Mohandas Pai, Chairman of Aarin Capital and former CFO of Infosys, has sharply criticized the state of entry-level salaries in India’s IT sector. In a video interview to the Hindustan Instances, Pai accused the trade of exploiting freshers, regardless of boasting about file income and paying high executives exorbitant salaries.
“They’re exploiting the entry degree. I have been speaking about them exploiting folks as a result of they [have] surplus labor, determined younger people who find themselves getting educated and wish to work. It is rather unethical, not right, and in opposition to what the trade stands for,” Pai stated.
Pai identified that whereas CEO salaries have seen huge hikes, entry-level salaries have remained practically stagnant over the previous decade.
Freshers who earned ₹3.25 lakh yearly in 2011 now make solely ₹3.50-₹3.75 lakh in 2024—a mere 15% enhance over 13 years. In distinction, CEO salaries have risen by 50-60% in simply the final 5 years, with the median pay of high IT executives surging 160% to succeed in ₹84 crore yearly, Pai had acknowledged earlier.
“You give the CEO ₹50 crore, ₹60 crore, ₹70 crore, whereas seven to eight years again they had been getting ₹8-10 crore. Now you do not wish to pay freshers? I believe it is horrible. This isn’t the way in which for the trade to guide the nation,” Pai remarked.
He additional argued that the trade has been exploiting freshers for over a decade, with stagnant wages disproportionately affecting the underside 50% of staff.
How nervous ought to techies be about AI?
Regardless of considerations over job losses as a consequence of AI, Pai stays optimistic about India’s position in international tech hiring. He predicts that extra expertise jobs will come to India as firms shift AI-first methods.
“If you wish to do AI in Western markets, you want knowledge scientists who aren’t obtainable there. So, the work will come to India,” he acknowledged.
Pai believes that job losses can be extra pronounced within the West, the place firms are paying $150,000 per worker however can change them with AI at a fraction of the fee. In India, productiveness positive factors from AI in service firms are anticipated to be round 10-12% yearly, resulting in extra initiatives and spending.
With financial certainty bettering and international spending set to rise, Pai forecasts higher hiring prospects within the coming years.
