IIM Lucknow’s top domestic pay beats overseas offers

In a reversal of the long-held premium for overseas roles, the highest domestic salary offered at Indian Institute of Management Lucknow’s final placements this year surpassed the top international package, signalling the growing depth of high-value opportunities within India.

The top India-based offer reached Rs 1 crore per annum, compared with Rs 65 lakh per annum for the highest overseas package, as the institute concluded its placements for the 2026 graduating batch.

The placement process for the 40th batch of the post graduate programme and the 21st batch of the post graduate programme in agribusiness management closed with more offers than candidates, with over 580 job offers made to 559 students across consulting, finance, general management, product management, sales and marketing, operations and e-commerce roles.


The average salary stood at Rs 33.2 lakh per annum, while the median package was Rs 32.9 lakh per annum, reflecting strong demand for management talent across functions.

More than 200 domestic and international firms participated in the two-day hybrid placement process, allowing recruiters to engage with candidates both on campus and remotely.

Recruiters included Accenture, Aditya Birla Group, Adobe, Amazon, Alvarez & Marsal, American Express, Bain & Company, Boston Consulting Group, Deloitte, EY-Parthenon, Goldman Sachs, Google, J.P. Morgan, Kearney, Landmark Group, McKinsey & Company, Media.net, Microsoft, Navi, Procter & Gamble, PwC, RIL and Tata Administrative Services, offering variegated roles across different sectors.

The recruiter base also widened with several first-time participants this year, including Accuracy, Agratas, Analysys Mason, Berger, BlackRock, boAt, Darwinbox, Dezerv, Essar Group, Forvis Mazars, HDFC IB, Hero Future Energies, HiLabs, James Douglas, Jindal Steel, Lloyds Metals, Neo Asset Management, Novaa One, Shaadi.com, Shapoorji Pallonji, StoneX and Uber, offering both domestic and international job opportunities.

The graduating cohort comprised both fresh graduates and experienced professionals from finance, consulting, information technology and sales and marketing backgrounds.