-Hyderabad, Japan and Taiwan were prominent recruiters.

Meanwhile, there has been an increase in new recruiters. Over 50 new firms participated for the first time in IIT-Kanpur’s placement, over 53 at IIT-Madras. These are mainly software-based start-ups. The most promising sector was coding/software firms followed by core firms. “We are expecting educational institutions to participate in phase 2 placements,” said Prof CS Shankar Ram from IIT-Madras.

Some of the big recruiters are Microsoft, Texas Instruments, Bajaj Auto, ISRO among others. Tata Projects Ltd claims to have hired about 69 IIT students of which the maximum are from IIT Delhi (23) and IIT Bombay (21).

In a positive trend, the average packages offered by the domestic companies have also improved. IIT-Roorkee students have bagged a fat salary offer of Rs 80 lakh as against Rs 62.28 lakh last year. Similarly, IIT-Kanpur’s students have bagged the highest Rs 82 lakh CTC while it was Rs 62 lakh per annum in 2019. However, the average package offered by the international firms was the same as last year.

Apart from job offers, even the students opting for placement is higher than in the previous years. IIT-Hyderabad has registered 550 students as against 490 in the last year. Similarly, IIT-Madras has seen a spike in registration with 1450 students participating as against 1419 students last year.

Early this year, several IITs complained that the leading companies have withdrawn or deferred offers, however, the institutes are positive that it is “not expected this time as all the organisations are gearing up for a post-COVID scenario.”