Date:07/11/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/11/07/stories/2009110759980800.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Campus placements set to pick up

Positive reports about IT industry raises students’ spirits

About 60,000 techies who passed out this year and offered jobs likely to be absorbed next year
Companies like TCS, ADB and Infosys already indicated their willingness to visit the campus

HYDERABAD: Engineering college campuses with good track record are ready to get hot in the ensuing winter season with companies set to land there for campus recruitments in the light of reports that IT industry is slowly coming out of recession effect.

However, this might be limited to good colleges that have already earned a name for themselves in the sector. “Top companies are enquiring for recruitment drives in the next two months and this should bring cheer to students,” says V. Uma Maheshwar, Placement Officer, Osmania University College of Engineering (OUCE). One has to wait and see in January only when companies would reach the campuses for recruitment in view of Nasscom’s request that recruitment drives should be held in the final semester only to let the students focus on studies.

Reports said that more than 60,000 engineering graduates who passed out this year and offered jobs earlier by top companies including TCS, Infosys and Accenture are likely to be absorbed early next year. This is in contrast to the fears that the actual absorption might get delayed. The recent survey of Nasscom also indicated that export revenues for the Indian IT industry recorded a growth of 16.3 percent registering revenues of $ 46.3 billion in 2008-09 financial year while the domestic segment increased by nearly 21 percent.

Raghavendra Mutalik, placement officer of Srinidhi Institute of Science and Technology (SNIST) agrees that top companies like TCS, ADB and Infosys have already indicated their willingness to visit the campus. Last year 307 students out of 602 from the college were placed and this was apart from off-campus recruitments.

The positive reports have raised the spirits of students too. Ramya, an ECE graduate this June from Sri Indu College of Engineering says the news has come as a big surprise to her and her friends. “Most of my friends have gone to US for higher education or will leave in two months in view of expected poor offers.

But things are looking better now,” she says.

Companies too seem to be targeting the 2009 batch students now as they can absorb them immediately. G. Sridevi, Placement Officer of VBIT says that companies are requesting them to arrange the 2009 batch students for their existing projects and want the 2010 batch for their future projects, which they think will be added next year.

However, students should not expect fat salaries like previous years. Mutalik says the number of intake in top companies might reduce.