Grofers, PepperTap, Zomato among 31 startups banned from IIT placements

The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have barred 31 companies from participating in placement process this year. For the first time, IITs have blacklisted such a large number of firms from their placements.

On-demand delivery service apps Grofers and Peppertap, restaurant search and delivery Zomato and healthcare startup Portea Medical are some of the startups that have been blacklisted. These companies have been blacklisted for dishonouring the institutes' placement policies.

IIT Bombay has blacklisted a total of nine firms from their placements. The companies include: LeGarde Burnett Group, Johnson Electric, China, GPSK, Portea Medical, Peppertap, LexInnova, Mera Hunar, Cashcare Technologies and Indus Insights.

Most of these companies had revoked their offer letters or delayed the joining dates, affecting about 135 students across various IIT campuses. IIT Mumbai, Kharagpur and Roorkee were the worst affected. Interestingly, one of the firms blacklisted, turned out to be fake without any proper address.

Many startups banned such as PepperTap are either struggling or facing funds crunch. Johnson Electric and Fundamental Education are the two firms which are not blacklisted. The ban on Zomato from participating in IIT placements, which was placed last year, will continue this year too. E-commerce giant Flipkart is not on the blacklist but will be served a warning letter. According to information, another list of blacklisted companies may be released soon by All-India Placement Committee (AIPC).