IIT: As placements dip, students look beyond campus

The trends, based on data obtained by The Indian Express, come against the backdrop of a shifting tech landscape, global economic uncertainties, and an increasing number of Indian Institute of Technology graduates competing in a dynamic job market.


IIT Delhi is the only institution that bucked the trend, maintaining a consistent placement percentage of 84 per cent to 85 per cent since 2018-19, except for fluctuations during the pandemic years of 2020-21.

In an indication of the changing hiring trends from the Indian Institutes of Technology, at least four older IITs have seen a decline in their campus placement percentages in recent years, even as surveys indicate the number of students getting jobs independently may be on the rise.

The trends, based on data obtained by The Indian Express, come against the backdrop of a shifting tech landscape, global economic uncertainties, and an increasing number of IIT graduates competing in a dynamic job market.


Five of the seven first-generation IITs responded to The Indian Express’s request under the RTI Act for placement data spanning six years, from 2018-19 to 2023-24. IIT Madras and IIT Guwahati did not share details and instead referred to their annual reports.
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Among the institutes that disclosed placement rates (the percentage of students receiving job offers) across undergraduate, postgraduate, and research programs, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, and IIT Roorkee recorded declines ranging from 5 to 16 percentage points (see chart).


IIT Bombay provided data only for 2022-23 and 2023-24, showing a drop from 82 per cent to 75 per cent. While IIT Guwahati’s placement percentage for 2023-24 (71 per cent) is higher than the pre-pandemic level of 2018-19 (67 per cent), it is seven percentage points lower than the previous year, 2022-23 (78 per cent).

IIT Delhi is the only institution that bucked the trend, maintaining a consistent placement percentage of 84 per cent to 85 per cent since 2018-19, except for fluctuations during the pandemic years of 2020-21 (80 per cent) and 2021-22 (75 per cent).



The factors — and some riders

While the IITs refused to comment on the record, students and teachers associated with the campus hiring process attributed the drop to a combination of factors: the aftereffects of post–Covid mass hiring in 2022, a slowdown in key sectors like tech and software, and increasing batch sizes.


“In 2022, there was a spike in placement percentages as the market recovered after Covid, with rates exceeding 85 per cent. This spike followed a two-year hiring freeze. Hiring in 2023 was more conservative, with fewer top MNCs coming in and a decline in software and tech recruitment. Placements this year might improve over last year, but are unlikely to match 2022 levels. The numbers may normalise by 2025,” said a source from IIT Kanpur.

Another person associated with placements at IIT Kharagpur pointed to growing batch sizes as a factor. At IIT Kharagpur, the number of students registering for placement has increased from 1,757 in 2018–19 to 2,668 in 2023–24, while those placed grew from 1,375 to 1,662 during the same period.

“Placements in 2022-23 were among the best for the institute, but there hasn’t been much improvement in the market since then, and the companies coming for placements this year haven’t met expectations,” the source said.

“The intake of students has been increasing gradually, with nearly 3,000 students sitting for placements this year, making it a challenging task to place everyone. While most JEE entrants are placed, companies have fewer roles for PG students,” the person said.


IIT Guwahati too said that placement outcomes are better for B.Tech graduates. “Most IIT placement data focuses on B.Tech students. In 2022, the B.Tech placement percentage was 83 per cent, and in 2023, it was 80 per cent,” an official from IIT Guwahati told The Indian Express. “PG students often prefer higher studies – they register for placements but do not pursue them further. The actual placement scenario is best reflected in undergraduate placements, where close to 80 per cent of students secure jobs, while 10 per cent go for higher studies, 5 per cent opt for civil services, and others pursue MBA programs.”

The official said that around 600 and 650 BTech students were placed in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Though the placement percentage at IIT Bombay dropped from 82.16 per cent in 2022-23 to 74.53 per cent in 2023-24, an official said it would be misleading to draw conclusions solely from this data as it only reflects on-campus placements and not other career paths. “Many students shown as ‘not placed’ take routes like higher education or off-campus placements or entrepreneurship. The dip does not offer a true reflection unless compared with the exit survey,” the official said.

