IITs blacklist 6 startups – Flipkart is safe

Flipkart ignited the spark in 16 placement offices of IITs to conduct an emergency meeting on Friday, those unable to make it logged in via Skype. 6 startups have been blacklisted for 2016-2017 academic year placements. The list includes companies like e-tailer Zimply, healthcare startup Portea and grocery portal PepperTap. The meeting took place in Mumbai.

The startups blacklisted have been categorized into three types- one that delayed joining dates, one that reduced the promised salaries, and the one that withdrew their job offers altogether.

The third category had 5 to 6 companies and are banned from hiring in the upcoming hiring. “IITs want to protect the students. We are sure that this will act as a deterrent for other companies,” said Babu Viswanathan, training and placement advisor, IIT-Madras.

Cost pressure and operation closing have been the main reasons for their action.

There have been at least 5 companies which have slashed their initial packages by as much as 25%. A week’s time has been given to these companies to respond and move forward with their initial offer. Those who will fail to do so will be blacklisted.

Earlier this month Flipkart defers joining dates of IIM recruits by 6 months that made premium institutes think about startups attending hiring. Flipkart has always been given day 1 slot so that they can hire the best talent. As per IITs placement policy, students who have accepted one job offer are not usually allowed to appear for other companies. However, the situation may change for those who have been in trouble in case of such unstable situations.

Flipkart is offering (verbally) to provide graduates with INR 50,000 per month as internship, apart from INR 1.5 lakh joining fee, and initial accommodation. A news report states that Runnr (Earlier RoadRunnr) and Click Labs had also deferred their placement offers. Runnr has agreed to on-board the students by September 30, while Click Labs have been given a week to respond. .

“We wanted written assurance from these companies. If these companies failed to honour their commitments, they will also be blacklisted,” Vishwanathan said.

The blacklisted startups can rehire in 2017=2018 academic year after they are reviewed by AIPC. AIPC was considering making it mandatory for startups to show their funding details to ensure that students are safe, but there have been no announcements on it so far.

IITs have also asked students to go ahead and consider job offers and interviews with other companies that have approached them including commerce firms Amazon, Paytm and Voonik.