In more than half of the country’s 23 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), placements for BTech students dropped by more than 10 percentage points in 2023-24 compared to 2021-22, according to the first such disclosure of data by the union government.
Barring IIT (BHU) Varanasi, 22 of the 23 IITs have seen a drop in placements in 2023-24 compared to 2021-22, going by information provided by the union government to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports.
In its report on the Department of Higher Education’s demand for grants 2025-26, the Parliamentary Standing Committee headed by Congress MP Digvijaya Singh noted that there is an “unusual decline” in placements in IITs and IIITs between the year 2021-22 and 2023-24.
Among the IITs that saw a drop of more than 10 percentage points in BTech placements in 2023-24 compared to 2021-22, were the older IITs – Madras (drop of 12 percentage points, from 85.71% to 73.29%); Bombay (drop of around 13 percentage points, from 96.11% to 83.39%); Kanpur (drop of 11 percentage points, from 93.63% to 82.48%); Delhi (drop of around 15 percentage points, from 87.69% to 72.81%).
In 2021-22, the percentage of students who secured jobs out of those who appeared for placements ranged from 83.15% at IIT Varanasi to 98.65% at IIT Goa, with 14 of the 23 IITs recording over 90% placements.
In 2023-24, only three IITs – Jodhpur, Patna, and Goa – recorded over 90%, with the highest percentage of 92.98% at IIT Jodhpur and the lowest of 65.56% at IIT Dharwad.
The sharpest drop was at IIT Dharwad where placements fell by around 25 percentage points in 2023-24 vs 2021-22 (90.20% to 65.56%), followed by IIT Jammu (92% to 70%).
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The country’s oldest IIT, at Kharagpur, saw the smallest drop (of 2.88 percentage points) among the 22 institutes – from 86.79% to 83.91%).
While the committee’s report pointed to a similar trend in NITs, and a decline in the average financial package secured by each student placed between 2022-23 and 2023-24, the corresponding data was not included.
Observing that placements are dependent on market trends and “there could be various reasons for this decline like students opting for higher education or pursuing start-up ventures,” the committee suggested that the department find ways to “enhance employability accordingly.”
Data shows that at some IITs, placements improved in 2021-22 compared to the previous year. The figures then dropped in 2022-23, and fell further in 2023-24.
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At IIT Kanpur, for instance, around 81% of those who appeared for placements secured jobs in 2020-21. This jumped to around 94% in 2021-22, but fell to 89% in 2022-23, and dropped further to 82% in 2023-24.
Save for IIT Tirupati, all other IITs have recorded an uptick in the number of students appearing for placements in 2023-24 vs 2021-22.
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