“The old model (at Indian IT companies) was to hire graduates in bulk and develop them over time,” said Mansee Singhal, country leader at Marsh Workforce & Rewards, which advises Indian and multinational companies on hiring and talent management.
Increasingly, she said, employers want fresh graduates to “arrive with greater technical depth and a better understanding of real business problems from the outset”.
For instance, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), one of India’s biggest IT firms, hired more than 110,000 engineering graduates four years ago, according to its annual report.
But hiring has since fallen sharply. TCS’s intake in financial year 2026 was less than half its level four years ago, while Infosys recruited about 80 per cent fewer fresh graduates in financial year 2025 than three years earlier, according to company reports.
Speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi on Oct 13, Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani said AI was increasingly taking over coding tasks traditionally handled by junior engineers.
He said “new skills” would be needed around client needs, business transformation and managing the technology.
Workforce advisers told CNA that companies are adapting by offering in-house training and working more closely with universities.
Academics said universities must also prepare students earlier by developing problem-solving, decision-making and broader technical skills that were traditionally learnt on the job.
RAISING THE BAR
The shift goes beyond AI automating coding tasks.
Sumit Sarawgi, India head at global management consulting firm Oliver Wyman, said multinational companies’ centres in India are also moving beyond routine back-office work to more complex roles involving innovation and specialised industry knowledge.