TeamLease Digital’s FY2026‑27 Digital Skills and Salary Primer reveals a widening pay gap in India’s tech sector, with AI, data, cloud and cybersecurity specialties drawing higher premiums as routine roles face tighter budgets.
Only 16% of India’s IT professionals possess true AI skills, making the supply thin and the demand fierce; companies are now willing to pay a premium for talent that can move AI from pilot to production.
Entry‑level AI‑core roles command a median of ₹13.2 lakh, compared with ₹9‑10.2 lakh for AI‑adjacent positions and ₹4.8‑5.4 lakh for AI‑support roles, while projected salary growth reaches 16‑21% for core talent versus 7‑8% for support.
Rajesh, a 32‑year‑old engineer in Bengaluru, pivoted from a traditional coding role to a data architect after completing a short AI certification—his salary leapt from ₹8 lakh to ₹12 lakh in just six months, illustrating the tangible upside for reskilling.
Tech recruiters now set a new hiring priority list: niche AI positions, cloud security architects, and industrial data architects. The next quarter, firms plan to roll out targeted reskilling programs and seek government incentives to bridge the talent gap.