New Delhi/Bangalore: Average salaries for domestic jobs offered to the graduating batch of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) dropped 32% from last year, to Rs12.17 lakh a year, mirroring the impact of a slowdown in India’s economy, promising a tougher year ahead and heralding a very difficult time for students graduating from lesser known business schools.

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The placement process, itself, lasted nine days, according to a statement from IIM-A, considered by many to be the country’s best—this could well be the longest placement season in the school’s recent history.

Salaries at top B-schools, such as IIM-A, rose on the back of a global and local economic boom.

For instance, average salaries for jobs in India offered to students of IIM-A’s Class of 2008 rose 30%, from Rs13.7 lakh in 2007 to Rs17.85 lakh in 2008.

This year, the average salary for international jobs at IIM-A dropped 30%, from $119,000 (nearly Rs62 lakh today) to $83,000.

First-time recruiters at IIM-A included Jaypee Capital Ltd, which hired 12, Union Bank of India, which made 18 offers, and Unicon Securities Pvt. Ltd, which made 12.

Meanwhile, the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore said it expects to place students yet to find jobs in the next few days.

And the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta said 25 students out of a batch of 260 were yet to find jobs, but the school added that it expects to find jobs for all by Saturday.

aparna.k@livemint.com

Aveek Datta in Kolkata contributed to this story.

Graphics by Sandeep Bhatnagar / Mint