Year map
When placements, internships, exams, government jobs and scholarships usually open, so you can prepare before the rush. These are typical windows from past years; check the official site for this year's dates.
Campus placement season
July – December. Pre-final and final year.
Most on-campus drives run in this window; resumes should be ready by June naukri.com
National Scholarship Portal window
Typically opens in the second half of the year. School and college students.
Central and state scholarships, one application portal scholarships.gov.in
GATE
Registration around Aug–Oct, exam in February. Final year engineering and graduates.
PSU recruitment and M.Tech admissions nta.ac.in
IBPS PO/Clerk cycle
Notifications typically July–October. Graduates.
Public sector bank recruitment ibps.in
CAT
Registration around August, exam in November. Final year and graduates.
MBA admissions iimcat.ac.in
Summer internship applications
December – March. 2nd and 3rd year.
Applications for May–July internships internshala.com
Off-campus fresher hiring wave
January – April. Final year and recent graduates.
Service companies and startups open off-campus drives after campus season linkedin.com
JEE Main sessions
Usually two sessions, around January and April. Class 12 and droppers.
Engineering entrance nta.ac.in
UPSC Civil Services
Notification usually early in the year. Graduates.
Civil services examination upsc.gov.in
Google Summer of Code
Organisations announced ~Feb, applications ~March. Any student contributor.
Paid open-source programme; contributions should start months earlier summerofcode.withgoogle.com
SSC CGL cycle
Notification typically mid-year. Graduates.
Central government graduate-level posts ssc.gov.in
Smart India Hackathon
Problem statements ~August, finals later in the year. College teams.
India's largest student hackathon sih.gov.in
INSPIRE Scholarship
Announced annually, check the portal. Top science students entering BSc/Int MSc.
Scholarship for science undergraduates online-inspire.gov.in