Due to the increase in demand for specialist doctors and professionals with R&D skills, the industry tops the salary charts in 2018, with an average annual CTC of INR 9.6 lakhs.
A recently released report reveals that professionals from the pharma and healthcare industry are paid the highest in India. According to the Randstad Insights Salary Trends Report 2018, the pharma and healthcare industry pays its people an average annual CTC of INR 9.6 lakhs across all levels and functions. The report says that it is due to the increase in demand for specialist doctors and professionals with R&D skills, that the industry tops the salary charts this year.
The rollout of GST saw a spike in demand for implementation and compliance specialists, thus making professional services the second-highest paying sector in the country, with an average salary of INR 9.4 lakhs. The sector largely comprises management consulting, strategy, accounting, audit and legal firms. FMCG, which was the highest-paying industry last year, rests in the third place with an average CTC of INR 9.2 lakhs. The IT sector, offering an average annual CTC of INR 9.1 lakhs and infrastructure, real estate & construction at INR 9.0 lakhs take the fourth and fifth positions in the list as India’s most lucrative industries for professionals.
On the other hand, amongst cities, the IT capital of India, Bangalore, continues to lead the pack as the highest-paying city in the country, with an average annual CTC for talent across all levels and functions, standing at INR 10.8 lakhs. Bangalore topped the list last year as well. Pune stands second at INR 10.3 lakhs, followed by NCR and Mumbai with an average annual CTC figure of INR 9.9 lakhs and INR 9.2 lakhs, respectively. Chennai (INR 8.0 lakhs), Hyderabad (INR 7.9 lakhs) and Kolkata (INR 7.2 lakhs) are the other three names in the list of Indian cities paying the highest average salaries for professionals.
The ‘Hot Jobs for 2018’ showcases roles in strong demand in the current job market, across industries, where talent in the 6–10 years’ experience bracket are paid relatively higher remuneration (as much as 1.5 times higher) compared to other professionals in the same salary range. Specialist doctors top the chart with an average annual CTC at INR 18.4 lakhs, followed by solution architects at a CTC of INR 15.1 lakhs, product engineering specialists at INR 14.8 lakhs and blockchain technology experts at a CTC of INR 14.6 lakhs.
Another interesting insight from this year’s edition of the Salary Trends Report is that, compared to last year the average salaries have shown a downward trend. This is due to the twin phenomena of a decline in mid-level roles (which pay an average of 6–12 lakhs) and an increase in the number of entry-level roles (which typically pay anywhere between four to six lakhs). The entry-level roles of the jobs analysed increased from 38 per cent in 2017 to 51 per cent in 2018, thereby pushing down the overall salaries.
Paul Dupuis, MD & CEO Randstad India believes that, building a successful organisation requires a number of key ingredients—a solid strategy, clear segmentation and go-to market proposition, demand for the service or product and the ability to deliver. Clearly, though, the most important trigger for success is to have the right people, enabled by the right tools to drive strategy and a competitive compensation structure.
He says, “A strong salary structure that strikes a perfect balance between internal and external pay equity is an imperative today for the organisations as it is often the key to bring top talent on board and keep them motivated. The Randstad Insights Salary Trends Report 2018 compiles prevalent salary trends across industries, locations, functions and experience levels in the country, thus empowering India Inc. with critical insights that help redesign a market-appropriate pay structure that augurs well for the organisational strategy, while also reflecting broader market forces.”
Randstad Insights Salary Trends Report 2018 analysed 100,000 jobs across 20 industry verticals and 15 functions.