Over the last two decades, India’s information technology (IT) sector has experienced tremendous growth - in turnover, and corporate profits. This has obviously led to a massive increase in manpower too, creating jobs across the length and breadth of India. However, beneath the surface of this economic boom lies a disheartening reality: the entry-level salaries of engineers and graduates, placed from the campuses of India’s burgeoning engineering colleges, have not kept pace with not just the aspiration but even inflation. While these companies continue to flourish, the fresher placed from these engineering colleges, struggles to maintain a decent standard of living — a clear sign that salary growth has failed to reflect the real cost of living.
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Explosive Growth in Workforce, But Stagnant Salaries
15-Year Salary Trend: TCS and Infosys:
Inflation Nearly Doubled, Salaries Didn’t
Corporate Profits Soared
Layoffs Rise Despite Revenue Growth
Education Costs Skyrocketed
Starting Salaries for Freshers at Top IT Firms (2010–2025)
Student Loans rise. EMIs become a burden
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.
Company
Employees (2010)
Employees (2025)
Growth (%)
Infosys
1,27,779
3,23,578
153%
TCS
1,60,429
6,07,979
278%
Wipro
1,08,071
2,34,054
116%
Cognizant
1,04,000
3,36,300
223%
Accenture
2,04,000
7,99,000
291%
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
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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.
Company
Year
Actual Salary (₹)
Inflation-Adjusted Salary (₹)
Shortfall (₹)
% Shortfall
TCS (ASE)
2007–2025
3,36,875
7,89,467
4,73,680
60%
Infosys (SET)
2010–2025
3,60,000
6,40,265
3,15,257
49%
While salaries increased on paper, they fell in real value, leaving today’s freshers financially worse off than those 15 years ago.
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)
Company
FY 2010 Profit
FY 2025 Profit
Infosys
₹5,755 crore
₹26,750 crore
TCS
₹7,001 crore
₹48,553 crore
Wipro
₹4,003 crore
₹13,500 crore
Cognizant
$734 million
$2.5 billion
Accenture
$1.78 billion
$7.68 billion
Profits grew exponentially — but this wealth was not passed down to entry-level employees.
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Adding to the woes, layoffs became increasingly common between FY23 and FY24, as many firms began reducing their headcounts:
Headcount Changes (FY23–FY24)
Company
FY23 Headcount
FY24 Headcount
Change
Infosys
3,43,234
3,17,240
-25,994
TCS
6,14,795
6,01,546
-13,249
Wipro
2,48,813
2,34,054
-14,759
Cognizant
3,47,700
3,36,800
-10,900
Accenture
7,33,000
7,74,000
+41,000
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%).
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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:
Year
TCS
Infosys
Wipro
Accenture
Cognizant
2010
3.15
3.25
3
3
3
2011
3
3
3
3
3
2012
2.75
2.75
2.75
2.75
2.75
2013
3
3
3
3
3
2014
3
3
3
3
3
2015
3.3
3.3
3.3
3.15
3.35
2016
3.3
3.3
3.3
3.3
3.3
2017
3.6
3.6
3.6
3.6
3.6
2018
3.6
3.6
3.6
3.6
3.6
2019
3.6
3.6
3.6
3.6
3.6
2020
3.6
3.6
3.6
3.6
3.6
2021
3.6
3.6
3.6
3.8
3.6
2022
3.6
3.6
3.6
3.8
3.6
2023
3.6
3.6
3.6
3.8
3.6
2024
3.6
3.6
3.6
3.8
2.5
2025
3.6
3.6
3.6
3.8
3.6
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.
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