Big money flows into IIMs

New Delhi: It’s that time of the year again when big money flows into the IIMs and pay packets offered in these campuses scale new highs.

The IIMs in Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Lucknow are buzz with activity these days as campus placements are going on at full pace, but there was not way that one could know the new salary levels as the biz schools have decided not to reveal the salaries on offer.

If information leaking out of the Bangalore campus is to be believed, the highest salary in the Day Zero slot this year has been in the range of $225,000, about $40,000 more than the last year’s highest offer.

There was no official confirmation though. The Day Zero usually draws the best international firms to the campus.

At IIM-A, the highest domestic package broke all previous records with one student bagging a cool Rs 60 lakh package on the very first day of placements.

Out of a total of 249 students of the batch of 2006, 235 have lined up for placements this year at IIM-A.

Around 120 companies, including high-profile international recruiters like Fischer Jordan and Bridgestone, are expected to visit the campus during the placements.

Among other big names, companies like BCG, Barclays, McKinsey & Company, ABN Amro, AT Kearney, Bain Consulting, UBS etc are roaming these campuses to pick the best brains. About 60 offers were made on the Day Zero of the placements IIM-A, which will conclude on March 13.

Many of the IIMs have decided to keep the salary packets and big offers under the wraps after some students complained to the authorities that media reports about their fat pay cheques could make them or their family members targets of kidnappers back home.

IIM-A, however, has no such reservation. Times of India quoted IIM-A in-charge for placements, PK Sinha, as saying that the institute expects the salaries to go much higher this year. "The increase depends on work experience. This year, we have more students with experience," he said.

Meanwhile, IIM-A has taken a major initiative this year to encourage entrepreneurial spirit among the students who have expressed desire to stay out of the placements to start their own ventures.

Six students had opted out of final placements last year and the number is set to be significantly higher this year.

"Around 20 ideas were presented to venture capitalists and angel investors by students at the Annual Venture Conclave this year, which shows the tremendous interest in starting up their own ventures," Sinha says.

The placement programme has ended at IIM-Lucknow with a record of 100 per cent placement.

The entire batch of 280 students got jobs in international and domestic companies, including some major recruiters like KPMG Middle East, TSMG, Standard Chartered, PricewaterHouseCoopers, Goldman Sachs and Trilogy.

There were 554 offers for 280 students, including 28 international offers. Final placements this year saw a number of consulting firms like McKinsey and Co, A T Kearney, Ernst and Young, Accemture and KPMG, the institute said.