According to Deloitte’s Compensation Trends study, the pharmaceutical industry will likely offer the highest salary increase in India in 2025
The pharmaceutical industry, as per the study, is expected to offer an average hike of 9.6%, while the average salary hike across India is predicted to be at 8.8%.
The high growth in compensation in the pharmaceutical industry can likely be credited to steady global demand, robust innovation cycles, and the increasing integration of AI-led drug development and clinical research. Deloitte has credited the rise to the sector’s strong fundamentals and aggressive talent retention strategies.
“The sector’s forward-looking approach—especially in building AI and research capability—is translating into more rewarding compensation structures for niche talent,” said Neelesh Gupta, Partner at Deloitte India.
“This year’s pay hike has been more progressive compared to the previous cycle,” Prateek Dubey, Global Chief HR Officer at Mankind Pharma, shared with the Economic Times. “This year, stronger business performance and strategic clarity has enabled us to be more generous and differentiated in our approach.”
Mankind Pharma, as per Dubey, has identified “critical talent pools” in roles within research and development, regulatory affairs, digital transformation, manufacturing excellence, and product management. Meanwhile, salary hikes at Kilitch Drugs are expected to match the ones from the previous year at about 9%, according to Bhavin Mukund Mehta, whole-time Director of Kilitch Drugs.
“The pharma sector has been offering better hikes than many other sectors due to a combination of strong business performance, high talent demand and the inherent resilience of the industry,” shared Mehta, who is also Vice-Chairman of the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India.
Meanwhile, the average salary hikes in India seem to be on a decline since 2022.
“The projected average 2025 increment is 20 basis points (0.2 percentage point) lower than the average for last year. But when it comes to key talent, employees are attracting retention measures that include 1.5 to 1.8 times increments, retention bonus up to 20% of the fixed pay and fast-track careers,” Gupta shared.