The Infosys background verification process is the step between receiving your offer letter and achieving confirmed employment status. Most candidates who have been honest throughout their application know intellectually that they have nothing to worry about, yet the BGV period is one of the most anxiety-producing phases of the entire joining process. Part of that anxiety comes from a genuine lack of understanding about what is actually being verified, how long it takes, and what happens when something flags.
This guide eliminates that anxiety by replacing vague reassurance with specific information. It covers every component of what Infosys verifies, the exact mechanisms through which each component is verified, the specific situations that trigger flags and what each type of flag means, the resolution process for every common flag type, the realistic timelines for BGV completion, what happens to your employment when BGV is ongoing versus when it concludes with a finding, the difference between a flag and a failure, and the proactive steps candidates can take during the pre-joining and post-joining periods to support a smooth BGV outcome.
This is the most detailed guide available on the Infosys BGV process. It is written for candidates who want to understand the system they are moving through, not just hope it goes well.
Table of Contents
- What the Infosys BGV Process Is and Why It Exists
- Who Conducts the BGV: Third-Party Agencies
- The Six Components of Infosys BGV
- Education Verification: How It Works
- Employment Verification: How It Works
- Identity Verification: How It Works
- Address Verification: How It Works
- Criminal Record Check: How It Works
- Reference Check: How It Works
- BGV Timeline: What to Realistically Expect
- BGV Statuses Explained
- What Triggers a BGV Flag
- How BGV Discrepancies Are Resolved
- When BGV Results in Serious Consequences
- Proactive Steps to Support Your BGV
- BGV for Different Hiring Tracks
- BGV After Joining: Can It Still Affect You?
- Frequently Asked Questions
What the Infosys BGV Process Is and Why It Exists
Background verification is the systematic process through which Infosys independently confirms that the information provided by a candidate during the hiring process is accurate and complete. It is a standard practice across virtually all major Indian IT companies and multinational employers, and it serves several specific purposes.
Risk Management for Infosys:
Infosys deploys employees on client projects where those employees may have access to sensitive client data, financial systems, intellectual property, and production infrastructure. Deploying a person with a falsified educational background, undisclosed prior employment issues, or a criminal record into this environment creates genuine risk for Infosys, its clients, and the integrity of client systems. BGV is Infosys’s systematic mechanism for identifying these risks before deployment.
Client Contractual Requirements:
Many of Infosys’s clients, particularly in the financial services, healthcare, and government sectors, contractually require that all personnel working on their projects have completed background checks meeting specific standards. A Infosys employee deployed on a banking client’s project without completed BGV may violate the client contract. This makes BGV not just an internal preference but a contractual obligation in many cases.
Maintaining Workforce Integrity:
Beyond individual risk management, BGV ensures the integrity of the overall Infosys workforce as an institution. The Infosys brand in the market, its ability to attract prestigious clients and partnerships, and the trust it commands in the industry are partly built on the assurance that its employees have been properly vetted. This institutional value of BGV extends beyond any individual candidate’s case.
What BGV Is Not:
BGV is not a punitive process designed to catch candidates in mistakes. It is a verification process designed to confirm accuracy. Candidates who have been fully honest about their background, including about cleared backlogs, gaps in employment, or other factual matters that they might have been tempted to omit, have nothing to fear from BGV. The process confirms what they declared; it does not try to find hidden negatives in honestly declared information.
The fear of BGV is almost entirely a phenomenon among candidates who have something undeclared. For candidates whose declarations are accurate, BGV is a process that runs in the background while they go about their training and work, eventually concluding with a clear status that they may barely notice.
Who Conducts the BGV: Third-Party Agencies
Infosys does not conduct background verification in-house. It contracts this to specialized third-party BGV agencies that have the infrastructure, institutional contacts, and legal frameworks to conduct verification at scale across thousands of employees simultaneously.
Why Third-Party Agencies Are Used:
The verification infrastructure required for effective BGV includes: established relationships with universities, boards, and registrar offices across India; legal frameworks for accessing criminal records and government identity databases; field verification networks in hundreds of cities and towns; and case management systems for tracking verification status across thousands of simultaneous cases. Building this infrastructure in-house would be enormously expensive for Infosys relative to contracting it out.
Third-party agencies also provide a degree of procedural objectivity: the agency’s verification findings are based on what institutions and databases confirm, not on internal Infosys judgment calls.
