B-schools across the country are seeing a tremendous run in placements season this year. The year began with increased salaries seen during the final placements, including IIM Ahmedabad's 20+ lakh per annum average salary. On the back of this, the summer placements have started on an extremely positive note. The B-schools are now having a problem of abundance as many companies are having to go back empty handed. Why? The B-school students are all taken within a day or two of the beginning of the season! This has been the situation at many top B-schools – MDI, IIFT, XLRI, IIM Kozhikode to name a few. 

 Consulting firms and investment banks are leading the pack while the e-commerce companies are giving them a stiff competition. Across campuses, in the ecommerce and startup space, those making offers included Amazon, Snapdeal, Hector Beverages, OYO Rooms, Homeland, Ziffi and Shop-Clues. International recruiters included the WTO and OECD.

 The average stipend offered has grown by about 30-50% at the B-schools. JP Morgan Chase hiked its stipend to INR 5 lakh for the two-month period at XLRI, a 40% increment over previous year. Morgan Stanley offered INR 4 lakh at FMS, while BCG and Reckitt Benckiser offered around 3 lakh per annum at these campuses.

 Along with the encouraging uptrend in the stipends, the companies are also making more offers. BCG, Microsoft, RPG, American Express, JP Morgan Chase, Deutsche Bank, Accenture Strategy, Asian Paints, HUL are a few companies that offered more internships compared to previous year.

 Another trend which started off last year and is set to continue this season is the increase in number of Pre-Placement Offers. The BCG group spokesperson believes it is a win-win situation for both the student and the company as they can gauge each other. Around 80% of their summer interns were offered pre-placement offers by the firm last year.