Ahmedabad, Feb. 23: IIM Ahmedabad’s new agri-business management course came of age today with Indian and foreign companies raining jobs and seven-figure salaries at the placements.

Olam International, the supply chain management giant, offered a record Rs 36 lakh a year to Anand Rajan, a BTech in food technology from Mumbai. He will join the company’s Singapore office on May 5.

Another highlight was Reliance picking up two agri-business students from the institute for the first time.

A total of 38 offers came the way of the batch of 23, raising the average annual domestic salary from last year’s Rs 6 lakh to Rs 7.4 lakh.

The premier B-school had started teaching agri-business as a 15-month course in 2000. In 2003, it was converted into a full-time, two-year postgraduate programme.

With the Centre looking to double lendings in the agriculture sector by 2007, top corporate houses are now lining up to hire agri-business graduates.

Godrej Agrovet made the highest domestic offer of Rs 8.25 lakh. Seven “lateral” offers ? that is, comparatively high posts for candidates with no work experience ? set a new trend. The average salary for lateral candidates was Rs 7.95 lakh a year.

The corporates that made these offers include Godrej Agrovet, Reliance, the RPG group, ICICI Bank and Dow Agro Sciences.

Leading commodity trading houses Bunge and NCDEX, and poultry giant Venkateshwara Hatcheries, too, picked up recruits in large numbers. Others who came head-hunting include ITC, Nestl? India and ICICI Lombard.