CHENNAI: Coming as a major relief, the deadlock between IITs and e-tailor major Flipkart has been resolved. The All-IITs Placement Committee (AIPC), which met in Mumbai on Friday had decided not to initiate action against the Flipkart after it has made a ‘satisfactory’ offer.
Flipkart promised to give paid internship of Rs 50,000 per month with initial accommodation along with joining bonus, which is subject of approval of the company board.
An AIPC member said the e-tailer has only made an verbal offer and said it will send a written communication within a week. The placements apex body was happy with the efforts made by Flipkart and choose to accept the proposal.
Meanwhile, 6-7 companies which have withdrawn the job offers have been blacklisted and another 5 companies that have agreed to onboard the students with reduced pay package have been given a week’s time to honor the original offer failing which they too may face a ban, AIPC concluded.
"The AIPC will give an opportunity for the blacklisted firms to explain their actions. If they come out with a satisfactory reply the ban will be revoked only in the following year 2017-18,” Babu Vishwanathan, Training and Placement Advisor, IIT Madras told Express soon after the AIPC meeting.
In the new offer, Flipkart has promised to give paid internship of Rs 50,000 per month to all the recruits with initial accommodation and signing bonus. Earlier, Flipkart offered to pay Rs 1.5 lakh as signing bonus for deferring the joining date from June to December, which the IITs termed as unacceptable.
“What we heard from Flipkart was only an oral offer. The company said it would make a formal offer in a couple of days. On signing bonus, representatives of the company said they have to consult the board. The actual terms and conditions of the new offer will be known only after written communication,” Vishwanathan said.
The apex placement committee had divided the start-ups that have trouble with IITs into three categories. First is companies that have deferred appointments and the second category is those firms willing to take on board students for a lesser pay and the third category is companies which have withdrawn the offers.
AIPC has blacklisted seven companies falling in third category and the axe is looming large on five other start-ups, now put on a week’s notice within which they have to honour the original terms and conditions of the offer.
In the first category along with Flipkart, there are two other firms, Road Runnr and Click Labs. Road Runnr has come forward to take on board the students by September 30, which IITs didn’t see as a major problem. Click Labs has also been given a week’s time to respond.
Even though there was some consensus, AIPC has said the individual IIT placement cells could allow students to consider alternative job offers. “It’s is left to the discretion of the students to choose alternative job offers, if they find interesting and suitable enough. Some good companies have already shown interest,” an AIPC member said.
Start-ups still on premium list:
Initially AIPC was considering blocking start-ups from occupying premium slots like Day 1 and Day 2. However, the committee chose not to intervene since the premium slots are student driven.
Year No. of startups No. of offers Accepted
2015-16 97 285 253
2014-15 45 125 118