Reliance goes to IIM-A, finally

Firm scouts for managerial talent for its expansion plans.

Reliance Industries Ltd, India's largest private sector company, will visit the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad, the country' top business school, for the first time this year to meet its growing requirement of trained manpower.

"RIL is coming to participate in the campus recruitment programme for summer placements this November," IIM-A Director Bakul Dholakia told Business Standard.

Piyush Kumar Sinha, the placement coordinator, confirmed that RIL representatives had sought campus placement details from the institute.

Despite being one of the largest conglomerates in the country, for some unknown reason, RIL had stayed away from IIM-A, though the company is known for picking up the best brains from engineering institutes across the nation.

According to a source close to RIL, the company's plans to expand its Jamnagar refinery capacity by 30 million tonnes and also its polymer and hydrocarbon sector capacity will require a large pool of managerial talent.

Its focus on retailing through its fuel stations, food joints and super markets, and agriculture produces, has increased. Therefore, it will also require managers who can sustain the viability and profitability of these ventures. This has prompted RIL to look at IIM-A for campus recruitment this year.

RIL's entry suggests that the energy sector will turn out to be a big recruiter at IIM-A during the current year compared with the information technology, investment banking and the consulting sectors, which have been dominating the scene for quite some time.

The Essar Group is also recruiting for its Jamnagar refinery project, which is slated to go on-stream by the third quarter of 2006.

It is also being felt in the business school that students will take RIL's first visit enthusiastically and treat the company's offers at par with those made by foreign recruiters because of its size and performance.

"An employment offer from an Indian company or a multinational hardly makes any difference to the students as both offer equally good packages. At the same time, while some of the Indian companies offer overseas positions, some multinationals offer appointments in India but pay students in dollar terms," Sinha said.