April 2026 – Mumbai – IT, Tech and AI Salary & Contractor Rates

  • Mumbai continues to lead India in senior management compensation, with a median of ₹40.04 Lakhs (LPA) for top-tier leadership. This reflects the city’s concentration of banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) headquarters, where IT leadership carries high regulatory and enterprise-wide responsibility.
  • The “Skills-Led” Pay Shift – Generalist roles are plateauing, but AI Architecture, ML Engineering, and DevSecOps are driving significant salary spikes. A mid-level AI engineer in Mumbai can now frequently out-earn a senior generalist manager in other IT functions due to the acute shortage of execution-ready talent.
  • Contractor Agility – Contracting (Interim) is a growing segment in Mumbai as firms look to manage fixed costs while scaling AI projects. Contractor day rates for specialized roles like Security Architects have seen a significant jump as companies prioritize immediate “capability capital” over long-term permanent hiring.
  • Logic: Mid-Market Medians (All figures in Indian Rupee ₹ Lakhs Per Annum (LPA)).
  • Day Rates calculated based on standard professional contractor benchmarks for Mumbai.

 

  • Category
    Job Title
    Yearly Low (MUM)
    Yearly Median (MUM)
    Yearly High (Elite)
    Salary Change
    Contractor Day Rate (MUM)
    Day Rate Change
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Leadership
    CTO
    ₹45.0
    ₹65.0
    ₹95.0
    +9.1%
    ₹28,500
    +10.5%
     
    CIO
    ₹42.0
    ₹58.0
    ₹85.0
    +9.1%
    ₹25,000
    +10.2%
     
    IT Director
    ₹35.0
    ₹48.0
    ₹70.0
    +9.0%
    ₹21,000
    +9.8%
     
    Head of Data / AI
    ₹38.0
    ₹55.0
    ₹80.0
    +12.5%
    ₹24,000
    +13.2%
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Operations
    3rd Line (SysAdmin)
    ₹12.0
    ₹18.0
    ₹28.0
    +8.5%
    ₹8,000
    +9.0%
     
    2nd Line Support
    ₹8.0
    ₹12.0
    ₹18.0
    +8.2%
    ₹5,500
    +8.8%
     
    1st Line Support
    ₹5.0
    ₹7.5
    ₹10.0
    +8.0%
    ₹3,500
    +8.5%
     
    IT Support Manager
    ₹15.0
    ₹22.0
    ₹32.0
    +8.8%
    ₹10,000
    +9.4%
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Architecture
    Enterprise Arch
    ₹28.0
    ₹42.0
    ₹65.0
    +10.2%
    ₹18,500
    +11.0%
     
    Solution Arch
    ₹25.0
    ₹38.0
    ₹55.0
    +9.8%
    ₹16,500
    +10.5%
     
    Cloud Architect
    ₹26.0
    ₹40.0
    ₹60.0
    +11.5%
    ₹17,500
    +12.2%
     
    Security Arch
    ₹28.0
    ₹45.0
    ₹70.0
    +12.0%
    ₹19,500
    +13.0%
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Engineering
    AI / ML Engineer
    ₹18.0
    ₹32.0
    ₹55.0
    +14.0%
    ₹14,500
    +15.5%
     
    DevOps / SRE
    ₹14.0
    ₹24.0
    ₹38.0
    +10.5%
    ₹10,500
    +11.2%
     
    Cyber Security Eng
    ₹12.0
    ₹22.0
    ₹35.0
    +11.8%
    ₹9,500
    +12.4%
     
    Software Dev (Snr)
    ₹15.0
    ₹23.0
    ₹35.0
    +9.1%
    ₹10,000
    +9.5%
     
    Data Engineer
    ₹12.0
    ₹20.0
    ₹32.0
    +10.2%
    ₹9,000
    +10.8%
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Data & PM
    Data Scientist (Snr)
    ₹18.0
    ₹30.0
    ₹48.0
    +11.0%
    ₹13,000
    +11.8%
     
    Data Analyst
    ₹8.0
    ₹14.0
    ₹22.0
    +8.5%
    ₹6,000
    +9.0%
     
    IT Project Manager
    ₹14.0
    ₹25.0
    ₹40.0
    +8.2%
    ₹11,000
    +8.8%
     
    Business Analyst
    ₹10.0
    ₹18.0
    ₹28.0
    +8.1%
    ₹8,000
    +8.6%

 

If your company is thinking of hiring, do it now. As demand rises, so too with the rates of pay and the difficulty levels of attracting and securing the right talent.

If, however, your company is slowing down – beware! If your IT staff start to feel insecure, talent competitors and recruiters will find it very easy to persuade your staff to interview elsewhere. Despite the stress and negativity that may exist, take the time to focus on reassuring your team and, where appropriate, reward their loyalty. It’s a false economy to avoid salary increases for your best people. Doing so risks leave yourself vulnerable to losing key staff and the larger costs in both time and money of replacing them.

Should you be considering recruitment or simply would like some advice on anything recruitment related, please do not hesitate to give us a call and see how we can really help you to Recruit Someone Worth Recruiting.

More UK Salary Guides

More Salary Guides