New Delhi, Nov 4 (IANS): After taking hard decisions in the second and third quarters of this year, Indian companies are looking up again to invest in talent as a new survey showed that 87 per cent of them plan to give salary increases in 2021 as compared to 71 per cent in 2020.

As of September-October this year, out of the 87 per cent of surveyed companies that said they intend to pay out salary increases next year, 61 per cent said they plan to offer increases between 5-10 per cent, said the survey by Aon, a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement, and health solutions.

This compares to 71 per cent of companies providing increases in 2020, when, of that group, only 45 per cent gave increases in the same range, according to the "Salary Trends Survey" in India.

"Despite the gravity of the COVID-19 pandemic in India and its deep impact on the economy, organisations in India have shown tremendous resilience and a mature view on talent," Nitin Sethi, a partner at Aon, and CEO of the firm's Performance and Rewards Solutions practice in India, said on the release of the survey.

"Business and HR leaders made hard decisions in second and third quarters of 2020 and are now betting on the green shoots of improving consumer demand. They see the need to invest in talent as a critical part of their recovery and growth prospects."

The industries looking to provide the highest salary increases are high technology (Hi Tech), information technology (IT), IT Enabled Services (ITeS), life sciences, e-commerce, chemicals and professional services, said the report.

Meanwhile, companies in the hospitality, retail and real estate/infrastructure industries, which had given very low increases in 2020 are projecting a higher increase for 2021, but still trail most other sectors.

The study analysed data across 1,050 companies from more than 20 industries.

"The impact of Covid-19 has been varied on different sectors and organisations. We see high differentials in salary increases -- both intra and inter-industry. The difference between industries with highest increase to lowest increase hits 7.2 per cent points as compared to mere 2.4 per cent points in 2019," said Navneet Rattan, Director at Aon in India's Performance and Rewards Solutions practice.