They are also experts in overcoming hurdles by opting for plan B when plan A becomes unworkable.

'But in the corporate world, there is more scope for meetings and discussions. And there is not much of a hierarchy, unlike in the forces,' said Srinivasan.

Ruia Group chairman Pawan Ruia praised the commitment of the ex-defence personnel.

'We find them very focussed and committed to their work. They are very disciplined and now that they are getting trained by management institutions, this will enhance their capabilities,' said Ruia, who was one of the guest lecturers during the course.

Has the recession affected placements?

'Not much,' said Srinivasan.

Last year, around 50 percent of the students were placed by the end of the course and the rest got jobs within a month or two afterwards.

'This year (April-September), there were problems around a month back, as fewer companies were visiting us. But then we started calling up companies, visiting them and informing them about our courses. Now more firms are visiting us,' Col. Jatinder Uppal, placement committee head of the current batch, told IANS.

Uppal said: 'We have initiated talks with at least 10-15 companies till date. Around six-seven have already visited us and we expect many more in the coming days.'

Companies like Hindustan National Glass, Simplex Infrastructure, Ruia Group and Larsen & Toubro have made their rounds of IIM-C this year.

'We are hopeful many more companies will come to us at the end of our course in September,' said Srinivasan.

(Aparajita Gupta can be contacted at aparajita.g@ians.in)