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Average Head of Public Relations Salary in India for 2026

A head of public relations in India earns about 641,900 INR a year. That's 67% above the national average of 384,200 INR.

Pay ranges widely from country to country and from role to role. The lowest reported salaries in India sit around 294,700 INR a year, while the very top stretches to 1,021,800 INR. Everything on this page is in Indian rupee (INR, symbol ₹), which lets you compare numbers like-for-like without worrying about exchange rates.

The numbers here are pulled together from official government wage data, large independent salary surveys, and aggregated worker-reported pay. Most reported salaries include the benefits that are common in India, such as housing or transport allowances, which is worth keeping in mind if you're comparing against a country where those are usually paid on top.

How much does a head of public relations make in India?

Average salary
641,900 INR
53,491 INR per month
Lowest reported
294,700 INR
24,558 INR per month
Highest reported
1,021,800 INR
85,150 INR per month

A typical head of public relations working in India brings home around 53,491 INR a month before tax. Entry-level pay starts near 294,700 INR, and the top of the ladder reaches roughly 1,021,800 INR for the most experienced and specialised people in the role.

The wide gap between low end and top end reflects how much pay can vary inside the same job title. A junior head of public relations working at a small local employer earns very different money from a senior at a multinational. Skills, employer, city and years in the seat all push the number around.

How head of public relations pay ranges in India

A good way to think about salary in India is to look at the distribution rather than the headline average. Half of all head of public relationses in India earn less than 693,100 INR a year, and the other half earn more. That middle number is the median, and it is usually more useful than the average for answering "is my pay normal here".

Looking at the quartiles fills in the picture. A quarter of earners take home less than 445,100 INR (the 25th percentile), and a quarter clear 923,000 INR (the 75th percentile). The middle 50% of head of public relationses sit somewhere inside that band, which is where the typical reader of this page probably lives.

The very lowest reported salaries sit around 294,700 INR. The highest stretch to 1,021,800 INR, though only a small fraction of earners ever reach that level. If you are deciding whether your own offer or current pay is reasonable, work out which of those four bands you would fall into and use that as your reference point.

294,700
Low
693,100
Median
1,021,800
High
445,100
25th
923,000
75th
The middle 50% sit between the 25th and 75th percentile Tails are the lowest and highest reported All figures in INR

Head of public relations pay by experience in India

Years of experience is the single biggest lever on pay for a head of public relations in India, ahead of education and almost any other single factor. The longer you have been in the role, the more your employer can trust you to handle complexity, mentor others and act independently, all of which command higher pay. The chart below shows how the typical head of public relations salary changes as you move through the career ladder.

  • 0-2 Years
    335,100 INR
  • 2-5 Years
    +34% from previous
    448,500 INR
  • 5-10 Years
    +47% from previous
    660,500 INR
  • 10-15 Years
    +22% from previous
    807,900 INR
  • 15-20 Years
    +9% from previous
    878,900 INR
  • 20+ Years
    +8% from previous
    949,600 INR

The single largest jump on the ladder is from 2 - 5 Years to 5 - 10 Years, where pay rises by about 47%. That is the point at which a head of public relations typically goes from "competent in the role" to "the person other people in the team learn from", and the market pays well for that step.

Head of public relations pay by education in India

Education sits alongside experience as one of the biggest factors driving head of public relations pay in India. Higher qualifications consistently pull higher salaries, but the size of the gap tends to be smallest at junior levels and widens as people move up. Two people in the same role with the same years of experience but different degrees can end up earning very different money once they reach mid-career.

Below is the average head of public relations salary in India broken down by the highest level of education a worker has completed.

  • High School
    411,400 INR
  • Certificate or Diploma
    +18% from previous
    483,800 INR
  • Bachelor's Degree
    +45% from previous
    701,400 INR
  • Master's Degree
    +31% from previous
    919,700 INR

Head of public relations gender pay gap in India

The gender pay gap is a stubborn feature of almost every labour market, and India is no exception. Male head of public relationses in India earn an average of 698,200 INR a year, while female head of public relationses earn around 581,000 INR. That works out to a 20% gap in favour of men, even when comparing people doing the same work.

A pay gap of this size has a real long-term cost. Over a typical thirty-year career it can add up to several years of pay, and it compounds through pensions, retirement contributions and bonus-linked stock. Some of the gap is explained by women being more likely to work part-time, take career breaks, or be steered toward lower-paying specialisations. Some of it is straightforward unequal pay for the same job, which is harder to defend.

