India's Fresher Hiring Outlook Improves to 75% in HY2 2026

A company called TeamLease EdTech wrote a report about whether employers in India plan to hire new graduates, often called freshers.

The report says that in the second half of 2026, 75% of employers plan to hire freshers, which is a bit more than the 73% in the first half.

Some industries, like Retail, E-commerce, and Manufacturing, are hiring more freshers than before.

But other industries, like IT and Consulting, are being pickier about who they hire.

These companies now want freshers who already have practical skills, like knowing about AI and having hands-on project experience.

Bangalore has the highest fresher hiring intent at 89%, followed by Mumbai at 75% and Chennai at 71%.

The most wanted fresher jobs include AI Application Developer, Junior Semiconductor Design Engineer, and Data Centre Operations Associate.

To get these jobs, many freshers are taking special certificate courses in things like VLSI Chip Design, AI Engineering, and Cloud Security.

TeamLease EdTech's leader, Shantanu Rooj, says job skills should be taught in the classroom, not learned only after getting a job.

So it is not just about how many freshers get hired, but which freshers have the right skills for the jobs that are actually growing.