The Harsh Truth Behind College Placements with TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Accenture, Cognizant etc

Explosive Growth in Workforce, But Stagnant Salaries

India’s major IT companies — TCS, Infosys, Accenture, Cognizant, and Wipro — have seen a huge rise in employee numbers from 2010 to 2025, rising between 116% to 291% across the top 5 companies in the IT Services segment.

India’s IT sector has become a magnet for job seekers, driven by booming demand for digital services. Yet, the same level of growth hasn’t translated to higher starting salaries.

15-Year Salary Trend: TCS and Infosys:

Despite inflation and rising living expenses, the entry-level compensation has barely changed at India’s top IT firms over 15 years. We sourced the salaries offered for a similar role and position across two companies:

Company: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)

Role: Assistant Systems Engineer Trainee

• 2007: 3.15 LPA

• 2012: 3.16 LPA

• 2022: 3.36 LPA

• 2024: 2.95–3.36 LPA (depending on skill level)

Company: Infosys (2010–2024)

Role: Systems Engineer Trainee

• 2010: 3.25 LPA

• 2018: 3.25 LPA

• 2022: 3.6 LPA

• 2024: 3.6 LPA

In both these companies, as is the case in every company that we examined, the salaries stagnated. And when you compare with inflation, they actually fell.

Inflation Nearly Doubled, Salaries Didn’t

From 2010 to 2025, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) nearly doubled — rising from 100 to 197 — indicating a 97% increase in the cost of living. In contrast, entry-level salaries increased by just 49% to 60%, leading to a serious decline in real income.

While salaries increased on paper, they fell in real value, leaving today’s freshers financially worse off than those 15 years ago.

Corporate Profits Soared

It is not that the companies were struggling, that they did not even consider raising the salary to match it to inflation. While salaries stagnated, profits soared. This is the classic case of a sweat shop. These IT companies recorded massive profits — growing at rates of 400% to 800% from 2010 to 2025.

Net Profit Comparison (FY 2010 vs FY 2025)

Profits grew exponentially — but this wealth was not passed down to entry-level employees.

Layoffs Rise Despite Revenue Growth

Adding to the woes, layoffs became increasingly common between FY23 and FY24, as many firms began reducing their headcounts:

Headcount Changes (FY23–FY24)

Most companies are downsizing while expecting more output from fewer people.

Education Costs Skyrocketed

This massive recruitment from IT firms led to a mushrooming of engineering colleges and also an increased tuition fees being charged by these colleges. In 2010, a 4-year B.Tech degree from IITs cost around 2 lakh. By 2025, it has surged to 8 lakh — a 400% increase.

• Average fees at top 10 private colleges rose from 2.75 lakh to 11.67 lakh (~324%).

Graduating with a B.Tech degree is now four times more expensive, yet starting salaries remain almost the same.

Starting Salaries for Freshers at Top IT Firms (2010–2025)

To provide a broader perspective, here’s a year-wise snapshot of the estimated starting salaries (CTC in LPA) for freshers across leading IT firms:

Student Loans rise. EMIs become a burden

The IT job landscape is now a recruiter's market — where job supply outpaces demand, and employers exploit the situation to increase profits, the education institutes continue to increase fees while the aspirational youth sink deeper into debt while being employed by low paying firms. While Inflation has nearly doubled since 2010, Real salaries for freshers have declined, not improved. Education costs quadrupled, but job compensation remained nearly stagnant.

All this led to education loans rising dramatically. A loan that could be repaid with a maximum of 1 year salary in 2010 now requires at least 8 years payback period to repay the same loan. Students are now increasingly burdened with education loans that they find it hard to repay.

This article is a clarion call for policymakers to consider how to create an ecosystem where cost of education doesn't outpace the salaries being offered for fresher graduates. It is a call for both companies and workers to share in India’s economic boom.