In India, talent can be differentiated from the colleges they come from and the companies they worked with.

Elite and Tier 1 Colleges:

These institutes are top of the line and considered to be the best schools in the country. They are popular among the recruiters in terms of brand value and education. These schools are very competitive and are very difficult to get into. A student needs to be in the top 1% or 2% to be eligible for an admissions call. Graduates typically get placed within top companies and are paid highly.

Tech Colleges:

• Indian Institute of Technology (Bombay, Delhi, Kharagpur, Kanpur, Madras, Roorkee, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Bhu, Indore)
• National Institute of Technology (Trichy, Surathkal, Warangal)
• International Institute of Information Technology (Hyderabad)
• Birla Institute of Technology and Science
• More information on tier 1 tech colleges can be found here.

Non-tech Colleges:

• Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi (FMS)
• Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi (IIFT)
• Indian Institute of Management (Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Indore, Kozhikode, Lucknow)
• Indian School of Business, Hyderabad (ISB)
• Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS)
• Management Development Institute, Gurgaon (MDI)
• National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Mumbai (NITIE)
• Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management, IIT Bombay (SJMSOM)
• S. P. Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai (SPJIMR)
• Xavier School of Management, Jamshedpur (XLRI)
• More information on tier 1 non-tech colleges can be found here.

Tier 1.5 Colleges:

Tech Colleges

• Indian Institute of Technology (Dhanbad, Mandi, Ropar, Gandhinagar, Jodhpur, Patna)
• National Institute of Technology (Allahabad, Rourkela, Calicut, Jaipur, Nagpur, Kurukshetra, Surat, Bhopal, Jalandhar, Durgapur)
• Birla Institute of Technology (Hyderabad, Goa, Mesra)
• Jadavpur University
• Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology
• Punjab Engineering College
• Netaji Subhas University of Technology
• Delhi Technological University
• Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology

Tier 2 Colleges:

Tier 2 institutes have established their brand names and have consistent placement records. These institutes are in the second chunk (top 15- 30) in terms of rankings. Some institutes are old and a few are newly established and promising institutes. These institutes have above-average talents that get placed with good companies and have a good pay.

Tech Colleges

• All Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) that do not belong in the higher tiers
• All National Institutes of Technology (NIT) do not belong in the higher tiers except Northeast.
• LNM Institute of Information Technology
• Thapar University
• Nirma University
• Corp Pune
• Jamia Millia Islamia University Delhi

Non-tech colleges

• Department of Management Studies, IISc, Bangalore
• Department of Management Studies, IIT Delhi
• Department of Management Studies IIT Madras
• Indian Institute of Management, Kashipur
• Indian Institute of Management, Raipur
• Indian Institute of Management, Ranchi
• Indian Institute of Management, Rohtak
• Indian Institute of Management, Shillong
• Indian Institute of Management, Trichy
• Indian Institute of Management, Udaipur
• Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai (NMIMS)
• PGDBA – IIM Calcutta, IIT Kharagpur, ISI Kolkata*
• Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resource Development, Pune (SCMHRD)
• Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune (SIBM)
• Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai (TISS)
• Vinod Gupta School of Management, IIT Kharagpur (VGSOM)
• Xavier Institute of Management (XIMB), Bhubaneswar
• More information on tier 2 non-tech universities can be found here.

Tier 3 Colleges:

Tier 3 colleges are still great places to learn and build a career. Some of them have a fantastic return on investment.

Tech Colleges

• National Institute of Technology (Northeast)
• International Institute of Information Technology (Northeast)
• Vellore Institute of Technology
• Manipal University
• SRM University
• RVCE Banglore

Non-tech Colleges

• Department of Financial Studies (DFS), University of Delhi
• Department of Management Studies, IIT Roorkee
• Delhi School of Economics (DSE), University of Delhi
• Goa Institute Of Management, Goa (GIM)
• Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai (GLIM)
• Indian Institute of Management (Amritsar, Bodh Gaya, Jammu, Nagpur, Sambalpur, Sirmaur, Visakhapatnam)
• Industrial and Management Engineering, IIT Kanpur
• International Management Institute, New Delhi (IMI)
• Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad (IMT)
• Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA)
• K. J. Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research, Mumbai (KJSOM)
• Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad (MICA)
• T. A. Pai Management Institute, Manipal (TAPMI)
• Welingkar Institute of Management, Mumbai (We-B)

Renowned Local Universities:

Further details about universities in India can be found on Webometrics.

