Campus Placement at IIT Madras

When the interviews for 1996 campus placement at IIT Madras started, I was at the bottom of the aerospace engineering branch. I decided not to try for higher studies in the US like many of my batchmates because with my grades and a GRE score of 1840 there was no point in even trying. In any case I was not in a position to study anymore theory and wanted to be part of manufacturing. As a result there were 2 options available for me - try to get a masters degree in mechanical engineering in India or try to get a job through campus placements hopefully in a manufacturing company. I attended the screening tests of several companies and got to the interview stage of just a few which I could not clear. Several months passed and I was the only one left without a job offer in my class.

Finally in December I attended the inerview of DCM Daewoo India Ltd. which had recently launched the Cielo car in India. I told the interview panelists about my interest in manufacturing and fortunately I was one of the 2 candidates selected for the next round. We were then asked to travel to Noida to visit their factory and attend another round of interviews. By God's grace I was selected and received an offer to join them. It happened in January 1997 and was the event which allowed me to enter the automobile industry which over the coming years taught me so much and shaped my life.