By:-Anuj Khurana, Co-founder and CEO, Anaptyss

“2025 has been a defining year for the BFSI industry in terms of digital adoption and the way the industry has restructured its workforce around technology, data, and risk resilience. The Industry’s digital transformation is moving beyond automation and core system upgrades to a phase where talent has become the primary differentiator for how institutions innovate, comply, and scale.

As open banking frameworks, cloud-native platforms, embedded finance, and AI-led decisioning gained momentum, financial services increasingly transitioned from transaction-led roles to capability-driven talent models. Hiring in BFSI today is anchored by high-impact digital skills, including AI and machine learning, data engineering, cybersecurity, digital process automation, product management, and risk technology. This trend reflects a structural shift in how value is created across banks, NBFCs, and financial services GCCs.

This change is further underscored by the rapid expansion of BFSI GCCs, with the market currently valued at approximately USD 40 billion and projected to reach USD 125–135 billion by 2032, driven by specialized, high-skill roles growing at 15–20% annually. Additionally, a significant inflection point in 2025 has been the enforcement of India’s DPDP Act, pushing data governance and privacy-by-design to the forefront and driving demand for talent that blends technology, compliance, and data security.

Looking ahead to 2026, BFSI talent demand is expected to remain strongly skewed toward digital-first and risk-led skillsets, with sustained hiring across AI/ML engineering, data science and analytics, cybersecurity, cloud and platform engineering, regulatory technology (RegTech), model risk management, and digital lending platform engineering.

The sector is projected to generate 300,000–350,000 new digital and domain-led roles, with compensation for critical skills ranging between INR 25–60 lakh per annum for mid-to-senior professionals, reflecting the premium placed on specialized expertise.

Driven by cost efficiencies, talent availability, and scalable delivery models, BFSI/BFSI GCCs are also expected to accelerate execution from tier-2 cities such as Surat, Lucknow, Coimbatore, and Indore, complementing established metro hubs. Additionally, hiring momentum will be accompanied by a sharper focus on workforce diversity, with 35–38% of new BFSI hires projected to be women, as institutions embed inclusive talent strategies into long-term growth and leadership pipelines.”