IT hiring is slowly getting back on track, and though still not near the post-Covid demand, the industry is witnessing near double-digit growth rate, Hitesh Oberoi of Info Edge said on January 2, adding that the company's non-IT recruitments continue to do well.
The Naukri JobSpeak report for December showed that AI-related jobs saw a rise of 36% on year, with only three of the 16 sectors being tracked seeing a fall. The total job index rose 9% on year as well as on month-on-month basis.
In conversation with CNBC-TV18, Hitesh Oberoi said demand for high-quality artificial intelligence professionals is very strong, especially from good institutions, who are also commanding higher salaries compared to regular IT services professionals. "Premium IT talent gets paid Rs 8-10 lakh per annum as starting salary," Oberoi said. "This is how it starts. First, the demand for premium talent picks up, then it spreads," he added. Info Edge said they too have ramped up their AI hiring, and using the tools to become more productive. Info Edge said they will soon be launching new products created by AI to boost revenue pool for the company. "Generative AI will go mainstream this year," said Hitesh Oberoi.
GCCs are hiring in big numbers in India, Info Edge pointed out, along with Big Tech companies as well as startups. Info Edge had started to witness double-digit billing growth during Q2FY25, a pre-cursor to growth in hiring. With IT hiring humming once again, Info Edge said the company should target revenue growth in the teens going forward. The company added that they will want to see the non-IT hiring improve further. "Certainly things are beginning to look up for entry-level hiring across all levels. It is only a matter of time before things get back on track," Hitesh Oberoi said.
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IT companies had in recent years over-hired, which had led to a large bench, thus bringing down the utilisation rate. Now, the utilisation rate is back to pre-Covid levels, observed Info Edge, adding that replacement hirings are commenced, even in big IT services companies, which will create demand. "A lot of people will also start moving to GCCs, and some of these will be from IT services companies. As a result, the attrition cycle will start," said Hitesh Oberoi.
In non-IT segment, the demand for entry-level talent is picking up in non-metro cities, and small towns in the south India, observed Info Edge, adding that the economy has to continue to do well for the hiring to continue to improve. "We should continue to growt at least 6% per annum. In the past, we have seen that whenever India grows at 6-7% growth rate, we run out of talent very quickly if it sustains for 2-3 years," Oberoi said.
Up until now, there was a overhang of Covid on hiring, and there was little hiring for a while. However, if India continues to grow at this rate, there will be an employability and skill issue, said Info Edge.
The company said they will aim to make 99acres and Jeevansathi businesses profitable in FY26.
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