Data from 14 of the 23 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) reveal a clear rebound in BTech placement percentages in 2024-25 compared to the previous year’s sharp decline.

Three-fourths of these institutes (11 out of 14) recorded higher placement rates this year. However, across all 14 IITs, the 2024-25 figures remain below the high levels achieved in 2021-22, according to a report by The Indian Express.

The latest numbers were obtained through Right to Information (RTI) applications, while earlier data (2021-22 to 2023-24) were cited in a March 2025 report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports.

2023-24 was the “unusual decline” year

The parliamentary panel, chaired by Digvijaya Singh, had flagged that more than half the IITs suffered a drop of over 10 percentage points in 2023-24 compared to 2021-22, describing the fall across all but one IIT as an “unusual decline”.

2024-25 shows improvement, yet below pre-slump levels

- In 2021-22, 13 of these 14 IITs had placement rates above 90%.

- In 2024-25, only IIT Mandi (95%), IIT Goa, and IIT Bhubaneswar (90%) crossed or touched 90%.

- Lowest this year: IIT Guwahati (75.65%) and IIT Bhilai (78%).

Why the numbers are still lower than 2021-22

IIT Directors point to several factors:

- Many students are opting for start-ups, higher studies, or jobs secured outside the official placement process — these are not counted in institute statistics.

- Rising batch sizes: 13 of the 14 IITs saw more students registering for placements this year than in 2023-24.

- Example: IIT Delhi: 707 (2021-22) → 938 (2023-24) → 987 (2024-25)

- IIT Ropar: 252 → 292 → 321

Shift from IT boom to core and manufacturing jobs

Directors note a changing job landscape, “Earlier, there was a high demand in IT, and everybody, even students who had done civil engineering, wanted to get into the IT sector. Now, core branches and manufacturing are picking up,” said Prof Rajeev Ahuja, Director IIT Ropar to The Indian Express.

He added: “Student perception is changing…stability is becoming important. Looking at the situation in the US, students are also realizing…manufacturing is a more stable sector. In IT, there’s a boom, and ups and downs.”

Despite the shift, software and IT still dominate offers:

- IIT Guwahati (2024-25): Software 45%, Core engineering 17%

- IIT Mandi (2024-25): IT/Software 66%, Core technical 16%

Prof Rangan Banerjee, Director, IIT Delhi, said, “Job offers have been growing, but the number of students sitting for placements has also been growing… There was a blip in the year before, and that has sort of been restored. Some of it is also about institutions making efforts. We’re trying to reach out more, and get more companies," as per The Indian Express report.