tcs: A fresh start: how outsourcing firms are attracting skilled freshers with higher pay packets

The average starting salary a fresher at an IT firm can expect to earn has remained around `3 to 4 lakh per annum for over a decade now. The issue was in the spotlight recently when Cognizant made headlines for offering a salary of `2.5 lakh, although it was later clarified that this was for a non-engineering graduate. At the same time, however, top IT firms like TCS, Cognizant and Infosys are rolling out specialised hiring programs which offer