A newly introduced exit survey revealed that from 2018 to 2022, 57.1 per cent of students were placed through campus placements, 10.3 per cent found jobs independently, 1.6 per cent initiated start-ups, 8.3 per cent entered public services, 6.1 per cent were still seeking jobs, and 12 per cent pursued higher education in India or abroad.

Of the six IITs, only three shared data pertaining to the average salary package offered to placed students. IIT Kanpur’s average salary rose from Rs 22.1 lakh per annum (LPA) in 2020–21 to Rs 25.9 LPA in 2022–23, but dropped to Rs 23.7 LPA in 2023–24.

At IIT Kharagpur, the average salary increased from Rs 14 LPA in 2020–21 to Rs 18 LPA in 2022–23, before declining to Rs 17 LPA in 2023–24.

IIT Bombay recorded an average salary of Rs 21.50 LPA in 2021–22, slightly rising to Rs 21.82 LPA in 2022–23.

Why IIT Delhi stood out

The increase in students availing themselves of IIT Delhi’s placement services rose from 1,471 in 2021-2022 to 1,531 in 2023-2024, largely due to a significant rise in participation from PhD scholars.


Nearly 190 PhD candidates, a sixfold increase, sought placements for the first time, affecting the overall placement percentage since regular job profiles for B.Tech and M.Tech graduates are not suitable for PhD scholars.

To address this, IIT Delhi conducted a special recruitment drive for PhD students in June 2024, resulting in a sevenfold increase in offers as compared to the previous year. An official said: “If you notice, the number of offers received in 2022-2023 (1,287) and 2023-24 (1,222) are comparable and only about 5 per cent less than the previous year. Despite difficult market conditions and placements across the institutions in the country during 2023-2024, IIT Delhi managed to do reasonably well last year. We are striving to get our PhD and other students jobs to achieve a very good overall placement this year. We have a number of profiles lined up for this year and are hoping to cater to all aspiring students.”

In an exit survey conducted by IIT Delhi this year, 1411 (53.1 per cent) students confirmed that they had received a job offer. On the other hand, 224 (8.4 per cent) students responded that they were self-employed, whereas 45 (1.7 per cent) students informed that they are working for a start-up and 66 (2.5 per cent) students were involved in entrepreneurship.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/express-exclusive/iit-placements-dip-students-look-beyond-campus-too-9763771/

UGC eases hiring contract teachers, opens V-C post to non-academics too

The 2018 University Grants Commission regulations had limited contract teacher appointments to 10 per cent of an institution’s total faculty positions. The new draft regulations have also removed the cap on such appointments.

UGC eases hiring contract teachers, opens V-C post to non-academics too, ugc hiring procedure, non academic, The new rules will be finalised after the higher education regulator receives public feedback on the draft. 

In a major overhaul of the process of appointment of leaders in higher education, the University Grants Commission (UGC) issued new rules Monday which effectively give Governors in states broader powers in appointing Vice-Chancellors and opened the position to industry experts and public sector veterans, thus breaking from the tradition of selecting only academicians.

According to government sources, if approved as is, the new regulations will give Chancellors greater control over Vice-Chancellor selection. This will likely have significant ramifications for Opposition-ruled states such as Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Kerala, where the government and Governor (who serves as Chancellor of state universities) are currently locked in disputes over the top academic appointment process.

The new draft regulations — titled ‘University Grants Commission (Minimum Qualifications for Appointment and Promotion of Teachers and Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education) Regulations, 2025’ — have also removed the cap on contract teacher appointments.

The 2018 regulations had limited such appointments to 10 per cent of an institution’s total faculty positions.

The new rules will be finalised after the higher education regulator receives public feedback on the draft.