Commonly Used BGV Agencies in the Indian IT Sector:
The BGV industry in India includes several major players, including AuthBridge, HireRight, First Advantage, Veriff, Checkr (for international verifications), and several others. Infosys’s specific agency relationships are not publicly disclosed and may change. When you receive communication from a BGV agency in connection with your Infosys joining, that agency is authorized to conduct your verification.
Your Rights in the BGV Process:
You have the right to know what is being verified (the consent you sign as part of the joining formalities authorizes the verification and specifies its scope). You have the right to respond to queries and provide clarification on flagged items. You have the right to dispute a verification finding that you believe is factually incorrect, by providing documentation that contradicts the finding. You do not have an automatic right to see the complete verification report, though you can request a summary of any findings that affect your employment.
Communication With the BGV Agency:
The BGV agency typically communicates with candidates by email and phone. Emails from the agency will come from a domain associated with the agency, not from an @infosys.com address. Verify that any email claiming to be from a BGV agency comes from a legitimate agency domain before providing information. BGV agencies never ask for payments, financial information, or sensitive data beyond what is required for verification purposes.
BGV Agencies and Data Privacy:
The BGV agency handles your personal information including identity documents, academic records, address details, and employment history. This information is covered under your BGV consent declaration. In India, the Information Technology Act and the recently enacted Digital Personal Data Protection Act govern how BGV agencies may use and store this data. The agency is authorized to use your data for the specific purpose of completing the Infosys verification, not for any other commercial purpose.
If you have concerns about a specific data request from a BGV agency that seems outside the scope of the declared verification, raise this with Infosys HR rather than refusing to engage. The HR team can confirm whether the request is legitimate and within the authorized scope of the verification.
The Scale of BGV Operations:
Understanding the scale at which BGV agencies operate provides context for why the process takes the time it does. A major BGV agency handling Infosys’s India joining cycle is simultaneously processing thousands of verifications, communicating with hundreds of institutions, and managing a case pipeline that is constantly replenished as new hiring cycles begin. Individual cases are processed systematically, not individually prioritized. Patience with the timeline, combined with prompt responses to any queries, is the most effective approach.
Understanding the BGV Documentation Standard
One of the most practical aspects of navigating BGV successfully is understanding exactly what documentation quality is expected at each step. Many BGV complications arise not from actual discrepancies but from inadequate documentation that prevents the agency from completing verification efficiently.
What “Verified” Documentation Means:
When the BGV agency says a document is “verified,” it means the agency has independently confirmed, through an authoritative source (the institution that issued the document, a government database, a physical address check), that the document is genuine and the information it contains matches the candidate’s declarations.
A document you provide directly to the agency is not “verified” by providing it; it is evidence that is then cross-checked against the authoritative source. Providing a clear, accurate copy of every relevant document is what enables the agency to complete this cross-check efficiently.
The Mark Sheet Standard:
Mark sheets submitted for education verification must be clear enough to read every grade, subject name, marks obtained, and maximum marks without ambiguity. The following common quality issues in submitted mark sheets create verification delays:
Photographs with shadows across grades: taken in direct overhead lighting, causing dark shadows where the most important data (the marks themselves) is located. Resolve by using diffused or side lighting.
Cut-off edges: marks entered at the edges of the page are not captured when the photograph or scan cuts off the edge. Ensure a margin of at least one centimeter on all sides.
Faded text: older mark sheets (particularly from state boards from more than ten years ago) sometimes have faded ink. In these cases, obtaining a duplicate mark sheet from the board is the most reliable solution. If a duplicate is not available, a certified copy from the institution along with a letter from the registrar confirming the contents is the next best option.
Multiple-page mark sheets uploaded as single pages: a mark sheet that continues on a second page must have both pages included in the upload. Only page one is insufficient even if page one appears to contain all the grades.
The Degree Certificate Standard:
The degree certificate (or provisional certificate) is a key document and must be legible, complete, and authentic in appearance. The hologram, seal, and signature elements that appear on degree certificates are identity features that the BGV agency checks. If any of these elements is obscured in the scan, provide a re-scan with better capture of those specific features.
Provisional certificates issued by universities often use a standard template. Ensure the provisional certificate includes: your full name as it appears in university records, your registration or enrollment number, the degree awarded, the branch or specialization, and the certification date. Missing any of these elements can create verification questions.
Employment Document Standards:
For experienced candidates, the experience letter and relieving letter are the primary employment verification documents. The quality requirements for these:
The experience letter must be on official company letterhead, include the company’s address and contact details, state your name and employee ID (if applicable), specify your designation at the time of departure, and state the employment period (specific dates). A letter missing any of these elements is incomplete.
