Godrej, Infosys, Mahindra debut at IRMA placement

Amul is the largest recruiter, picks up 17 candidates

In what could hint at better tidings as far as placements are concerned, the Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA) saw some of the major corporate biggies debuting this year during placement season.

Among the first time recruiters included Godrej Agrovet, Infosys Agri Business, Mahindra Agri Business and organic cotton project of Arvind Ltd. at the final placement process at IRMA which saw 100 per cent successful placements.

About 50 organizations from sectors as varied as dairy, finance, rural livelihoods and agribusiness came up with over 200 job offers for IRMA's flagship post graduate programme in rural management (PRM) batch of 97 candidates.

Apart from corporates, state rural livelihood programs also made their debut from states like Maharashtra and Orissa.

"The placement season was not only successful due to 100 per cent recruitment but also due to first timers like corporates and state rural livelihood programs," said RK Saxena, placement officer at IRMA.

Other prominent recruiters this year included Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society (BRLPS), Kudumbashree (State Poverty Eradication Mission, Kerala), Yes Bank, Magma Fincorp, and Kancor Ingredients.

Of these, the largest recruiter was GCMMF which picked up 17 candidates, followed by Bihar Rural Livelihood program which recruited 11 candidates.

Different rural development agencies of Governments of Bihar, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra together have employed almost 30 percent of the whole batch. The co-operatives and other associated organizations have employed another close to 25 percent students of the batch. The other prominent employing sectors include finance (20 per cent) and agribusiness (10 per cent).

However, both the highest and average compensation package marginally declined this year during placements. As against the highest salary of Rs 14.8 lakhs per annum last year, this year the highest package stood at Rs 13.5 lakhs per annum, while the average package declined from last year's Rs 8 lakhs per annum to Rs 7 lakhs per annum this year.

"The packages saw a decline due to more number of rural livelihood programs picking up students at salaries that could not be matched with the corporates," Saxena added.

Meanwhile, a relatively large number of students this year showed a preference for the hard core rural development sector reflecting their moral dedication in a major way, which lies at the heart of IRMA’s rationale.