MBA Class of 2021 records 100% placements, beats all odds.


IIM Calcutta’s flagship MBA program recorded 100% final placements during the placement week that concluded on 3rd March continuing its streak of placing the whole batch. 467 students took part in the process receiving more than 520 offers in three clusters comprising various cohorts. The whole placement process was conducted virtually amid the pandemic. A total of 172 firms participated in the Final Placement process. The average and median salaries rose to INR 29 Lakh and INR 27 Lakh respectively.

Continuing the trend witnessed across other top campuses, Consulting Sector emerged as the top recruiter with 149 students (32%) opting for them. Accenture Strategy and The Boston Consulting Group were the top recruiters. Kepler-Cannon and Arthur D. Little were amongst the prominent first-time recruiters from this cohort.

90 students were selected by top Investment Banking, Asset Management, Private Equity Venture Capital firms, resulting in about 19% placements. Goldman Sachs and Bank of America were the top two recruiters by number in this cohort.

The pandemic and economic slowdown impact was visible in some sectors. While Consulting and Finance roles continued to comprise roughly half the placements as seen in previous years, General Management and Marketing roles came down from 30% last year (2020) to 15% in 2021. Big names including Hindustan Unilever, Procter & Gamble, ITC, Vedanta, Adani Group and Reliance India Limited continued to hire from the campus in smaller numbers though. The cohort also witnessed new recruiting brands such as BoehringerIngelheim and Xiaomi. In yet another reflection of the economy in 2020-21 and current trends, major software services and e-commerce platforms boosted their hiring from IIM Calcutta campus. Big brands including Microsoft, Amazon, Flipkart, Paytm etc., recruited 24% (111 students) of the batch for various Product Management and FinTech roles. Navi technologies joined in as one of the first-time recruiters during Finals.

Several recruiters from manufacturing sector, power, services and government firms among others comprised the set of recruiters. The outgoing students found it an excellent finish to a year that saw several hardships during the country’s ongoing battle against the pandemic since March 2020. Vinaya Patil, a second year MBA student said, “We were really worried about final recruitment given the slowdown in the industrial activity throughout the last couple of years. Such placements for the whole batch feel surreal.” Prof. Abhishek Goel, Chairperson - CDPO expressed, “It was a tall order to get so many offers in the season while keeping the provision for multiple offers for a student. The placements at IIM Calcutta are about opportunities. The students stepped up to the challenge and the outcome is an incredible feat. I am very happy for the institute.” Prof. Prashant Mishra - Dean NIER congratulated the students and the placement team on their achievement, “I am very pleased that the students and placement team have successfully accomplished the mission while making positive changes to the system. This is the true spirit of IIM Calcutta.”

Former Director, Prof. Anju Seth said, “Achieving 100% placements in an unprecedented time such as this is a true testament to the value of the IIM Calcutta experience and I thank the recruiters for their trust. This achievement would not have been possible without the dedicated efforts of our students, placement team, faculty, officers and staff who have worked diligently to maximize the learning benefits to our students in the continuing COVID circumstances. I would like to congratulate the Placement Chair and Committee for their dedicated efforts to create new processes and efficiently conduct all processes virtually. All of us at IIMC wish the outgoing batch the very best for their new professional roles and encourage them to continue to be resilient and ready for change.”