The relieving letter must state that you have been formally relieved, that there are no pending dues or obligations to the company, and that the company has no objection to your joining another organization. A resignation acceptance letter is different from a relieving letter; both may be required.
What to Do With Documents That Are Damaged or Missing:
For genuinely damaged documents (water-damaged, torn, or otherwise compromised mark sheets), the best resolution is to obtain an official certified copy from the issuing institution. Most universities, boards, and employers have processes for issuing certified duplicates or certified copies.
When requesting a certified copy, ask specifically for an official document: a photocopy certified by the institution is significantly weaker than an official duplicate issued on the institution’s standard stationery with the appropriate signatures and seals. The distinction matters because BGV agencies verify the authenticity of the document, not just the information it contains.
The Employer Perspective: Why BGV Findings Matter to Infosys
Understanding why Infosys takes BGV seriously helps candidates appreciate the genuine stakes involved and why honest declarations are so critical.
Client Deployment Responsibilities:
When Infosys deploys an employee on a client project, it implicitly certifies that the employee meets the standards required for that deployment. For financial services clients, this includes assurance that the employee has no undisclosed criminal history involving financial fraud. For healthcare clients, it includes assurance that the employee has no history incompatible with handling patient data. For government clients, it may include security clearance requirements.
An employee deployed on such a project whose background verification reveals an undisclosed disqualifying item creates liability for Infosys with the client. This liability extends beyond the individual employment situation to the client relationship.
Workforce Integrity at Scale:
Infosys employs over 300,000 people globally. Maintaining the integrity of this workforce, from an employment eligibility and professional conduct standpoint, requires systematic verification at the point of hiring. BGV is the mechanism through which this systematic verification happens.
The consequence of lax BGV standards at Infosys’s scale would be significant: without verification, false academic credentials would become routine, the minimum eligibility criteria would be effectively unenforceable, and the quality standards that underpin Infosys’s market position would erode over time.
The Deterrence Function:
Beyond catching actual misrepresentation, BGV serves a deterrence function. Candidates who know that their academic records will be independently verified are less likely to misrepresent those records. The existence of a rigorous BGV process means that the candidates who do misrepresent their backgrounds know the risk they are taking, and those who are honest have nothing to fear.
This deterrence function is one reason Infosys communicates clearly about its BGV process during the joining formalities rather than conducting it covertly.
BGV in the Context of Other Joining Formalities
Understanding how BGV fits into the overall joining process timeline helps candidates prioritize their actions appropriately.
BGV and the Service Agreement:
The service agreement you sign on joining day is conditional on satisfactory BGV completion. The agreement governs your employment during the period that BGV is ongoing, but the employment is explicitly stated as conditional on the BGV outcome in most agreement formats. Understanding this conditionality is important: you are employed and participating in training, but the employment becomes unconditional only after BGV concludes with a clear status.
BGV and Your First Project Assignment:
For most candidates, BGV completion does not affect the training timeline or the project assignment process. You complete training, pass assessments, receive stream allocation, and begin your first project while BGV may still be ongoing. Some specific clients with stringent BGV requirements may require clear BGV status before you are deployed on their project, but this is handled at the project level rather than at the training level.
BGV and Probation Period:
The Infosys probation period for freshers is typically six months from the joining date. Confirmation of employment after the probation period may be linked to BGV completion: if BGV is still pending at the time of probation confirmation, the confirmation may be delayed until BGV concludes. This is another practical reason for ensuring your portal submission is complete and accurate, which enables the BGV to initiate and complete as early as possible.
BGV and International Deputation:
If you are being considered for onsite deputation to a client location abroad during your first year, the client’s requirements for BGV clearance may be a prerequisite for visa application or deployment approval. Candidates whose BGV is still pending because of an ongoing query may find their deputation delayed until BGV is complete. This creates a practical incentive to resolve any BGV queries as quickly as possible even for candidates who have already joined and are in active training or project work.
Special BGV Situations: What Candidates Ask Most
Beyond the standard scenarios, certain specific situations come up repeatedly in BGV-related queries. These deserve direct treatment.
“I have a gap year between my degree completion and joining. Do I need to explain it?”
Yes. The portal asks you to account for your academic and professional history. A gap period that is not explained by either education or employment appears as unaccounted time in your history. The BGV may query this gap. Most gaps in India between degree completion and employment are spent in job search, examination preparation (UPSC, CAT, competitive exams), or waiting for Infosys joining dates. Any of these is a legitimate explanation for the gap and can be declared on the portal. A gap period for which you provide honest documentation (a UPSC exam admit card, a competitive exam scorecard, or simply a self-declaration that you were conducting a job search) is handled routinely.
