'Financial services raising salary levels'

It may be the country's biggest job provider, but the information technology industry is facing tough competition from the a financial services sector in tapping the right talent, feels Nandan Nilekani, CEO and managing director of software giant Infosys.

There was competition for the best of the best in the job market at the entry level, and the financial services industry could lure them with higher salaries and a better glamour quotient, Nilekani said during a conference call with analysts to discuss the company's quarterly results.

The CEO said the entry-level salaries at Infosys were being raised from Rs 2,40,000 a year to Rs 2,70,000 a year for the next year and this could go up by a further 10 per cent thereafter.

Analysts believe that the higher salaries that the information technology space is currently offering and the recent wage hikes announced by the likes of Infosys are being influenced by other industries, apart from other players within the sector.

"The entry-level wages in the country are being influenced by only two industries "� IT and financial services," Nilekani said, adding these two were driving up the demand for entry-level people with the IT industry hiring the largest number of people.

While the infotech sector could hire about 3.80 lakh people this year, there would be 75,000-1,00,000 new recruits in the financial services space, he said.