Head of Public Relations gender pay gap

17%

Men earn this much more than women on average in India.

Men 698,200 INR
Women 581,000 INR

Pay raises for a head of public relations in India

Most countries hand out at least some kind of pay raise every year, typically when an employee's contract is reviewed or as a cost-of-living adjustment to keep wages roughly in step with inflation. The rhythm and size of those raises varies hugely between industries.

A typical worker doing this role in India sees a raise of about 13% every 18 months, which works out to roughly 9% on an annual basis. That figure is the typical underlying rate; in years where inflation runs high you can usually expect a bit more, and in flat-economy years a bit less.

Across all jobs in India, the national average raise is around 9% every 16 months.

By industry

Industries with the highest pay raises in India:

  • Banking
    1%
  • Energy
    2%
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Travel
  • Construction
  • Education

By experience level

Experienced workers tend to see larger raises. Retaining a senior is cheaper than replacing them, so employers fight harder for them.

  • Junior Level
    3% - 5%
  • Mid-Career
  • Senior Level
  • Top Management

Head of public relations bonus rates in India

Bonuses are the other half of total compensation, and they vary a lot between jobs and industries. Some roles are paid almost entirely in base salary; others lean heavily on bonus structures tied to revenue, project completion or company performance. Whether a job pays a bonus, how big it is, and how often it lands all factor into whether the headline salary is actually a good offer.

86%

86% of head of public relationses in India reported a bonus of some kind in the past twelve months. That makes a head of public relations a high-bonus role overall, which is useful context when you're weighing up a job offer where the base is below market.

Among those who did receive a bonus, the size of the payment varied substantially. Reported bonuses ranged from 5% to 9% of base salary. The remaining 14% of head of public relationses reported no bonus at all over the same period.

Which careers pay bonuses in India

Revenue-facing roles tend to pay the biggest bonuses. Operational and support roles tend toward smaller, more predictable ones.

  • Finance
  • Architecture
  • Sales
  • Business Development
  • Marketing / Advertising
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Insurance
  • Customer Service
  • Human Resources
  • Construction
  • Transport
  • Hospitality

Head of public relations: public vs private sector pay

Public-sector pay in India is about 6% more than private-sector pay for similar work. The private sector typically offers stronger upside and bigger bonuses; the public sector typically offers better benefits and stability.

Public vs private pay gap

5%

Public-sector workers earn this much more than private-sector workers in India on average.

Public sector 392,300 INR
Private sector 371,100 INR

Head of public relations salary by city and region in India

Head of public relations pay is not even across India. The chart below shows the highest-paying cities and regions in the dataset, followed by the full location table.

