Look beyond IIT!

We all always hear and read about how IIT students bag these huge salary packets. Thus one had to do a double take and read again the news that it was not IIT but four students of IIFT that have bagged placement offers of more than Rs. 1 crore annually this year (2015-16) — a jump of 36% when compared to last year.

Most of us do not even know what IIFT stands for – it is for Indian Institute of Foreign Trade. For most us in the dark – this is an autonomous  public business school established in 1963 by the Govt of India under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Its graduates help the country manage its foreign trade and boost exports.  For this exam held in Nov 2015, for 270 seats, some 47,000 students appeared for the exams. 1508 candidates were shortlisted for final admission round of Essay Writing, Group discussion and Interview, making it one of the toughest B-school admission processes in India.

Wow! Did we even know of all this? Why this obsession for IIT when there are so many more lucrative and equally prestigious qualifications abound in India? Hope this salary package prompts more students to opt for a career in foreign trade.