Fresher hiring in the technology sector is being reshaped as large IT services firms scale back bulk recruitment while startups expand campus presence, helping keep overall placement volumes broadly stable.
Top IT companies including TCS, Infosys, Wipro and HCLTech have moderated hiring after aggressive intake during the post-pandemic demand surge. TCS has hired about 25,000 freshers for FY27, clarifying they will hire more depending on demand. This is compared to 44,000 in FY26, while Infosys has held its target at 20,000. Others have not disclosed numbers.
“While the sector saw over 10% hiring growth and aggressive fresher intake in FY22, the pace has moderated sharply, with overall headcount growth hovering around 2% in FY25 and FY26,” Nitin Bhatt, technology sector leader at EY India, said.
Campus placement data indicate that lower intake per company is being offset by a rise in the number of recruiters, particularly startups. At VIT, around 1,500 companies visited campuses this year compared with about 1,000 last year, according to placement officials, helping maintain overall hiring levels despite reduced intake by individual firms.
“Instead of mass recruitment, hiring is now split into different tiers of salary packages and domains like AI data training, coding, testing and security,” Jayakumar S, assistant director at VIT’s career development centre, said, adding that total hiring numbers were comparable with previous years.
Placement officers at other institutions reported similar trends. Christ University said hiring volumes have continued to grow 10–15% annually, supported by offshoring demand and increased startup participation, while Tier-2 colleges flagged a continued absence of large IT recruiters but steady hiring by startups through the year.
Startups are not matching IT firms in scale but are becoming more visible in campus hiring. They now account for 25–35% of software engineering offers across leading institutions, according to Sanju Ballurkar, president of Experis IT India, part of ManpowerGroup. Many firms are targeting job-ready candidates with skills in product development, data and artificial intelligence.
The shift is also visible in compensation. While IT services firms typically offer entry-level salaries in the range of Rs 6 lakh to Rs 20 lakh, select AI-focused startups are offering significantly higher packages, in some cases Rs 20–40 lakh for a small number of hires. At premier institutes, startup offers have reached Rs 30–35 lakh, comparable to global technology firms.
Industry estimates suggest startups could collectively hire 60,000–80,000 people this year across software engineering, product, data and AI roles, with campus hiring projected to grow 20–30% annually from a smaller base.
Analysts said the changes reflect a structural shift in technology hiring model. Companies are moving away from volume-led recruitment towards capability-driven hiring, building leaner teams and prioritising specialised skills. The result is a more fragmented but diversified hiring ecosystem, where IT services firms, startups and global capability centres together shape entry-level opportunities.