Domestic telecom operators including Reliance Jio, which will launch its services next year, have ramped up recruitment in the past few months as they compete to for a share in the 4G services market.
While Reliance Jio has reportedly increased its staff from 700 employees in 2012 to 17,500 by March this year, Idea Cellular recruited 2,700 people in the first nine months of the current fiscal, compared to 1,500 in the same period last year.
The telecom sector is estimated to generate another 20,000-30,000 jobs in the next 4-6 months, according to employment consultancy firm TeamLease.
"From a lull period following the cancellation of telecom licences in 2012, hiring has shot up and this is the highest we have seen since new licences were issued in 2008," said Arpita Pal Agrawal, leader-telecom at PwC India.
While Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular have already rolled out 4G services, the commercial launch of Reliance Jio, the telecom arm of Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries (RIL), is expected to happen next fiscal year.
All major operators have invested massive amounts towards building infrastructure and purchasing spectrum needed to offer 4G services.
In November, Sunil Mittal, chairman of India's biggest telecom operator Bharti Airtel, had said the company was looking to increase its investment and buy spectrum from other operators.
Bharti Airtel will spend $3.5 billion in the current fiscal year, nearly $750 million more than it invests usually, to boost its 4G plans, Mittal said.
Meanwhile, Idea Cellular had agreed to buy spectrum for two circles — Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh (West) — from Videocon for Rs 3,310 crore in November. The deal had raised eyebrows of industry watchers, as the transaction amount was double the price of spectrum for those circles in the March 2015 auction.
Idea, India's third-largest telecom carrier, had said it would use spectrum bought from Videocon to roll out 4G LTE services in the two circles.
On the other hand, Ambani's Jio has already spent Rs 1 lakh crore in the venture and plans to invest more. It is reportedly aiming to acquire 10 crore subscribers in the first year of its launch.
"Focus on rural penetration, Jio's launch and hiring within sector have forced telecom firms to create benches and that means more recruitments," The Economic Times quoted Santrupt Misra, directorgroup HR at the Aditya Birla Group, as saying.
Misra expects Idea to hire 2,500-3,000 people next year.