“The Chancellor/Visitor shall constitute the Search-cum-Selection Committee comprising three experts,” the new regulations state. Earlier, the regulations mentioned that the selection for the post of Vice-Chancellor should be through proper identification by a panel of 3–5 persons formed by a Search-cum-Selection Committee but did not specify who would constitute the committee.

According to a senior government official, there are at least two Supreme Court judgments that make the UGC regulations, especially those pertaining to academic appointments, applicable to state universities as well.

In other words, Governors in states who are Chancellors of state universities now have more control over the selection process and also have the final say on the V-C appointment. The draft guidelines also warn that non-implementation may result in debarring an institution from participating in UGC schemes or from offering degree programmes.

“Every time we revise UGC regulations, we try to make changes based on past experiences. As far as Vice-Chancellor appointments are concerned, we have tried to make the selection process as clear as possible, leaving no room for ambiguity,” said a senior government official. When asked if the change was influenced by the tussle between the Government and Governors in some states, the official said, “The regulation doesn’t mention the Governor anywhere. Whoever is the Chancellor will appoint the selection committee.”

Another key change in the draft regulations is that university Vice-Chancellors need not be professors, but can be individuals at senior levels in industry, public policy, public administration, or public sector undertakings, going by the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) new draft regulations on appointment and promotion of teachers and academic staff in universities and colleges.

Another key change in the draft regulations is that it does away with the Academic Performance Indicators (API) system– a score that determines the recruitment and promotion of teachers based on parameters such as publication in journals. Instead, “notable contributions” across nine categories are to be considered for recruitment and promotion of teachers, including “teaching contributions in Indian languages” and “teaching-learning and research in Indian Knowledge Systems.”

According to UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar, the API system in the 2018 regulations “heavily relied on quantitative metrics, reducing academic performance to numerical scores.”

“In the previous regulations, candidates were often judged primarily on numerical criteria, such as journal or conference publication counts. The 2025 regulations discontinue the API-based shortlisting and adopt a more qualitative approach, allowing selection committees to assess candidates holistically based on their notable contributions and broader academic impact…,” he said.

Other notable contributions that will be considered are innovative teaching contribution, research or teaching lab development, consultancy or sponsored research funding as a principal investigator or co-principal investigator, student internship or project supervision, digital content creation for massive open online courses (MOOCs), community engagement and service, and a “startup”, registered with the Registrar of Companies as “a founding promoter, successfully raising funding through government, angel or venture funds to support the startup.”

Kumar said the subject experts in the selection committee for these hirings will evaluate the notable contributions “in a transparent way as decided by the selection committee.”

“The draft regulations expand the scope to identify leaders who can navigate complex systems, foster innovation, and build meaningful collaborations between academia, industry, and society in alignment with the vision of NEP 2020,” he said.

Earlier regulations issued in 2018 had said that the V-C should be a “distinguished academician”, with a minimum of ten years of experience as a Professor in a University or ten years of experience “in a reputed research and/or academic administrative organisation with proof of having demonstrated academic leadership.”

The new draft regulations say that the V-C candidate is to be a “distinguished person possessing high academic qualifications and demonstrated administrative and leadership capabilities”, with a minimum of ten years of experience as a professor in a higher educational institutions, or at a senior level in reputed research or academic administrative organisations, or at a senior level in industry, public administration, public policy and or public sector undertakings, with a “proven track record of significant academic or scholarly contributions.”

On doing away with the cap on appointments of contract teacher, Kumar said that it was done away with “to give some flexibility to higher educational institutions considering the fact that in many state universities, there are many faculty vacancies and they are making efforts to fill them up.”

“Once the state governments fill up the vacancies, contract basis appointments are expected to be less,” he said.

The general conditions for appointment of teachers in the new draft regulations also say that if the candidate’s subject at the undergraduate or postgraduate level is different from the PhD subject, the candidate will be considered eligible for appointment as a teacher in the subject in which they obtained the PhD. Additionally, if the candidate’s subject at the undergraduate or postgraduate level is different from their subject in qualifying exams like the NET or SET, the candidate will be eligible for appointment as a teacher in the subject in which they qualified in these exams. The 2018 regulations did not make such specifications.

