NEW DELHI: Wadhwani Foundation, a global not-for-profit focused on job creation through entrepreneurship, skilling, innovation, and government digital transformation, is entering the next phase of its growth in India by strengthening execution across 15 priority city ecosystems in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu.

The focus is on scaling outcomes through stronger execution, ensuring that national platforms translate into local impact. Scaling outcomes means more local jobs and more local people placed into jobs. This approach enables faster execution, clearer accountability, and closer alignment between local employers, skilling institutions, and job outcomes.

This phase builds on a solid execution base established in 2025. During the year, the Foundation invested ₹300 crore in India, supported 7,000 businesses, engaged 1.2 lakh entrepreneurship students, and made 2.5 lakh youth job-ready through employability-linked skilling. In addition to this, it also launched an AI-enabled My Career Advisor platform with the Ministry of Education, offering free, personalised career guidance to youth across 1,500+ career options.

Under innovation, the Foundation strengthened the Wadhwani Innovation Network, enabling 10 Innovation Translation Centres, including two Super Hubs at IIT Kanpur (Wadhwani AI and Intelligent Systems Hub) and IIT Bombay (Wadhwani Health and Bio Hub). Together, these hubs support 50+ translation centres across the innovation ecosystem. Overall, 100 research projects were advanced toward product and startup pathways.

AI projects were delivered for six central ministries; ASHA (Anna Sahayata Holistic AI Solution) was launched to enable feedback from Public Distribution System (PDS) beneficiaries; and 30+ AI solutions were deployed across healthcare, agriculture, and education.

Building on this momentum, the Foundation will increase India investment by ~25% in 2026 and grow its India team by ~10%, expanding state- and city-level execution teams and deepening partnerships with governments, institutions, employers, and local ecosystems. Operating through a dual model for maximum impact, the Foundation’s national platforms will continue to provide scale and consistency, while state and city teams will drive delivery, coordination, and accountability on the ground. This includes limited role realignments to support state-level execution. All programs continue to be offered at zero cost to partners and beneficiaries.

With a sharp focus on moving closer to local ecosystems where impact is created and sustained, the Wadhwani Foundation continues its commitment to all programs across entrepreneurship, skilling, SMB growth, innovation, and government digital transformation. 

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MUMBAI: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR), concluded its legacy Autumn placement cycle for the combined Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) and Post Graduate Diploma in Management (Business Management (PGDM (BM)) 2025 cohort, comprising 341 students, who secured autumn internships with leading companies, with an average stipend of ₹3,15,000. 

The batch received a remarkable 390 offers from 75 companies. The FMCG sector dominated placements, with 35% percent of participants placed in this sector, followed by consulting companies, which absorbed 21% of the batch. The median compensation for the batch reached a record high of ₹3,10,000, marking a 3.5% increase from the previous year. The top 50% of the batch secured an average offer of ₹4,17,000.

Recruiters from diverse sectors offered projects in Corporate Strategy, Investment Banking, Private Equity, Product Management, Analytics, E-Commerce, General Management, Corporate Finance, Corporate IT, Healthcare, Sales & Marketing, Branding, Operations, and Supply Chain roles.

“We are immensely proud of our students and grateful to our industry partners for their continued support. I encourage our students to make the most of their internships, leveraging this invaluable experience to grow both professionally and personally,” said Prof. Varun Nagaraj, Dean, SPJIMR.

The two-year full-time PGDM program provides a unique aspect in the form of Autumn internships. These internships enable students to undertake corporate projects during their second year of studies. Before this, they complete a term in their chosen specializations and a social internship during the first year.

“With an increased batch size, the support of our industry partners demonstrated SPJIMR’s strong and steadfast relationships with them. It also served as a testament to the significant contributions of SPJIMR graduates in developing the leadership pipeline within organizations,” said Prof. Renuka Kamath, Associate Dean, of Full-time Programmes, SPJIMR.

The number of Investment Banking/Private Equity and Product Management offers reached record highs, with increases of over 110% and 400% respectively, compared to the previous year. Prominent recruiters in these sectors include DC Advisory, Nomura, JM Financials, Edelweiss Alternatives, American Express, Intuit, Tata Digital, and Samsung Research.

Prof. Ashita Aggarwal, PGDM and PGDM (BM) Chairperson said, “It was heartening to witness our students’ performance during the Autumn recruitment process as they secured opportunities aligned with their skills and aspirations. The success of the internship program is a testament to the strength of our curriculum and the school’s commitment to excellence.”

This year, 22 first-time recruiters participated in the internship cycle. New additions to SPJIMR’s portfolio included the National Infrastructure Investment Fund (NIIF), Info Edge, Motilal Oswal, HSBC, Kenvue, Lupin, Lenskart, Titan, Angel One Wealth, Henkel, and Aequitas Investments.

This marked the final Autumn Internship Cycle as SPJIMR transitioned to the Summer Internship Cycle for the PGDM and PGDM (BM) batch of 2024-2026, scheduled for September 2024.

Placement Highlights

• Investment Banking/Private Equity and Product Management roles saw record increases in offers, rising by over 110% and 400 % respectively.
• The top 20% of the batch received an average stipend offer of ₹4,52,000.
• The top 50% of the batch received an average stipend offer of ₹4,17,000.
• 35% of the participants were placed with companies in the FMCG industry.

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