Hyderabad Emerges as the 3rd Highest Paying City for Top Tech Roles in India: TeamLease Digital’s Latest Report

● The report captures top skills in GCCs, IT Products & Services, and Non-Tech sectors along with salaries at entry, mid and senior levels

● Hyderabad is one of the key locations for GCCs due to its robust infrastructure and talent pool

● Highest paying tech roles in Hyderabad include Product Management with INR 21.1 LPA salary and Data Science with INR 16.1 LPA salary

● Cloud investment set to grow by 25-30% in the next 5 years

● 70% of the companies in Telecom, Media and Entertainment, BFSI, and Energy and Utilities sectors, dedicating more than 20% of their technology budgets to digital advancements

● Skills in AI, Data Analytics, Natural Language Processing (NLP), and Data Mining are also in high demand

As India's technology sector continues to evolve at a breakneck pace, emerging as a global hub for innovation and digital expertise, it is important to understand the dynamics of talent demand, skill preferences and remunerations. Catering to this need, TeamLease Digital, a market leader in tech staffing and learning solutions, has released its latest report titled Digital Skills & Salary Primer for FY 2025 which provides essential insights into the latest industry trends, critical skills, and salary benchmarks across various sectors, including IT Products & Services, Global Capability Centers (GCCs), and Non-Tech industries. This comprehensive report offers a comparative analysis of skill demand between FY 2024 and FY 2025, breaking down salaries by job function, city, experience level, and specific roles. Additionally, the report assesses high-demand skills and relevant certifications, providing strategic recommendations to address skill gaps and align with market needs.

In the report, Hyderabad has distinguished itself as the third-highest paymaster for top tech roles, surpassing several other major cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, and Chandigarh. The city has become a strategic hub for multinational companies expanding their Global Capability Centers (GCCs) in India and driving substantial investments to enhance their capabilities in IT, finance, research, and development. With its robust infrastructure and rich talent pool, Hyderabad has become a prime geography for these expansions.

Among the most sought-after tech functions in Hyderabad, Product Management, Data Science, and Data Engineering and Full Stack Development lead the way, offering impressive salary packages of INR 21.1 LPA, INR 16.1 LPA, INR 11.1 LPA and INR 9.5 LPA, respectively. These job functions are seeing a steady YoY increase from FY24 to FY25 across all levels, especially the senior ones with 6% to 11% increase. Additionally, job functions like Software Development, Data Analytics, Cloud Computing, and DevOps command competitive salaries ranging from INR 8 LPA to INR 8.7 LPA, while Financial Analysis and Cybersecurity continue to be popular choices with packages of INR 6.5 LPA.

Offering an overview of the tech market, TeamLease Digital’s report shows that as of FY24, India’s tech market size stood at USD 254 billion, with a 3.8% year-on-year growth and around 5.6 million tech workforce. From 2020 to 2024, India saw advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Blockchain Tech, IoT, Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Edge Computing, and Quantum Computing with essential tools like Python, R, TensorFlow, and PyTorch. However, highlighting a significant lack of expertise only 2.5% of engineers in India possess AI skills, and merely 5.5% are qualified with basic programming abilities. In response to this growing tech skills gap, 86% of Indian businesses are actively reskilling their IT workers.

Global Capability Centers (GCCs)

The Indian tech industry is projected to reach $350 billion by 2025, with significant investments in AI, ML, and blockchain. Playing a vital role in driving efficiency and innovation, India currently has 1600+ GCCs employing over 1.66 million professionals. According to the report, India is poised to welcome 800 new GCCs in the next 5-6 years, highlighting the country’s growing prominence as a global tech hub. Interestingly, a growing trend of establishing GCCs in tier-II cities like Kolkata, Ahmedabad, and Vadodara, indicates a geographical diversification of tech opportunities across the country. Skills that are seeing an increasing demand are PyTorch, AWS, DevOps, NLP, Kubernetes, Hyperledger Fabric, Blockchain, Tableau, SQL, and ServiceNow.