“This is an important flexibility to remove rigid subject boundaries and allow faculty applicants to transition across disciplines, creating a more multi-disciplinary eco-system within university campuses as envisaged in NEP 2020,” Kumar said.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/education/ugc-eases-hiring-contract-teachers-opens-v-c-post-to-non-academics-too-9763765/

IIT Bombay and IISER Pune to be mentors to promote research in higher education institutions

"The idea is to promote and improve research work at central and state universities under the mentorship from hub institutions which are already excelling in research,” said Prof Karandikar“Total of 31 institutions across the country having stellar research records have been identified to become hubs (File)

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay from Mumbai and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) from Pune are the two institutions from Maharashtra identified as mentors under the Partnerships for Accelerated Innovation and Research (PAIR)–a flagship initiative by the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) to promote research in higher education institutions in the country, secretary of Department of Science and Technology, Prof Abhay Karandikar said on Monday.

The ANRF, which aims to foster culture of research in India’s universities, colleges and other research institutions, launched the PAIR initiative a couple of months ago wherein higher educational institutions in the country having excellent research record will mentor other institutions such as central universities and public universities through pairing under ‘hub and spoke’ model.

“Total of 31 institutions across the country having stellar research records have been identified to become hubs. Now they will have to apply for PAIR along with their spoke institutions for a period of five years, on various themes listed for research with focus on multidisciplinary approach. The idea is to promote and improve research work at central and state universities under the mentorship from hub institutions which are already excelling in research,” said Prof Karandikar while adding that the mentorship parameters will have a range of activities from finalising on research topics depending on strengths, guidance on publishing of research papers in high quality journals and also co-supervising PhD students among others.

Each hub and spoke pairing will receive financial support of Rs 100 crore coming from the government through ANRF for a period of five years. “Out of the funding, 70 percent will have to be used for research activities at spoke institutions whereas a hub institution will get to use the remaining 30 percent of the grant. In order to expand the reach of the scheme, each hub institution is required to have one of the spoke institutions which is located outside of the state,” said Prof Karandikar who currently also holds charge on ANRF as CEO.

Prof Karandikar, who will be the chief guest for Mumbai University’s convocation ceremony to be held on Tuesday, delivered a talk at varsity’s Kalina campus a day before on how ANRF is transforming the science and technology landscape in the country. The talk which entailed information on various new schemes under ANRF to enhance research output was attended by several researchers from Mumbai University–faculty as well as students.

In his talk, Prof Karandikar highlighted that research output in the country is concentrated in few institutions with lowest number of (18) institutions having average publication per institute at 7,620 research papers and highest number (115) institutions have average publication per institute of 1,121 research papers while underlining how ANRF is devoted to enhance research and development outputs in institutions across the country.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/iit-bombay-and-iiser-pune-to-be-mentors-to-promote-research-in-higher-education-institutions-9763583/lite/

Tamil Nadu CM Stalin announces USD 1 million prize for decoding Indus valley script

Synopsis
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin offers a $1 million prize for deciphering the Indus valley script, emphasizing its Dravidian roots and historical significance. Further, he announced a grant for a research chair and annual awards for scholars to boost the study of Indus culture.

Read the full article at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/tamil-nadu-cm-stalin-announces-usd-1-million-prize-for-decoding-indus-valley-script/articleshow/116969619.cms?from=mdr

UGC Develops A System To Evaluate Institutes Based On NEP 2020

The progress made by the HEIs in implementing the NEP 2020 will be considered while granting privileges and entitlements.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) is planning to develop a system to evaluate higher education institutions (HEIs) based on the implementation of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. In some of the UGC regulations, grades/scores obtained in NAAC accreditation are taken as criteria to make HEIs eligible for certain privileges/entitlements.

