Hiring guide · APAC
How to hire in India
To hire in India you need an entity registered for Provident Fund, ESI and professional tax, or an Employer of Record that already holds those registrations. Employer statutory cost is roughly 16–20% of salary, driven by PF at 12% and gratuity accrual, with monthly payroll.
- Currency
- INR
- Payroll cycle
- Monthly
- Employer cost
- ~16–20%
- Notice
- 30–90 days by contract
The talent market in India
India supplies more engineering graduates than any other country and has become the default location for global capability centres, platform engineering, data and finance operations. Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, Gurugram and Noida each have distinct strengths and distinct compensation curves.
India Standard Time (UTC+5:30) gives a full working-day overlap with Singapore and the Gulf, four to five hours with Western Europe, and a morning or evening handover window with US teams. Many India remote teams run a staggered shift so at least two hours overlap with US Eastern time.
Remote work is widely accepted, so an India remote team does not need to sit in one metro. Tier-2 cities such as Kochi, Jaipur, Indore, Coimbatore and Ahmedabad offer strong engineers at 15–25% lower pay than Bengaluru, with lower attrition.
Employment is governed by central statutes and state-level shops-and-establishments acts, so leave entitlements, working hours and registration requirements vary by state. Attrition in engineering is high, which makes competitive fixed pay and prompt offer turnaround more important than in most markets.
Salary benchmarks in India
Indicative annual gross base salary in INR for common roles. Treat these as planning ranges — actual offers move with city, seniority, sector and equity mix, and we model a live benchmark before you go to offer.
| Role | Annual gross base |
|---|---|
| Software engineer (mid) | INR 18,00,000 – 30,00,000 |
| Senior software engineer | INR 30,00,000 – 55,00,000 |
| Data / AI-ML engineer (mid) | INR 22,00,000 – 40,00,000 |
| DevOps / cloud engineer (mid) | INR 18,00,000 – 32,00,000 |
| Account executive (SaaS) | INR 20,00,000 – 35,00,000 CTC incl. variable |
| Customer support specialist | INR 5,00,000 – 9,00,000 |
Employment rules and payroll in India
The statutory framework any offer has to sit inside — hours, leave, notice and the contributions that turn salary into fully loaded cost.
Working week
40–48 hours depending on state legislation
Probation
3–6 months, commonly with a shorter notice period
Notice period
30–90 days by contract; 60 days is standard for senior roles
Paid leave
Typically 18–24 days earned leave plus casual and sick leave, set by state
Public holidays
10–14 depending on state, with a mix of fixed and optional days
Payroll cycle
Monthly, usually paid on the last working day
Employer contributions
PF 12% of basic, ESI 3.25% below the wage threshold, gratuity accrual and professional tax
Contractor, EOR employee or your own entity?
Three ways to engage someone in India. The right one depends on how permanent the role is, how much direction you give, and how much local risk you want to carry.
Contractor
Fastest to start and simplest to end. Suitable for genuinely independent, project-scoped work where the person controls how and when they deliver, invoices you, and works for other clients. No statutory benefits, no notice period, no severance.
Employee via EOR
The right structure for a full-time role with fixed hours, managerial direction and exclusivity. A licensed in-country partner is the legal employer, so the person gets a compliant contract, statutory benefits and local payroll — without you opening an entity.
Your own entity
Worth it once headcount, permanence and local revenue justify the incorporation, tax registration, statutory filings and local directorship. Most companies reach that point somewhere between 15 and 30 employees in a single country.
Misclassification risk in India
Engaging a full-time worker as an independent consultant to avoid PF and gratuity is common and risky. Authorities look at control, exclusivity, fixed working hours and integration into the team; a finding of employment triggers retrospective PF and ESI liability with interest and damages, and gratuity accrues from the original start date.
Work permits and right to work
Indian nationals need no permit. Foreign nationals require an Employment Visa, which is granted only above a salary floor of roughly USD 25,000 per year and is tied to a sponsoring entity, plus registration with the FRRO within 14 days of arrival for longer stays.
Hire in India without an entity
Our Employer of Record page for India covers statutory cost, compliance obligations and onboarding timelines in detail, through licensed in-country partners.
EOR in India- Fully loaded cost modelled before offer
- Licensed partner matched, not assumed
- One contract, one consolidated bill
Hiring in India: frequently asked questions
Can we hire in India without setting up an entity?
Yes. An Employer of Record already registered for PF, ESI and professional tax employs the person on your behalf, so you can hire in days rather than the two to three months an Indian subsidiary and its registrations typically take.
What does an Indian employee cost above salary?
Around 16–20% of salary: Provident Fund at 12% of basic pay, ESI at 3.25% for employees below the wage threshold, gratuity accrual of roughly 4.8% of basic, and state professional tax, plus the EOR fee.
How do we hire Indian engineers quickly?
Share the role, stack and budget; TalentStores returns pre-vetted Indian engineers from the top 5% of applicants within 48–72 hours. Standard engineers start at $39/hour and specialists from $55/hour, with no EOR fee for India hires and a one-week free replacement guarantee.
How do we set up an India remote team?
Decide whether team members will be employees or contractors, agree a daily overlap window with your home time zone, and hire through an Employer of Record so payroll, PF and state compliance are handled for staff working from home anywhere in India. Most teams add hires one at a time and scale once the first engineers are productive.
Can we hire Indian contractors instead of employees?
Yes, for genuine project work. Indian contractors invoice you, handle their own tax and usually receive payment with TDS considerations on their side. If a contractor works full-time, exclusively and under your management, the relationship can be treated as employment, so long-term roles are safer through an Indian EOR.
How do we pay Indian contractors legally?
Use a written consultancy agreement with IP assignment, pay against invoices in INR or foreign currency through a regulated channel, and keep records of deliverables. The contractor declares the income and may need to charge GST once turnover crosses the threshold.
How do the new labour codes change employment cost in India?
The consolidated codes broaden the definition of wages, which increases the base used for Provident Fund and gratuity for employees whose allowances exceed half of total pay. Compensation structures should be modelled on the broader wage definition rather than basic pay alone.
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Get the India Hiring Cost Guide
A country brief covering fully loaded employment cost in INR, salary benchmarks by role, statutory contributions, leave and notice rules, and a sample offer breakdown for India.