Sector map: IT services
Intuition
An IT services company sells the time and skills of its people. Its biggest assets walk out of the door every evening. So hiring, training, keeping and fairly treating employees is the most material ESG issue. The second is trust: clients hand over sensitive systems and data, and a breach can lose contracts. Environmental issues are smaller, but energy use in offices and data centres, and water use in campuses in stressed cities, still matter to clients that set supplier standards.
Mechanics
Material issues
| Issue | Financial channel | Where to find data | Metric to track |
|---|---|---|---|
| Talent, attrition and skills | Wage costs, utilisation, delivery quality | BRSR Principle 3; annual report | Employee turnover rate; training hours; fresher hiring |
| Data privacy and cybersecurity | Lost contracts, penalties, client claims | BRSR Principle 9; client disclosures | Data breaches; certifications; incidents disclosed |
| Diversity and inclusion | Talent pool, client expectations | BRSR Principles 3 and 5 | Share of women in workforce and senior roles; pay gap |
| Energy and renewable share | Client supplier scores, energy costs | BRSR Principle 6 | Renewable share of electricity; energy per employee |
| Business ethics | Contract risk, legal costs | BRSR Principle 1; legal disclosures | Fines and settlements; whistleblower cases |
Indian rules to know
- Digital Personal Data Protection Rules (November 2025): IT companies are both data fiduciaries for their own staff and processors for clients. Core obligations apply after 18 months, and penalties can reach ₹250 crore.
- BRSR Core: covers employee wellbeing and safety, gender diversity in wages and data breach disclosures for listed companies.
Sources
From the research
A Comparative Financial Analysis of Three Listed Companies
Three IT services leaders, five years of numbers: similar growth, very different margins and returns on capital, and their October 2026 valuations.
MarketsIPO Issue Price vs. Listing Price vs. Subsequent Performance
Seven of India's most talked-about IPOs since 2021, tracked from issue price to listing to October 2026. Buying on listing day lost money in six of seven.
ValuationPaytm: Valuing a Company With No Clean Comparable
Paytm is part payments processor, part device business, part loan distributor. Why no single peer fits, and how to value it in parts and in reverse.
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