IITs blacklist 7 startups from campus recruitment; Flipkart escapes ban

The All-IITs Placement Committee (AIPC), the body that represents the placement cell heads across IITs, has decided to blacklist seven startups that withdrew job offers to students this year. Flipkart, that initially delayed the appointments, offered an alternative option to place the recruits as interns in other startups to save its face from the stern action by the committee.

The names of the seven startups, banned from participating in the IIT placement drive (2016-17) that starts on December 1, were not disclosed, reports The New Indian Express.

"We had a lengthy discussion and felt the offer was made in good faith. So, we gave the firm another chance," Babu Viswanathan, placement advisor at IIT Madras, was quoted as saying by the publication. The e-commerce giant tweaked its initial proposal to offer a paid internship of Rs 50,000 per month to all the recruits with initial accommodation and signing bonus. IITs had rejected Flipkart's earlier offer of Rs 1.5 lakh signing bonus for delaying the appointments.

While the offer was made verbally, the placement committee is waiting for an official, written confirmation of the same.

The blacklisted startups can get access to the placement drive in the upcoming placement season if they can offer a satisfactory explanation for the delay and clarify their future course of action, the report said.

The committee has divided the startups into ones that delayed appointments, startups that want to appoint students for a lesser package and the ones that have withdrawn the offers.

In addition to Flipkart, hyperlocal on-demand logistics startup RoadRunnr and technology solutions company Click Labs were grouped in the first category. RoadRunnr has promised to appoint the students by September 30 while Click Labs is given a week's notice to respond.

According to Viswanathan, startups in the second category that want to appoint students for a lesser pay, will also face similar action if they fail to on-board the students at the originally promised package.

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