IIT Placements 2024: Fewer IT companies, smaller packages, declining offers as recession takes hold

NEW DELHI: With their 2023-24 placement season set to officially start on December 1, the first-generation Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are grappling to get major IT companies on campus this season, leading to fewer roles and low salary packages. This trend is seen in IIT Kanpur and Delhi. However, IIT Gandhinagar, Patna and Guwahati – all second-generation IITs whose placement process starts earlier – saw decent placement records with the majority of students getting placed with an average package ranging from Rs 10 lakh- Rs 18 lakh per annum.

The Phase 1 of IIT Placements 2024 starts from December 1 at old IITs. “Compared to last year, the number of companies coming to campus has decreased which has led to a decline in the overall number of roles. The salary packages have also gone down in general,” said Ashwani Assam, professor in-charge at IIT Patna. He explained, “During Covid-19, there was a steep increase in the packages because of lockdowns which led to more companies working virtually. While the IT market was at its peak in 2021-22 during Covid, in the aftermath, it has slowed down and is now declining. Many companies are struggling now.”

This trend has impacted placements across IITs in India.

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IIT Placements: IIT Delhi, Kanpur

Students in placement teams across IITs are facing challenges in getting companies onboard this year due to global recession, said a student from IIT Delhi, on conditions of anonymity. He added, “This year in phase I, we have around 600 companies visiting the campus with an estimate of one-third of roles from last year. Companies have reduced the roles to only a limited number of courses with decline in overall packages.”

A student who received a pre-placement offer of Rs 21.5 lakh cost-to-company (CTC) recently at IIT Kanpur highlighted similar trends at her campus where the number of jobs roles has halved. “Last year the situation was bad but this time, it's worse. Most companies coming to campus this year are startups with only a handful being multinational corporations (MNCs). While the season has started, currently, we have around 425 job roles from companies. Last year, the overall Phase 1 at IIT Kanpur had 900,” she added.

Further, due to recession, many students are converting their current courses to dual-degree ones, a student from IIT Kanpur stated. “Due to the less number of companies coming this year, students have speculated [there will be] more competition this time which has led to many students to convert their four-year BTech course into dual-degree courses to catch better opportunities next year.”

IIT packages shrink, PPOs, non-core roles

IIT Patna has witnessed 29 pre-placement offers till now for the 2023-2024 placement season. In 2022- 2023, more than 400 IIT Patna students received job offers. Around 50 companies are coming this year for placements.

On the other hand, IIT Guwahati has witnessed a rise in non-core roles and companies with a slight increase in public sector companies this year, stated a student from IIT Guwahati’s placement team. Though the highest package offered at the institute was Rs 1 crore, a majority of companies are offering an average package of Rs 15-30 lakh. “Overall the trends are similar across all IITs with less software and IT companies coming onboard with more non-tech roles,” he added.

But this year’s number of placements at IIT Gandhinagar is on par with that of last year. “More than half of the students are already placed. “While the highest package offered within India is Rs 63 lakh,” said a student from the placement team of IIT Gandhinagar. However, there is a trend that companies which are coming for pre-placement offers (PPOs) are not going for phase I of placements. “The companies which had participated for internship season haven’t shown interest for the placement season,” another student from IIT Guwahati added.

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However, companies that offered an average package of Rs 12 lakh-18 lakh have not been affected by the recession. “The number of general companies coming to campus are slightly lower from last year, but still better than IT companies overall,” said another student from IIT Guwahati. These trends are common across IITs.

Also, domestic banking companies also appear to be unaffected by recession. But international banks have cut down on hiring, stated a student from IIT Gandhinagar’s placement team. “Majority of our recruiters which offered a higher number of packages, primarily US-based companies, have shown low turnout this time in the main placement season. Many of these companies who had offered PPOs refused to participate in phase I,” said a student from placement team of IIT Gandhinagar.

A placement coordinator from a second-generation IIT explained, “IT companies from the US or global companies which provide services to the US are badly hit. Hence, there is a decline of IT roles offered this placement season. But for non-tech roles, the demand from companies has been steady. Last year consulting companies hired in large numbers. A similar trend is witnessed this year. Most IITs expect an increase in the number of roles offering Rs 10- Rs 15 lakh packages.”

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