India Inc is expected to dole out the highest salary hike of 10.6 per

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cent in the Asia-Pacific region this year, riding on strong recovery in the economy and business sentiment, HR consultancy Hewitt Associates said.

As per Hewitt's annual Salary Increase Survey 2009-10, the double-digit hike in salaries are anticipated for this year led by sectors like telecom, engineering, pharma and energy.

"Salary increase for 2010 in India is projected to be 10.6 per cent, the highest in Asia Pacific and up 60 per cent from the actual increase of 6.6 per cent in 2009," the survey said.

"The economy has shown faster recovery in sectors relying on domestic consumption while recovery in those which have global dependence is expected to gain speed by mid 2010. This growth and fact that 2009 saw a lot of salary freeze and cuts, are providing an impetus for healthy increase in compensation for employees," Hewitt leader Performance and Rewards Consulting practice(India) Sandeep Chaudhary said here.

Indian owned companies are expected to outperform Multi National Companies (MNCs) with a projected average increase of 11.4 per cent as against a 10.2 per cent by latter in 2010.

The survey covered 465 companies across 20 primary industries in the country.

Other Asia Pacific countries including China, Japan, Singapore, Australia and Thailand are projected to get single digit salary hikes in the range of 2.1-6.7 per cent in 2010.