Over 20 companies barred from IIT placement drive for rescinding offers last year

More than 20 companies have been banned from the placement drive of IITs after they rescinded job offers made to students in the last academic year. Some of these offers were taken back just days before the joining date, jeopardising their career prospects.

The premier engineering institute has a norm of putting students off the placement list after they accept an offer from a company. However, since several firms rescinded their offers as early as June or July this year, students were left hanging without any offer at hand, affecting their mental well-being. IIT authorities, reportedly from more than one campus, unanimously decided to bar those companies from participating in this year’s placement drive.

While the list of the banned companies is not known yet, a report by the Times of India says it includes data analytics and software-based firms. The companies, however, are allowed to hire students through an off-campus process.

“We looked at their past records too. Some of these companies had a history of revoking offers and six to seven IITs had already banned them from participation," an IIT professor involved in the placement process told TOI.

Some companies have revoked offers for alumni who were supposed to join them, while a few others have reduced the salary packages mentioned in the offer letters. According to the professor, the placement cells are trying to engage with higher authorities in these companies.

Sharing his experience of getting hired only to have a job offer rescinded, a computer science graduate said he bagged a job with a trading company last December and the joining date was June 1, 2025. “My offer was revoked on May 29. The company made me an offer of nearly Rs 30 lakh and I was more than happy to join. They revoked my offer just two days before I was supposed to join, but fortunately, I got a better offer through an alumnus in some time. Though IIT-Bombay extended help, I did not need it at that time.”

The professor said that IITs are now trying to involve more companies and start-ups promoted by the Centre under the Viksit Bharat programme. He said, “The job market is slow, but we are trying to reach out to many more companies and encourage start-ups incubated on prominent campuses to reach the best targets.”