  • Bihar
  • Uttar Pradesh
  • Maharashtra
  • Tamil Nadu
  • Rajasthan
  • West Bengal
  • Mumbai
  • Orissa
  • Delhi (city)
  • Kerala
LocationTypeAverageMedianRange
BiharRegion814,100 INR877,300 INR372,600-1,296,900 INR
Uttar PradeshRegion792,900 INR858,400 INR366,200-1,259,300 INR
MaharashtraRegion785,400 INR851,200 INR362,200-1,249,900 INR
Tamil NaduRegion767,400 INR828,400 INR351,200-1,224,800 INR
RajasthanRegion757,600 INR816,000 INR349,300-1,198,300 INR
West BengalRegion744,700 INR805,900 INR341,400-1,182,400 INR
MumbaiCity736,700 INR792,900 INR340,000-1,168,700 INR
OrissaRegion735,500 INR791,600 INR340,000-1,168,700 INR
Delhi (city)City731,700 INR791,200 INR339,100-1,162,300 INR
KeralaRegion728,500 INR788,000 INR335,800-1,159,900 INR
Madhya PradeshRegion727,400 INR783,800 INR335,100-1,155,400 INR
PunjabRegion722,100 INR780,700 INR332,500-1,147,600 INR
AhmadabadCity722,100 INR780,700 INR332,500-1,148,200 INR
JharkhandRegion721,600 INR778,900 INR330,900-1,144,400 INR
KarnatakaRegion721,600 INR778,500 INR330,900-1,142,900 INR
GujaratRegion709,600 INR767,000 INR325,900-1,129,700 INR
BangaloreCity707,700 INR767,000 INR325,900-1,125,300 INR
HyderabadCity707,600 INR762,400 INR325,600-1,122,500 INR
Andhra PradeshRegion694,700 INR751,100 INR319,600-1,105,600 INR
ChennaiCity693,100 INR746,600 INR318,800-1,099,200 INR
HaryanaRegion692,500 INR745,000 INR318,800-1,099,800 INR
AssamRegion683,800 INR739,500 INR313,700-1,088,800 INR
SuratCity675,200 INR728,500 INR312,400-1,074,600 INR
KolkataCity675,100 INR727,100 INR312,400-1,074,600 INR
JaipurCity672,600 INR724,000 INR309,800-1,065,800 INR
NagpurCity670,600 INR722,100 INR309,800-1,065,400 INR
KanpurCity670,600 INR724,300 INR309,800-1,065,400 INR
BhopalCity659,200 INR714,600 INR301,700-1,048,100 INR
ChhatisgarhRegion659,200 INR714,600 INR301,700-1,048,600 INR
PuneCity656,800 INR707,600 INR301,300-1,041,900 INR
VisakhapatnamCity656,800 INR707,700 INR301,300-1,041,900 INR
CoimbatoreCity650,700 INR704,300 INR301,800-1,037,000 INR
LucknowCity649,700 INR702,800 INR297,000-1,032,800 INR
MeghalayaRegion646,600 INR698,200 INR297,000-1,032,400 INR
Himachal PradeshRegion639,100 INR689,900 INR294,300-1,012,100 INR
TripuraRegion629,800 INR681,900 INR288,700-1,003,800 INR
IndoreCity628,000 INR679,200 INR286,400-996,600 INR
Delhi (region)Region627,900 INR680,100 INR290,800-1,000,700 INR
Jammu & KashmirRegion626,800 INR675,200 INR286,400-993,600 INR
PatnaCity626,800 INR677,100 INR286,400-995,200 INR
LudhianaCity623,200 INR671,000 INR288,100-987,200 INR
VadodaraCity620,300 INR670,600 INR283,700-986,700 INR
Arunachal PradeshRegion619,800 INR671,000 INR283,700-987,200 INR
UttaranchalRegion618,800 INR665,300 INR282,500-983,700 INR
ManipurRegion615,300 INR667,400 INR282,500-983,100 INR
Pimpri-ChinchwadCity615,000 INR663,200 INR283,400-973,800 INR
GoaRegion607,400 INR658,300 INR279,400-966,100 INR
agraCity607,400 INR658,300 INR279,400-966,100 INR
GhaziabadCity600,000 INR650,800 INR275,800-956,200 INR
NagalandRegion592,200 INR641,900 INR273,300-942,700 INR
MizoramRegion590,200 INR638,700 INR272,800-938,700 INR
PondicherryRegion588,500 INR632,400 INR271,300-932,000 INR
MaduraiCity588,500 INR632,400 INR271,300-932,800 INR
ChandigarhRegion583,000 INR633,100 INR268,900-931,900 INR
Dadra & Nagar HaveliRegion582,700 INR629,800 INR268,900-927,000 INR
Andaman & Nicobar IslandsRegion562,200 INR605,700 INR257,700-894,500 INR
SikkimRegion556,000 INR600,000 INR258,400-887,100 INR
LakshadweepRegion548,800 INR590,200 INR253,400-868,400 INR
Daman & DiuRegion548,500 INR592,600 INR253,400-870,700 INR

Head of Public Relations in India: FAQs

  • How much does a head of public relations make per month in India?

    A head of public relations in India earns about 53,491 INR a month before tax, based on an annual average of 641,900 INR.

  • What's the salary range for a head of public relations in India?

    Entry-level head of public relationses in India start near 294,700 INR. Top-end pay reaches around 1,021,800 INR. The middle 50% of earners sit between 445,100 and 923,000 INR.

  • Is the median head of public relations salary in India higher or lower than the average?

    The median is 693,100 INR, higher than the average of 641,900 INR. Half of head of public relationses in India earn below the median, half earn above it.

  • What's the gender pay gap for head of public relationses in India?

    Men working as a head of public relations in India earn around 20% more than women on average (698,200 vs 581,000 INR a year).

  • Do head of public relationses in India get bonuses?

    About 86% of head of public relationses in India reported a bonus in the past 12 months. Reported bonuses ranged from 5% to 9% of base salary.

  • Do head of public relationses earn more in the public or private sector in India?

    In India, the public sector pays a head of public relations about 6% more on average. Public-sector pay tends to be steadier; private-sector pay tends to offer bigger upside.

  • How often do head of public relationses in India get a pay raise?

    A head of public relations in India sees a raise of around 13% every 18 months, equivalent to roughly 9% a year.