In a sign of the altering hiring developments from the Indian Institutes of Expertise, at the very least 4 older IITs have seen a decline of their campus placement percentages in recent times, at the same time as surveys point out the variety of college students getting jobs independently could also be on the rise.
The developments, primarily based on knowledge obtained by The Indian Specific, come in opposition to the backdrop of a shifting tech panorama, world financial uncertainties, and an rising variety of IIT graduates competing in a dynamic job market.
5 of the seven first-generation IITs responded to The Indian Specific’s request underneath the RTI Act for placement knowledge spanning six years, from 2018-19 to 2023-24. IIT Madras and IIT Guwahati didn’t share particulars and as an alternative referred to their annual stories.
Among the many institutes that disclosed placement charges (the share of scholars receiving job provides) throughout undergraduate, postgraduate, and analysis applications, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, and IIT Roorkee recorded declines starting from 5 to 16 share factors (see chart).
IIT Bombay offered knowledge just for 2022-23 and 2023-24, exhibiting a drop from 82% to 75%. Whereas IIT Guwahati’s placement share for 2023-24 (71%) is greater than the pre-pandemic stage of 2018-19 (67%), it’s seven share factors decrease than the earlier yr, 2022-23 (78%).
IIT Delhi is the one establishment that bucked the development, sustaining a constant placement share of 84% to 85 % since 2018-19, apart from fluctuations throughout the pandemic years of 2020-21 (80%) and 2021-22 (75%).
The elements — and a few riders
Whereas the IITs refused to touch upon the document, college students and lecturers related to the campus hiring course of attributed the drop to a mixture of things: the aftereffects of publish–Covid mass hiring in 2022, a slowdown in key sectors like tech and software program, and rising batch sizes.
“In 2022, there was a spike in placement percentages because the market recovered after Covid, with charges exceeding 85%. This spike adopted a two-year hiring freeze. Hiring in 2023 was extra conservative, with fewer high MNCs coming in and a decline in software program and tech recruitment. Placements this yr would possibly enhance over final yr, however are unlikely to match 2022 ranges. The numbers might normalise by 2025,” mentioned a supply from IIT Kanpur.
One other individual related to placements at IIT Kharagpur pointed to rising batch sizes as an element. At IIT Kharagpur, the variety of college students registering for placement has elevated from 1,757 in 2018–19 to 2,668 in 2023–24, whereas these positioned grew from 1,375 to 1,662 throughout the identical interval.
“Placements in 2022-23 had been among the many finest for the institute, however there hasn’t been a lot enchancment out there since then, and the businesses coming for placements this yr haven’t met expectations,” the supply mentioned.
“The consumption of scholars has been rising regularly, with almost 3,000 college students sitting for placements this yr, making it a difficult job to put everybody. Whereas most JEE entrants are positioned, corporations have fewer roles for PG college students,” the individual mentioned.
IIT Guwahati too mentioned that placement outcomes are higher for B.Tech graduates. “Most IIT placement knowledge focuses on B.Tech college students. In 2022, the B.Tech placement share was 83%, and in 2023, it was 80%,” an official from IIT Guwahati instructed The Indian Specific. “PG college students usually favor greater research – they register for placements however don’t pursue them additional. The precise placement state of affairs is finest mirrored in undergraduate placements, the place near 80% of scholars safe jobs, whereas 10% go for greater research, 5% go for civil providers, and others pursue MBA applications.”
The official mentioned that round 600 and 650 BTech college students had been positioned in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
Although the location share at IIT Bombay dropped from 82.16% in 2022-23 to 74.53% in 2023-24, an official mentioned it might be deceptive to attract conclusions solely from this knowledge because it solely displays on-campus placements and never different profession paths. “Many college students proven as ‘not positioned’ take routes like greater schooling or off-campus placements or entrepreneurship. The dip doesn’t supply a real reflection except in contrast with the exit survey,” the official mentioned.
A newly launched exit survey revealed that from 2018 to 2022, 57.1% of scholars had been positioned via campus placements, 10.3% discovered jobs independently, 1.6% initiated start-ups, 8.3% entered public providers, 6.1% had been nonetheless looking for jobs, and 12% pursued greater schooling in India or overseas.
Of the six IITs, solely three shared knowledge pertaining to the common wage package deal provided to positioned college students. IIT Kanpur’s common wage rose from Rs 22.1 lakh each year (LPA) in 2020–21 to Rs 25.9 LPA in 2022–23, however dropped to Rs 23.7 LPA in 2023–24.
At IIT Kharagpur, the common wage elevated from Rs 14 LPA in 2020–21 to Rs 18 LPA in 2022–23, earlier than declining to Rs 17 LPA in 2023–24.
IIT Bombay recorded a mean wage of Rs 21.50 LPA in 2021–22, barely rising to Rs 21.82 LPA in 2022–23.
Why IIT Delhi stood out
The rise in college students availing themselves of IIT Delhi’s placement providers rose from 1,471 in 2021-2022 to 1,531 in 2023-2024, largely as a result of a big rise in participation from PhD students.
Almost 190 PhD candidates, a sixfold improve, sought placements for the primary time, affecting the general placement share since common job profiles for B.Tech and M.Tech graduates usually are not appropriate for PhD students.
To deal with this, IIT Delhi carried out a particular recruitment drive for PhD college students in June 2024, leading to a sevenfold improve in provides as in comparison with the earlier yr. An official mentioned: “In case you discover, the variety of provides acquired in 2022-2023 (1,287) and 2023-24 (1,222) are comparable and solely about 5% lower than the earlier yr. Regardless of tough market circumstances and placements throughout the establishments within the nation throughout 2023-2024, IIT Delhi managed to do fairly effectively final yr. We’re striving to get our PhD and different college students jobs to attain an excellent general placement this yr. Now we have plenty of profiles lined up for this yr and are hoping to cater to all aspiring college students.”
In an exit survey carried out by IIT Delhi this yr, 1411 (53.1 per cent) college students confirmed that they’d acquired a job supply. However, 224 (8.4 per cent) college students responded that they had been self-employed, whereas 45 (1.7 per cent) college students knowledgeable that they’re working for a start-up and 66 (2.5 per cent) college students had been concerned in entrepreneurship.
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