IIT, IIM paychecks hit pause as median campus salaries stay flat for Class of 2027

IIT graduates from the Class of 2027 are expected to see median compensation remain flat at Rs 16.46 lakh per annum, while top IIM packages are projected to hold at Rs 26 lakh, according to Aon's Campus Study Report. Tier-1 engineering and management colleges, however, are expected to see increases as employers become more selective and focus on skills and job readiness.

The Class of 2027 at the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) is likely to get a median salary of Rs 16.46 lakh per annum, same as the median salary for the Class of 2026, an Aon Campus report said.

While the median salary package at the Tier-1 engineering colleges is projected to increase from Rs 13.85 lakh per annum to Rs 14.75 lpa, the report stated.

Similarly, the median salary packages for MBA graduates at the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) in 2027, is projected to remain at Rs 26 lpa (same as this year), with median salary packages at the Tier-1 management institutes projected to move from Rs 20.89 lpa to Rs 21.50 lpa.

Overall, projected campus pay is set to rise by around 2% to 7% year-on-year across major streams, according to Aon.

In this study, Aon has taken the median salary as the total cost to company which includes fixed pay, one-time cash offers such as joining bonuses and annual variable pay, excluding long-term incentives.

Aon, a global professional services firm, released the findings of the 15

th annual edition of its Campus Study Report 2026-27 on Wednesday.

The study found 56% of organisations' plan to increase hiring of Chartered Accountant (CA) and Company Secretary (CS) graduates, 51% expect to hire more interns, 40% intend to recruit more diploma holders and 36% foresee higher hiring of engineers.

"India's campus hiring market remains resilient, but employers are becoming more selective of the skills and roles they hire," said Roopank Chaudhary, partner and head of talent and rewards consulting, India, Aon. "The findings show employers are building early-career pipelines that align more closely with the capabilities they need to support future growth."

"Internships continue to play an important role in building early-career talent pipelines," according to Aon. Close to 90% of organisations want to hire interns, and roughly 80% to 85% use pre-placement interviews or offers (PPOs) as a structured pathway for converting strong performers into full-time employees, the study said.

"AI is helping organisations assess candidates more effectively by placing greater emphasis on skills, role relevance and job readiness," said Amit Kumar Otwani, associate partner, talent solutions, India, Aon. "As talent needs evolve, employers are using these tools to make more informed hiring decisions and build stronger talent pipelines," Otwani said.

In addition, most of the organisations surveyed by Aon have set gender representation goals across major talent cohorts. "AI is increasingly supporting skills-based, role-relevant and job-readiness-focused campus hiring," the report stated.