Tech Mahindra Ltd, India's eight largest software services exporter, had recruited 111 students from Noida-based Amity University last year The number is down to 20 this year, said Ajay Rana, director of technical placements. Several colleges in Bangalore said they have received hints of delays in recruitment from many companies.

Two of these - Sapi- ent and Schneider - have even withdrawn offer letters given to students of BMS College of Engineering, said H.S. Jagadish, of the Bangalore-based institute.

Kanetkar said 10 of his students were also denied jobs by IT giant IBM even after getting offer letters.

IBM has been upbeat about hiring in India, following a 2006 announcement by its chief Sam Palmisano that the firm would invest $6 billion (Rs 25, 800 crore) here to make it the company's biggest hub outside the US.

The company hasn't recruited at all this year from the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai, from where it picked 66 students last year.

IBM avoided making any specific comment. An e-mail response from the company said: "We have instituted mandatory communication and aptitude tests to ensure that students still meet our criteria for providing high levels of services to our clients." Other companies were rather forthcoming.

Satyam Computers and HCL Technologies - India's fourth and fifth largest software services exporters - agreed they were going slow on hiring and focusing more on quality and skills of potential recruits than just their degrees.

The fall in placements comes despite companies changing their hiring mix in favour of fresh graduates, in a bid keep wage bills under check. In other words, the scene is worse when it comes to overall hiring by IT compames.

So much so that jobs in the IT sector are fast losing the lure they once had.

"Now the demand is more for engineers studying in civil, mechanical and electrical branches," said Shradhanjali Nayak, spokeswoman for Kalinga Institute of Information Technology, Bhubaneswar.