Business News

Mumbai: Fresh graduates at some of India's top colleges are enduring one of their toughest placement years yet, with intake by prominent recruiters falling by more than half, according to college sources and top company officials.People said India Inc has turned cautious in fresher hiring due to lower workforce needs amid global geopolitical turmoil and macroeconomic headwinds, crimping business growth this year.While many companies halted fresher onboarding even after making final offers, some delayed issuing offer letters despite shortlisting candidates. Many candidates are also awaiting their final interviews while some candidates have been kept in the limbo after several rounds of interviews, officials and student placement coordinators at nearly half a dozen undergraduate institutes told ET.121540804For thousands of final-year students across engineering, management, and other professional courses, a supposed exciting transition from campus to corporate life has transformed into a period of deep uncertainty.Colleges such as St Xavier's College Mumbai, Jai Hind College, Fr Agnel, and St Francis Institute of Technology, among others, have seen placement percentages drop from last year.At St Xavier's, among the country's leading UG colleges, placement numbers were lower this year compared to previous years though twice as many companies visited for campus interviews."About 89 companies came to campus this year versus 40-42 last year with many mid-sized firms and startups coming for the first time. However, the hiring numbers of big recruiters were 50-70% of last year," said Radhika Tendulkar, placement in-charge at St Xavier's College. Top recruiters in the college included Accenture, DE Shaw, IDFC, Hindustan Unilever, EY, Bain, ICICI, HSBC, and Deloitte.Companies, on their part, cite a mix of recessionary trends, AI-driven disruptions, and a perceived lack of preparedness among students. Many recruiters say they now prefer candidates with at least 2-3 years of experience, seeing fresh graduates as risky hires who might quickly leave for further studies.Fr Agnel's CR College of Engineering in Bandra acknowledged the shift. In an official email, they said, "This year's placement trend has been more challenging. Profiles have shifted from wide-spectrum roles to narrow-spectrum ones. We are introducing laboratory-focused curricula, activity-based learning, and appointing professors of practice to bring industry expertise into classrooms."