IIM-C sees 20 per cent rise in average offers

Shaking off last year's pessimism with global recession painting a comparatively gloomy picture during the placement season, the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIM-C) claimed to have witnessed a 20 per cent increase in the average salary offered to its students by companies, with five students bagging offers above Rs.1 crore.

Though both the average international and domestic packages offered were less than the packages offered to students during the 2007-08 placements when the economy was booming, the IIM-C authorities asserted that the placements this year nonetheless indicated “a sign that the economy is reviving.”

Addressing a press conference here on Friday, they said the average international package exclusive of bonus was $1,23,450 per annum this year as against $86,785 last year, while the average domestic package offered this year was Rs.15.32 lakh per annum as against Rs.12.7 lakh last year.

While the authorities claimed that the highest domestic offer stood at Rs.75 lakh per annum, they refused to spell out the highest international compensation offered this year.

“Money does matter but challenges are perhaps equally important,” Anup Kumar Sinha, the institute's acting director, said. All the 286 students were placed within five days.

Of the 47 foreign companies who participated this time, the major participants were Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Scotland, Yes Bank, American Express, Accenture Business Consulting, Mckinsey & Co, Deloitte Consulting, Hindustan Unilever and Oliver Wyman. A total of 17 overseas offers were made.

According to the IIM-C authorities, more than 37 per cent of students joined the financial sector while 27 per cent joined the consulting sector and 18 per cent chose marketing profiles.

Firms such as Oliver Wyman, UBS and Opera Solutions recruited exclusively from IIM-C, the authorities said.

A surprise break, however, came from the public sector units this year. While last year, seven PSUs made as many as 34 offers to IIM-C students, this year only Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited made two offers of which one was accepted.

Prafulla Agnihotri, chairman of the career development and placement office of IIM-C, said the institute had ensured that participating companies paid a minimum package of Rs.8.5 lakh plus.