“It was a struggle to invite companies to the campus compared to last year due to the global economic meltdown,” said an officer from IIT Bombay’s placement cell said.
The current placement season at premier institutes like IIT Bombay is experiencing repercussions from the global economic slowdown, leading to challenges in securing job offers for students. The latest report from IIT Bombay indicates that 36% of students are still awaiting job placements this season, reflecting the impact of the economic downturn. This situation has posed difficulties in attracting companies to the campus compared to previous years. According to a report in the Hindustan Times, approximately 712 out of the 2,000 registered students are still without job offers this session.
It is to be noted that IIT Bombay ranked third in 2021 and 2022, and fourth in 2023 among all institutes in India as per the NIRF Rankings released by the government.
“It was a struggle to invite companies to the campus compared to last year due to the global economic meltdown,” said an officer from IIT Bombay’s placement cell, as quoted by HT.
The report in the publication further stated that companies have encountered obstacles in accepting the predetermined salary packages, resulting in prolonged negotiation processes. Interestingly, even students from the Computer Science and Engineering branch, typically in high demand, have not achieved full placement this year, indicating a shift in the recruitment landscape.
“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,” the officer said, adding that a large chunk of the 380 companies that arrived to shop for talent were from the domestic market. Traditionally, international players are known to outnumber Indian companies.
The placement process at IIT Bombay is ongoing and is expected to continue until May 2024, offering hope for students still seeking opportunities.
This year, there has been a notable increase in the percentage of unplaced students, rising to 35.8% compared to the previous session. In 2023, out of 2,209 registered students, 1,485 had secured jobs, leaving 32.8% unplaced.
In the initial phase of placements in December, it was announced 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.
High unemployment rate among Indian graduates
The India Employment Report 2024, jointly released by the Institute for Human Development and International Labour Organisation (ILO) on March 26, highlights the challenging job market situation, especially for highly educated youth in India.
According to the report, the unemployment rate among Indian youth with a graduate degree stands at a staggering 29.1%, whereas it is significantly lower at 3.4% among illiterate individuals. This stark contrast indicates that obtaining a degree in India increases the likelihood of unemployment by 9 times.
In 2022, a significant 83% of the unemployed population in India belonged to the age group of 15 to 29, emphasizing the prevalence of youth unemployment. Despite the increasing educational qualifications among Indian youth, the job market fails to provide adequate opportunities, leading to a mismatch between the skills possessed by the educated masses and the available job openings.