Offshore hiring in India, done by recruiters on the ground

Building a team in India works best when the people you hire are genuinely yours, working on your projects under your own managers. That is what offshore hiring means at Kintra. We find, screen and close candidates in India. You employ them through your own Indian entity, an Employer of Record or a contractor arrangement.

How is offshore hiring different from outsourcing?

Offshore hiring adds people in another country to your own team. Outsourcing hands a piece of work to another company, which manages its own staff and delivers an outcome. The OECD's Measuring Globalisation handbook (2010) describes offshoring as buying services from foreign providers or moving tasks to foreign affiliates (UN ESCWA glossary). The practical difference is control.

With offshore staffing, you interview every person, set their goals and keep the knowledge they build. With outsourcing, you buy a deliverable and the vendor decides who works on it. Neither is wrong. They suit different problems.

For example, picture a London software company with a stable roadmap that wants four backend engineers in its own sprint rituals for years to come. That is an offshore hiring problem. A one-off data migration with no plan to keep the team is closer to outsourcing. Our guide to offshoring vs outsourcing covers the decision.

Why do overseas companies build teams in India?

The pool is deep. According to the Nasscom Strategic Review 2026 (reported by ETV Bharat), India's tech industry had about 5.95 million direct employees in FY26 and revenue of about USD 315 billion. That pool covers engineering, data, finance, design and support at every level of seniority.

Depth does not mean easy. The ManpowerGroup Global Talent Shortage Survey India 2026 found that 82% of Indian employers report difficulty finding the skilled talent they need. You compete with domestic companies, IT services firms and the 2,117 global capability centres counted by Nasscom and Zinnov for FY26 (via The Tribune). If you plan a larger, long-term presence, read about global capability centre hiring.

How can a foreign company employ people in India?

There are three common routes: register your own Indian entity, use an Employer of Record (EOR) that employs people on your behalf, or engage people as independent contractors. The table sets out what each one costs you in control and paperwork. India's four Labour Codes came into force on 21 November 2025, according to law firm King Stubb & Kasiva, so take local legal advice before you choose.

Kintra is not an Employer of Record. We do not run payroll, issue employment contracts or hold staff on our books. We recruit the people, then work alongside whichever model you pick, together with your HR team, your EOR partner or your legal adviser.

Many companies use an EOR for the first few hires, then move people onto their own entity once the team grows. Tell us your plan at the brief call. Candidates in India ask direct questions about who their legal employer will be, and a clear answer helps close offers. Our guide on how to hire employees in India covers the setup steps.

How does Kintra run offshore hiring?

We use the same method for overseas clients as for Indian ones, with extra checks on time-zone overlap, communication and remote-work readiness. Every candidate on your shortlist has been interviewed by a Kintra recruiter, has confirmed interest in your specific role, and comes with a written note covering fit, motivation, salary expectation, notice period and risks.

Time-zone overlap planning

India Standard Time is UTC+5:30 and does not change for daylight saving, so the gap to the US, UK and Europe shifts twice a year. At the brief call we agree the overlap window your team needs, then screen for it. Many Indian professionals already work late afternoons for global teams. Some will not, and it is better to know before the offer.

Communication screening

Fluent English on a CV tells you little about how someone works with a team several time zones away. We test for what matters on a distributed team: writing a clear status update, pushing back on an unrealistic deadline, and asking questions instead of guessing. A candidate who agrees to everything is a risk, however strong their technical skills.

Notice periods and counter-offers

Indian notice periods are set by the employment contract and usually run one to three months, according to Nyaaya. An Analytics India Magazine analysis (2022) found that almost one in three IT roles has a 90-day notice period. We stay in weekly contact with your candidate until joining day, because counter-offers often arrive during that window.

How much does it cost to hire developers in India?

Salaries in India are lower than in the US, but the size of the gap depends on the source and the type of employer. The table keeps each figure in its own currency, with the source and date beside it, so you can budget from data rather than a headline saving.

PayScale reports base salary, while Levels.fyi reports total compensation and skews towards big-tech and product companies, which is why its India median is far higher. PayScale's India range for software engineers runs from INR 350,000 at the 10th percentile to INR 2,000,000 at the 90th. A Chartered Accountant also earns much more than the generic accountant figure suggests.

We have not converted currencies, because exchange rates move. Note too that Indian offers are quoted as annual CTC (cost to company), which can bundle fixed pay, variable pay and employer contributions. Always ask for the fixed and variable split.

Why is the cheapest hire not the goal?

The bottom of the pay range usually buys the least experience and the highest flight risk. Aon's Salary Increase and Turnover Survey 2025-26 put overall attrition in India at 16.2% in 2025. We use the market map to show where strong candidates sit in the range, then recommend a band that will hold them. Replacing a hire a few months in costs far more than paying fairly at the start.

Which roles do companies commonly offshore to India?

Software engineering is the largest category, but far from the only one. The Naukri JobSpeak Index for September 2026 showed AI/ML openings up 20% year on year (via Lapaas Voice), a sign that data roles are growing fast. Overseas companies also build finance, support, design and analytics teams in India.

• Engineering: backend, frontend, mobile, DevOps, QA and platform roles.
• Data: data engineers, machine learning engineers and data scientists.
• Finance and accounting: payables, receivables, management reporting, FP&A and Chartered Accountants for group reporting.
• Customer support: voice, chat and email support, plus technical support for software products.
• Design: product designers, UX researchers and visual designers.
• Analytics: business analysts, BI developers and reporting specialists.

When is offshore hiring not the right fit?

Offshore hiring rarely works when nobody at home has time to manage the new team. Remote hires need onboarding, clear goals and a manager who answers questions during the overlap window. If you cannot commit that time, a fixed-scope outsourcing contract will probably serve you better, and we will say so at the brief call.

It is also the wrong choice when the work needs daily on-site presence in your home country, when you need someone for a few weeks only, or when the main goal is to cut cost at any price. We would rather turn down a brief than fill a role that will not last.

If your plan fits, share your hiring brief with the roles, the locations you are open to, your overlap hours and the employment model you have in mind. A recruiter reads it, then books a 30 to 45 minute brief call at an hour that works in your time zone. You receive a hiring plan, a market map and our written terms before any outreach, and nothing is committed until you agree to them. Offshore hiring goes better when both sides settle the plan before a single candidate is called.