“I attended coaching classes between 12th and engineering entrance. Does this need to be declared?”
Coaching class attendance is not academic enrollment and does not need to be declared as an educational qualification. The academic declaration asks about formal degrees, diplomas, and certifications, not coaching programs. If you had a gap year between 12th standard and beginning your engineering degree (a common situation for engineering entrance exam candidates who do not crack the exam in the first attempt), declare this gap as preparation time for entrance examinations, not as an educational enrollment.
“My first attempt at the engineering entrance exam was not successful. Does this affect anything?”
No. The number of attempts at an entrance examination is not part of the BGV declaration and is not something Infosys verifies. The BGV focuses on the qualifications you obtained and the information you declared, not on the process through which you obtained admission.
“I was asked to leave my previous company (not a resignation). What do I declare?”
This is one of the most sensitive BGV situations. The declaration of employment history typically asks for the reason for leaving each position. Declaring “resigned” when you were actually asked to leave (terminated) is a factual misrepresentation that BGV employment verification can uncover if the employer’s records show a different departure type.
The appropriate approach is to declare the employment honestly. If you were asked to leave for performance reasons, declare this honestly. If you were terminated for cause (misconduct, policy violation), declare this honestly. The consequence of honest declaration of a complex employment history is handled in the context of the full picture; the consequence of discovered misrepresentation of employment departure is treated as an integrity violation regardless of the underlying reason.
Before reaching the BGV stage with complex employment history, the joining process itself (offer discussion stage) is the appropriate point to raise the complexity with HR. Proactively flagging “I have a complex employment situation that I want to discuss” during the offer stage allows HR to make an informed decision before the formal employment begins rather than discovering the situation through BGV after joining.
“My CGPA on the consolidated mark sheet is different from the CGPA I computed from individual semester mark sheets.”
Compute the aggregate the way your university computes it officially. The consolidated mark sheet figure is the university’s official figure and is what the BGV agency will verify against. If your own computation from individual mark sheets produces a slightly different figure, the consolidated mark sheet figure is authoritative and is what you should declare. Attempting to declare a self-computed figure that differs from the official consolidated mark sheet creates a discrepancy that requires explanation.
What Good BGV Preparation Looks Like: A Day-by-Day Approach
For candidates in the period between receiving the offer letter and the joining date, the following day-by-day approach to BGV preparation produces the most organized and stress-free outcome.
Day 1 (Offer received): List every academic institution you attended. For each, note the official name (not a nickname), the board or university affiliation, and the contact information for the registrar or examination cell.
Day 2-3: Gather every academic document physically: 10th, 12th, all undergraduate semester mark sheets, degree or provisional certificate. Photograph each document in good lighting on a white background. Organize into a digital folder named “BGV Documents” in cloud storage.
Day 4: Calculate your aggregate percentage using the official university methodology. If you are not certain of the official methodology, call the examination cell now. Write down the calculation clearly so you can explain it if needed.
Day 5: Check each document for name consistency and date of birth consistency. Note any discrepancies. If discrepancies exist, begin drafting a self-declaration explaining them.
Day 6-7: Complete the iConnect portal academic section using the official figures computed from your actual documents. Double-check every entry against the physical document before moving to the next entry.
Day 8 onward: Upload documents one by one, verifying each upload is successful and the uploaded version is legible before moving to the next. Check the portal two to three times per week for status updates or queries. Respond to any query within 24 hours of receiving it.
This structured approach converts what feels like a complex administrative process into a series of simple daily tasks. The total active time involved is approximately three to four hours spread across two weeks, most of which is gathering and organizing documents that you already have.
The Long View: BGV as a Career-Long Consideration
BGV at Infosys is most prominent during the joining process, but it has implications that extend throughout the career.
The BGV Record as a Professional Asset:
A clear BGV record, particularly a clear employment verification record, is a professional asset that accumulates over a career. Each subsequent employer who conducts a BGV check on your history will contact your previous employers, including Infosys. The experience letter and relieving letter that Infosys issues to you upon legitimate departure are the primary evidence of your employment history that the next employer’s BGV agency will verify.
Maintaining a clean professional record throughout your Infosys tenure, including exiting properly with notice period served or properly waived and with all documentation in order, builds the BGV record that supports your next career move.
