Japan, Taiwan, Middle East top international job offers at IIT-Kharagpur, US-Europe far behind
Times of India | 21 January 2026
KOLKATA: The bulk of international job offers at IIT Kharagpur since the 2023-24 placement season have come from Japan, Taiwan and the Middle East, leaving the US and Europe far behind.
Also, domestic offers ranging between Rs 1 crore and Rs 2 crore per annum were an interesting hiring trend this placement season, challenging the perception that only international offers bring top-notch salaries.
There are five domestic offers with annual salaries above Rs 2 crore.
The highest pay package at the institute this year is around Rs 2.5 crore per annum, which is a domestic offer. The highest international offer so far is Rs 1.4 crore per annum.
“We are seeing that the top offers are domestic, a trend that is contrary to the perception that high pay packages are limited to international offers. Among the 15 international offers, two students bagged jobs with salaries above Rs 1 crore per annum. The year’s highest pay package — around Rs 2.5 crore per annum — is a domestic offer,” said Sanjay Gupta, chairperson, Career Development Centre, IIT Kharagpur.
The institute received 1,501 offers, of which 15 are from abroad, at the end of Phase 1 of the 2025-26 placement season. Among the 15 international offers, 10 are from Japan, two are from Dubai and one each is from London, Europe and Singapore. There were no offers from the US.
In the 2024-25 placement season, 17 offers were from Japan, two offers were from Taiwan, two were from the UAE and one each was from the Netherlands and the UK.
In 2023-24, there was only one offer from the US. “As many as 18 offers were from Japan, followed by 14 from Oman and three each from Riyadh and Taiwan,” a source at the institute said. turn
A campus insider said, “The economic axis is shifting towards the East due to geopolitical reasons. The uncertainty over US visa and global economic pressure also prompted companies to change their hiring strategy. Now, companies have multiple offices. If there is trouble in one region, they are hiring for the next best location like Singapore, Dubai, Japan and Europe. Since getting a US visa is tougher, most entry-level jobs moved to India as well.”
As for the surge in domestic offers with eye-popping salaries, an official said, “Recent hiring trends suggest that MNCs seem to prefer getting their work done irrespective of geographical locations. One of the leading market-making firms offered five jobs with packages more than Rs 2 crore per annum. All of them are based in India.”
Many prominent companies are building teams in India, tapping Indian STEM talent, he said. “At least nine students bagged domestic offers above Rs 1 crore per annum. More than 100 students received domestic pay packages between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore.”
Speaking about the general trend in the first phase of the current placement season, another campus source said more than 1,200 students secured jobs with pay packages between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 45 lakh per annum, especially in the core engineering sector.
“A record number of undergraduate and MTech students secured quality offers during Phase 1. Six PhD students and four MS (research) students also received lucrative packages at R&D firms. Two of the PhD students got offers from Japan,” the source said.
The second phase of placement at the institute has started.