Let the wage war commence!

Consulting is, indeed, becoming more of a buyer's market. Signaling a recognition that consultants are freely shopping around for the best offer, not merely sitting like lame ducks at their present employer, India's largest outsourcers—Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and Wipro—have kicked off a wage war, vying for the best talent in the market. Having witnessed much-higher-than-usual attrition rates over the past year, the firms are quickly realizing that they must shell out in order to keep employees in.

Last week, Tata and Infosys announced plans to increase salaries by 13% and 17% respectively, while Wipro, which awarded a 9% pay raise last February, has hinted at some financial perks in the works. Even though the wage hikes will eat into the companies' profit margins, the benefits of winning highly sought-after talent will far outweigh the short-term risks. "Although global economy concerns persist, as far as the employment scenario in India is concerned, the cheer has spread and the good times are back," said A.R. Rajesh, vice president at Indian staffing company TeamLease Services Pvt. Ltd.

In other Indian consulting news, the NYSE has extended the deadline for Mahindra Satyam to restate its earnings for the past few years (following last year's cooked-books debacle). The company will now have until October 15 to file its annual report, and will allow the company to stay listed until that time.