India has been identified as one of the lowest paymasters for information technology (IT) managers, according to Mercer's "IT pay around the world survey 2007".

It was ranked fourth from the bottom, since Indian IT managers get an average salary of $25,000 a year. The survey further reveals that IT managers in Vietnam, Bulgaria and the Philippines receive the lowest pay at $15,470, $22,240 and $22,280 a year, respectively.

The survey compared the total annual cash compensation and total remuneration information for IT staff in 6,545 companies across 35 different countries.

It's the low-wage structure, ironically, that has been one of the main attractions to outsource work to Indian IT companies, thereby acting as a catalyst for the robust growth in the $40 billion Indian IT industry.

"India continues to be among the leading destinations for IT development, given its cost advantage. Salary inflation and talent shortage could emerge as key challenges as the favoured destination. There is also an increasing evidence of India's growing stature and presence at the high end of the software value chain, where cost advantages may not be the only driver for future growth," said Gangapriya Chakraverti, business leader, information product solutions, Mercer (India).

The study also identified the "yawning gap between junior and senior career streams" in developing countries such as India. Indonesia, Brazil, Chile and Vietnam along with India have been identified to have the highest pay progression ratios between the lowest and highest career streams.

David Conroy, a principal in Mercer's London office, said, "This reflects a lack of hierarchy in Western IT functions. In these countries, companies need to be more creative to attract staff. There is more focus on variable factors to attract staff, such as bonus schemes, while in lower-paying countries, the emphasis remains on cash compensation."

Switzerland was reported to be the highest payer of salaries, where an IT manager's job pays an average of $140,960 annually.

Western Europe bagged six spots among the world's 10 highest-paying countries as Denmark ($123,080), Belgium ($121,170) and the UK ($118,190) followed Switzerland in the ranking, while the US ($107,500) and Canada ($93,340) were ranked 6 and 8, respectively.

In the most junior career band surveyed, defined as IT professional --experienced employees in Switzerland earn the highest salaries at an average $101,510, followed by Belgium, Germany and Denmark.

The UK ranks fifth with an average of $64,340 followed by the US. In the lower-paying countries, Vietnam again pays the least at $5,570, followed by the Philippines and India at $8,130 and $9,630, respectively.