Bangalore highest paying city; pharma, healthcare highest paying industry

Professionals from the pharma and healthcare industries are paid the highest in India with an average annual CTC of Rs 9.6 lakh across all levels and functions.

New Delhi: Bangalore, India's IT capital, is the highest paying city in the country with an average annual CTC for talent across all levels and functions standing at Rs 10.8 lakh, while pharma and healthcare is the highest paying industry for talent in India, a report has said.

Randstad Insights Salary Trends Report 2018 analyzed 1,00,000 jobs across 20 industry verticals and 15 functions.

As per Randstad Insights, Bangalore has topped the list in the 2017 salary trends report as well. Randstad Insights’ report also reveals that professionals from the Pharma and Healthcare industry are paid the highest in India with an average annual CTC of INR 9.6 lakhs across all levels and functions.

Pune stands second at Rs 10.3 lakhs, followed by NCR and Mumbai with an average annual CTC figure of Rs 9.9 lakhs and Rs 9.2 lakhs respectively. Chennai (Rs 8.0 lakhs), Hyderabad (Rs 7.9 lakhs) and Kolkata (Rs 7.2 lakhs) are the other three names in the list of Indian cities paying the highest average salaries for professionals.

An increase in demand for specialist doctors and professionals with R&D skills were the primary reasons for the industry topping the charts this year. The roll-out 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 Rs 9.4 lakh, the report said.

The sector largely comprises of Management Consulting, Strategy, Accounting, Audit and Legal firms. FMCG, which was the highest paying industry in 2017, came in third with an average CTC of Rs 9.2 lakhs. The IT sector, offering an average annual CTC of Rs 9.1 lakhs and Infrastructure, Real Estate & Construction at Rs 9.0 lakhs take the fourth and fifth position in the list as India's most lucrative industries for professionals, the report added.

Meanwhile, there are some roles where talent in 6-10 year experience bracket is paid relatively higher remuneration. Specialist Doctors top the chart with an average annual CTC at Rs 18.4 lakhs, followed by Solution Architects at a CTC of Rs 15.1 lakhs, Product Engineering Specialists at Rs 14.8 lakhs and Blockchain technology experts at a CTC of Rs 14.6 lakhs.

Paul Dupuis, MD & CEO Randstad India said, “A strong salary structure that strikes a perfect balance between internal and external pay equity is an imperative today for the organizations as it’s often the key to bring top talent on board and keep them motivated.”