As Sidharth Sinha, chairman, Placement Committee, IIM Ahmedabad, said in his address to the recruiters for 1999 placements, IIMA has developed leaders, rather than mere business professionals, with the vision to shape the future of the Indian economy and business environment.

The fact that IIMA alumni serve in key positions in top organisations both in India and abroad, with more than 40 of India's top companies being headed by IIMA alumni, also explains why the institute is so important in the placement scene.

In fact, the focus this year is clearly on international recruitment with Sinha reiterating that last year, 19 per cent of the batch accepted overseas placements, andIIMA increasingly serving as a pool of business and managerial talent for international organisations such as Lehman Brothers, Deutsche Morgan Grenfell and the Mitchell Madison Group.

Elaborating on the placement schedule, Shivram Apte, coordinator for international placements, IIMA, says: ``The recruitment week on the campus begins on March 1. So, the interviews will take place from March 1 to 10.'' However, he adds, companies are already visiting the campus and making pre-placement presentations. The presentations will carry on until February 15.

On the companies showing interest in IIMA students, Apte says: ``Almost all the companies that participated in the process last year are participating again this year.'' The batch of 1998 placements saw 72 recruiters visiting the campus. Among the prominent recruiters were ABN Amro Bank, McKinsey & Co, Ernst & Young, A F Ferguson, Godrej Agrovet, Microland, Anderson, Mitchell Madison, Godrej GE, Mahindra & Mahindra, ANZ Grindlays, Godrej Soaps, Mitsubishi,Asian Paints, HCL, Modi Xerox, A T Kearney, Heinz, Monsanto, A V Birla Group, Hero Honda, Nestle, AVCO, Hindustan Lever, Bank of America, Hongkong Bank, Pepsico Holdings, Booz Allen & Hamilton, Price Waterhouse, Boston Consulting, Procter & Gamble, Cargill, Citibank, ICICI, Reuters, Stanchart, SmithKline Beecham, Colgate-Palmolive, Infosys Technologies and Deustche Morgan.

Apart from these companies, says Apte, there are a number of new companies coming in for the first time. He adds: ``A good number of these new companies are MNCs and are offering placements abroad.''

As there is a strong preference this year for careers in Consulting and IT, apart from the Finance and Marketing streams, the placement committee has managed to contact many new Consulting and IT companies and ask them to participate in IIMA Campus Placements '99, states Apte.

``We expect Consulting to be the sector offering the largest number of jobs on campus this year, followed closely by Information Technology and Marketing,'' saysApte. Last year, the largest sector was Finance, followed by Consulting, and then Marketing. If an industry-wise analysis of the job acceptances is done, Information Technology was the favourite destination followed by Consultancy in 1998.

Apte says: ``This year, we expect some increase in the packages. Needless to say, the increase will be different for each company.'' The highest salary last year (March 1998) was approximately Rs 44 lakh per annum for a New York posting (including the sign-on bonus). The highest Indian salaries were in the region of Rs 8 lakh per annum. The average salary last year (including rupee and US$ salaries) was about Rs 7.5 lakh per annum.

Apte says: ``We are expecting the jump primarily in the dollar salaries of the students placed abroad. The reason is that 1998 was the year when a number of international companies came to the campus for the first time.''

He adds: ``Now that the calibre of IIMA students has been proven within such companies, they are offering compensationpackages that are in line with the packages they offer to MBAs from US and European B-schools.''

Another significant aspect emerging out of the recent placements is that consulting companies abroad are now hiring IIMA graduates at the associate or consultant level, like they do for MBAs from American B-Schools. This is a departure from the set norm that Indian MBAs were hired at a junior associate or junior consultant level--one level below the US MBAs. Says Apte: ``We are glad to see this trend change.''

Even as the enthusiasm for international placements is heartening, the Indian job scene remains a grey area. And it is to be seen if Indian companies have anything handsome with which to woo the smartest B-school grads.