AI leads salary growth in India as employers pay more for scarce skills

AI leads salary growth in India as employers pay more for scarce skills

India’s compensation landscape is seeing a sharper divide between high-demand specialist skills and more established roles. Artificial intelligence (AI) recorded 12 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) salary growth, the highest among the categories tracked, followed by computer & network security and semiconductors, at 9 per cent each, according to the latest foundit Insights Tracker (FIT). Taken over two years, the divide is sharper. AI salaries have compounded 22 per cent between 2024 and 2026 — rising 10 per cent, then 12 per cent — while pay in sectors like computer hardware and e-commerce has declined. However, salaries in information technology (IT) services stagnated over the two years. “Companies are getting selective about what they pay a premium for. Experience on its own no longer commands the strongest raises — what matters is whether a skill fills a capability gap the business needs. For professionals, the takeaway is straightforward — salary growth will increasingly follow those who keep deepening and renewing their skills as business needs shift,” said Tarun Sinha, chief executive officer (CEO), foundit AI professionals (0-3 years of experience), earn between ₹8.87 and 15.41 lakh per annum (LPA), rising to ₹70.99–89.24 LPA for those with more than 15 years of experience. Cybersecurity records an even higher salary ceiling of ₹97.81 LPA, the highest across the categories tracked. The contrast with AI specialist and mainstream IT roles is stark. Entry-level pay in IT and IT services starts at ₹2.68–5.08 LPA — about a third of what AI freshers command — and reaches ₹57.55–72.13 LPA with over 15 years of experience, well below AI salary ceiling for seniors. Both categories have also recorded a 1 per cent pay decline over the last year, said the report. Within IT, there is a clear divergence in salaries. AI (+12 per cent), computer & network security (+9 per cent) and data mining (+7 per cent) led salary growth. Computer software and computer networking held flat at +1 per cent. Whereas, IT (−1 per cent), Internet (−2 per cent), e-commerce (−3 per cent) and computer hardware (−4 per cent) all declined in the last year. AI compensation varies sharply by location, reflecting where specialised employers and mature technology ecosystems are clustered. Bengaluru remains India's highest-paying market, supported by its density of product companies, AI-first startups and global capability centres (GCCs). Senior AI professionals in Bengaluru earn ₹61.70–91.25 LPA — nearly 10–15 per cent more than in the National Capital Region (NCR) or Mumbai, and up to 40 per cent more than Chennai. Hyderabad is emerging as the closest challenger, backed by expanding GCC and product engineering investments. The gap widens beyond the top six metros. AI salaries in Tier-II cities — Coimbatore, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Jaipur and Indore — are 28–31 per cent below metro cities' pay, with the differential widest at senior levels. Entry and mid-level AI talent is becoming more distributed, but experienced practitioners stay concentrated in the metros. Pune and Chennai, while trailing on the overall AI compensation, are building specialist premiums in automotive AI, industrial automation and manufacturing analytics. These are early signs that AI pay is also beginning to differentiate by application domain, not just geography. Beyond tech, manufacturing and specialised healthcare lead salary growth. Salary growth outside technology is concentrated in areas building new capabilities. Over two years, semiconductors saw a 17 per cent growth and industrial automation witnessed a 13 per cent rise — both accelerating in the last two years.