More information about average salaries in other industries in India can be found on Salary Explorer.

Workers in this sector can expect a 6-10% appraisal hike with high performers drawing 11-15% hikes.

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More information about job portals in India can be found here.

‍Top Recruitment Agencies: Placement Expert, Reflik, Alliance Recruitment Agency

Employer Payroll Tax

*Only if the monthly salary of the employee is <RS15,000, otherwise subject to certain conditions.

The employer payroll tax can be found here.

Employee Payroll Tax

*Only if the monthly salary of the employee is <RS15,000, otherwise subject to certain conditions. **Only if the monthly salary of the employee is >RS15,000, and employee is in Karnataka. Information on professional tax can be found here.

Employee Monthly Income Tax

Foreign nationals in India are liable to pay EPF and income tax on India-sourced earnings.

India follows a progressive income tax model. Indian employees have an option of following the previous tax model or the recent tax model of paying taxes. Links to the employee payroll tax and employee income tax.

Minimum Wage

The minimum wage is 178 rupees per day (~US$2.40). However, it differs across different states based on industry and skill level of workers.

Payroll Cycle

Paid monthly, from the 28th to last day of the month.

Bonus

13th month salary

Depends on the country’s working culture. In general, if any employee works in a company with ≥ 20 people, and they earn less than 10,000 rupees per month, they are entitled to a bonus of between 8.33% and 20% of their annual salary.

Employee Stock Options

In India, a business that is listed in the Indian stock exchange must issue the stock options in accordance with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)'s Employee Stock Option Guidelines. 

Employees that fit the criteria for ESOP benefits in India are: 

• A permanent employee (residing within India or outside) 
• Director of the company (independent directors are not eligible) 
• A permanent employee or a director of a subsidiary company in India or outside India

Employers cannot provide ESOPs to the following employee in India: 

• Promoter group or a promoter of the company 
• A director himself or through a corporate body through his relative that holds more than 10% of outstanding equity shares

** The above conditions do not apply to Startups for a period of 10 years from the date of incorporation

Learn more about the procedure of issuing ESOPs in India here.

Annual Leave

Statutory minimum: 1 day of paid leave per 20 days of service.

However, 24 days paid leave per year for adult workers is common and a maximum of 30 vacation days can be carried over to the next year.

Sick Leave

Sick pay takes effect from 3rd day of illness at 70% of salary for a maximum of 3 months. However, different rules apply to different professionals.

Parental Leave

Maternity Leave

For 1 child, the employee is entitled to 26 weeks of paid maternity leave. If the employee has at least 2 child, they are entitled to 12 weeks of paid maternity leave.

Paternity Leave

Not compulsory. Only male government employees are entitled to 15 days of paid leave.

National Holidays

There are 3 national holidays in India -

1. 26th January (Republic Day)
2. 15th August (Independence Day)
3. 2nd October (Gandhi Jayanti)

As a practise, an employee can follow client company holiday calendar/ parent company holiday calendar/ regional holidays/ bank holidays and are allowed to choose 5 leaves as per their location/will apart from the ones mentioned above.

Termination Process

If termination isn’t specified in a contract, an employer must give 30 days of notice or payment in-lieu to an employee who has worked for at least 3 months.

Notice Period

Notice period of 30 days. However, termination due to misconduct has no notice period.

Severance Pay

15 days wages per year of service, if the employee has served the company for at least 5 years.

Probation period

Not mandatory, but up to 3 months if probation is given.

Insurance

There is no specific provision to provide employee insurance by the employer. However, in 2020 due to the onset of COVID-19, providing health insurance has been made mandatory as part of employee compensation (also known as Group Mediclaim Policy).  

The Employee State Insurance (ESI) Scheme is financed by contributions from employers and employees. The rate of contribution by the employer is 4.75% of the wages payable to employees. The employees' contribution is at the rate of 1.75% of the wages payable to an employee. This can be availed by any employee earning a monthly income of Rs. 21,000 or less. 

For employees earning a salary above Rs. 21,000, the employer must provide medical insurance coverage in collaboration with insurance agents that provide group medical insurance (such as LIC, PolicyBazaar, etc.) while keeping the contributions as mentioned above.