IT Products & Services and Non-Tech Industries

In IT Products & Services, cloud investment is set to grow by 25-30% in the next 5 years. IT Products & Services is expected to account for 8% of India's GDP by 2026 and create 14 million jobs by adopting cloud solutions, underlining the sector's potential for economic impact. While the skills of PrismaCloud, Salesforce, ITSM, PowerBI, and Oracle are seeing a high uptake, the report identifies the decreasing demand for Sketch, UI Path, Splunk and Automation Anywhere.

The traditionally non-tech industries are also being transformed through the use of advanced technologies with over 70% of the companies in Telecom, Media and Entertainment, BFSI, and Energy and Utilities sectors, dedicating more than 20% of their technology budgets to digital advancements. The tech talent pool in this non-tech sector is also expected to expand at a CAGR of 7.86% reaching from 7.65 lakhs in FY22 to 11.15 lakhs by FY27 highlighting the increasing integration of technology across various traditional industries. In addition, given the scope of the sector, the range of trending skills is expansive. However, skills that are experiencing a lower uptake are Gimp, Zendesk, Nagios, Google Cloud SDK, and OpenStack CLI.

Key Functional Areas, Top Skills & Salaries

TeamLease Digital's report identifies key functional areas in the tech industry that include Software Development and Engineering, Cloud Solutions and Enterprise Application Management, Project Management and User Experience, Data Management and Analytics, Cybersecurity and Network Development, and System Operations and Tech Support Services. These areas represent the core competencies driving India's tech sector forward.

The report offers valuable insights into in-demand skills and corresponding salary brackets. In GCCs, AI/ML Engineer role has an approximate starting salary of INR 8.2 LPA that can go up to INR 43 LPA at senior levels with 8+ years of experience. In the IT Products & Services sector, a Big Data Developer role can command a salary of approx. INR 9.7 LPA at starting levels and INR 20.7 LPA at senior levels. Considering tech roles in non-tech sectors, the role of SAP ABAP Consultant has a starting salary of approx. INR 7.2 LPA that can go as high as INR 31 LPA at 8+ years of experience. Other in-demand roles include DevOps Engineer, IoT Engineer, Information Security Analyst and Automation Engineer, each commanding competitive salaries based on experience and expertise.

Elaborating on the findings of the report, Krishna Vij, Business Head – IT Staffing, TeamLease Digital, said, “Hyderabad has emerged as a significant contributor in India’s technology landscape, particularly when it comes to the compensation offered. Hyderabad has consistently proven to be a better paymaster compared to other metropolitan areas, offering competitive salaries across top tech job functions. For instance, Data Science professionals in Hyderabad command an impressive INR 16.1 LPA, while Product Management roles see salaries reaching INR 21.1 LPA. The city also stands out as a key destination for Global Capability Centers (GCCs) with its strong infrastructure and skilled workforce. Several multinational companies are investing significantly in GCCs in Hyderabad to enhance their IT, finance, and R&D capabilities. This is driving significant job creation in the city with rising demand for AI, Natural Language Processing and Data Mining. As demand for software engineers is projected to rise by 22% in 2025 across various sectors, including banking, financial services, telecom, and healthcare, Hyderabad is well-positioned to remain at the forefront of this digital transformation and retain its status as a key tech hub in India.”

The report also reveals significant salary growth across key tech roles, underscoring the increasing demand for specialized skills in the industry. Entry-level Data Engineering roles are experiencing a robust 12.07% year-on-year salary increase from FY24 to FY25. Product Management professionals at the mid-level are looking at a substantial 10.2% rise in compensation, while senior roles in Data Science and DevOps are witnessing nearly 11% growth in salaries over the same period. These figures highlight the accelerating value of expertise in these critical areas as the industry continues to evolve.

Women Representation

TeamLease Digital’s report also sheds light on women's representation in the tech workforce. Currently, there are 20.5 lakh women tech professionals in India. In GCCs, the percentage of women tech professionals is expected to increase from the current 25% to 35% by 2027. However, the report also reveals a persistent gender pay gap in the tech industry, ranging from 10-17% on average and sometimes reaching 22-30%, for roles like Data Analysis.

As India’s technology landscape continues to evolve, the findings of TeamLease Digital’s report provide reliable insights into the current state and future trajectory of the sector. The cross-sectional view presented by the report around the talent trends, skill demands, and salary benchmarks is essential in the current scenario to understand the dynamics of India's growing tech ecosystem and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.