Fresher Hiring in India (2026): What TCS, Cognizant and HCLTech Are Actually Doing

The short answer: Fresher hiring in India is recovering in 2026, but it is picky. TCS and HCLTech together took in more than 16,000 freshers in July–September 2026, and HAN Digital expects up to 2.1 lakh IT-BPM fresher hires this year, as reported by The Economic Times. The new jobs lean toward AI, data and global capability centres (GCCs): Naukri's September 2026 data shows fresher hiring for AI/ML roles up 19%, against just 1% for freshers overall.

If you graduate in 2026 or 2027, you've heard two stories this month: IT companies are hiring freshers again, and AI is eating entry-level jobs. Both are true, but for different jobs. This guide puts 2026 fresher hiring in one place, company by company, with every number sourced, and explains why the numbers don't match.

Is hiring increasing in 2026?

For freshers, only a little overall, but faster in some roles. Naukri found fresher hiring up just 1% in September 2026 compared with a year earlier (Naukri JobSpeak, published 6 Oct 2026; job-portal data).

Fresher hiring for AI/ML roles grew 19% in the same Naukri data. The biggest forecast is also positive. HAN Digital, a talent-advisory firm, projects IT-BPM fresher hiring at up to 2.1 lakh in FY27, up from an estimated 1.75 lakh in FY26 but well below 4 lakh in FY22, as reported by The Economic Times (14 Oct 2026). That's recovery, but about half the FY22 level.

What are TCS, Cognizant, HCLTech and other big firms doing about fresher hiring?

TCS, HCLTech and LTM all added freshers in July–September 2026. Cognizant now cites a lower 2026 figure than in February, Wipro skipped campuses in the first half, and Infosys reports on 23 October 2026.

TCS fresher hiring

TCS onboarded about 10,000 graduates globally in July–September 2026, after about 14,000 in April–June. On its 8 October call, HR head Sudeep Kunnumal said TCS is "in the final stages of our campus hiring for the students who graduate in the coming financial year," and added, "we are hiring to demand" (call transcript as filed by TCS, 8 Oct 2026). Its workforce stood at 598,056 (TCS release, 8 Oct 2026).

Cognizant fresher hiring

In February 2026, Cognizant said it aimed to hire 24,000–25,000 freshers in 2026, about 20% more than in 2025 (The Economic Times, 4 Feb 2026). By July, the figure was lower: CFO Jatin Dalal said Cognizant was "on track to get to approximately 20,000 by the end of the year" (Cognizant Q2 2026 call transcript, 29 Jul 2026). Both are global figures. Some graduates were also told their joining was "tentatively planned between February 2027 to May 2027" (Mint, 19 Aug 2026).

HCLTech fresher hiring

HCLTech's 6,136 freshers in July–September is far above its 1,056 in April–June and the 5,196 it added a year earlier (investor release, 12 Oct 2026). It is training new hires as "forward-deployed engineers" who work directly on client problems (Moneycontrol, 12 Oct 2026).

L&T group fresher hiring (LTM)

LTM, the L&T group's IT services company (formerly LTIMindtree), added 1,743 freshers in July–September 2026, and its headcount rose by 949 to 88,835 (call transcript, 16 Oct 2026; third-party transcript; no official copy published). We found no recent fresher figure for L&T's engineering and construction arm.

Wipro and the rest. Wipro's headcount fell by 6,716 to 236,328, and its HR head linked part of that to skipping campuses (datasheet and call transcript, 15 Oct 2026). For Capgemini, Genpact and Virtusa, we found no recent, sourced fresher-hiring figure as of 19 October 2026, so we've left them out rather than guess.

Why do the FY27 fresher hiring estimates disagree?

They measure different things. One forecast covers the whole IT-BPM sector and another covers IT services. Company figures are actual hires at one firm, portal figures count job ads, and surveys measure what employers intend to do. Read each number with its scope and date, and most of the "conflict" disappears.

Four reasons the numbers differ:

1. Different scope. HAN, as reported by The Economic Times, counts the whole IT-BPM sector, including GCCs and BPOs. ETtech describes Quess's figure as covering technology and IT services, which looks narrower. Even their FY26 baselines differ (1.75 lakh vs about 1.1 lakh), so they aren't counting the same people.
2. Forecasts, plans and actual hires. HAN and Quess are full-year estimates. TCS, HCLTech and Wipro report people who actually joined. Infosys' 20,000, Cognizant's 20,000 and TeamLease's 75% are plans and intentions.
3. Job ads vs hires. Naukri and foundit count job activity on their platforms, not hires, and much campus hiring never appears as a public ad. Use them for direction, not totals.
4. Share vs count. foundit's "32% to 24%" is IT's share of all fresher hiring. IT can hire more people and still hold a smaller share if other employers grow faster.

The takeaway: every source agrees hiring is recovering from a low base, led by specialised roles.

If IT firms are hiring, why is IT's share of fresher jobs shrinking?

Because tech work is spreading beyond IT companies. Banks, manufacturers, hospitals and GCCs now hire many people who code and work with data, so more fresher IT jobs sit outside IT companies. foundit's July 2026 tracker found demand for tech roles up 10% in a year, while the IT industry's own index fell 6% (BusinessLine, 6 Aug 2026).

