This year, international placements have climbed to double digits at 12, said placement coordinators at IIM-A. However, in an unprecedented trend, half of these placements are by Indian firms or conglomerates. The coordinators said this new trend is a sign of a stronger Indian economy. The consolidated report of placements for IIM-A’s PGP course was released recently by the premier B-school that claimed 100% placement in a matter of three days. Officials said this is significant considering several of the traditional recruiters this year cut down offers by more than half across IIMs.
Prof Ankur Sinha, chairperson of placement committee at IIM-A, said that niche consulting recorded manifold rise. “Management consulting saw a 15% drop compared to last year. In contrast, niche consulting saw a major rise and business conglomerates saw 18% more offers this year. Healthcare has remained one of the important sectors since Covid and remained a major recruiter,” he said.
While authorities remained tight-lipped about the highest offer, sources said that both median and maximum packages are higher than last year. To put the figures in perspective, the maximum offer in 2022 – the last audited Indian Placement Reporting System (IPRS) report for IIM-A – was Rs 61.5 lakh and median offer was Rs 31.5 lakh.
Sources said, “Students benefited as we invited a relatively high number of companies for the recruitments anticipating the downturn by the global majors. It was also the reason that a record number of students – 163 or 54% higher than 2023 – opted for dream applications where they can sit for another cohort even after an offer in hand.” Prof Sinha said that the year remained a testimony of Brand IIM-A.
“Several major firms – which would often make more than 20 offers – have extended less than 10 offers this time around. We saw less participation from tech giants. But the majority of the regular recruiters did turn up and made offers,” he said.
Experts associated with the B-school domain said that almost all major IIMs are hit by the global economic downturn. While some took more than 20 days to place students, some turned to their alumni to ensure that all the students get placed in the difficult year.
They added that if the firms – especially management consulting firms – recruited 10 persons, more than 50% were from the top IIMs. “It has resulted in relatively less participation in other B-schools, which would have a cascading effect this year,” said an expert. “The silver lining is, there were more diverse roles on offer and a high participation of Indian firms in the process.”