After a bruising placement season in 2023-24, the Indian Institutes of Technology are witnessing a tentative rebound. Fresh data obtained through Right to Information (RTI) filings shows that 14 IITs have recorded improved BTech placements in 2024-25, reversing last year’s sharp decline.

However, even as hiring momentum returns, placement rates across all 14 institutes remain below the high levels of 2021-22, the last big boom year for IIT recruitment.

The data, shared by 14 out of 23 IITs in response to RTI applications and backed by figures previously tabled before a Parliamentary Standing Committee, reveals that 2023-24 marked an “unusual decline” — with more than half of IITs registering a drop of over 10 percentage points compared to 2021-22.

Recovery but not a full comeback

In 2024-25, only IIT Mandi (95%) and IIT Goa (over 90%) crossed the 90-per-cent placement mark, while IIT Bhubaneswar hit exactly 90%. In contrast, 2021-22 had seen 13 of these 14 campuses above 90%, including standout performers such as IIT Roorkee, IIT Patna, IIT Indore, and IIT Kanpur.

Even with renewed hiring, this year’s numbers range widely — from 75.65% at IIT Guwahati and 78% at IIT Bhilai, to IIT Mandi’s high of 95%.

Directors say IITs responded to the downturn by widening their outreach. “We have tried to engage more companies this year,” several heads of institutes confirmed.

Changing career choices — and a shift toward core engineering

Some part of the gap, institutes insist, is structural rather than demand-driven. According to IIT Ropar Director Prof Rajeev Ahuja, many students are now choosing start-ups or higher studies, and some who get jobs outside the official placement office remain unaccounted for in the data.

Prof Ahuja also highlights a sectoral reset. “Earlier, there was a high demand in IT, and everybody, even civil engineers, wanted to get into the IT sector. Now, core branches and manufacturing are picking up,” he said.

Directors say the shift is influenced by students’ growing preference for job stability amid volatility in the global tech market and hiring uncertainty in the US.

Sector trends: Software still leads — but core jobs rise

Placement reports show that software continues to dominate, but core engineering is regaining space:

·        IIT Guwahati: 45% software jobs; 17% core engineering

·        IIT Mandi: 66% software; 16% core engineering; 10% consulting (2024-25)

·        In 2023-24, IIT Mandi recorded 64% software & data science and 13% engineering roles

Across the board, 13 of the 14 IITs saw an increase in the number of students appearing for placements this year — meaning competition for job offers has also intensified.

More job offers — but also more job seekers

At IIT Delhi, for instance, placement rates moved from 87.69% (2021-22) to 72.81% (2023-24) before climbing back to 79% in 2024-25. But the number of job-seeking students also surged — from 707 to 987 over the same period.

IIT Delhi Director Prof Rangan Banerjee noted:

“Job offers have been growing, but the number of students sitting for placements has also been growing. There are changes globally — the cause and effect are not very clear. Institutions are reaching out more, and the blip of the previous year has mostly been corrected.”

The big picture

The 2024-25 placement cycle signals clear recovery — not resurgence. The worst of last year’s slump may be over, but the 2021-22 recruitment peak remains the benchmark yet to be matched.

As shifts in the global job market push students to weigh stability over glamour, IITs are recalibrating too — expanding outreach, widening employer bases, and bridging the widening gap between software and core engineering aspiration.