GCCs, the India offices that global firms run for themselves, are the clearest winner. foundit says their share of fresher hiring rose from 8% to 11%, the biggest gain of any employer type (BusinessLine, 6 Aug 2026). Naukri found GCC hiring up 4% in September 2026, with Hyderabad's GCCs up 23% (Naukri JobSpeak, 6 Oct 2026).

Which jobs will be in demand in 2026?

For Indian freshers, the growth is in roles that run and check AI systems, plus data, data engineering and cybersecurity. AI-led roles were 4% of all fresher hiring in July 2026, up from about 1% a year earlier (foundit via BusinessLine, 6 Aug 2026). That's small, but it's growing fast.

Inside that 4%, here's the split:

Source: foundit Insights Tracker, July 2026, via BusinessLine (6 Aug 2026). "Operate" roles total 51%; "build" roles 44%.

HAN Digital's CEO, Saravanan Balasundaram, says "new AI roles in data engineering, AI testing, annotation and model operations are opening up at the base of the pyramid," as reported by The Economic Times (14 Oct 2026).

Data analyst

The largest "operate" role in foundit's data. You clean data, answer business questions with it, and explain the answer clearly. Show SQL, spreadsheets, basic Python and clear writing.

Prompt engineering and AI QA

Together, prompt engineers (12%) and AI QA (5%) make up about a sixth of entry-level AI hiring in foundit's data. You write instructions for AI tools and check whether their output is right. Infosys says its new graduates are trained in AI before they help clients deploy it (Mint, 15 Oct 2026). To check this skill: prompt engineering online test.

Generative AI and AI/ML engineering

These are "build" roles: AI/ML engineers (28%) and generative AI developers (7%). They build the AI systems that the "operate" roles run and check. To check this skill: generative AI online test.

Data engineering and AI operations

These roles keep data pipelines and AI systems running. HAN Digital's CEO lists data engineering among the new entry-level AI roles (quoted above). To check this skill: data engineering online test.

What should a 2026 or 2027 graduate do in the next 30 days?

Pick one growing role, build one piece of real proof for it, and look for jobs for freshers beyond IT companies. That means GCCs, banks and firms in Tier 2 cities. Get internship experience if you can: nearly six in ten fresher job ads in July 2026 preferred or required it (Business Today, 6 Aug 2026, citing foundit).

1. Choose one target role this week, using the table above.
2. Build one small, real project you can explain, such as a public dataset turned into a clear answer.
3. Widen your employer list. Add GCCs and non-IT firms, and look beyond Bengaluru.
4. Watch Infosys' results on 23 October. We'll add them to the company table.

What if your joining date keeps getting pushed back?

You're not alone. Ask for a written timeline, keep applying elsewhere, and use the wait to build proof. The firms named in Mint's August report on delays, including Cognizant, told Mint they would honour their offers (Mint, 19 Aug 2026).

Some offers have gone away completely. More than 150 offers to 2026 graduates across 23 IITs went unhonoured, and the IITs' placement committee decided to stop working with 22 companies for two seasons (India Today, 5 Oct 2026). Get dates in writing, keep one search active, and tell your placement cell.

How we researched this

Edufusion Editorial read the July–September 2026 results documents of TCS, HCLTech and Wipro, and the official earnings-call transcripts of TCS, Wipro and Cognizant. For LTM, the fresher count comes from a third-party transcript (no official copy published yet); its headcount comes from LTM's investor release filed with NSE. We added job-portal data from Naukri and foundit, a TeamLease EdTech employer survey, and forecasts from HAN Digital and Quess as reported by The Economic Times. Where sources disagreed and we couldn't settle it, we left the number out. We'll update this page after Infosys reports on 23 October 2026. Read our editorial standards.

Frequently asked questions

Is it possible to get hired in 2026? Yes. Employers are still hiring freshers, but they are choosier. In a TeamLease EdTech survey, 75% of 1,097 Indian employers said they planned to hire freshers in July–December 2026 (Business Standard, 10 Aug 2026; vendor survey). Your odds improve with one specialised skill.

Why is Gen Z struggling to get jobs? In India, entry-level candidates far outnumber entry-level openings, and employers want people who can contribute from day one. foundit found 9.5 candidates for every engineering job at the 0–3-year level (Business Today, 15 Sep 2026; job-portal data). Experience and practical skills now decide who gets hired.

What are the current hiring trends? Hiring in India is steady overall but shifting toward specialised skills and experienced people. Naukri's September 2026 data shows white-collar hiring up 2% from a year earlier, AI/ML roles up 20%, and IT/software services down 4% (Naukri JobSpeak, 6 Oct 2026).

What jobs are most in demand right now? For Indian freshers, AI and data roles lead, but some non-IT sectors are hiring beginners too. Naukri found fresher hiring in banking and financial services up 14% in September 2026, compared with a year earlier (Naukri JobSpeak, 6 Oct 2026). Among AI-related entry roles, AI/ML engineers (28%) and data analysts (24%) lead.

What are the recruitment trends for 2026? Employers are hiring more flexibly and screening for skills. In July 2026, almost a third of entry-level openings were internships, contracts or project work, up from about one in eight two years earlier, according to foundit (The Economic Times, 6 Aug 2026).