How Other Employers Use Infosys BGV Results:
Your employment at Infosys is part of your professional history that all subsequent employers may verify. Discrepancies in your Infosys employment record (date discrepancies, designation discrepancies, gap between actual and declared departure) become part of your professional history that follows you. The integrity standards applied during the Infosys joining BGV apply equally to how you represent your Infosys employment to future employers.
The Consistency Principle:
The most important long-term principle for managing your professional background across multiple employers and multiple BGV processes is consistency. The information you declare about yourself must be consistent: the same dates, the same qualifications, the same responsibilities, the same designations across every application, every resume, every portal, and every interview. Inconsistencies accumulate over a career as different employers create records of different versions of your history. The only way to ensure consistency is to always declare accurately and to never embellish.
This principle applies from the very first professional employment. The Infosys BGV is often the first serious BGV that candidates experience. Treating it with the seriousness it deserves establishes the professional standard for every BGV that follows throughout a career.
The candidates who navigate BGV most successfully across their entire career are those who treat every declaration as permanent: accurate today, accurate five years from now, accurate at every future employer. The information you declare cannot be undeclared; it can only be consistently maintained or inconsistently contradicted. Consistency begins with accuracy, and accuracy begins with honesty.
The Six Components of Infosys BGV
The Infosys BGV process covers up to six components depending on the candidate’s profile. Freshers with no prior employment typically have four active components: education verification, identity verification, address verification, and in some cases a criminal record check. Experienced hires add employment verification and reference checks.
The specific components verified for your profile are typically visible in the iConnect or InfyMe portal under the BGV section, where each component appears as a separate line item with its own status.
Education Verification: How It Works
Education verification is the component that takes the longest and involves the most complexity, particularly for Indian candidates. It is also the component where most BGV flags for freshers originate.
What Education Verification Checks:
For each academic qualification declared on the portal, the BGV agency verifies:
- The institution exists and was accredited at the time of attendance
- The candidate attended the institution during the declared dates
- The declared qualification was awarded or is in progress as declared
- The aggregate percentage or CGPA matches the official institution records
- The presence or absence of backlogs as declared
- That the degree is genuine (not from a fake or diploma mill institution)
The Verification Mechanism:
The BGV agency contacts the institution’s examination or registrar office through multiple channels: written request letters, email, phone calls, and sometimes in-person visits to the institution. For centralized boards (CBSE, ICSE for 10th and 12th), verification is typically faster because the boards have established verification processes. For state boards and universities, the process varies significantly by institution.
Why Education Verification Takes Time:
The single biggest delay factor in the entire BGV process is unresponsive institutions. University registrar offices in India are often understaffed, deal with high volumes of verification requests, and have varying levels of organization in their records management. Some universities have dedicated student verification portals that speed up the process; many do not.
Regional colleges, particularly those affiliated with less prominent universities, may have limited administrative capacity. The BGV agency may try multiple contact methods over several weeks before receiving a response. If a university is genuinely unreachable through all available channels, the verification is eventually marked “unable to verify” rather than “failed.”
The Percentage Calculation Problem:
The most common education verification flag for freshers is a percentage discrepancy: the aggregate percentage calculated by the BGV agency from the official records differs from what the candidate declared.
This happens more often than candidates expect, for several reasons:
Different aggregation methods: some candidates compute their aggregate from semester percentages (average of percentages), while others compute from total marks across all semesters (total marks earned divided by total maximum marks). These two methods often produce slightly different results.
Different rounding conventions: whether to round 72.45% to 72.4% or 72.5% can vary.
Exclusion of specific subjects: some universities specify that certain supplementary or audit courses should not be included in the aggregate computation; candidates who include them arrive at a different figure.
The BGV agency uses the official university methodology, which may differ from the candidate’s calculation.
How to Avoid Percentage Discrepancies:
Before completing the iConnect portal, calculate your aggregate percentage using the official university methodology described in your university’s academic regulations or grading policy. If you are unsure of the correct methodology, call your university’s examination cell and ask specifically: “What is the official method for computing the aggregate percentage for my program?” Then use that methodology to compute the figure you declare.
Do not use an online CGPA-to-percentage converter unless it matches the exact formula specified by your university. The formula varies: some universities use 9.5 as the conversion factor, some use 10, some have unique formulas specified in their regulations.
