If there’s one number every engineering aspirant wants first, it’s the package. For AI and machine learning freshers in 2026, that number has genuinely pulled ahead of the pack, though how far ahead depends heavily on which door a graduate walks through.
The Broad Range
Across the market, AI/ML fresher salaries in 2026 typically fall between Rs. 6 and 15 LPA, a noticeably wider and higher band than general IT roles, which still average closer to Rs. 3.5 to 4.5 LPA. Specialized entry points are pushing that ceiling even further. GenAI-specific roles, where genuinely skilled freshers remain scarce, are starting around Rs. 8 to 12 LPA, meaningfully above generalist AI positions. At the very top of the market, senior AI specialists working in generative AI, large language models, and MLOps are now crossing Rs. 80 LPA, though that’s a mid-to-senior figure, not a fresher one.
College tier still moves this number substantially. Campus placements at IITs, IIITs, and BITS routinely push AI/ML fresher offers to the top of the range, and IIT placement data for 2026 shows median offers around Rs. 22 LPA across older IITs, with AI/ML roles accounting for roughly one in three offers this season. IIITs are performing comparably, with campus averages well into six figures in lakhs at institutes like IIIT-Hyderabad and IIIT-Bangalore.
Merit Is Starting to Matter More Than Pedigree
The more interesting shift is happening beneath the headline numbers. A growing share of Indian employers, roughly three in four by some estimates, now say they hire freshers on demonstrated skill rather than college brand alone. That’s showing up in real hiring data: companies that adopted structured, skills-based screening in their campus drives have reported sharply higher offer rates and better starting packages for graduates from non-IIT, non-NIT colleges than in previous years. For students at less traditionally prestigious institutions, this is arguably the most consequential placement trend of the year, a genuine narrowing of the gap between tier-1 and tier-2 outcomes for candidates who can prove their skills.
Who’s Hiring
Top recruiters this season split into two clear camps. Global technology and AI-research employers, including Google, Microsoft, and several US-based AI labs, are driving the highest packages, particularly at flagship campuses. Financial and quant firms like Goldman Sachs, Tower Research, and Quadeye continue to compete aggressively for AI and data talent. Indian product companies, led by names like Flipkart and Adobe, round out the top recruiter lists at most engineering campuses.
The Practical Read
For this year’s graduating batch, the placement story isn’t just “AI pays more,” though it does. It’s that the traditional college-tier ceiling on fresher packages is cracking, at least at companies willing to hire on skill. A strong portfolio and a real project record are starting to close a gap that, until recently, only a college’s name could.
