IIT graduates reject Oracle’s 1.31 crore to settle for lakhs

Two 21-year-old, soon-to-graduate IIT Kanpur engineers stunned tech major Oracle by turning down offers of Rs1.31 crore ($210,000) each, a top person involved in the process told ET. Both have opted for other companies that offered lesser pay, but gave roles the students liked better.

They may have opted for Google, which offered Rs68.34 lakh ($110,000), or Tower Research Capital, a US-based financial services firm, which rolled out a package of Rs74.55 lakh ($120,000). "This just shows that not everyone is running after money," a placement team member, who did not wish to be named, said.

"These students are mature; they know money does not reflect everything." The rapidly unfolding drama on Day 2 of the campus placement season at IITs threw more surprises. Zomato, an online food and restaurant listings startup, offered the highest salary on Day 2 at IIT Bombay, more than what marquee brands, including Samsung India R&D, Citicorp, Xerox  Research, Adobe and American Express, were willing to pay.

Zomato hired four students from IITDelhi and Bombay at a uniform package of Rs26 lakh each. Forty-one companies were present at IIT-Bombay. On Monday, ET had reported that Oracle had made crore-plus offers at IIT-Madras.