Board Examination Verification:
For 10th and 12th standard certificates, the major boards (CBSE, ICSE, state boards) have online verification portals that the BGV agency can use directly. Verification through these portals is typically faster (one to two weeks) than university verification. However, candidates who have name discrepancies between their board records and other documents (a common situation in India where names were recorded differently at different stages) may face questions during board verification.
Degree vs Provisional Certificate:
If your degree has not been formally awarded yet (you are joining immediately after completing exams and the university has not yet conducted convocation), your provisional certificate is used for BGV. The BGV agency verifies the provisional certificate as representing a completed degree. When the actual degree certificate is issued, you are required to submit it to Infosys, after which the BGV record is updated to reflect the final certificate.
Employment Verification: How It Works
Employment verification is primarily relevant for candidates with prior work experience: lateral hires, experienced candidates making a career move to Infosys, and freshers who had a formal internship recorded in the employer’s HR systems.
What Employment Verification Checks:
For each prior employer declared, the BGV agency verifies:
- The organization exists and was operating during the declared employment period
- The candidate was employed during the declared dates
- The declared designation matches the employer’s records
- The declared reason for leaving (if declared) is consistent with employer records
- No non-compete agreement violations exist (in some specialized cases)
- No disciplinary actions or terminations for cause are in the employment record
The Verification Mechanism:
The agency contacts the former employer’s HR department with a verification request. Most established companies have formal processes for responding to such requests. Smaller organizations may be less responsive.
For candidates who interned at companies, the internship organization must also respond to verification if the internship was declared. Many internship organizations are informal enough that their HR systems may not have detailed records of individual interns, which can create “unable to verify” situations rather than finding failures.
The Relieving Letter and Experience Letter Requirement:
The most important documents for employment verification are the relieving letter and experience letter from each prior employer. These are the official documents that confirm employment details. The BGV agency cross-references what these letters state against what the employer’s HR records contain.
A common complication: candidates who left previous employment without completing the full notice period may not have received a relieving letter. Joining Infosys without a relieving letter from a prior employer, while not automatically disqualifying, creates a BGV open item that requires resolution. The candidate typically needs to obtain the relieving letter or provide evidence of resignation and acknowledgment from the previous employer.
Salary Discrepancy in Employment Verification:
For experienced hires, the previous salary is sometimes verified against salary slip documents and employer records. A significant discrepancy between declared previous salary and verified salary raises questions about whether the salary history was inflated, which is unfortunately a common practice in the industry that BGV specifically targets.
The practical implication: never inflate or invent prior salary figures. The verification will reveal the discrepancy, and salary misrepresentation is taken seriously in BGV outcomes.
Identity Verification: How It Works
Identity verification confirms that you are who you say you are, using the government identity documents provided during the joining process.
What Identity Verification Checks:
- Your name and date of birth as declared match the Aadhar card records
- Your PAN card details are valid and match your name and DOB
- The Aadhar number is genuine and registered in your name
- The PAN number is genuine and registered in your name
- If a passport was provided, it is valid and matches the identity details
The Verification Mechanism:
Identity verification is the fastest component of BGV because it primarily uses government databases. Aadhar verification is conducted through the UIDAI verification APIs or portals. PAN verification is conducted through the Income Tax department’s verification systems. These are near-real-time lookups that typically complete within days rather than weeks.
Name and DOB Discrepancies:
The most common identity verification flag is a name or date of birth inconsistency across different documents. In India, names are often recorded differently in different systems: “Mohammed” vs “Mohammad” vs “Mohmmad” vs “Md.”, “Sharma” vs “Sharme” (clerical error), or a different middle name or father’s name in some documents.
Similarly, date of birth discrepancies are common where the DOB in the 10th board records was recorded differently from the Aadhar or birth certificate.
If you know of any such discrepancy in your documents, the most important action is to declare it proactively during the joining process rather than letting it surface as a BGV finding. A proactive declaration of “I have a name spelling variation between my 10th mark sheet (which records it as ‘Rajesh Kumar’) and my Aadhar (which records it as ‘Rajesh Kumar Singh’); this variation was due to the school not recording my surname at the time of enrollment” is handled very differently from the BGV agency discovering this discrepancy independently.
International Candidates:
For candidates who are not Indian citizens, identity verification involves passport verification and potentially visa status verification. The documents required differ from the domestic candidate process; the joining instructions for such candidates specify the applicable document set.
Address Verification: How It Works
Address verification confirms that the current and permanent addresses declared on the portal are genuine and that the candidate can be contacted at those addresses.
