India's salary growth likely to be highest in Asia at 9.2% in 2020: Experts

For all the gloom surrounding the Indian economy, one indicator seems to be showing some deviation though not entirely encouraging. Korn Ferry’s Global Salary Forecast, released earlier this week, has revealed that the salary growth in India is expected to be highest in Asia at 9.2 per cent in 2020. However, the inflation-adjusted real-wage in India is anticipated to be constant at 5 per cent. 

“India has posted a strong growth despite real wages taking a hit globally. With our current economic scenario and progressive reforms by the government, there is a sense of cautious optimism across sectors in India that continues to show high salary increments,” Rajiv Krishnan, managing director, Korn Ferry Advisory India. According to the forecast, salaries are predicted to grow at a rate of approximately 4.9 per cent globally in 2020. Experts also say that the salaries in India continue to grow but not evenly.

Positive outlook

Ericsson has made some bold optimistic predictions for 5G in the November 2019 edition of its Ericsson Mobility Report. It expects the global number of 5G subscriptions to top 2.6 billion within the next six years. It says this projected growth to be driven by sustained momentum and a rapidly developing 5G ecosystem. 

Average monthly data-traffic-per-smartphone is forecast to increase from the current figure of 7.2 GB to 24 GB by the end of 2025, in part driven by new consumer behavior, such as Virtual Reality streaming. With 7.2 GB per month, one can stream 21 minutes of HD video daily, while 24 GB would allow streaming 30 minutes of HD video with an additional six minutes of VR each day. 

The current year is the year when leading communications service providers in Asia, Australia, Europe, Middle East, and North America switched on their 5G networks. South Korea has already seen a big 5G uptake since its April 2019 launch. However, with two of the top three telecom players bleeding in India and not enough usecases may make it difficult to be resonated in India.