IT Hiring in FY27: What the Q1 Numbers Show for Freshers, and What PM-VBRY Pays a First Job

Quick Answer: IT fresher hiring in 2026 is growing, but slowly and unevenly. TCS added staff in the April to June quarter, Wipro barely moved and youth unemployment rose, while Naukri’s August data shows AI/ML and GCC hiring climbing. For a first job, the scheme that matters most is PM-VBRY. It pays a first-time employee registered with EPFO one month’s EPF wage, up to ₹15,000, and pays the employer up to ₹3,000 a month per additional hire. After one year, over 72 lakh first-timers had joined the formal workforce and more than 15 lakh beneficiaries had been paid, about one in five. Insist on a formal, EPFO-registered offer.

Two headlines keep circulating about Indian IT jobs, and they contradict each other. One says hiring is back. The other says IT is shedding jobs and freshers should look elsewhere. Neither survives a careful reading of the figures that companies and the government have published, most of them between July and early September 2026. They point in several directions at once, and a fresher needs to know which one applies to them.

This piece sets out what the verified numbers show for anyone looking for a first IT job, then turns to the government scheme most directly tied to a first formal job: the PM Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana, or PM-VBRY. If you are still weighing a government job against a startup offer, our data-backed career playbook for 2026 graduates covers that choice separately.

What TCS and Wipro reported for Q1 FY27

Two large Indian IT employers reported very different quarters for April to June 2026, and one of the two sets of numbers is easy to misread.

TCS: steady growth

TCS’s Q1 FY27 fact sheet, published on 9 July 2026, puts headcount at 5,93,798 on 30 June 2026, up from 5,84,519. That is a net addition of 9,279 people in the quarter, roughly 1.6%. Last-twelve-month attrition was 13.6%.

Net addition understates hiring. It is what remains after exits, and with attrition in the low teens a large company must hire steadily just to hold its size. Some of those replacement seats can go to graduates, but a net headcount figure cannot tell you how many did.

Wipro: read the right number

Wipro’s Q1 FY27 results release gives closing headcount of 2,43,044, against 2,42,156 on 31 March 2026. The net addition for the quarter was 888, under 0.4%.

Some headlines carried a much bigger figure, 9,812. That number is real, but it measures the change from 2,33,232 a year earlier, which makes it a year-on-year figure, and it says little about the latest quarter. Both figures are correct. Only one describes April to June.

Voluntary attrition was 13.9% over the trailing twelve months, close to TCS’s 13.6%, though the two may not be measured the same way. Wipro replaced its leavers in the quarter and added very little on top.

The industry as a whole

For the wider picture, NASSCOM’s Strategic Review of February 2026 estimated India’s technology industry headcount at about 5.95 million (roughly 59.5 lakh) in FY26, after a net addition of about 1,35,000. Revenue was $315 billion, up 6.1%.

Revenue grew 6.1% while headcount grew by a little over 2%, so the industry is earning more per person and adding people with care. For a fresher, that means growth alone is creating fewer new seats than the revenue headline might suggest.

IT fresher hiring 2026: where demand is growing

Naukri’s JobSpeak report for August 2026, published on 7 September 2026, recorded overall white-collar hiring up 14% year on year, with the index at 3,028 against 2,664. AI/ML roles grew more than twice as fast, up 31%. Hiring by global capability centres rose 10%, a little below the overall figure.

The 14% covers white-collar hiring across the job market. Quoting it as an IT figure, or as a fresher figure, would be wrong.

AI/ML hiring by city

The city figures in the same report cover AI/ML roles only. Read them that way and they are useful:

• Hyderabad: AI/ML hiring up 48%.
• Mumbai: AI/ML hiring up 36%.
• Bengaluru, Chennai and Pune: AI/ML hiring up 31% each.

These are growth rates, not volumes. Hyderabad’s 48% shows where AI/ML hiring grew fastest among these cities; it does not show which city has the most AI/ML openings, and it says nothing about overall hiring in Hyderabad. The same caution applies to every city on the list.

