Students, especially in the tier 2 and 3 B-school campuses, are likely to witness far fewer companies seeking them out, primarily as a fallout of the turmoil in the US markets that brings with it layoffs and a freeze in recruitments.

With supply of fresh MBAs far exceeding the demand, recruiters are likely to eye talent only in the top-rung institutes. HR personnel believe there will a 50 per cent decline in the number of companies visiting second-rung campuses.

As a way out B-schools are actively encouraging open training processes and promoting entrepreneurship among students. The sectors to be most affected are banking, financial and insurance sectors.

According to Prof L. Ganesh, Head, Department of Management, IIT Madras, "Students are anticipating a cut in salary at the entry level. Our belief is that the IT and financial sectors, which are the major recruiters, will take a knock."

Talent Management International CMD, T. Muralidharan said, "The impact on recruitment in the bigger campuses will be marginal. However, tier 2 and 3 campuses are likely to face a 50 per cent drop. Fair compensation packages as against the distorted figures prevalent last few years will be a visible."