Artificial Intelligence is becoming one of the strongest high-value job categories in India’s hiring market. According to the Naukri JobSpeak May report, while overall white-collar hiring remained stable, demand for high-value AI and Machine Learning talent continued to stand out. The report highlighted that hiring for AI/ML roles offering salaries above ₹30 LPA grew 27% during the month.
This growth shows that AI is no longer only a future trend. It is already becoming a premium salary segment in India’s technology hiring market. Companies are showing stronger interest in professionals who can work with AI systems, machine learning models, data, automation and advanced digital products.
The Naukri JobSpeak May report said that white-collar hiring remained stable in May, with AI/ML and insurance continuing to lead the hiring market. The overall JobSpeak index stood at 2836 in May, compared with 2807 in May last year, showing a broadly stable hiring environment.
The biggest highlight was the rise in high-paying AI/ML jobs. The report stated that AI/ML roles offering salaries above ₹30 LPA saw 27% growth in hiring during May. It also mentioned encouraging fresher hiring momentum in emerging cities such as Jaipur and Coimbatore.
This means companies are not only experimenting with AI. They are actively looking for skilled people who can support AI-led business growth.
The report showed mixed hiring trends across industries. Insurance grew 19%, BPO/ITES grew 9%, healthcare grew 6%, hospitality grew 5%, and real estate grew 2%. On the other side, banking and financial services declined 15%, telecom declined 12%, IT/software services declined 7%, and auto declined 7%.
AI/ML stood out with 22% growth as a category in the industry trend section, while GCC hiring also showed 8% growth. This makes AI/ML one of the stronger bright spots in the current white-collar hiring market.
Another important point is experience-level hiring. Fresher hiring recorded 7% growth, mainly supported by non-IT sectors such as BPO/ITES and insurance, while seasoned professional hiring above 16 years of experience declined by 2%.
AI roles are getting higher salary attention because they directly support automation, productivity, product development and business intelligence. Companies need professionals who can build AI models, analyse data, improve workflows, work with machine learning tools and connect AI solutions with real business problems.
High-paying AI roles usually need a mix of technical and practical skills. These may include:
A ₹30 LPA-plus AI role usually requires more than basic AI tool knowledge. Companies generally look for candidates who can build, deploy, improve or manage AI-based systems.
This rise in high-paying AI jobs shows that companies are moving from basic digital hiring to advanced skill-based hiring. Earlier, many technology roles were focused on general software development, support, testing or maintenance. Now, businesses want professionals who can use technology to improve decision-making, reduce manual work, automate operations and create smarter products.
AI is also becoming useful across non-technology sectors such as finance, healthcare, insurance, education, retail, logistics and customer service. This means AI career opportunities may not remain limited to IT companies only. More industries may start hiring AI-skilled professionals for analytics, automation, customer experience, risk management and business growth.
Another important point is salary difference. Jobs above ₹30 LPA usually require deeper knowledge and proven experience. Candidates who want to enter this salary bracket need to focus on strong fundamentals, real projects, practical problem-solving and continuous learning.
This trend also shows that India’s hiring market is becoming more competitive. Basic skills may help candidates enter the job market, but advanced AI, data and automation skills can help professionals move toward higher-paying roles. For SearchTalents.co readers, this is a clear sign that future career growth will depend on skill depth, adaptability and practical exposure.
The rise in AI/ML hiring shows that India’s tech market is moving toward specialised skills. Traditional software hiring may be under pressure in some areas, but demand for AI-led skills is growing strongly.
The report also shows that IT/software services declined 7% year-on-year in May, while AI/ML grew as a separate high-demand category. This suggests that the market is not simply “tech hiring up” or “tech hiring down.” Instead, hiring is shifting toward specific skills and high-value roles.
Companies are likely becoming more selective. They may reduce hiring for generic roles but continue hiring for specialised roles linked to AI, data, automation, cloud, analytics and digital transformation.
People planning to enter AI or upgrade their tech career should focus on practical skills, not only theory. AI hiring is becoming more outcome-based, which means portfolios, projects and applied knowledge matter.
Useful skill areas include:
For beginners, the best approach is to start with small projects. For experienced professionals, the focus should be on AI integration, automation, measurable results and business impact.
The report also showed city-level hiring differences. Some emerging and smaller cities saw positive year-on-year growth. Indore grew 12%, Gandhinagar grew 10%, Surat grew 9%, Coimbatore grew 8%, Bhubaneswar grew 8%, and Hyderabad grew 6%.
This is important because tech and digital hiring is no longer limited only to big metros. Emerging cities are also becoming part of India’s changing hiring market.
For AI-related careers, this may create more opportunities in GCCs, technology centres, startups, analytics teams and digital service companies across different locations.
The biggest message from this report is that AI hiring is becoming skill-driven. A degree alone may not be enough for premium AI roles. Companies want proof of capability.
Strong AI profiles usually include:
For example, writing “knowledge of machine learning” is weak. A stronger profile would say:
“Built a customer behaviour prediction model using Python, cleaned raw data, tested multiple algorithms and improved prediction accuracy through feature selection.”
This type of practical detail makes AI profiles stronger.
The 27% rise in hiring for AI jobs paying above ₹30 lakh per year shows that AI is becoming a premium career segment in India. While the overall white-collar job market remained stable, AI/ML roles continued to attract strong demand.
This trend shows a clear shift in the hiring market. Companies are looking for specialised skills, practical experience and professionals who can work on real AI, data and automation problems.
For SearchTalents.co, this is a strong tech hiring news topic because it connects salary growth, AI demand and India’s changing job market in one story. AI is not just a buzzword anymore. It is becoming a high-value skill category in the modern hiring economy.
1. Naukri JobSpeak May Report — Official PDF
Main source for AI/ML jobs above ₹30 LPA growing 27%, overall hiring trend, sector-wise hiring, fresher hiring and city-wise hiring data.
2. Info Edge — Naukri JobSpeak Reports Page
Official Info Edge page where Naukri JobSpeak hiring reports are published.
3. Groww Market News — CNBC TV18 Headline Reference
This page listed the headline: “Hiring for AI jobs paying over ₹30 lakh/year jumps 27% in May: Report.”
4. Coursera — Artificial Intelligence Jobs to Consider
Useful reference for AI job role examples like AI engineer, machine learning engineer, data engineer and robotics engineer.
5. Naukri Career Guidance — Careers in AI for Freshers
Useful reference for AI career paths and salary growth for freshers and experienced professionals.
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