366 students went unplaced in 2021-22, and 243 failed to secure jobs in 2022-23.The Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, responding to a set of questions filed under the Right to Information Act, revealed that approximately 22% of students who sought placement between 2019 and 2023 remained unplaced. While details on ongoing placements for the current year were withheld, emerging reports suggest an estimated 40% of students securing placements in 2024.
The reply to the RTI also reveals a concerning trend of stagnant average and median salaries over the past four years, according to figures obtained by The Hindu. For instance, in the academic year 2021-22, the average Cost To the Company (CTC) stood at Rs 23.8 lakh, with a gross salary of Rs 19.9 lakh. The median salary was reported at Rs 18.2 lakh (CTC) and Rs 16 lakh (gross). Subsequently, in 2022-23, the average CTC dropped to Rs 21.9 lakh, with a gross salary of Rs 18.6 lakh, while the median salary stood at Rs 19.5 lakh (CTC) and Rs 17.4 lakh (gross). In 2021-22, 1105 students registered with the IIT’s career services secured placements, while in 2022-23, 1270 out of 1513 registered students were successfully placed. However, 366 students went unplaced in 2021-22, and 243 failed to secure jobs in 2022-23.
Sharing the report, Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale blamed the government for the bleak situation. “Modi has entirely stopped talking about jobs & unemployment in his Lok Sabha 2024 election speeches. This happened after his promise to ‘create 2 crore new jobs per year’ turned out to be fake. There is immense anger against Modi & BJP amongst the youth of India due to lack of jobs. This is precisely why Modi is trying to now spew hatred & divide people because his lies & incompetence have been caught. We’re facing a monster of unemployment in India thanks to Modi but he doesn’t have to courage to even utter a word on it,” he wrote on X.
Dheeraj Singh, an alumnus of IIT Kanpur and the founder of the Global IIT Alumni Support Group, who initiated the RTI application, said that approximately 22% of students at IIT Delhi remaining unplaced over the past five years is a shocking number. Singh cited reports indicating that 40% of students remain unplaced thus far in the current academic year. “The doubling of unplaced students points to precarious state of affairs in the best engineering college of the country located in national capital city where Education Ministry sits. Around 61% of the Postgraduates are still unplaced. This is an unprecedented job crisis situation our premier colleges and our young graduates are facing requiring urgent attention from the IIT Delhi officials and Ministry,” he said.
Labour economist Santosh Mehrotra echoed Singh’s concerns, and said that the 8.4% growth rate of the country is a lie. He questioned the high growth rate claims when the reality depicted by placement reports across various IITs is quite different.
“Rating agencies are trying to sell this narrative to their multinational clients for increasing their own business. Even in the organised high paying sectors, jobs are not growing,” The Hindu quoted him as saying.
Mehrotra also pointed out the inconsistent communication from IITs regarding placement statistics, suggesting a deliberate attempt to withhold unfavorable data.