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IIT Hyderabad student secures ₹2.5 crore package, highest ever at the institute
An IIT Hyderabad student secured the highest ever ₹2.5 crore package.
Defying a challenging hiring environment, a computer science engineering student from the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad has secured a staggering ₹2.5 crore annual package from a Netherlands based firm during this year’s placements. According to the institute, this is the highest package ever offered to a student since IIT Hyderabad was established in 2008.
The offer was made to Edward Nathan Varghese, a final year student, who will join Optiver as a software engineer from July, as reported by Times of India.
At just 21, Varghese converted a two month summer internship into a pre placement offer, emerging as the sole PPO recipient among two interns selected by the firm.
‘First and only interview’
Speaking to TOI, Varghese described the moment he learnt about the offer as unforgettable. “This was the first and only company I interviewed for. I was ecstatic when my mentor indicated that the firm would be extending me an offer. So were my parents,” he said.
Born and raised in Hyderabad, Varghese later completed his schooling in Bengaluru from Class 7 to Class 12. Despite the broader slowdown in the job market, he said he remained confident of landing a top offer.
“I knew that the IIT tag would draw companies to our campus and that the effect of the present job market would be minimal. Also, since first year of engineering, I was into competitive programming and among the top 100 in the country,” he told TOI.
He added that the institute’s flexible curriculum also played a crucial role. “That too helped me crack the interview, along with the curriculum that gave us the option to do a wide range of courses. I was lucky to get a PPO,” said Varghese, whose parents are both engineers.
Placements see sharp rise in 2025
The summer internship at Optiver included two weeks of training followed by a six week project. Varghese will now work full time at the firm’s Netherlands office. Apart from him, another computer science student from IIT Hyderabad secured a ₹1.1 crore package this year, further raising the institute’s placement benchmark. Until now, the highest package at IITH stood at around ₹1 crore, recorded in 2017.
The 2025 placement season also marked a significant overall improvement. Average packages rose by nearly 75 percent compared to 2024, increasing from ₹20.8 lakh to ₹36.2 lakh. In the first phase of placements, which concluded in December, students secured 24 international offers.
Focus beyond high packages
Mayur Vaidya, faculty in charge of the Office of Career Services, said the institute’s focus extended beyond headline grabbing salaries. “More than packages, our target is to ensure that all students who want to get placed receive a good offer,” he told TOI.
He added that IIT Hyderabad was also prioritising opportunities for core engineering students by offering early slots to PSUs and core companies. In Phase 2, more postgraduate students are expected to receive domestic offers. So far, 196 out of 650 PG students have been placed with an average package of ₹22 lakh, while 62 percent of undergraduate registrants have secured jobs.
Highest packages at IITH in recent years
2025 to 26 ₹2.5 crore
2024 to 25 ₹66 lakh
2023 to 24 ₹90 lakh
