IIT Bombay targets 'Make In India' firms for placement season

Mumbai: Banking on the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has sent out invites for campus recruitment to over 100 companies from abroad that are planning to invest in the country.

Though other IITs have not done so, they are hopeful that the campaign will boost recruitment in the core sector or core functional roles. There are 16 IITs across the country.

Placement cells of most IITs have started preparing for the upcoming recruitment season that starts in December this year.

“We have focused on big companies from abroad in the past as well, but this time our attention and focus has shifted to companies which are trying to enter the Indian market in response to the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative,” said Rahul Soni, placement manager, IIT Bombay.

The institute’s placement team has sent out invites to around 120 companies from Germany, France and others listed under the Make in India campaign.

“Those that have shown interest in entering India would definitely have plans to hire employees in India,” Soni said.

The institute is hopeful that a few of these companies will turn up for the upcoming campus recruitment, though a large number of them might not be able to enter the country this year. As per Make in India’s official website, over 200 companies from abroad are listed as foreign investors across various sectors, including automobile, defence manufacturing, aviation and construction.

In 2014-2015, around 380 companies participated in IIT Bombay’s campus recruitment.

The placement cell in IIT Kanpur is also gearing up for recruitment. While the institute has not taken such a step, sending invites to companies from the Make in India campaign might work out well, according to a person in the placement process of the institute.

“It is a cool idea to chase for those planning to invest in India. We might even think about it,” said the person.

IIT Chennai is currently inviting past recruiters and does not plan to sort out firms based on the Make in India campaign though the core sector is a big focus for the institute.

“We have always made sure that at least 60-70% of the recruitment happens from the core sector. At the same time, people with core functional skills have always been in demand even in information technology companies,” said Professor Babu Vishwanathan, placement advisor, IIT Chennai.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.