The Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, keeps bettering itself each year.

Figures sourced from the IIMC placement cell reveal that 32 top investment banks and consultants are recruiting for summer jobs this year at the premier B-school.

"I am happy I chose IIMC over other B-schools as it is obvious that the corporate world recognises it as the best Indian business school and this -- combined with the global alumni base -- has given me a wonderful opportunity to shine in any part of the globe. MBA students with work experience in India are being treated at par with the students abroad by top international investment banks. This is testimony to the fact that Indian managers have swept the world by their excellent performance," says Amit Chaudhary, a first-year student at IIM Calcutta, who was offered an Associate profile by Barclays Capital.

The faith of global players in Indian managerial talent is evident yet again as international companies make a beeline for students at IIM Calcutta for summer placements.

IIM Calcutta: A global brand

The premier IIM recruitment slot -- popularly called 'Slot 0' -- saw 32 firms hiring 96 students for internships at various locations around the world. The number of firms recruiting in Slot 0 is an all-time high at any IIM and is an almost 200 per cent increase over last year, said an IIM statement.

Also with a record number of students accepting jobs in Slot 0, out of over 130 offers made, close to one-third of the batch was placed on the first day itself. This is almost twice the number of students placed in Slot 0 last year.

These students will be based across global locations that include financial capitals like New York, London, Singapore and Hong Kong. Wall Street (New York), the Mecca of high finance, and London will see more than 40 IIM-Cians work with graduates from Harvard, Wharton, Kellogg and other global B-schools during the summer.

Investment banking

"If you take the top 10 investment banks of the world on any parameter, IIM Calcutta attracts the maximum number of investment bankers across Asia, reaffirming its numero uno status in the finance discipline. Morgan Stanley International, recruiting for its London office, chose IIM Calcutta as its exclusive recruitment destination outside of US Ivy League B-schools. It selected eight students for roles in equity and fixed income markets. Credit Suisse and Fortis (Fortune No. 2 in revenues) also recruited exclusively from IIM C," says Prashanth Swaminathan, recruitment coordinator at IIM C.

Merrill Lynch was the biggest recruiter, selecting 12 students, while Goldman Sachs, the world's leading investment bank, debuted at IIM Calcutta recruiting for its capital markets and investment banking divisions, based out of London.

Other investment banks that recruited for international positions include Lehman Brothers, Barclays Capital, UBS, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, HSBC, Citigroup and ABN AMRO. Of these, Lehman Brothers and JP Morgan stood apart making 10 offers each.

The profiles offered included structuring, sales and research roles related to various debt and equity market products such as equity portfolios, asset-backed securities and exotic derivatives, to name a few.

"To put it in perspective, private equity players like General Atlantic, Barings Private Equity (Singapore) and Tano Capital, that prefer recruiting laterally from investment banks, participated exclusively at IIM Calcutta," says Ritesh Kapur, another recruitment coordinator.

Consulting

This year consulting firms recruited heavily from IIM Calcutta, with McKinsey and Co, Value Partners (one of the top European consulting firms) and AT Kearney, kicking off their summer recruitment programme in India from IIM-C, apart from The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), which began its programme last year.

McKinsey the global leader in strategic consulting made six offers, with three of them being positions in New York. AT Kearney and BCG picked up three students each.

Other highlights

Johnson Electric, the global leader in motors for automotive and commercial markets, recruited exclusively at IIM Calcutta hiring three students. Bloomberg, which powers international banking platforms, hired for positions in New York. Other firms that made offers to IIMC students were Hay Group, one of the world's top HR consulting firms.

The placements that followed the Slot 0 bumper witnessed participation of reputed Indian firms like Hindustan Lever [Get Quote] Limited, Proctor & Gamble, Microsoft, Kotak Investment Banking, Bank of America, Citibank, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Nokia, ITC, Johnson & Johnson, Nestle [Get Quote], Cadbury's, et cetera. Some first-timers include MH Alshaya, Calyon Bank (French Investment Bank) and Feedback Ventures.

Salaries offered

Intern stipends varied, depending on the location and job roles offered. For interns based in India, stipends for the two-month stint would be in the range of Rs 90,000 to Rs 450,000. International stipends ranged from $12,000 to $22,000.

"Companies have always valued the well-rounded training that students get at IIMC, balancing theory and analysis with practical tools and real world cases. It really pleased me when new international recruiters recognised IIMC as a global brand when initially approached. We are very pleased with the placement process and the offers that our students have received. This year, IIMC has seen an unprecedented number of companies on campus, in fact, to accommodate them all; we had to construct a temporary structure with AC rooms where the interviews were conducted," says Prof S D Moitra, chairperson, Placement Committee, IIM Calcutta.

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