In line with this, the commission has invited suggestions/feedback from the stakeholders/public to draft document which may be submitted through the Google form available at https://forms.gle/xY6avHXGfKXJuwBk8 

An official notification by the UGC reads, "It has been decided to develop a system to evaluate HEIs based on the implementation of the National Education Policy 2020. The progress made by the HEIs in implementing the NEP 2020 will be considered while granting privileges and entitlements under various UGC regulations. To facilitate this, a two-step evaluation process has been developed, and specific parameters have been identified to determine the allocation of points."

A higher education institution may be required to pass through a two-step process. In the first step, an institution needs to fulfill the mandatory requirements called 'qualifiers,' followed by 'quantifiers, where the HEI will have to reply with 'yes' or 'no' to a series of questions based on the initiatives of NEP 2020 and the UGC Regulations. 

The assessment will be based on the data/evidence to be submitted by the HEI. Submission of false evidence and or any wrong declaration by HEl will lead to the rejection of the application and any other action as deemed fit by the UGC.

The two-step evaluation is as follows:

1. Eligibility Qualifiers: These will be the mandatory benchmarks that an HEl needs to fulfill in order to become eligible for the grant of privileges/entitlements.

2. Quantifier Parameters: The eligible HEI will be evaluated on the identified parameters and the grant of privilege/entitlement will be determined on the basis of the points obtained by the HEI.

An HEI will be mandatorily required to attain the qualifier benchmarks to become eligible for submission of an application to obtain a privilege or entitlement to be granted or conferred by the UGC. HEI will also be required to submit evidence in support of achieving a benchmark parameter. 

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/education/ugc-develops-a-system-to-evaluate-institutes-based-on-nep-2020-7396880

DST along with AICTE announces undergraduate courses for quantum

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) in collaboration with All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) announced a dedicated curriculum at the undergraduate level, to create a thriving quantum-trained ecosystem in India as part of the National Quantum Mission.

Professor Ajay K Sood, Principal Scientific Advisor to Govt. of India said that the curriculum will integrate theoretical knowledge with hands-on lab experience, aiming to deepen graduates' understanding of quantum technologies through a minor program in the subject at undergraduate level. Highlighting the progress made in the National Quantum Mission, Prof. Sood emphasised the importance of this initiative to align with the goals of the Mission in order to create a quantum-ready workforce for the country’s technological advancement and global leadership.

The National Quantum Mission from the Government of India is a decisive step in accelerating the nation’s research and technology development in this field. Such research and technology development will require a highly skilled workforce through immediate initiatives in teaching and training.

The curriculum will help impart training for developing this workforce to enable them to reach global standards, and simultaneously address the multi-disciplinary needs of quantum technology development -- from basic to applied research.

Professor Abhay Karandikar, Secretary Department of Science and Technology said that the announcement of this curriculum marks a significant step in building a quantum-ready workforce. ‘It is designed for undergraduate students to establish a strong foundational and advanced knowledge base keeping in mind the diversity in the institutions, and will enable all engineering students irrespective of their disciplines to undertake UG minor in quantum technologies from their third or fourth semester.” he added.

“For the success of the program, training of teachers and basic lab infrastructure will also be required. National Quantum Mission will support creation of teaching labs in some select institutions and will work with AICTE for faculty development,” Prof. Karandikar pointed out.

Prof. Karandikar urged institutes to adopt the curriculum proactively and also students to recognize the importance of integrating quantum technologies into research, education, and innovation strategies.

Dr. Ajai Chowdhry Chairman MGB, NQM said that while this course will help in developing manpower in quantum technology in the country, internships should also be started in parallel to create more value for the students.

Professor T G Sitharam, Chairman All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) highlighted that this is a new beginning in quantum revolution to leverage the potential of quantum technology to create impact in society. “Our curriculum is ready and hopefully it will be included from next July session in all top institutions,” he added.

