Infosys has raised entry-level salaries and is now offering packages of up to ₹21 lakh a year for freshers hired into specialised technology roles, the group’s CHRO Shaji Mathew confirmed in a statement to The Financial Express. This is the highest starting pay in the Indian IT sector right now, much higher than what rival firms offer for similar roles.
Infosys hikes fresher pay, offers up to Rs 21 lakh
The company is soon to hire engineering and computer science students for specialised roles with salaries ranging from Rs 7 lakh to Rs 21 lakh per annum. According to Shaji Mathew, “Infosys continues to lead the industry in championing an AI‑First approach across everything we design and deliver for our clients. Achieving this vision requires not only upskilling our existing workforce but also infusing the organization with digitally native talent with deep expertise and high learnability. These new hires will be guided and mentored to work on complex problems, advanced technologies, and enterprise‑grade platforms for our customers.”
He added, “As in previous years, our early‑career hiring strategy integrates both campus hiring to meet forecasted talent needs and off‑campus hiring to support just‑in‑time requirements. While we have always offered multiple roles for early‑career professionals, we have now expanded opportunities within the Specialist Programmer track. This includes compensation packages of up to INR 21 lakhs per annum.”
The top package clearly stands out at a time when fresher salaries across the IT industry have largely remained flat for years.
Which roles pay how much
Infosys is hiring for roles such as Specialist Programmer and Digital Specialist Engineer (trainee).
According to a Moneycontrol report, a fresher joining as a Specialist Programmer L3 (trainee) will earn ₹21 lakh a year. Those hired as Specialist Programmer L2 will get ₹16 lakh, while L1 trainees will earn ₹11 lakh. Digital Specialist Engineer (trainees) will be offered a package of ₹7 lakh per year. These roles are open to graduates with BE, BTech, ME, MTech, MCA and integrated MSc degrees, mostly from computer science, IT, and select circuit branches like ECE and EEE.
For a very long time, low starting salaries have been a sore point for engineering graduates. A Moneycontrol analysis shows just how wide the gap became. Between FY12 and FY22, the median salary of IT CEOs jumped 835 percent. It rose from Rs 3.37 crore to Rs 31.5 crore. In the same period, the median fresher’s salary grew only 45 percent, from Rs 2.45 lakh to Rs 3.55 lakh.
Infosys is hiring in big numbers
In the time of mass tech layoffs, Infosys has also upped its game in hiring. The company has already taken on 12,000 freshers in the first half of FY26 and expects to meet its target of 20,000 fresher hires this year. Infosys CFO Jayesh Sanghrajka shared this update during the company’s Q2 earnings call on October 16.
The firm also posted its fifth straight quarter of net headcount growth, adding 8,203 employees in Q2. Overall headcount now stands at 3,31,991.