Data Scientist Salary in India GCCs
Data Science and Machine Learning roles attract the highest premium of any function in India GCCs in 2026, with Large Language Model and Generative Artificial Intelligence skills adding 30 to 60 percent on top of base bands.
Key takeaways
- Bangalore concentrates more than half of all India GCC Data Scientist roles.
- Hyderabad is the fastest growing city for Data Science (plus 24 percent year on year), led by hyperscaler captives.
- The base to Generative Artificial Intelligence specialist premium is 30 to 60 percent at every level.
Salary bands by city (INR lakh per year, fixed CTC)
| Level | Years | Bangalore | Pune | Mumbai | Hyderabad |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Associate Data Scientist | 0 to 2 | 12 to 20 | 10 to 16 | 11 to 18 | 11 to 18 |
| Data Scientist | 2 to 5 | 20 to 36 | 17 to 30 | 19 to 34 | 18 to 32 |
| Senior Data Scientist | 5 to 9 | 36 to 65 | 30 to 54 | 34 to 60 | 32 to 58 |
| Lead / Staff Data Scientist | 9 to 13 | 65 to 110 | 54 to 90 | 60 to 100 | 58 to 95 |
| Principal / Director | 13+ | 110 to 200 | 90 to 160 | 100 to 180 | 95 to 170 |
All numbers are fixed Cash To Hand (CTC) in INR lakh per year. Add 22 to 28 percent statutory and benefits loading for fully loaded cost. Variable pay and Restricted Stock Units are separate.
Important context
- Specialist tracks (Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing, Recommendation Systems) sit 15 to 25 percent above the generalist band.
- Generative Artificial Intelligence and Large Language Model engineers with production deployment experience sit 30 to 60 percent above the band.
Frequently asked questions
A Bangalore based GCC can typically hire 15 to 25 Data Scientists in the first 12 months at the Associate and Data Scientist levels. Senior and Lead hiring is slower (4 to 8 per year) and benefits from a marquee Indian leader as the magnet.
Bangalore for fastest team build out and senior depth. Hyderabad for 12 to 18 percent lower cost, lower attrition and strong hyperscaler ecosystem proximity.
Other role benchmarks
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