Once one of the most coveted programs primarily because of the plum salary packages, the Master of Business Administration (MBA) course is fast losing its sheen amongst youngsters, who are now showing more interest in other courses for better job opportunities.

Education experts claim that more students are applying for banks, staff selection commission (SSC) or Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) over the past two to three years, while the registration for Common Admission Test (CAT) is fast decreasing.

While the registration for CAT has gone down across the country owing to a number of MBA institutes shutting down, the youth are swaying more towards other competitive exams. Media, banking, SSC, UPSC and even off beat jobs are increasingly becoming popular.

Allwin Agnel, CEO of Pagalguy, India's largest online education portal, said, "MBA institutions have been increasing their fee dramatically. At the same time, the average salary being offered to students who are graduating out of these MBA institutions has remained reasonably low. People are now considering other options as they are not being paid enough by the companies.

What we have observed is that people are now considering banking and other government jobs quite a lot. For example, around 1.5 million people are attempting banking exams. A similar trend is being observed for other government jobs exams."

The authorities from SIAC (State Institute for Administrative Careers) claim the numbers of youths applying to their institute has increased from past three years. Dr M B Bhide, director of SIAC, said, "The awareness of civil service exams has increased amongst youngsters nowadays. I have observed that the students who are in first year and second year degree colleges are coming to give SIAC exams to get coaching for UPSC. This trend has been observed over the past three years."