For decades, some of the country’s biggest companies have flocked to the 23 campuses of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) with hefty paychecks to fill their ranks with the brightest India has to offer.
While the fall in placements this year grabbed headlines, CNBC-TV18 found that the downtrend in job offers at IIT campuses started long before the pandemic. Nearly 32% of the IIT graduates failed to secure a job through placements between 2016 and 2019, according to data shared in response to a Right to Information (RTI) query from CNBC-TV18.
The hiring trend at IIT would look worse if not for a temporary spike in demand for engineers at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
CNBC-TV18 had sent an RTI query to all 23 IITs.
The situation has been worsening even in the eight most-renowned campuses in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kanpur, Roorkee, Kharagpur, Varanasi, and Guwahati.
Figures suggest that the number of students registering for placements between 2016 and 2023 from these eight large IITs was 87,197, of which 62,452 students got placed after their course was over.
However, the situation has improved since then but the aggregate number of students who aren’t placed is still high at 29%.
IIT Patna was the only institute to respond to the RTI query from CNBC-TV18.
“IITs attract top-notch companies for placements and hiring. Especially post-COVID era due to huge hiring, there is an imbalance between demand and supply, and IITs are facing challenges in placements. Disruption in technologies and economic slowdown created those challenges much deeper," TS Sinha, Chief Public Information Officer (CPIO) at IIT-Patna, said.
The deeper challenges include the lack of necessary skills in the age of artificial intelligence.
"There is a certain amount of problem in the domestic economy but the country's top minds not getting jobs is a concern. With AI becoming more predominant outside, IITians are not skilled enough to match the demands here. I see the trend to give more disturbing numbers in the coming years," said Dheeraj Singh, an IIT-Kanpur alumnus who works as a consultant told CNBC-TV18.
The gap between the demand and supply is visible in the data, too. While the number of companies visiting IIT campuses for hiring has gone up, the number of offers made has not kept a consistent pace with the increase in companies throughout the entire period.
“Options are drying up for students and the government is failing to address the situation. We also cannot neglect the fact that present IIT infrastructure is not equipped to deal with the latest tech like artificial intelligence,” Jitendra Shah, a former researcher at IIT-Bombay, echoed.
The placement rate is worse in the newer IITs, which have fewer graduates, the data shows. The RTI data accessed by CNBC-TV18 shows smaller IITs, which were established in recent years, have witnessed a sharper decline in campus placements. These campuses include the ones in Palakkad, Bhilai, Ropar, Tirupati, Gandhinagar, Patna, Indore, Hyderabad, and Jodhpur.
The situation is particularly bad in IIT-Palakkad and IIT-Bhilai, where the placement rates are close to half.
"Students are not able to impress recruiters, they can't communicate effectively and, hence, lose out on opportunities during placements. IITs have to adapt to change and work on courses in AI, they have to be industry-relevant ahead. The nature of recruitment has changed during the pandemic and now the companies are focusing on firing rather than hiring. The worst impact is been noticed in the IT sector," Praveen Tyagi, founder of PACE IIT & MEDICAL, a chain of centres for IIT aspirants, told CNBC-TV18.
IITs where placement rates improved in 2023
Some IITs have also reported an increase in campus recruitment in 2023. IIT-Guwahati, IIT-Jodhpur, IIT-Hyderabad, IIT-Dhanbad saw an uptick in placements.
When taken a closer look, figures from 2019-2023 in the newer IITs reveal that at least 30% of students graduating from these small campuses are yet to land a job through campus placements.
Tyagi added, “The newer campuses are not able to attract companies due to lack of staff, infrastructure and facilities. All the IITs need holistic development and not just academic success”
A former researcher at IIT-Bombay, Jitendra Shah said, "IT-based sector is the most affected. Options are drying up for students and the Government is failing to address the situation. We also cannot neglect the fact the present IIT infrastructure is not equipped to deal with challenges like the AI."
While the fall in placements this year grabbed headlines, CNBC-TV18 found that the downtrend in job offers at IIT campuses started long before the pandemic. Nearly 32% of the IIT graduates failed to secure a job through placements between 2016 and 2019, according to data shared in response to a Right to Information (RTI) query from CNBC-TV18.
The hiring trend at IIT would look worse if not for a temporary spike in demand for engineers at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
CNBC-TV18 had sent an RTI query to all 23 IITs.
The situation has been worsening even in the eight most-renowned campuses in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kanpur, Roorkee, Kharagpur, Varanasi, and Guwahati.