While institutes of national importance have begun programs to this end, expanding such training to a larger pool of institutes across the country can enable the nation to tap into the vast resource of students who can then participate in the mission to accelerate its progress towards its goals. The course would be taken up for implementation by AICTE approved institutions across the country.

The course structure includes all four verticals of Quantum Technology -- Quantum Computing, Quantum communications, Quantum sensing and metrology, Quantum materials and devices. The proposed curriculum constitutes a minimum of 18 credits with both theory and lab courses. Each course amounts to 3 credits (1 credit translating to 1 in-class contact hour per week for a theory course or 1 session of lab for 3 hours for a lab course), thereby making the minor program span a minimum of 6 courses.

Faculty Development Programs in the areas of Quantum Technologies are also proposed to be carried out to enable them to do justice to the goals of the minor program. Such sustained teacher training efforts will also enhance the quality of the training imparted to students over the years leading to long-term benefits and enable India to become a world leader in this field.

Apart from this course, National Quantum Mission in collaboration with AICTE is also planning to support creation of labs to aid teaching in the areas of quantum technologies, writing of books for the course and quantum awareness programmes.

Proposed structure of the program:

Minimum credits to fulfil – 18

• A 3.0.0 course has 3 theory lectures per week and considering an average length of 14 weeks for a semester,

• A 3:0 course amounts to at least 36 hours of lectures (considering holidays, exam days etc).

• A n:m lab course has n hours of lectures and m sessions (3 hours each) of lab per week.

Source: https://dst.gov.in/dst-along-aicte-announces-undergraduate-courses-quantum

Draft data protection rules include deletion of social media accounts upon death, unless relatives are nominated

Social media profiles of deceased persons may be deleted after prolonged inactivity under the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025; the parent Act provides users with nomination facility in the event of death

This essentially means that social media companies, e-commerce firms, and online gaming companies — the three types of enterprises outlined specifically in the Rules — will have to proactively delete inactive accounts.

A key provision of the draft Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025 could lead to the disappearance of the social media accounts of the deceased. According to Rule 8(1) of the draft Rules, which have been issued for public comment, “A Data Fiduciary … shall erase such personal data, unless its retention is necessary for compliance with any law … if, for the corresponding time period … the Data Principal neither approaches such Data Fiduciary for the performance of the specified purpose nor exercises her rights in relation to such processing.”

This essentially means that social media companies, e-commerce firms, and online gaming companies — the three types of enterprises outlined specifically in the Rules — will have to proactively delete inactive accounts, a provision which may erase public facing social media accounts of individuals who have died in recent years. IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a recent interview that the Rules may have a two-year timeline for compliance, and consultations around this issue are ongoing.


In the past, social media platforms have had to contend with the issue of dead users when planning purges of inactive accounts. In 2019, the erstwhile Twitter announced that old accounts that had not been used in over six months would be removed after some warnings, and their usernames would be made available. Public outrage ensued from relatives of deceased users, in addition to concern that notable accounts of public personalities would disappear from the platform. Under Elon Musk, who acquired Twitter in 2022 and renamed it X, the policy resurfaced, and accounts started disappearing in May 2023.

Meta has a process in place to memorialise accounts of the deceased in accordance with the wishes of relatives. “It’s our policy to memorialize an account for someone who has passed if a valid request is received,” the company says in a help page for Facebook. A “legacy contact” can be added by a user when they are alive in order to pass on control in the event of their demise. Similar provisions exist for Google Accounts.

The Rules formalise such arrangements, as does the parent Act. “A Data Principal shall have the right to nominate, in such manner as may be prescribed, any other individual, who shall, in the event of death or incapacity of the Data Principal, exercise the rights of the Data Principal in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the rules made thereunder,” the DPDP Act says.

However, users are not required to nominate someone in the event of their death, and may choose to have their accounts disappear. “Keep in mind that if the account holder requested to have their account permanently deleted after they pass away, we will remove their account once we’re made aware they have passed away,” Facebook says on memorialisation.