In a striking contrast to the global economic slowdown, India's premier business schools are witnessing a hiring boom, particularly from consulting and finance giants. Leading Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) report a significant surge in job offers and compensation for their graduating students, fueled by the country's expanding role in strategic, AI-driven global projects.
Consulting and Finance Lead the Recruitment Charge
The final placement season for the 2026 batch has begun on a remarkably strong note. IIM Kozhikode has already placed 492 out of 594 students, showcasing robust demand. The institute's director, Debashis Chatterjee, highlighted a dramatic increase in offers from key sectors. Consulting roles have jumped by nearly 60%, while finance offers have risen by about 10% compared to previous years.
This resurgence is notable given that the global consulting sector faced headwinds, with reports like McKinsey retrenching 200 roles due to AI-led automation as recently as November 2025. However, India's story is different. Himanshu Rai, Director of IIM Indore, attributes this to firms deepening their presence in India, with Global Capability Centres and India offices taking on more end-to-end, analytics-driven work.
Major players like Bain & Company, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), McKinsey & Company, Accenture, and investment firms General Atlantic and Temasek Holdings are aggressively recruiting from campuses. Their needs are increasingly specific and oriented towards future technologies.
Higher Salaries and Strategic Shifts
The demand for talent is translating into better pay packages. Placement heads at IIMs note a 10-12% increase in the median compensation offered by consulting and finance firms. For older IIMs, median packages often range between ₹30-35 lakh.
Prabhav Kashyap, a partner at Bain, emphasized India's priority status, stating the firm is committed to investing in local teams to support its growth strategy. The confidence in talent from IIMs remains high, seen as integral for building future-ready teams.
Accenture's hiring spree mirrors a broader industry shift. In the 12 months through August 2025, Accenture secured $4.78 billion in new AI-related business, a figure that surpassed the combined incremental revenue of India's 15 largest IT services firms in FY25. Similarly, Temasek's India portfolio hit a record $50 billion in assets under management by July 2025, underscoring the market's importance.
Summer Internships Signal Strong Future Demand
The hunger for management talent was evident even earlier during summer internship placements for the batch of 2027. At IIM Bangalore, management consulting alone accounted for 46% of all summer internship offers. Accenture Strategy made a staggering 132 offers, followed by BCG (24), Bain (18), and McKinsey (13).
These internships often lead to Pre-Placement Offers (PPOs), a preferred route for both companies and students. IIM Kozhikode reported an approximately 40% increase in PPOs for the 2026 batch compared to the previous one. A McKinsey spokesperson revealed that nearly 80% of its hiring over the past three years has come from leading business and undergraduate schools, reinforcing campuses as a critical talent pipeline.
Placement committees are optimistic. Viswanath Pingali, chairperson of the placement committee at IIM Ahmedabad, noted the market looks "a tad better" than past years, with strong continued participation from finance and consulting firms. IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, and Calcutta are set to begin final placements in late January or early February 2026.
This trend stands in stark relief against a backdrop of global uncertainties and contrasts with the engineering placement landscape, where at IITs, AI profiles attracted a different set of recruiters including high-frequency traders, agentic AI firms, and tech giants like Tesla and Nvidia.
