IIM-C interns bag Rs 12.5 lakhs stipend for two months

NEW DELHI: Three IIM-Calcutta students have received stipends of Rs 12.5 lakh each for a two-month internship with a Singapore investment bank, indicating revival in global corporate deal activity and holding out hope for a good final placement season in Indian business schools.

Last year, just one student from the institute had received an identical stipend, the first time such a high amount was paid to students of Indian Institutes of Management, the country’s premier management institutions. He, too, had interned with an investment bank in Hong Kong.

The financial crisis, had forced some big financial groups like Lehman Brothers to declare bankruptcy and slowed down hiring in the sector in 2008-09.

This year, though, with the economy turning the corner, hiring and salaries look a lot more promising. The number of students receiving seven-figure stipends at IIM-C has shot up to 15, while just three students were paid over Rs 10 lakh last year. Stipends include the amount paid for services, airfare and accommodation.

The other IIMs did not disclose information regarding summer internship stipends, but the amount paid to students across IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Calcutta are in the same bracket, with a 10-20% difference at the higher end, said an official who did not wish to be named. Summer internship stipends in India usually range from Rs 20,000-30,000 for two months.

Among the three IIM-C students is a biotech graduate from IIT-Madras. “I was keen to work with an investment bank because of my earlier exposure to the finance domain,” he said, but did not wish to be named. He had earlier worked with IT company Headstrong in Noida for two years.

The 26-year-old student has also received a pre-placement offer from the same i-bank he interned with. If he accepts the offer, his salary could be anywhere between Rs 70 lakh and Rs 80 lakh per year. He has also cleared two levels of the CFA and is writing a book. He plans to invest the internship money in the stock market.

The initial feedback from companies post-summer internships is promising, says Amit Dhiman, placement chairperson at IIM-C. “We hope the placements are better than the past two years. But at the same time, we can’t ignore the current economic scenario in Europe and the US. It is to be seen how things shape up in the next few months,” he said.

Of the 289 IIM-C students, 60 interned in locations such as South-East Asia, US, UK and mainland Europe. Up to 42% of students interned in finance-related roles, while 37% opted for marketing, 13% for consulting and the remaining for general management roles.

Most of the international internship offers come from multinationals such as Barclays, Morgan Stanley, Macquarie, UBS, Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, AT Kearney, BCG, Bain & Co, Arthur D Little, HSBC Global, JP Morgan Chase, P&G, Nokia and Unilever.