Despite a strong start to the season more than four months ago with a flurry of high-profile offers, final placements for the Class of 2025 at the older Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are probably going to witness only a little increase in the number of students placed over the previous year, The Economic Times reports.

The first round of placements at the IITs in Delhi, Bombay (Mumbai), Kanpur, Madras (Chennai), Kharagpur, Roorkee, Guwahati, and Varanasi (BHU) for the 2024–25 batch got off to a great start.

Campuses were also optimistic that they would place a lot more students than they did in 2023-24, when placements suffered greatly. Since then, amid general uncertainties, that confidence has somewhat dampened.

Institutes are now boosting efforts to bring in more companies, including first-timers, and using alumni networks, while also urging students to seek off-campus prospects as the season draws to an end soon.

For the IITs, the placement season concludes in May or June.

Last year, the placement session in IITs was challenging, marking a marking a subdued season compared to the boom years of 2021-22.

Major tech giants, including Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta, reduced campus hiring by 30-50 per cent compared to previous years, and students reported delayed joining dates and even revoked Pre-Placement Offers (PPOs) from internships.