A skills gap in niche technologies and a surge in digital transformation projects has made India’s IT sector rely heavily on temporary staff with the share of such talent increasing by average 40% and pay hikes coming in at rates higher than permanent employees, reports the Times of India citing data from staffing companies and tech executives. The report suggests the surge in more short-term digital projects post the pandemic has increased reliance on temp staff to record levels. From around 10%-12% composition of contract staff earlier, top-tier IT companies have almost 15%- 17% contract staff, they said. Kapil Sharma, chief sales officer of IT staffing firm Collabera Technologies said uncertainty created by Covid has made IT companies reduce bench strength and their preference for 'on-demand' talent is on a high. Sriram Rajagopal, founder and director of talent solutions firm Diamondpick says that with full-time permanent staff having 90-day joining timeframes, qualified temp staff who can join quickly are becoming key.