Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limited All rights reserved. The joining bonuses were typically part of the compensation. But over the years, start-ups and AI companies have sought out IIT students with stock options to compete with the more established firms. (Mint) Summary HFT firms to Big Tech giants flocked to IIT campuses to pick the best tech talent. But recruiters are equally concerned about young hires who have joined after them. To counter attrition, they adjust the terms of payouts. As Wall Street’s top-tier firms to Big Tech giants kick off the hiring season at the Indian Institutes of Technology, salaries on offer are expected to cross a crore of rupees. But recruiters don’t give the graduates a free pass. To prevent them from jumping ship, these lucrative compensation packages often come with riders, including joining bonuses, limited stock units and refund provisions. Samsara Inc is expected to offer a remuneration of up to ₹1.2 crore (£109,580) at IITs for software engineering roles, according to Mint’s review of job profiles with placement cells. But it includes a performance bonus of £6,630 and £36,650 worth of shares which vest over three years. A relocation bonus is also available for candidates who need to relocate to London. High frequency trader NK Securities, one of the top recruiters at the IITs by compensation offered, is looking for a Quantitative Researcher and a Software Developer. While the compensation is expected to be around ₹ 80 lakh, it includes a joining bonus of ₹ 2 lakh, a fixed bonus of around ₹ 25 lakh, and variable pay and non-cash benefits. The joining bonuses were typically part of the compensation. But over the years, start-ups and AI companies have sought out IIT students with stock options to compete with the more established firms. “Retaining top-level engineering talent, especially those coming out of institutes like the IITs, is becoming increasingly difficult due to multiple factors,” says Narayanan Ramaswamy, partner and head of the education and skill development practice at KPMG in India. “First, young people today want to explore options before finding their calling, which means they will only stick with a job if it is both interesting and rewarding. Second, job roles change quickly, and corporates will need agile and adaptable talent, especially when they have spent some time understanding the organizational culture and requirements,” added Ramaswamy. To retain talent, organizations have devised tactics such as good sign-on bonuses, retention bonuses, financial reimbursements and generous employee stock options (Esops), he said. “The goal is to keep their intellectual herd together, and extend the value they bring for a longer period by preventing rapid departures. That said, even these measures are only successful up to a point, competing firms buy them out with an even sweeter deal.” Over the past few years, newer artificial intelligence-focused firms have been given top slots during the IIT placement season. This coincided with a slowdown in the hiring of the madness in the pandemic era. However, IITs have seen some uptick in hiring momentum in 2025. This year, high-frequency trading companies including Quadeye, Graviton Research Capital, NK Securities, Quantbox Research and Squarepoint Capital are offering performance and joining bonuses. The goal is to secure the candidate once the offer is made. Texas Instruments offers about ₹40-43 lakh to graduates and post-graduates at IITs. The company’s job description at one of the IITs indicates $10,000 worth of restricted stock units (RSUs) that have a four-year vesting period, according to documents reviewed by Mint. RSUs are a retention tool where employees are awarded a fixed number of shares after a specified period, during which they must meet performance criteria. Preference for variable pay Consulting firm Aon’s September report also found a growing preference for variable pay and bonuses in salaries offered to graduates of top engineering and business schools. The majority of the 200-plus companies surveyed expected moderate to high growth in campus recruitment, the report found. Organizations focus on performance incentive through variable pay, ranging from 10% to 12%, it said. While master of business administration (MBA) and engineering graduates saw slight increases in total cost to company (TCC), the increase is driven primarily by variable pay and joining bonuses rather than fixed pay, according to the study. Placements at IIT are a barometer of how campus recruitments in India will shape up over the next few months. The older IITs – Delhi, Bombay, Madras, Kharagpur, Kanpur, Roorkee, Guwahati – started their final placements from the wee hours of December 1. High-frequency trading companies including Da Vinci Trading, tech giants Tesla Inc., Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., and Nvidia Corp., and aircraft makers Airbus and Boeing are among the companies that will clash to win the best engineering talent, Mint reported on Monday. “There has been no change in median salaries and bonuses this year, with compensation levels broadly in line with previous cycles,” Airbus said in an emailed response to Mint. “Adjustments, where applicable, have been made in line with industry metrics and business priorities to ensure competitiveness and fairness.” The aircraft manufacturer will recruit from IIT Bombay, Kanpur, Madras and Kharagpur, and the roles on offer include structural analysis, flight physics, simulations and advanced systems studies. Palo Alto-headquartered healthcare firm Risa Labs is recruiting for systems engineer and associate product manager roles for its India and US offices. Founded by IIT Kanpur alumni Kshitij Jaggi and Kumar Shivang, the healthcare startup is expected to offer compensation of around ₹36 lakh in India and $150,000, with an additional $30,000 worth of equity (around ₹1.6 crore total) in the US. Bonus clawbacks To combat attrition, some companies have included specific provisions for clawbacks if candidates leave before a set period. Automaker TVS Motor Ltd noted that the ₹3 lakh joining bonus comes with a three-year repayment period. Publicis Sapient will offer a deferred cash payment of ₹ 2 lakh on completion of the first year, and a similar amount after two years. IDFC Bank Ltd also has an explicit clawback provision. “If an employee resigns before completing one year, he/she will have to pay ₹1 Lakh towards training charges,” reads the bank’s job description given to students. The lender will offer various roles with offers ranging from ₹ 23-27 lakh for roles of Associate Data Analyst and Associate Data Scientist respectively. Siemens Energy, which is looking for substation control and protection engineers, will offer ₹14.5 lakh in cost-to-company (CTC). It will also pay a joining bonus of ₹1.5 lakh “with a repayment period of 2 years”. Analytics and digital solutions firm EXL’s terms include a return of the joining bonus and an anniversary bonus. The bonuses of ₹ 1 lakh each will be given at the time of joining and after completion of one year respectively. If the new employee leaves within the set period, the bonus will be taken back. In an emailed reply to Mint’s queries, Rajesh S. Nandanwar, senior vice president for talent acquisition at EXL, said that bonuses, including for joining and retention, refunds and stock options, have become standard industry practices. “Rather than being seen as obstacles, these mechanisms are designed to reward and motivate those who are truly committed to an organization’s vision,” he said. “We view such bonuses, reimbursements and stock options as valuable incentives that strengthen long-term engagement and help align individual aspirations with the company’s success.” Email inquiries to Samsara, Quadeye, Graviton Research Capital, NK Securities, Quantbox Research, Squarepoint Capital, Texas Instruments, Risa Labs, Siemens New Energy, TVS Motor, Publicis Sapient and IDFC First Bank went unanswered. Reliance Industries Ltd offers a deferred bonus of ₹5 lakh and an annual cash bonus of ₹1.05 lakh, according to Mint’s review of the company’s job description shared with one of the IITs. The company is hiring graduate engineering trainees for its sites in Jamnagar, Haziram, Patalganga, Vadodara, Nagothane, Dahej, Bangalore and Navi Mumbai. “There is a differentiated remuneration offered to graduates of IITs – 9 Lakh on joining, and 10.55 Lakh on Confirmation after 1 year of training period,” a Reliance Industries spokesperson said in an email reply to Mint’s queries. “We value long-term association and therefore offer a deferred bonus to graduates who stay back for more than 3 years.” Get all the education news and updates on Live Mint. Download the Mint News app to get daily market updates and live business news. more topics #IIT Posts Read Next Story