Figures suggest that the number of students registering for placements between 2016 and 2023 from these eight large IITs was 87,197, of which 62,452 students got placed after their course was over.
However, the situation has improved since then but the aggregate number of students who aren’t placed is still high at 29%.
Source: Response to an RTI filed by CNBC-TV18 and annual reports.
IIT Patna was the only institute to respond to the RTI query from CNBC-TV18.
“IITs attract top-notch companies for placements and hiring. Especially post-COVID era due to huge hiring, there is an imbalance between demand and supply, and IITs are facing challenges in placements. Disruption in technologies and economic slowdown created those challenges much deeper," TS Sinha, Chief Public Information Officer (CPIO) at IIT-Patna, said.
The deeper challenges include the lack of necessary skills in the age of artificial intelligence.
"There is a certain amount of problem in the domestic economy but the country's top minds not getting jobs is a concern. With AI becoming more predominant outside, IITians are not skilled enough to match the demands here. I see the trend to give more disturbing numbers in the coming years," said Dheeraj Singh, an IIT-Kanpur alumnus who works as a consultant told CNBC-TV18.
Data goes on to reveal that essentially, there is a gap between what the companies want and what the IIT graduates have to offer.
The gap between the demand and supply is visible in the data, too. While the number of companies visiting IIT campuses for hiring has gone up, the number of offers made has not kept a consistent pace with the increase in companies throughout the entire period.
“Options are drying up for students and the government is failing to address the situation. We also cannot neglect the fact that present IIT infrastructure is not equipped to deal with the latest tech like artificial intelligence,” Jitendra Shah, a former researcher at IIT-Bombay, echoed.
The placement rate is worse in the newer IITs, which have fewer graduates, the data shows. The RTI data accessed by CNBC-TV18 shows smaller IITs, which were established in recent years, have witnessed a sharper decline in campus placements. These campuses include the ones in Palakkad, Bhilai, Ropar, Tirupati, Gandhinagar, Patna, Indore, Hyderabad, and Jodhpur.
The situation is particularly bad in IIT-Palakkad and IIT-Bhilai, where the placement rates are close to half.
"Students are not able to impress recruiters, they can't communicate effectively and, hence, lose out on opportunities during placements. IITs have to adapt to change and work on courses in AI, they have to be industry-relevant ahead. The nature of recruitment has changed during the pandemic and now the companies are focusing on firing rather than hiring. The worst impact is been noticed in the IT sector," Praveen Tyagi, founder of PACE IIT & MEDICAL, a chain of centres for IIT aspirants, told CNBC-TV18.
IITs where placement rates improved in 2023
Some IITs have also reported an increase in campus recruitment in 2023. IIT-Guwahati, IIT-Jodhpur, IIT-Hyderabad, IIT-Dhanbad saw an uptick in placements.
| Placement trend across IITs | ||
| Percentage of students placed on campus | 2022 | 2023 |
| Guwahati | 74.1% | 78.0% |
| Jodhpur | 84.1% | 86.0% |
| Hyderabad | 77.9% | 76.8% |
| Dhanbad | 72.4% | 76.6% |
| Source: RTI data filed by CNBC-TV18 |
When taken a closer look, figures from 2019-2023 in the newer IITs reveal that at least 30% of students graduating from these small campuses are yet to land a job through campus placements.
Tyagi added, “The newer campuses are not able to attract companies due to lack of staff, infrastructure and facilities. All the IITs need holistic development and not just academic success”
A former researcher at IIT-Bombay, Jitendra Shah said, "IT-based sector is the most affected. Options are drying up for students and the Government is failing to address the situation. We also cannot neglect the fact the present IIT infrastructure is not equipped to deal with challenges like the AI."
| Placement trends across new IITs from 2019-2023 | ||
| Year | Registered students for placements | Placements |
| 2019 | 1,225 | 793 |
| (IIT-Bhilai data not included) | (IIT-Bhilai data not included) | |
| 2020 | 1,644 | 1,143 |
| 2021 | 2,122 | 1,349 |
| 2022 | 2,584 | 2,202 |
| 2023 | 3,402 | 2,431 |
| Source: RTI data filed by CNBCTV-18 and annual IIT reports | ||
(Edited by : Swapnil Deshpande)
First Published: Jun 7, 2024 2:31 PM IST
Check out our in-depth Market Coverage, Business News & get real-time Stock Market Updates on CNBC-TV18. Also, Watch our channels CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz and CNBC Bajar Live on-the-go!