HCLTech has raised starting salaries for a small group of highly skilled engineering graduates, offering packages that go up to ₹22 lakh a year as it tries to lock in talent in AI.
At its Q3 FY26 earnings call, the company said the move is aimed at hiring what it calls an elite group of freshers who will work in areas such as data and AI, digital engineering, cybersecurity and enterprise platforms. These engineers will be paid 3 to 4 times more than standard entry level recruits, with pay bands ranging from ₹18 lakh to ₹22 lakh.
“Two quarters back, we did very proactively talk about the elite engineers. We had shared that our entry level salaries will have the elite cadre earning 3X to 4X of the regular hires. That 3X to 4X is anywhere between Rs 18 lakhs to 22 lakhs,” Ram Sundararajan, HCLTech’s chief people officer, said.
“We have to be competitive to be able to attract the best of talents that we want for our elite cadre.”
HCLTech has earlier said this elite pool will make up about 15-20% of its total fresher intake, as the company shifts from bulk hiring to a more selective model focused on advanced skills.
The move comes as competition for AI ready engineers is heating up across the Indian IT sector. Infosys has also increased fresher pay for niche roles. In December, the company announced an off campus hiring drive for 2025 engineering and computer science graduates, offering salaries ranging from ₹7 lakh to ₹21 lakh for specialised technology positions.
HCLTech ended the December quarter with a marginal decline of 261 employees, taking its total headcount to 226,379. During the quarter it added 2,852 freshers, but overall numbers were weighed down by attrition and selective workforce pruning rather than a broad hiring slowdown.
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