IIM Lucknow summer placements: 600-plus offers for 578 students, top stipend Rs 3.5 lakh

The Indian Institute of Management Lucknow has completed summer placements for its 2026-28 batch, with all 578 students of its flagship PGP and PGP-ABM (agri-business management) programmes receiving internship offers, according to the placement figures reported on 17 October 2026. Recruiters made more than 600 offers in all, over 350 of them on the first day. The highest domestic stipend was Rs 3.5 lakh a month and the highest international stipend Rs 2.5 lakh a month, while the median stipend came to Rs 1.75 lakh a month.

For a first-year MBA student, the summer internship is the most important test of the two years. It usually runs for about eight to ten weeks between the first and second years, and a good internship can end in a pre-placement offer, which is a full-time job offer made before final placements even begin. Because of that, the summer process at a top business school is watched closely as an early signal of how companies feel about hiring young managers over the next two years.

The headline number, a top stipend of Rs 3.5 lakh a month, is lower than the Rs 3.95 lakh the 2025-27 batch received, so the very top of the market did not set a new record this year. But the middle of the batch did slightly better: the median, the stipend that half the students got more than and half got less than, rose from Rs 1.72 lakh to Rs 1.75 lakh. For most students the median is the more honest guide, because a single record offer from one bank or consulting firm says little about what a typical student takes home.

The spread of roles also matters. Consulting and finance have long dominated summer placements at the older IIMs, but product management, marketing and operations roles appearing in large numbers suggest that technology companies, consumer brands and manufacturing groups are still hiring business graduates even as many firms talk about cutting costs and using more automation. A batch-wide placement in a market like this indicates that recruiters still see the MBA pipeline as a reliable source of managers.

IIM Lucknow's numbers arrive in the same season as other leading schools. XLRI Jamshedpur recently reported that all 587 students of its 2026-28 batch were placed for the summer, also with a top stipend of Rs 3.5 lakh a month, which suggests that the ceiling for domestic internship pay has settled around that level this year at the top schools.

IIM Lucknow summer placements at a glance Measure | 2025-27 batch | 2026-28 batch Highest domestic stipend (per month) | Rs 3.95 lakh | Rs 3.5 lakh Highest international stipend (per month) | Rs 2.5 lakh | Rs 2.5 lakh Median stipend (per month) | Rs 1.72 lakh | Rs 1.75 lakh

One note of caution: reports of this year's average stipend differ, with figures of Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 1.72 lakh both in circulation. Until the institute's full report is examined line by line, the median is the safer number to rely on, and it is the one used here.

Short-term: Students of the 2026-28 batch now know where they will spend the coming summer. Those with offers in consulting, banking and product roles will be competing for pre-placement offers, which can take much of the pressure off final placements in early 2028.

Long-term: A steady median and full placement keep IIM Lucknow's standing as one of the top choices for candidates who take the Common Admission Test (CAT). Applicants weighing business schools often look at summer numbers as well as final placement figures, because they show how widely good opportunities are spread across a batch rather than just at the top.

Who is affected: The 578 students of the batch and their families, many of whom have taken education loans for fees that run into lakhs of rupees; CAT aspirants deciding where to apply; and recruiters planning their graduate hiring for 2028.

Questions and Answers