Salary packages for India's management graduates are touching unprecedented heights.

Close on the heels of Indian Institute of Management graduates getting record salary deals, the Hyderabad-based Indian School of Business on Wednesday reported the highest international annual package of $233,800 (Rs 1.04 crore) for one of its students.

The ISB set a record with placements touching new highs for the Class of 2006. Four of its graduates have bagged offers that have broken the $200,000 mark.

"Surprisingly, the highest international salary has been offered by an Indian technology company," ISB Deputy Dean Ajit Rangnekar said. He, however, declined to divulge the name of both the company and the student who has bagged the deal.

"India is becoming the preferred location for our MBA students as this is where all the action is", he said adding "in the next five years there is going to be a reverse brain drain with most MBAs choosing the home turf to International offers."

Talking about the trend in placements for this year, Rangnekar said, "It is the Indian companies that have raised the bar significantly, offering international salaries to our students."

The average international salary for ISB students stood at Rs 53.5 lakh (Rs 5.35 million), up 21 per cent over 2005, while the average Indian salary was Rs 11.77 lakh (Rs 1.177 million), 18 per cent more than last year.

"The highest Indian salary of Rs 30.33 lakh (Rs 3.033 million), came from the Indian company HiTech," Rangnekar said.

The ISB Class of 2006 has 345 students, of which 328 participated in the placements process and over 145 companies visited the ISB for recruitments this year.

The year also saw some new names like EDS, Tishman Spier, and others recruiting for the first time in India and at the ISB.

Rangnekar said, "The placement results for 2006 have been extraordinary, surpassing all past performances. A total of 425 offers were made to our students recording a jump of 21 per cent over last year. Strikingly, it is the Indian companies who have raised the bar significantly offering international salaries to our students."

Women make their mark

Women students in the Class of 2006 represented 19 per cent of the total class this year. The highest offer made to a woman this year is $223,400 (Rs 1.01 crore). The top domestic offer for women students is Rs 20 lakh (Rs million), while the average salary is Rs 9.89 lakh (Rs 989,000).

What is significant is the fact that of the four students who bagged the $ 200,000-plus salary offers, two are women, who have been offered global leadership positions.

Students opt for India

Indian companies raised the bar significantly making exciting job offers to the ISB students both in terms of salary and job profiles.

An increased number of students have chosen to opt for domestic offers over international offers. Yashraj Erande, Class of 2006, said, "I was offered a very interesting job by a US based technology company. But I knew I wanted to be closer home, working in the increasingly challenging and versatile business environment, and hence I chose a job offer which gave me a chance to play a pivotal role in India."

Media emerges as a hot sector

While the regular recruiting companies -- consulting, IT, FMCG, and banking and financial services, etc -- elicited a lot of enthusiasm from the participating students, media companies for the first time made a mark at the ISB this year. Several ISB students opted for jobs with various media companies including ABP, GBN, and RPG Saregama.

Career shifts

Several cases of students who came to the ISB looking for a change in their career after several years of work experience.

A student who after several years of owning a detective agency has been offered a vice president-international marketing position of a leading healthcare company; an Indian Navy serviceman of several years has also now opted for a job in the healthcare services sector.

It's not all about money

More than 30 students at the ISB have declined high salary packages in their quest for taking up jobs that find the 'best fit' for them. Many students declined lucrative offers and chose better job profiles. Differentials ranged from Rs 3 lakh (Rs 300,000) and went up to about Rs 26 lakh (Rs 2.6 million) depending upon a domestic or an international posting.

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