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The demand for generative AI jobs in India is definitely on the rise. A recent report revealed that senior developers working in generative AI draw over INR 1 crore per annum, while an entrant’s salary could easily be around INR 18 lakh per annum.
Further, it stated that the techies in India are driving up salaries with additional AI, generative AI, and adjacent skills, commanding as high as a 30-50 percent premium over those without such expertise.
AIM Research noted that the median salaries of generative AI developers and engineers ranged between INR 11.1 lakh and 12.5 lakh per annum.
Upon further investigation, AIM found that entry-level AI engineers at companies like Accenture typically earned about INR 8.5 lakh per annum, compared to the INR 5-6 lakh per annum that regular software engineers took home. Additionally, AI engineers with generative AI skills saw a significant 50% increase in their salary.
Notably, Accenture recently secured $1.1 billion worth of generative AI deals.
AIM also noted that Accenture’s consulting roles in generative AI fetched significantly higher salaries than software engineering or tech roles. Experienced folks could easily make up to INR 35 lakh per annum with a base salary of INR 21 lakh per annum.
“GenAI has definitely created a new market, and companies and VCs are moving fast to build and capitalise on this. So, people in this field are getting paid above-average salaries,” said Mankaran Singh, founder of Flowdrive.
Further, he said that any engineer with expertise in deep learning can get started and start contributing to generative AI development within 2-3 months of studying.
An interesting story emerged when AIM spoke to Izam Mohammed, who had never attended college and is now an AI/ML engineer earning lakhs. He created the Python (ragrank.readthedocs.io) library for evaluating RAG models, using the credibility and skills he gained through online resources to land this job at 18.
Moreover, as global capability centres (GCCs) establish their presence in India, young talent in the country can seek employment opportunities to leverage their skills in generative AI for lucrative careers. According to consulting firm ANSR, about 90 percent of GCCs in India plan to harness the potential of AI, ML, and cognitive computing in the next 2-3 years.
A report indicates that mid-career software professionals in the GCC segment, with about three to eight years of experience, typically earned salaries ranging from INR 15 lakh to INR 35 lakh per annum.
Recently, AMD announced that it will expand its GenAI team in India and will be hiring machine learning research scientists/engineers at multiple levels.
What about AI Startups?
AIM contacted computer scientist Pratik Desai, the founder of KissanAI, to understand the impact generative AI can have on salary packages.
Desai said, those who can conduct research using models, fine-tuning, and tokenisers and have a deep understanding of neural networks typically move to the US as they can get ‘high salaries, not just ‘30-50%’.
Further, he said that traditional software development roles, which involve knowledge of libraries like Llama Index or LangChain and assist in AI project development, would eventually see an increase in salaries. “They will see an increase, maybe not immediately. The immediate increase would be with established tech startups,” he added.
CoRover AI chief Ankush Sabharwal told AIM that the average salary for GenAI tech developers in India can range from INR 8 lakh to INR 24 lakh per annum, depending on experience and skill set. He puts them into two categories: GenAI Tech Developers and Business Problem Solvers.
GenAI Tech Developers are tech wizards who specialise in machine learning, deep learning, coding languages, and generative models. Business Problem Solvers are equipped with strong problem-solving abilities, business acumen, and a deep understanding of data.
Sabharwal said that the latter act as detectives, identifying problems, grasping industry nuances, and maximising data’s potential to leverage GenAI effectively. Both the roles offer substantial earning potential, attracting skilled professionals to the dynamic and impactful realm of GenAI employment opportunities, he added.
“The average salary of an ML engineer is INR 30-40 lakh per annum,” said a GenAI engineer at Sarvam AI, adding that if you are a good ML engineer, your salary will be above the same SWE-level salary anyway, GenAI or not.
Indian IT Pays Poorly in GenAI
Indian IT is betting big on generative AI. TCS recently announced having trained over 350,000 employees in AI skills and plans to hire 40,000 freshers for FY25.
Although TCS claimed to be training its employees in generative AI, the exact focus and content of this training remained ambiguous. Meanwhile, the entry-level salary for freshers at TCS, ranging from INR 3 lakh to 4 lakh per annum, remained lower than industry standards.
AIM contacted an employee who works with generative AI at TCS. He said that the pay scale specifically for GenAI resources at the company won’t change, and the hike is also based on the company’s financial performance and business unit budget allocation.
“I believe we may get some good hikes in the range of 25%-30% after switching to another company,” he added. Furthermore, he said that the necessary skills required to be a GenAI engineer include the basics of AI algorithms in machine learning, deep learning, neural networks, and NLP.
When asked about TCS’s training focus in generative AI, he explained, “TCS has been releasing various courses on GenAI on our internal platform to upskill its workforce so that resources are ready to be deployed in client projects.”
He added, “Along with the courses, TCS is providing free vouchers for Azure certification exams, access to Google Cloud, and Nvidia portal access for attending workshops, etc.”
Due to lower salaries, many employees choose to work for startups, GCCs, and major tech companies such as Microsoft, Google, and Meta. These companies provide higher compensation packages that can range from INR 15 lakh to over INR 40 lakh annually, excluding bonuses and stock options, and also could go up to INR 1 crore for senior executives and leaders.
