India's 2025 Salary Hike Forecast

India Inc. is projected to see an average salary increase of 9.4% in 2025, slightly down from 9.6% in 2024, as per the latest EY Future of Pay report. This comes alongside a decrease in employee attrition, dropping from 18.3% in 2023 to 17.5% in 2024.

The Role of AI and Blockchain in Compensation Strategies

Nearly 60% of Indian employers are exploring AI to enhance areas like salary benchmarking and real-time pay equity analysis. The report forecasts a shift towards AI-powered predictive analytics and real-time salary adjustments by 2028. Additionally, blockchain and smart contracts are emerging as key tools for secure and automated payroll processing, especially for cross-border compensation.

Sector-Specific Salary Trends

E-commerce leads with a 10.5% salary increase in 2025, followed by financial services at 10.3%, and Global Capability Centres at 10.2%. Conversely, IT and IT-enabled services face slower salary growth due to automation and cost optimization, with increases expected to decline to 9.6% and 9%, respectively.

CEO Compensation Trends

Nifty50 companies have seen an 18-20% increase in CEO compensation from 2023 to 2024, with 70% of CEO pay being performance-linked, tied to business growth and ESG goals.