India, March 28 -- Placements of Bachelor of Technology graduates dropped in 2023-24 compared to 2021-22 at 22 out of the 23 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), barring IIT (BHU). IIT Dharwad recorded the sharpest drop of nearly 25 percentage points and IIT Kharagpur the smallest (2.88 percentage points), according to the data the Union education ministry shared with the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth, and Sports. The drop was over 10 percentage points at 15 IITs.

In its report on the department of higher education's demand for grants 2025-26 tabled in Parliament on Wednesday, the Congress lawmaker Digvijaya Singh-led committee noted an "unusual decline" in placements at IITs and Indian Institut...