Global capability centres

The Zinnov-nasscom India GCC report for 2026 counts 2,117 global capability centres in India, employing 2.36 million people (roughly 23.6 lakh), with $98.4 billion in value. These are the in-house technology, operations and research centres that multinational companies run here.

For a fresher, this widens the list of employers worth applying to beyond the large services firms. The work is for the parent company rather than outside clients. Ask early which team you would join. Naukri’s 10% rise in GCC hiring says the channel is growing, if more slowly than AI/ML.

Why youth unemployment rose while hiring grew

MoSPI’s quarterly Periodic Labour Force Survey bulletin for April-June 2026, released on 10 August 2026, put the unemployment rate at 5.4%, and for young people aged 15-29 at 15.9%, up from 14.6% a year earlier. That is 1.3 points higher. It came in the same quarter that TCS added 9,279 people.

The survey covers every young person in the labour force, across all sectors and education levels, and IT and GCC jobs are one part of that picture. The headline figures do not explain why the youth rate rose. Anyone who claims to know the cause from one quarter’s data is guessing.

Demand exists, but it is concentrated in specific skills and specific employers. A general degree with nothing beyond it competes in a crowded pool, and the youth figures show the crowding got worse over the year.

What PM-VBRY pays the employee and the employer

PM-VBRY is the scheme earlier known as the Employment Linked Incentive. The Union Cabinet approved it in July 2025 with an outlay of ₹99,446 crore. It runs from 1 August 2025 to 31 July 2027 and aims to support more than 3.5 crore jobs, of which 1.92 crore are expected to be first-time employees.

Part A: the employee

Part A is for first-time employees registered with EPFO. It pays one month’s EPF wage, up to ₹15,000, in two instalments. The money goes to the employee. The phrase to hold on to is “registered with EPFO”. A first job that keeps you off EPFO payroll, whatever the arrangement is called, gives you no basis to expect Part A. Only the headline terms are summarised here, so treat ₹15,000 as the most you could receive and confirm the detail with your employer before counting on it.

Part B: the employer

Part B pays the employer up to ₹3,000 a month for each additional employee, for two years. The amount depends on that employee’s wage:

• Wage up to ₹10,000: ₹1,000 a month.
• Wage of ₹10,001 to ₹20,000: ₹2,000 a month.
• Wage above ₹20,000, up to ₹1 lakh: ₹3,000 a month.

For manufacturing, the employer incentive extends to the third and fourth years. At the top tier, two years of Part B comes to as much as ₹72,000 per additional employee. For HR heads, Wipro’s quarter is a reminder that when net additions are close to zero, most hiring is replacement, so confirm exactly how the scheme defines an additional employee before building Part B into a hiring budget.

What one year of PM-VBRY data shows

A PIB release on 1 August 2026, marking the scheme’s first year, reported that over 72 lakh first-time employees had joined the formal workforce since August 2025. More than 15 lakh beneficiaries had received employment-linked incentives, and nearly 30% of beneficiaries were women. Set against the target of 1.92 crore first-time employees over two years, 72 lakh after one year is about 37%, with half the window gone. And 15 lakh paid against 72 lakh joined is about one in five.

Neither comparison is a verdict. Hiring rarely moves at a straight-line pace, and the second year could look different from the first.

The payment gap is harder to read. The one-year figures do not explain it, and Part A is paid in two instalments, so some recent joiners may simply not have reached a payment yet. Nor is it clear whether the 72 lakh and the 15 lakh describe exactly the same group. Treat one in five as a number to track in the second year.

If you are a first-time employee, keep your own copies of the offer letter, payslips and EPFO registration details, so that if a payment seems late you can show when you joined and on what terms.

What freshers and HR heads should do now

Aim at the areas where demand is growing, and make sure your first job puts you on formal EPFO payroll.

