The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) will hold special placement drives for those students whose job offers got cancelled amid the coronavirus outbreak, Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' said on Wednesday.

'I have also asked all IIT directors to hold special placement drives for the students affected by cancelled job offers. The students to whom the jobs were offered during the placement drive are among the country's brightest minds and can help recruiters in times of crisis,' he said.

On Monday, the minister had appealed to recruiters not to withdraw any job offers made to students in campus placements due to the economic slowdown created by the coronavirus pandemic.

'I have also appealed to all campus recruiters not to withdraw jobs offered to graduating students of technical education institutions,' he added.

His appeal came after a few job offers at the IITs and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) got revoked due to uncertainty among companies in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

Nishank had last week directed directors of 23 IITs to ensure that campus placements are not affected due to the situation.

The All IITs' Placement Committee (AIPC) had also reached out to all the companies that visited for campus recruitment, requesting them not to rescind placement offers made for the academic year 2019-20.

IIT Delhi Director V Ramgopal Rao had also issued a public appeal last week to all recruiters. Rao argued that since all IITs strictly follow the equal opportunity principle (one candidate, one job), withdrawing an offer would mean students 'will end up not having any job right now'.

'We all understand these are difficult times. But please be considerate to keep your promises. A few months of delay may be fine. Please do not complicate the lives of these brightest children in an already complex environment. If at all, they are capable of getting you out of recession faster than you can imagine,' he wrote in his appeal shared on social media.

According to Union health ministry figures, the total number of cases of coronavirus infections in the country stand at 5,194 and the death toll is 149.