Jamshedpur, Feb. 15: The jitters were only too evident as students lined up to face representatives of different corporate houses at the Xavier Labour Relation Institute (XLRI) campus today. The annual Campus Recruitment Programme (CRP) got off in right earnest around 6 am.

Around 60 companies are expected to take part in the four-day affair. Hewitt Associates, Cognizant Technology Services (CTS), ABN Amro, Reckitt and Coleman, Ernst & Young, Coke, Pepsi, Glaxo, IBM, Standard Chartered Bank, General Electric and Price Waterhouse Coopers were among the big corporate names that interviewed students on day one. The list also includes JP Morgan Shares, which is participating in the CRP for the first time.

ICICI Prudential, Ranbaxy, Tata AIG are also expected for the first time. This year 65 students each from the Business Management and Personnel Management and Industrial Relation (PM&IR) courses will vie for the lucrative offers.

XLRI sources informed that the pay packets might get fatter this year. Last year, the average salary offered was around Rs 6.50 lakh per annum.

Candidates with work experience are also looking forward to good offers. A member of the XLRI’s External Linkages cell said: “The economy is looking up and that can only help the placement programme. The scenario has been pretty good in other B-Schools as well.”

The banking and financial services sector is expected to pick up the bulk of candidates as more than 15 companies are expected to turn up.

The Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector will be represented by traditional favourites like Hindustan Lever Limited (HLL) and ITC. Last year, the placement drive had to be shifted to Calcutta because of the three-day bandh called by the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC).