Infosys has rolled out a new ‘Power Programme’ as part of its campus placement initiative, targeting colleges with a differentiated hiring strategy. According to sources familiar with the development, the IT giant is offering salary packages of up to Rs 9 lakh per annum under this program, as reported by ET.
This initiative marks a significant increase from the standard entry-level salary packages of Rs 3-3.5 lakh that Infosys typically offers to freshers.
“The focus of this hiring strategy is on coding and software challenges, programming skill evaluations, and other specialized tests during both exams and interviews,” a source explained. “Infosys is offering salary packages ranging from Rs 4-6.5 lakh, with some positions going up to Rs 9 lakh.” This approach is similar to Tata Consultancy Services’ (TCS) ‘Prime’ program, which specializes in hiring freshers for software development roles.
TCS introduced its ‘Prime’ program last year, offering salary packages between Rs 9-11 lakh per annum. The company has expanded the program’s scope this year to include emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), generative AI (GenAI), and machine learning (ML).
TCS currently hires freshers under three categories: ‘Ninja’ with packages around Rs 3.6 lakh, ‘Digital’ at Rs 7.5 lakh, and ‘Prime’ for the higher range.
As of Monday, neither TCS nor Infosys responded to requests for comment.
After a slowdown in hiring for nearly four quarters, Infosys plans to recruit 15,000-20,000 graduates in FY25, while TCS is targeting around 40,000 fresh hires, consistent with its hiring numbers from last year. Typically, top IT firms like TCS and Infosys offer minimum salaries in the range of Rs 3-4 lakh to freshers.
However, given the subdued demand and challenging macroeconomic environment, IT companies are increasingly focusing on hiring specialized talent in areas like cloud computing, AI/ML, and cybersecurity to support the growing demand for digital transformation projects.
“As you know, in recent quarters, we have adopted an agile hiring strategy. This means we recruit freshers both from campus and off-campus,” said Jayesh Sanghrajka, CFO of Infosys, during the company’s Q1 earnings conference call last month.
Over the past year, the $250-billion technology services sector has seen a slowdown, leading many software exporters—traditionally known for mass hiring of engineers—to reduce their headcounts.
In fiscal 2024, the top five IT companies in India collectively reduced their employee numbers by over 70,000. While TCS added 5,452 employees in the June quarter, its net headcount had declined for the previous three consecutive quarters. In FY24, TCS reported an annual decrease in its employee base for the first time in 19 years, with a reduction of 13,249 employees compared to FY23.
Infosys also saw a reduction in its headcount by nearly 2,000 employees from April to June, bringing its total workforce to 315,332.
HCLTech reported adding 1,078 freshers in the first quarter of FY25, down from 3,096 in the previous quarter.
Infosys announced during its earnings call last month that it will resume campus placements as well as off-campus fresher hiring in the current fiscal year.
Together, India’s top four IT firms are expected to hire approximately 82,000 freshers in FY25. HCLTech and Wipro are planning to hire 10,000 and up to 12,000 freshers, respectively.
