MBA grads face falling salaries

Hyderabad: The average salary of a management graduate in the state has dropped to Rs 15,000 per month from Rs 25,000 two years back.
The impact is being felt in the ongoing Icet counselling for students to fill management seats, with many of them shying away from taking admissions in management colleges during counselling. Experts said that the current economic downturn is the reason for poor placements and lower salaries.

Management institutes had boomed in the state between 2004 and 2009 with good placements in corporate, financial, banking and allied sectors. The average salary had increased to Rs 30,000 per month in 2009, which has been gradually coming down since then.

The average salary came down to Rs 25,000 in 2010 and 2011 and then to Rs 20,000 in 2012. And in the on-going campus placement drives, several companies are offering Rs 15,000 per month. The downturn has also forced as many as 170 colleges to drop management courses this year.

While there were 1.11 lakh MBA seats in 1007 colleges last year, the seats came down to 95,535 in 837 colleges this year. In the ongoing Icet counselling, 89,595 seats are on offer in 797 management colleges.

Though students from ranks 1 to 60,000 were called, only 27,611 turned up for counselling till September 12. Officials are worried as only about 30,000 out of 89,000 seats will be filled this year.

“Barring a few reputed colleges, there are no takers for MBA seats in majority of the colleges. This is because of poor placements and lower salaries being offered to students after completion of the course. Many colleges will down shutters by next year if the situation continues,” said Ramesh Nimmatoori, chairman, Consortium of Professional Colleges Managements Association.

Telangana govt to rule Hyderabad

Hyderabad: The administration of Hyderabad will remain with the Telangana government unless the Centre declares the city as a Union Territory for the 10 years it serves as the joint capital.
Existing rules do not permit any other arrangement which would allow a third party administration for the common capital. Highly placed sources in the Central government told this newspaper that irrespective of the UT status, protection of migrants and their assets would be given legislative backing along with their very status in the new state.

Uncertainty over limits of UT status

A senior bureaucrat involved in the process of creating Telangana state at the Centre said, “The AP Reorganisation Bill 2013 will clearly specify the number of years of stay and pursue of studies for a particular period to determine the local status of migrants in the Telangana state.”

There had been a general feeling among migrants, employees and businessmen from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions that the Centre would control the city’s administration when AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh had announced that Hyderabad would be the common capital for 10 years.

Sources, however, said that the Congress Central leadership was aware of these limitations and played it safe by buying time on the contentious issue. “They (Congress leaders) do not want the upbeat mood in Telangana to be spoiled with the declaration of a UT status,” the sources added.

As an option, the Centre is considering according UT status to the city with a specific mention of a time frame of 10 years on condition that it will be part of the Telangana state thereafter. The second option is to leave it to the Telangana government to administer.

“In such a case it is equal to living in a rented house,” said a senior state bureaucrat. Sources also said there was no clarity on whether to restrict the UT status, if accorded, to the GHMC limits or extend it to the HMDA.