Hyderabad: Osmania University and Jawaharlal Nehru Technical University campuses have received unusual visitors this placement season. The companies which have figured prominently in the list of recruiters of both the universities include industrial majors like Essar Steel, Indian Oil Corporation and ACC Limited. Well, one of the few IT firms that have come calling is Birla Soft this year. 

  Right at the beginning of this placement season, which started earlier this month, over 37 students from the OU Engineering College and over 30 from JNTU engineering college have got placements in non-IT companies with good salaries ranging from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 4 lakh per annum.

   Officials observed that since none of the IT companies that were once given the privilege to recruit students first, have turned up even by the end of the first semester, the non-IT companies are making a killing.
   According to placement officers, some of the recruiters surprisingly showed more interest than the previous year in recruiting students. “Some of the major industrial giants like ACC Limited recruited double the number of students when compared to the last year. The offer letters were signed and students were given joining dates, quite unlike last year when there wasn’t much clarity on joining dates,” said V Uma Maheswar, placement officer, Osmania University Engineering College. He said that more companies were lining up to recruit students in the next month.
   Kicking off a new trend in a hitherto IT driven state, students from mechanical, chemical, civil, electronics and electrical streams are being picked up like hot cakes, said university officials.
   JNTU officials observed that this year c o m p a n i e s which used to recruit through all India entrance tests are now approaching the university to recruit students directly.
   “Companies like Indian Oil Corporation are no longer recruiting from Indian Institute of Technologies (IITs) and National Institute of Technologies (NITs) alone. They are interested in talent from some of the leading state universities as well,” said K Eswara Prasad, officer in-charge, training and placement, JNTU. He added that some companies have knocked on their campus doors after a long time. The university authorities are expecting more public sector enterprises like NTPC Limited to come for recruitments.
   “These companies have a consistent need for staff and they pay a good salary. The future of students is safe in their hands as many of them follow the government of India’s recruitment rules,” Prasad said. He said that the students are more than willing to join these companies because of the attractive pay package they offer. The core companies’ pay package matches that of some of the IT giants where a B Tech graduate is recruited for a salary of Rs 3.5 lakh per annum and an M Tech graduate for Rs 4 lakh per annum.