What Address Verification Checks:
- The current address declared is a real, occupied address
- The candidate (or their family) resides or has resided at the permanent address
- The declared addresses can be confirmed through available documentation
- For some BGV profiles, physical presence at the address is confirmed through a field visit
The Verification Mechanism:
Address verification uses a combination of documentary verification (utility bills, bank statements, Aadhar with matching address) and in some cases field verification (a BGV agent visits the declared address and confirms it is real, occupied, and associated with the candidate or their family).
The extent of address verification varies by the candidate’s BGV profile. For freshers entering standard SE roles, document-based address verification is typically sufficient. For senior hires or for candidates going into client roles with higher security requirements, field verification may be included.
Common Address Verification Issues:
Declaring an address that does not exist or that cannot be confirmed (such as a temporary address that has no documentary evidence or that the current occupant does not recognize the candidate) creates a verification flag.
For candidates whose Aadhar address has not been updated since moving to a new city for college or work, the address on the Aadhar may not match the current residence. Carrying additional address proof (utility bill, bank statement, rent agreement) at the declared current address resolves this.
Candidates joining from college hostels need to be thoughtful about which address to declare as their current address. A hostel address that will no longer be active by the time verification is conducted is problematic. Using the permanent home address as the primary address and specifying the hostel as a temporary current address with supporting documentation is cleaner.
Criminal Record Check: How It Works
The criminal record check verifies that the candidate does not have an undisclosed criminal history in the jurisdictions where they have lived and worked.
What the Criminal Record Check Covers:
In India, criminal record checks typically involve a police verification process that checks:
- Criminal cases registered with the police in the candidate’s home district
- Court case records in the jurisdiction
- Any pending warrants or active cases
For candidates who have lived or worked internationally, criminal record checks may extend to those jurisdictions.
The Verification Mechanism:
Criminal record checks in India are conducted through a combination of processes: the BGV agency accesses available court case databases, the candidate’s home district police may be contacted for a no-objection certificate or police clearance certificate in some cases, and court record databases are checked.
The completeness of criminal record databases in India varies significantly by jurisdiction. Not all districts have digitized court records, and the BGV agency works with what is available in each case.
What Triggers a Criminal Record Flag:
Any active or concluded criminal case (FIR registered, chargesheet filed, or conviction) will surface in the criminal record check. This includes minor offenses as well as serious ones.
The consequence of a criminal record finding depends entirely on the nature and severity of the offense, how long ago it occurred, and the specific policy Infosys applies. A ten-year-old minor offense involving a fine is treated very differently from a recent conviction involving fraud or violence.
Self-Disclosure of Criminal History:
If you have any criminal history, the appropriate course of action is to disclose it proactively during the joining process rather than hoping it does not surface in the check. Proactive disclosure of a minor historical offense is handled with significantly more flexibility than a discovered concealment. The joining formalities may include a declaration about criminal history; answer it honestly.
Reference Check: How It Works
Reference checks are more commonly conducted for experienced hires and lateral candidates than for freshers. They involve contacting people who can speak to the candidate’s professional character, work quality, and suitability for employment.
What Reference Checks Cover:
Reference verification typically confirms: the referee knows the candidate, the relationship described by the candidate is accurate, the candidate’s work quality and professional conduct are consistent with the candidate’s self-description, and there are no concerns the referee wishes to flag.
References for Freshers:
For freshers, references may include a college professor, a department head, or a supervisor from an internship. Infosys may or may not conduct active reference checks for all fresher candidates; it depends on the specific BGV profile assigned. When references are required, the BGV agency contacts the provided references by email or phone.
Preparing Your References:
Inform your references that you have listed them before the BGV agency contacts them. A referee who receives an unexpected call claiming to be from a BGV agency on behalf of Infosys and who has no context for why they are being called may be confused or may decline to respond, creating a pending verification item.
Choose references who know your academic work or professional contributions specifically and who can speak positively and specifically about you. Generic responses from a reference who barely knows you are less valuable than specific ones from someone who knows your work well.
BGV Timeline: What to Realistically Expect
Understanding the realistic timeline for BGV completion helps manage expectations and reduces anxiety during the waiting period.
For Freshers With No Prior Employment:
The typical BGV timeline for a fresher with no prior formal employment is four to eight weeks from the date the BGV is initiated (which corresponds approximately to the date the iConnect portal submission was completed and verified). The range reflects the variation in how quickly different institutions respond to verification requests.
The fastest completions (four weeks) happen when: all academic institutions are responsive and have digitized records, the declared information is accurate with no discrepancies, and identity documents are consistent and verifiable through government databases quickly.
