Average Salary Hike in India 2026: Sector-by-Sector (EY & Aon)
Every April, India's corporate workforce checks two numbers: the hike percentage on their appraisal letter and how it stacks up against what the rest of the market got. In 2026, those two benchmarks come from the same answer: 9.1%.
Both the EY Future of Pay 2026 report (published February 2026) and the Aon Annual Salary Increase and Turnover Survey 2025-26 (published October 2025, covering 1,400+ organisations) independently project an overall India Inc. salary hike of 9.1% for calendar year 2026, up from an actual 8.9% in 2025. When two of the most-cited HR surveys agree to the decimal point, the figure is as reliable as any benchmark gets.
Here is the full sector breakdown — and what the numbers actually mean for your appraisal.
India salary hike averages by sector (2026)
| Sector | Average Hike 2026 | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Global Capability Centres (GCCs) | 10.4% | EY |
| Real Estate & Infrastructure | 10.2% | Aon |
| NBFCs | 10.1% | Aon |
| Financial Services | ~10.0% | EY |
| E-Commerce | 9.9% | EY |
| Automotive / Vehicle Mfg | 9.9% | Aon |
| Engineering / Manufacturing | 9.5% | Aon |
| Retail | 9.5% | Aon |
| Energy (Oil/Gas/Power) | 9.4% | Aon |
| Life Sciences / Pharma | 9.4–9.7% | Aon / EY |
| Technology Platform & Products | 9.4% | Aon |
| Overall India Inc. | 9.1% | EY + Aon (both) |
Note: EY and Aon use different sector taxonomies. Where both cover a sector, the EY figure is used; Aon fills gaps. Figures are projected averages for calendar year 2026.
Who is getting the biggest hikes?
GCCs are the clear leader at 10.4%, driven by intense global competition for Indian talent in technology and analytics roles. GCCs — the India operations of global multinationals — have consistently outpaced the overall average over the past three years as companies expand their India delivery footprint.
Financial services, NBFCs, and real estate cluster at 10.0–10.2%, reflecting strong domestic demand and hiring competition in BFSI and property.
IT, pharma, and manufacturing sit in the 9.4–9.5% range — around the overall average or just above it. After a period of elevated IT hiring in 2021–2023, the sector is normalising.
What does 9.1% mean in real terms?
A 9.1% nominal hike sounds significant. After inflation, it is more modest. India's CPI for May 2026 was 3.93% (MoSPI), up from 3.48% in April. Using the Fisher equation:
Real hike = ((1 + 0.091) / (1 + 0.0393) − 1) × 100 = 4.97%
That is the actual purchasing-power gain — about 5 paise of extra real buying power for every rupee of salary. Not bad, but not as dramatic as the headline 9.1% suggests.
To calculate your own real gain, use the Salary Hike Percentage Calculator — it computes the Fisher real hike automatically for your specific numbers.
Appraisal hike vs job switch: a different scale
The 9.1% average is specifically the appraisal hike benchmark — what employers are budgeting for existing employees. The picture for lateral job moves is entirely different:
- Job-switch hike norm in India: 20–50%, with IT-to-IT moves typically averaging 20–35%.
- The gap between appraisal and job-switch hikes has been a structural feature of the India labour market for a decade and is the primary reason attrition remains elevated.
If your appraisal hike is, say, 8% while a competing offer is 30%, the compound salary difference over five years is material. Benchmark your hike, not just against the market average, but against what the exit market pays.
How to use these benchmarks
Above 10.4%: You are beating even the leading GCC sector. This is an above-market result for any India corporate employee in 2026.
9.1–10.4%: You are at or above the India Inc. average. A solid appraisal outcome.
Below 9.1%: You are below the India average for 2026. Whether that is acceptable depends on other factors — variable pay, ESOP grants, role change, or a promotion that deferred the hike to next cycle.
Below the May 2026 CPI of 3.93%: A hike below inflation is a real-terms pay cut. In 2026, any hike below roughly 3.9% means you can buy less with your new salary than your old one.
What drives the 2026 number?
The EY Future of Pay 2026 report highlights three forces shaping salary increments:
- Skills premiums are widening. AI, data, and cloud skills command 15–25% above-average hikes; roles where supply is tight see employer competition driving individual outcomes well above the 9.1% average.
- Variable-pay components are growing. Employers are shifting more of the increase to performance-linked pay rather than fixed increment — the "headline hike %" increasingly bundles both.
- Attrition pressure has moderated. After the 2021–2022 "Great Resignation" spike, attrition rates have eased slightly, giving employers marginally less urgency to match job-switch-level hikes on retention.
A note on methodology
Both surveys are forward-looking: they ask HR leaders what they plan to award in 2026. Actual hikes may differ — some organisations revise downward mid-year in response to business performance. The figures are averages across organisations; individual hikes vary significantly by performance rating, band, and function.
For government employees, the 8th Pay Commission fitment factor is a separate and different mechanism — see the FAQ in the Salary Hike Percentage Calculator for details.
Summary
India's overall average salary hike for 2026 is 9.1% — projected independently by both EY and Aon. GCCs lead at 10.4%. After May 2026 CPI of 3.93%, the real gain is roughly 5.0%. Job-switch norms (20–50%) are an entirely different scale. Use the calculator to benchmark your specific outcome against these numbers.