For freshers and final-year students

AI/ML is the clearest growth signal in the data. If relocation is possible, the five cities in Naukri’s August figures all showed AI/ML hiring growth of 31% or more, so weigh Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Pune for AI/ML roles specifically, not for IT jobs in general.

A course certificate on its own is thin evidence of skill. A project you built and can explain line by line in an interview is much stronger. If you want a free starting point, we looked at the government’s free AI courses and the PM’s AI skilling pledge earlier this month.

Questions to ask HR before you accept

Ask these in writing, and keep the replies.

1. Will I be on your payroll, and registered with EPFO, from my joining date?
2. If the offer comes through a staffing firm, which company is my employer on record for EPFO?
3. Will this job count as my first EPFO-registered employment for PM-VBRY, and what documents will you need from me?
4. Which team will I join, and what does it work on?
5. Are the role and joining date confirmed in the offer letter?

For HR heads at IT and GCC employers

Two things are worth doing before the next campus season. First, map your fresher wage bands against the three Part B tiers above, and settle with finance how “additional employee” applies to your headcount before anyone budgets for the incentive. Second, brief recruiters on Part A accurately, without promising it. A candidate may well ask whether they will be registered with EPFO from their joining date, and a vague reply costs trust.

Frequently asked questions

Is IT fresher hiring picking up in 2026?

Slowly and unevenly. TCS added a net 9,279 people in the April to June 2026 quarter while Wipro added 888, and NASSCOM estimated the technology industry added about 1,35,000 people in FY26. Naukri’s JobSpeak for August 2026 showed AI/ML roles up 31% year on year. Youth unemployment also rose, to 15.9% in April-June 2026, so demand exists but is concentrated in specific skills.

How much does PM-VBRY pay a first-time employee?

Under Part A, a first-time employee registered with EPFO receives one month’s EPF wage, up to ₹15,000, paid in two instalments, according to the PIB release on the scheme. Because Part A is tied to EPFO registration, a first job that keeps you off EPFO payroll gives you no basis to expect it. Confirm your status with the employer in writing.

What does an employer get under PM-VBRY?

Under Part B, an employer receives up to ₹3,000 a month for each additional employee, for two years. The amount follows the employee’s wage: ₹1,000 a month for wages up to ₹10,000, ₹2,000 for wages of ₹10,001 to ₹20,000, and ₹3,000 for wages above ₹20,000 up to ₹1 lakh. For manufacturing, the incentive extends to the third and fourth years.

How many people has PM-VBRY reached in its first year?

Over 72 lakh first-time employees had joined the formal workforce since August 2025, according to a PIB release on 1 August 2026, and more than 15 lakh beneficiaries had received employment-linked incentives. Nearly 30% of beneficiaries were women. Set side by side, 15 lakh paid against 72 lakh joined is about one in five, and 72 lakh is about 37% of the 1.92 crore first-time target for the scheme’s two years.

Which Indian cities saw the fastest AI/ML hiring growth?

Among the cities in Naukri JobSpeak for August 2026, Hyderabad led, with AI/ML hiring up 48% year on year, followed by Mumbai at 36% and Bengaluru, Chennai and Pune at 31% each. These figures cover AI/ML roles only, not overall hiring in those cities. They are growth rates, so they show where AI/ML demand is rising fastest rather than where the most openings are.

Are global capability centres a good option for freshers?

They are a large employer and belong on any fresher’s search list. The Zinnov-nasscom report for 2026 counts 2,117 GCCs in India employing 2.36 million people, and Naukri recorded GCC hiring up 10% year on year in August 2026. The work is for the parent company rather than outside clients, so ask which team you would join and what it works on before you accept.

WinInfoSoft is ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 27001 certified and assessed at CMMI Level 3, and works with Indian employers, including global capability centres, on application development, AI automation and managed IT. If you are building an AI/ML or application team in India and want delivery support while new hires find their feet, get in touch.