India’s largest private sector employer Tata Consultancy is hiring at scale. The IT services giant, whose headcount has already crossed 5 lakh, plans to engage 40,000 freshers, largely from campuses across the country this fiscal.
“There is no dearth of supply, as far as India is concerned. Nowhere else in the world will you get such phenomenal talent,” NG Subramanian, Chief Operating Officer of TCS said at a media interaction on Friday.
Milind Lakkad, Chief Human Resource Officer at TCS said Covid-related restrictions did not pose any difficulties in hiring. Last year, 3.6 lakh freshers had appeared for TCS’ online entrance test. “From the campus in India, we hired 40,000. We will continue to hire 40,000 or more this year in India,” Lakkad said.
The IT services company will also hire from US campuses. Last year, it had taken 2,000 trainees from American campuses.
TCS achieved an all-time high quarterly net addition of employees in Q1 this year, when it hired 20,409 people. Its chief executive and managing director Rajesh Gopinathan said he gets asked if the company is too large, but the structure of the organisation allows it to stay nimble.
‘Projects deferred, not cancelled’
Lakkad said even if the attrition rate exceeds the 8 per cent reported in the first quarter, it is not a cause of concern as the company’s operating model can ensure that margins are not impacted.
Responding to a question from BusinessLine on the Indian market, Subramaniam said the growth will bounce back. The software giant incurred a 14 per cent q-o-q degrowth in India, resulting in a revenue loss of ₹350 crore. This was a result of TCS’ various digitisation projects as well as the company’s iON offering coming to a screeching halt in the second wave. “Yet these revenues are not lost, these projects are not cancelled, rather deferred,” said Subramaniam.
On the impact of easier H-1B norms in the US, Lakkad said while the Biden administration is friendlier, logistical issues persist as consulates and visa centres remain closed due to Covid. “These issues have not affected our business as much, as we continue to hire local talent,” he said.