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Technology

IT sector revives fresher hiring, raises stakes for AI talent

hellohimachalse@gmail.com 08 Aug 2026 2 hours ago

Bengaluru: The outlook for fresher hiring has improved in the Indian IT industry, although bulk recruitment remains a thing of the past for now. HR industry experts believe the skillsets required for fresher hiring have changed, with greater emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.

“Fresher hiring has not reached the levels seen in previous years. But it has improved. Large companies like TCS, Infosys and others have increased the hiring of fresh graduates. It is only the skillsets that are changing. Now, companies have created AI-specific pay packages,” Siva Prasad Nanduri, CEO of staffing firm Diensten Tech, told The Hans India.

In the first quarter of the current financial year, fresher recruitment showed signs of recovery. TCS onboarded 14,000 freshers during the April-June quarter, and its management has said the company will hire around 25,000 freshers in the current fiscal year.

Similarly, Infosys hired 4,000 freshers from college campuses during the June quarter. The Bengaluru-headquartered firm plans to recruit around 20,000 freshers in the ongoing fiscal year.

These campus hiring plans by the country’s two largest IT services companies mark a significant improvement over previous quarters. Campus placements took a major hit last fiscal year owing to rapid AI-led automation, coupled with uncertainty around business growth.

While TCS and Infosys have outlined their fresher hiring plans, several other tech majors continue to take a cautious approach to onboarding fresh graduates. For instance, HCLTech’s management has said its fresher hiring plans will evolve every quarter.

“I think for a couple of years now, we have moved away from trying to commit to an annual number and instead created a rolling quarterly plan,” HCLTech’s management said during its post-Q1 earnings conference. Tech Mahindra has also said its hiring plans will depend on the demand environment. Sources said fresher hiring is likely to see a further uptick as IT firms plan to increase their bench strength after winning several large projects in the first quarter. Meanwhile, many IT companies have created separate career progression paths for AI-skilled fresh graduates by offering higher compensation. 

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