Prime Highlight:
- Edward Nathan Varghese, a final-year computer science student, achieved a ₹2.5 crore annual offer from global trading firm Optiver.
- He turned his two-month summer internship into a full-time pre-placement offer, standing out as the sole intern selected.
Key Facts:
- The average package for IIT Hyderabad rose sharply to ₹36.2 lakh, up from ₹20.8 lakh in 2024, with 24 international offers in the first placement phase.
- Another student secured a ₹1.1 crore offer, while the institute’s previous top placement was around ₹1 crore in 2017.
Background
In a year marked by cautious hiring across industries, a computer science engineering student from the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH) has set a new placement record by securing a ₹2.5 crore annual package. Institute officials confirmed that this is the highest offer received by any student since IIT Hyderabad was established in 2008.
The offer was made to Edward Nathan Varghese, a final-year undergraduate student, by Optiver, a global trading firm headquartered in the Netherlands. Varghese will join the company as a software engineer in July and will be based at its Netherlands office.
The 21-year-old secured the role after successfully converting a two-month summer internship into a pre-placement offer. While two students were selected for the internship programme, Varghese was the only candidate to receive a full-time offer. The internship included an initial training period followed by a project-based assignment.
Varghese, who grew up in Hyderabad and completed his schooling in Bengaluru, credited his long-standing interest in competitive programming for his success. He has actively worked in the field since his first year of engineering and ranked among the top 100 competitive programmers in the country. He also praised the institute’s flexible curriculum, which lets students explore many different courses.
The record-breaking offer was not the only highlight of the season. Another computer science student from IIT Hyderabad earned a ₹1.1 crore package, boosting the institute’s placement record. The previous highest package at the institute was about ₹1 crore, set in 2017.
Placement data shows that salaries grew strongly. Companies raised the average package by nearly 75%, from ₹20.8 lakh in 2024 to ₹36.2 lakh in 2025. In the first phase of placements, which ended in December, students received 24 international offers.
