Despite persistent economic gloom, a number of foreign and domestic firms offered average salary of Rs 19.5 lakh per year, up 13 per cent from last year's average of Rs 17.2 lakh, to students of the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIMB).

A total of 388 students of the IIM Bangalore got placed within merely four days during campus placements at the prominent business school.

Some students were offered salaries as high as Rs 30 lakh per year by companies from diverse sectors like consulting, finance, operations and marketing.

Professor Sankarshan Basu, Chairperson of Career Development Services at IIM Bangalore, said, "There is a rise of 10 to 15 per cent form last year. The salary for this batch is about Rs 19.5 lakh. As many as 41 candidates were offered international placements, up from 21 last year."

Nine students opted to work in the social sector at institutions like RuralShores and Narayan Hrudayalaya.

Consultancy firms like McKinsey & Co and Boston Consulting Group made 27 per cent of the offers. Banking and information technology (IT) sector firms followed at the second and third spots with 19 per cent and 14 per cent of the offers, respectively.