The country's largest IT firms are rebranding traditional software development, maintenance and business analytics roles with AI labels rather than creating new positions. According to Mint's analysis of job portals of five major tech services firms, there are at least 3,500 AI roles across TCS, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Wipro and Tech Mahindra. TCS has 604 AI-related roles, Infosys has 1,340 positions, HCLTech has 1,376 roles, Wipro has 350 openings, and Tech Mahindra has 29 of 61 posted roles with AI titles. As Bernstein analysts Venugopal Garre and Nikhil Arela noted, "Bulk of the new 'AI' vacancies dotted across employment platforms carry a lot of AI language and buzzwords, but are, in spirit, conventional software, data, cloud, or digital transformation work."
According to Deloitte India's Campus Workforce Trends 2026 report, pre-placement offer conversion rates have increased by approximately 6% year-on-year, with the trend following a sharp rise in PPO conversions recorded in Deloitte's previous campus hiring study. In FY25, PPO conversions increased 24% year-on-year across degree programmes, showing that companies were already placing greater importance on internship-led hiring. The report attributes this growth to stronger adoption of internship-to-hire programmes and sustained demand for pre-assessed campus talent. 65-70% of organisations invest in structured apprenticeships and long-term internships to improve practical exposure and conversion outcomes, as reported by The Times of India. The main strategy involves locking in talent in the first or second trimester after assessing candidates for an elongated period of 2 months instead of just interview performance.
86% of employers surveyed are adopting AI in recruitment, according to Deloitte's 2026 report, which covered 257 organisations across manufacturing, services, pharma, consumer, financial services and technology sectors. AI and data skills are attracting hiring premiums of 20–25%, while analytical thinking and problem-solving skills command premiums of 10–15%. Companies are moving towards more structured shortlisting and assessments, with greater focus on skills and practical capabilities. The internship period has become more important for students as it provides companies with a longer opportunity to assess technical skills, problem-solving ability, learning agility and workplace fit before deciding on a full-time offer. 80% of organisations surveyed now have dedicated campus hiring teams, demonstrating the growing importance of structured talent pipelines.
MBA graduates command the highest internship stipends with median stipends of approximately ₹1.8-1.9 lakh per month at Top 10 institutes and ₹1.2-1.3 lakh per month at Tier 1 institutes, according to Deloitte's Neelesh Gupta. Engineering graduates receive the second-highest stipend levels at ₹90,000-1.2 lakh per month at Top 10 institutes and ₹60,000-80,000 per month at Tier 1 institutes. Tier 2 institutes offer ₹55,000-75,000 per month for MBA students and ₹30,000-45,000 for engineering graduates, while Tier 3 institutes provide ₹26,000 per month for MBA students and ₹15,000-25,000 for engineering graduates.
The shift is most visible in the IT sector, where fresher hiring intent has softened from 81% to 76%, as reported by TeamLease Digital's Neeti Sharma to The Times of India. With AI changing the nature of junior tech jobs, companies increasingly want candidates who can demonstrate actual technology building and deployment skills. Employer intent to hire freshers actually rose to 75% in H2 2026 from 73% in H1, with companies looking for evidence of practical skills through internships, apprenticeships, projects or certifications before making permanent offers. The technology sector remains an important part of India's campus hiring landscape, while employers are increasingly looking for digital, analytical and problem-solving skills. In fiscal year 2026, the big five IT firms cut headcount on a cumulative basis by 6,981 people, largely due to TCS's layoffs of about 12,000 executives in middle and senior roles. Together, these five firms employ about 1.5 million people, representing a fourth of the country's 5.95 million IT executives.
Attrition rates for PPO conversions fall significantly compared to traditional hiring methods, according to Deloitte's Neelesh Gupta. The report shows a shift towards quality of hire and higher emphasis on internship performance. About 80% of employers, including many GCCs, are planning to increase apprentice intake, making internships and apprenticeships more structured talent pipelines rather than just profile boosters. As Intellipaat's Diwakar Chittora notes, this represents a win-win model where companies get to test talent before hiring while candidates get to test careers before committing. For students, the changing hiring model means internships can play a bigger role in the transition from college to a full-time job, with students increasingly required to demonstrate practical capabilities through projects, assessments and workplace assignments rather than depending only on academic qualifications. However, industry experts raise concerns about transparency issues, with HFS Research's Phil Fersht noting that "clients are becoming much more sophisticated about AI and can quickly distinguish between someone who has completed an AI certification and someone who has actually deployed AI into a complex enterprise environment."
