The premier Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) expect a 25 to 50 per cent increase in pre-placement offers (PPOs) this academic year. This, even as other prominent B-schools anticipate a 25 to 30 per cent drop in placements this academic year.

The IIM PPO process begins every July and goes on till final placements conclude in February. This academic year, too, the offers came from prominent investment banks and consulting firms.

IIM-Calcutta (IIM-C), for instance, has received 33 pre-placement offers (including 15 international offers) so far, and expects the numbers to go up by 25 per cent over last year, when it received 90 PPOs. So far, most of the renowned global consulting giants including McKinsey & Co, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers, J P Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Barclays Bank have offered PPOs to students at the institute.

"I don't think the economic slowdown will have any impact on the best B-schools in the country. The final placements, too, will be smooth," said Prafulla Agnihotri, professor in marketing, and chairman (career development and placement), IIM Calcutta.

IIM-Indore has so far received 21 PPOs and expects the numbers to jump 50 per cent. Last year the institute received around 63 PPOs. "The 2009 batch, which underwent summer internship this year, is more experienced than the previous batch," said a placement committee member at IIM Indore.

IIM-Kozhikode, on the other hand, has received 17 PPOs so far and expects the offers to go up to around 90 this year. Consumer goods companies like HUL, Coke and ITC, and financial firms like Citibank and JP Morgan have already committed themselves to the institute.

IIM-Bangalore did not disclose the number of PPOs it has received so far, but said it expected a good increase owing to the tremendous rise in the number of companies that visited its campus every year. IIM-Ahmedabad, on the other hand, did not wish to disclose the number of PPOs it has received.

Compared to last year's figures, though, the initial figures indicate a dip in the growth percentage. "Even if the PPOs remain at the same level as last year, we would be happy. Considering that most international recruiters are from the banking and financial sectors (hit by the US sub-prime crisis), we do not expect an enthusiastic response even at the final placement stage," said a prominent IIM official, who did not wish to be identified.

Nevertheless, the IIMs have decided to pull up their socks and are looking at hosting new companies on campus. Many institutes have decided to invite more diverse firms such as smaller private equity players and wealth management firms. Unlike most years, the Banking and Financial Services (BFSI) sector is not expected to be the best performer on campus this year.

The FMCG, trading and services sectors might take the lead instead. "We know the US economy is going through a rough phase. We have told our students that consulting and investment banking is not the only option one should look at. They should also look at marketing," adds Agnihotri of IIM-C.