Bengaluru, Oct 28: Fresh graduates entering India’s technology workforce could see significant differences in starting salaries depending on their proficiency in artificial intelligence and related technologies, with AI-ready skills commanding higher pay across several engineering and technology roles, according to HAN Digital’s IT-BPM Graduate Hiring Outlook 2027.
The report estimates that AI/ML engineers with AI-ready skills could command annual salaries of ₹8–22 lakh, compared with ₹6–12 lakh for those without these skills. Similar premiums are evident across software engineering, full-stack development, data science, DevOps/cloud and data analytics, highlighting how practical AI capabilities, combined with strong technical fundamentals, are becoming increasingly valuable to employers.
This shift comes as India’s IT-BPM sector prepares for a measured recovery in graduate recruitment. HAN Digital projects the sector will hire approximately 2.1 lakh freshers in FY2026–27, up 20% from 1.75 lakh in FY2025–26. This represents an increase of around 35,000 hires, although recruitment remains well below the approximately 4 lakh freshers hired in FY2021–22. The recovery is unfolding alongside AI-led productivity gains, evolving project requirements and growing demand for specialised technical skills.
“The fresher hiring market is becoming increasingly differentiated by capability, not just qualifications. AI is changing both the nature of entry-level work and the value employers place on specific skills. As routine coding and execution tasks become increasingly automated, employers are prioritising graduates who can apply AI, data and engineering skills to build, integrate and deploy solutions in real-world environments,” said Saravanan (Saran) Balasundaram, Founder & CEO, HAN Digital Group, a leading business consulting and talent advisory company.
“Our study highlights that the recovery in fresher hiring in FY27 will not be uniform across roles or employers. Graduates who combine strong technical fundamentals with specialised AI skills and practical implementation capabilities will be better positioned to access emerging opportunities. For employers, the priority is to align recruitment and training with evolving business needs; for graduates, it is to move beyond theoretical knowledge and demonstrate the ability to solve problems and deliver tangible outcomes,” he added.
IT services companies are expected to remain the largest employers of fresh graduates in FY27, accounting for approximately 1.25 lakh hires, or 60% of the projected total. Global Capability Centres are expected to recruit around 60,000 freshers (28%), while startups and pure-play BPO firms are projected to account for the remaining 25,000 hires.
Hiring momentum is also extending beyond established metropolitan hubs. The study identifies year-on-year fresher hiring growth of 40% in Coimbatore, 35% in Jaipur, and 30% each in Kochi and Indore. Ahmedabad and Visakhapatnam are estimated to record growth of 25% each, reflecting the expanding role of GCCs and IT services companies in tapping talent pools beyond traditional technology centres.
AI IS CHANGING THE ENTRY-LEVEL JOB MIX
The report identifies a shift away from routine-execution roles towards specialised, AI-adjacent positions. Manual testing, junior quality assurance, basic application support, routine data entry and traditional voice-based support are among the roles facing pressure as organisations automate repetitive tasks.
In contrast, demand is growing for AI/ML engineers, Generative AI developers, cybersecurity and cloud security specialists, MLOps engineers, agentic AI developers and Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs). These roles require not only technical expertise but also the ability to implement and manage solutions in production or client-facing environments.
The analysis finds that 40% of organisations report AI and agentic AI creating new entry-level roles or skill requirements, up from 20% in FY26. AI-aligned campus opportunities are particularly prominent in IT and IT-enabled services, which account for 75% of the AI-aligned campus roles identified in the report.
CORE TECHNICAL SKILLS REMAIN ESSENTIAL
The growing importance of AI does not diminish the need for foundational technical capabilities, highlighted the report. Employers continue to prioritise programming, data and software engineering fundamentals, while increasingly seeking proficiency in additional AI tools and frameworks such as FastAPI, LangChain, TensorFlow, PyTorch and LangGraph, depending on the role. The report underscores that AI skills are most valuable when complemented by the ability to apply them to practical engineering and business challenges.
Looking ahead, the next phase of fresher hiring will be shaped not just by how many graduates companies recruit, but by how effectively they combine technical fundamentals, AI readiness and practical implementation skills to meet evolving business needs.