Infosys raises fresher pay, offers up to Rs 21 lakh for specialised roles

Infosys has raised entry-level salaries for fresh graduates, with compensation packages going up to Rs 21 lakh per annum for specialised technology roles, as the software major steps up hiring to strengthen its AI-first capabilities and attract digitally native talent.

According to social media posts and recruitment banners reviewed and verified by Moneycontrol, Infosys is set to launch an off-campus hiring drive for 2025 engineering and computer science graduates to recruit candidates for specialised technology roles, with annual compensation ranging between Rs 7 lakh and Rs 21 lakh.

The roles on offer include Specialist Programmer at levels L1 to L3 and Digital Specialist Engineer in trainee positions. These roles are open to BE, BTech, ME, MTech, MCA and integrated MSc graduates from computer science, information technology and select circuit branches such as electronics and communication engineering and electrical and electronics engineering.

The compensation structure includes Rs 21 lakh per annum for Specialist Programmer L3 trainee roles, Rs 16 lakh for Specialist Programmer L2 trainee roles, Rs 11 lakh for Specialist Programmer L1 trainee roles, and Rs 7 lakh for Digital Specialist Engineer trainee roles.

Infosys Group chief human resources officer Shaji Mathew told Moneycontrol that the company is driving an AI-first approach across its services, which requires both upskilling of existing employees and the hiring of digitally native talent with deep expertise. He said the company’s early-career hiring combines campus and off-campus drives and that opportunities in the Specialist Programmer track have been expanded, with packages going up to Rs 21 lakh per annum, as per the Moneycontrol report.

Low entry-level salaries have long been a concern for engineering graduates in India, with fresher pay at top IT firms remaining largely stagnant for more than a decade. A Moneycontrol analysis showed that while median annual compensation for IT chief executives rose 835 per cent from Rs 3.37 crore in FY12 to Rs 31.5 crore in FY22, the median fresher salary increased by only 45 per cent, from Rs 2.45 lakh to Rs 3.55 lakh during the same period.

The trend, however, has begun to shift for graduates with specialised skills. Infosys’ larger rival TCS operates Digital and Prime elite hiring tracks for freshers, offering compensation of Rs 7 lakh per annum and Rs 11 lakh per annum, respectively. India’s third-largest IT services firm HCLTech has also revised its fresher hiring strategy, promising up to four times higher pay for an elite cadre of recruits, reflecting growing demand linked to the boom in artificial intelligence. Wipro, meanwhile, runs specialised programmes such as Turbo and WILP, where fresher salaries can go up to Rs 6.5 lakh per annum for top coding performers.

Infosys has hired 12,000 freshers in the first half of fiscal year 2026 and is on track to meet its target of recruiting 20,000 freshers for the full year, Infosys chief financial officer Jayesh Sanghrajka said during the company’s second-quarter earnings conference on October 16.

The company also reported its fifth consecutive quarter of net headcount additions, adding 8,203 employees in the second quarter. Net additions for the first half of FY26 stood at 8,413, taking Infosys’ total headcount to 331,991.