A majority of companies (60%) are planning to hand out better increments this year compared to last year, found a survey conducted by CIEL HR Services, the findings of which were shared exclusively with ET. The survey tracked about 720 companies employing more than 800,000 employees across the country to ascertain the appraisal and hiring sentiments in the manufacturing sector.
In addition, ET confirmed the trend with human resources heads at companies including KEC International, PepsiCo and Vedanta. Natural resources conglomerate Vedanta Limited, which follows the April to March appraisal cycle, said it is likely to give better increments to its employees this year.
“Benchmarking of metal, mining and manufacturing industry practices has shown an increase in the hikes that are being offered. In tune with this and the improved business performance at Vedanta, the hikes may be better than the previous year,” its chief human resources officer (CHRO) Madhu Srivasatava said in response to an emailed query.
Similarly, employees at PepsiCo India are likely to get better hikes, according to its CHRO, Pavitra Singh. “Robust recovery of the industry and consumption pattern following the pandemic has further contributed towards the organic growth of the company last year,” said Singh.
“As a people-centric organisation, we believe that our employees deserve recognition for their performance, their hard work and their support despite the challenging times that we all witnessed during Covid.”
Experts said the reasons for better pay hikes expected this year include sectoral recovery propelled by the government’s pro-growth agenda in Budget 2023 and initiatives like the production-linked scheme to uplift manufacturing in the country.
“The manufacturing sector experienced significant negative impacts during the pandemic because of the lockdown and limited operation leading to less growth, which resulted in very less to no salary hikes for employees,” said Aditya Mishra, CEO, CIEL HR Services. But now things are improving for this sector, he said.