New Delhi, Feb 23 (IANS): India Inc is likely to provide a salary hike of 7.7 per cent in 2021, indicating a strong economic recovery, said a survey on Tuesday.

The study by global professional services firm Aon analysed data across 1,200 companies from more than 20 industries.

About 88 percent of the surveyed companies reported that they intend to increase salaries in 2021, reflecting positive business sentiment.

"We expect the increment dynamics for 2021 to play out over a longer period of time given the uncertainty and potential impact of forthcoming changes," Nitin Sethi, Partner and CEO of Aon's performance and rewards business in India, said in a statement.

Despite a tough 2020 with stringent lockdowns, India continues to project the highest salary increases among the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China,) nations, said the report.

The highest-paying sectors in 2021 continue to be the ones from last year - information technology, information technology enabled services, life sciences, e-commerce and fast-moving consumer goods, according to Roopank Chaudhary, Partner in Aon's Human Capital Business in India.

"It's notable that the sectors that were adversely impacted by Covid-19, such as retail, hospitality and real estate, are projecting healthy increases in the range of 5-6 per cent. Such numbers reflect their intent to stay relevant and to control attrition, which had increased for these industries last year."

However, it is also possible that some of the salary increments may not translate into higher cash-in-hand for employees if organisations choose to pay higher provident fund contributions on the new definition of wages, Sethi said.