IITs lift ban on 31 companies, allowing them to hire
What's the story
The IITs have revoked a ban on 31 companies that they blacklisted last year. Most were start-ups. The ban came after at least 25 students of IIT-Bombay were left in the lurch due to erratic hiring policies. While taking a unanimous decision, the All-IIT Placement Committee (AIPC) said each institute should consider track record of companies before inviting them for placement. Find out more.
Firms
Which companies are on the list?
The list of 31 included popular brands like Zomato, PepperTap, Grofers, Grabhouse, Hopscotch and Stayzilla. Others on the list were Zettata, NowFloats, ConsultLane, Zimply, Portea Medical, Babajob, GPSK, SmartTrak Solar Systems, Crayon Data India, Glow Homes Technologies, Tescra Software, RockON Technologies, Tenova India, Verity Knowledge Solutions, ExcellenceTech, Roadrunnr, LexInnova, LeGarde Burnett Group, Johnson Electric, Mera Hunar, Fundamental Education, CashCare Technology, IndusInsight, ClickLabs and Medd.
Violations
Why were they blacklisted in the first place?
Several firms revoked job offers they made. LeGarde Burnett Group had provided a fake office address. Mera Hunar meanwhile approached with another name and hired students for a different firm. IndusInsight delayed joining dates of recruits. IITs have a one-student-one-job principle: if a student gets an offer, they can't apply elsewhere again. In cases of employers backing out, students are thus left helpless.
Startups
Start-ups on the radar
The AIPC is particularly concerned about start-ups. IIT-Bombay emphasized on thorough background checks including funding and growth prospects. "Now that there is a government notification following the Start-up India campaign on defining start-ups, we will be following these guidelines," said Kaustubha Mohanty, AIPC coordinator. Interestingly, start-ups account for almost a third of campus placements in IITs and IIMs combined.
Future
What does the revocation mean for the companies?
Each firm was subjected to intense scrutiny before revoking the ban. Mohanty says there were three reasons: students wanted to work for some of the big firms which were blacklisted; the new IITs could benefit from a large company base for placement; and a decision was pending after one year anyway. Now each IIT would invite these companies depending on their analysis of their track record.
Slump
Meanwhile, a slump in hiring and salaries
Meanwhile, for the first time in six years, median salary offered at IIT-Bombay dropped. In 2016-17, it fell to Rs. 9.38L annually from Rs. 9.8L the previous year. Number of students getting placed also fell: in 2015-16, 1,143 of 1,628 students (70%) found jobs. Last year, 1,114 of 1,718 students (65%) were placed. The slump is attributed to weak IT and manufacturing sectors.