The Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (IITH), has reached a historic moment in its campus placement journey. For the first time since the institute’s inception in 2008, a student has secured a staggering Rs 2.5 crore annual package, the highest ever offered at the campus. The offer has not only set a new benchmark for IITH but has also sent a strong message about the rising global demand for Indian engineering talent, even amid a challenging international job market. The record-breaking package was bagged by Edward Nathan Varghese, a final-year Computer Science and Engineering student, who will soon begin his professional journey with Optiver, a Netherlands-based global trading firm, as a software engineer.

From Hyderabad Classrooms to a Global Trading Firm

At just 21 years of age, Varghese’s journey feels both inspiring and relatable. Born and raised in Hyderabad, he later moved to Bengaluru for his schooling from Class 7 to Class 12. Like many engineering aspirants in India, he entered IIT with dreams of excelling in technology, but what set him apart was his clarity of focus from the very first year. Varghese will join Optiver’s Netherlands office in July, after successfully converting a two-month summer internship into a pre-placement offer (PPO). The internship itself was highly selective, with only two students from IITH chosen. After two weeks of intensive training followed by a six-week project, Varghese emerged as the sole candidate to receive the full-time offer. Recalling the moment, he described the joy of hearing from his mentor that the firm would be extending him an offer. The happiness, he said, was shared equally by his parents, both of whom are engineers and understood the magnitude of the achievement.

Competitive Programming and Confidence from Day One

Behind the eye-catching package lies years of disciplined effort. Varghese credits his success largely to competitive programming, a field he has been deeply involved in since his first year of engineering. Consistently ranking among the top 100 competitive programmers in the country, he developed strong problem-solving skills that aligned perfectly with the demands of a global trading firm like Optiver. He also spoke about the confidence he carried despite the ongoing slowdown in the tech job market. According to him, the IIT tag continues to attract top global recruiters, and the flexible curriculum at IITH, which allows students to explore a wide range of courses, played a crucial role in sharpening his technical depth. Interestingly, Optiver was the first and only company he interviewed for during the placement season, making the outcome even more remarkable.

A Record That Redefines IITH Placements

The Rs 2.5 crore offer has redefined what is possible at IIT Hyderabad. Until now, the institute’s highest packages hovered around the Rs 1 crore mark, with the previous peak recorded in 2017. In the current placement season itself, another computer science student from IITH secured a Rs 1.1 crore package, indicating a sharp upward trend. Over the last few years, the growth has been steady but striking. The highest packages have climbed from around Rs 90 lakh in 2023–24 to Rs 66 lakh in 2024–25 before culminating in this year’s unprecedented Rs 2.5 crore offer. 

Average Packages Surge by 75% in 2025

While headline-grabbing salaries often dominate attention, the broader placement picture at IITH in 2025 is equally impressive. The average salary package in the first phase of placements has jumped by about 75%, rising from Rs 20.8 lakh in 2024 to Rs 36.2 lakh this year. During this phase, which concluded in December, students secured 24 international offers, underlining the institute’s growing global footprint. According to Mayur Vaidya, Faculty-in-Charge of the Office of Career Services, the focus goes beyond record packages. The primary goal, he explained, is to ensure that every student who wishes to get placed receives a good and meaningful opportunity.

Balancing Tech and Core Engineering Opportunities

IITH’s placement strategy has also evolved to support students from core engineering branches. Alongside technology roles, the institute has been giving early slots to public sector undertakings (PSUs) and core engineering companies, ensuring that non-software students are not sidelined. The Office of Career Services continues to actively reach out to a diverse range of companies, highlighting IITH’s flexible academic calendar, interdisciplinary curriculum, and wide variety of courses. This approach has helped attract both domestic and international recruiters across sectors.

More Than Numbers 

Beyond statistics and salary figures, Varghese’s story carries a deeply human element. It speaks of consistent effort, belief in one’s skills, and the quiet support of family and mentors. His journey reassures thousands of engineering students that excellence built over years still finds recognition, even in uncertain economic times. As IIT Hyderabad celebrates this historic achievement, the Rs 2.5 crore package stands not just as a number, but as a symbol of how far the institute and its students have come and how much further they are poised to go on the global stage.