PSUs queue up at B-schools
New Delhi   06-Mar-2008
Over the last five years, India's elite B-schools have made headlines with monotonous regularity about record breaking salaries and better-than-ever job offers during campus placements. The mad rush to sign up some of the best managerial talent could just be getting worse with the entry of a pack of talent hungry giants — the Indian public sector undertakings (PSUs). And students are showing stronger-than-ever inclination to listen to them. At the heart of such an interest is the diverse profiles PSUs offer unlike many of the private sector counterparts. On the other hand, with PSUs going global and having to compete with the best even on Indian turf, corporations such as NTPC, IndianOil, Rural Electrification Corporation (REC), Power Finance Corporation and Air India are picking up a sizeable number of freshly minted B-School graduates. The changing attitude amongst students is helping them make the right connect. The numbers may not be staggering, but confirm the growing interest "The public sector companies have been making around 10 offers to the students over the past few yean," says Srikrishna Swaminathan, placement coordinator, IIM-C "The interest is mutual with both students opting for diverse profiles in PSUs and the companies themselves showing a keen interest in recruiting." PSUs like REC, Air India, BPCL and IndianOil have visited the campus in recent years. Capital market regulator Sebi has been a relatively new entrant in the campus and has been aggressive at it. Former Sebi chief M Damodaran in a recent open house meeting at ET office stressed the need to have a greater connect with these top institutes. He indicated that the regulatory body has increasingly begun to look at IIMs for its requirements. While compensation is an issue for SEBL it is trying to address that, he said. 'Last year, we approached BMs with a theme that 'we don't pay you less, but we pay in deferred compensation.' In other words, a few years stint at Sebi prepares them for more lucrative jobs at McKinseys, J P Morgans of the world," he explained. Sebi hired two students from IIM-C last year and is visiting the campus this year too apart from others. Among the second-rung B-schools, it picked up five students from IMT, Ghaziabad this year. NTPC, the country's biggest power generating company, has recruited around 100 people from the DTs this year. That just indicates the huge demand for professionals who can be groomed for extremely specialised profiles. The state-run company is going to add around 22,000 MW of generation capacity in the next five years and would need 4,000-5,000 people to support its growth. Naturally, the organisation has geared up in the last three years to address the need. It has been going to campuses and giving pre-placement talks to convince people, getting associated with the institutes through annual festivals. The awareness about some of the best public sector organisations is increasing,' NTPC executive director HR G K Agarwal says. The gap in communication had built a negative perception about the growth opportunities in such companies. That is now changing for the good." IMT Ghaziabad suggests a similar trend. This year it got three recruiters from the sector—Sebi. IndianOil and PFC hiring 13 students in all, Five each for SEBI and PFC and three for IOC. PFC has hired around 10 students from similar institutes this year. "You can't just look at packages," says Sirisha Manugula, a final year student of PGDBM Finance at IMT Ghaziabad, who opted for PFC. "This organisation is into infrastructure finance which is going to be huge in the next 2-3 years. Besides, I will get to work across divisions-auditing, risk management, consultancy." She feels it will provide her with the depth to further her career. Another reason is leaner organisations allow faster growth, there are people to coach, ideas are valued more as the resource base is limited. Reaching out to the masses is also helping change options for youngsters, feel many. Says PFC CMD VK Garg: "It's a myth that public sector doesn't offer you growth and it's taking time to change. With PSUs getting listed increasingly, it will have some positive outcomes.' Consistent presence may as well help organisations to get noticed in the long run and that's what many are trying for. HM-Indore too has seen companies recruiting for summers and during finals. It got 5 PSUs hiring for summers—HPCL BPCL, IndianOil, IDBL in—while Air India and SBI Capital Markets hired during finals. This year too it has quite a few coming in for the summers and the final placement. Dr S P Parashar, director, HM-L sums it up in his words, "Job Profile is attracting students towards them as quite a few of the PSUs, particularly Navratnas, are turning market oriented, aggressive and global. Besides, competitive packages; particularly many intangible and undiscussed benefits."