The slowest completions (eight weeks or more) happen when: one or more institutions is unresponsive to multiple contact attempts, a discrepancy is discovered that requires candidate clarification and additional documentation, or the BGV agency has a high volume of concurrent cases that extends processing time.
For Experienced Hires:
The BGV timeline for experienced candidates is typically six to twelve weeks. Employment verification adds complexity because: previous employers must be contacted and may have their own response timelines, multiple prior employers multiply the number of verification points, and any employment history discrepancy triggers a clarification process that adds time.
Does Infosys Wait for BGV to Complete Before Letting You Join?
For most fresher cohorts, no. Infosys allows freshers to join and begin training while BGV is ongoing. The offer is conditional on satisfactory BGV completion, but the joining itself does not wait for the BGV to conclude. This is practical: if Infosys waited for BGV to complete before allowing a batch of hundreds of freshers to join, the training schedule would be significantly disrupted by the variation in BGV completion times.
For experienced hires, the practice may differ: some Infosys divisions require BGV to be substantially complete before the joining date for experienced candidates. The joining instructions will specify if this is the case.
The “BGV in Progress During Training” Situation:
Many freshers are well into their Mysore training before their BGV reaches a completed status. If you have been honest in all your declarations, this is fine. You attend training, participate in assessments, receive stream allocation, and proceed with your career while the BGV completes in the background. When BGV concludes with a clear status, your employment is confirmed unconditionally.
If you are in training and the BGV raises a query, you will receive communication through the portal or email asking for additional information. Responding promptly is important because delays in your response extend the BGV timeline.
BGV Statuses Explained
The iConnect or InfyMe portal typically displays the status of each BGV component. Understanding what each status means helps candidates interpret their BGV progress accurately.
Initiated / In Progress:
The BGV process has been started for this component. The agency has sent verification requests to the relevant institution or database. No issues have been identified yet; the process is simply ongoing. This is the normal status for all components in the early weeks.
Pending / Awaiting Response:
The verification request has been sent but the institution or employer has not yet responded. This status can persist for several weeks, particularly for institutions with slow response times. A long-pending status does not indicate a problem; it indicates an unresponsive institution.
Completed - Clear:
The verification for this component has been completed, and the information matches what was declared. No discrepancies were found. This is the ideal status for every component.
Query Raised / Discrepancy Identified:
The BGV agency has identified something that requires clarification or does not match the declared information. When this status appears, you will receive a communication asking for additional documentation or explanation. This is not a failure; it is a request for clarification that may lead to resolution and a clear status.
Unable to Verify:
The agency exhausted all available verification methods and could not confirm or deny the declared information. This typically happens when an institution is completely unresponsive over an extended period. “Unable to verify” is handled differently from a negative finding; Infosys HR reviews each “unable to verify” case and makes a determination based on the available documentation.
Closed - Clear:
The BGV for this component is complete with a clear outcome. All declared information was verified.
Closed - Discrepancy:
The BGV for this component found a discrepancy that was not resolved through the clarification process. This is the most concerning status and triggers a review by Infosys HR that may result in consequences for employment.
Overall BGV Status:
Beyond individual component statuses, the portal shows an overall BGV status. The overall status is typically “Open” until all components reach a closed status, at which point it becomes “Closed - Clear” or “Closed - Discrepancy” depending on the outcomes.
What Triggers a BGV Flag
A BGV flag is any finding that does not match the declared information or that cannot be confirmed. Understanding the specific triggers helps candidates assess their own risk exposure honestly.
Education Percentage Discrepancy (Most Common):
Any difference between the declared aggregate percentage and the percentage computed from official records triggers this flag. As discussed in the education verification section, even minor differences due to different aggregation methodologies trigger this flag. The threshold for what constitutes a significant discrepancy versus a rounding difference varies but anything above 0.5 percentage points typically requires explanation.
Backlog Non-Declaration:
If the university records show an arrear that the candidate did not declare on the portal, this is flagged. This includes arrears that were subsequently cleared: the declaration asks about backlogs ever incurred, not about active backlogs at the time of declaration.
The severity of the consequence depends on how many arrears were concealed and whether the eligibility criteria would have been affected if they had been declared. A single cleared arrear that was not declared due to misunderstanding the question is very different from multiple concealed arrears.
Institutional Record Mismatch:
If the institution’s records show a different course completion date, a different qualification, or a different award status than what was declared, this is flagged. Common causes: declaring the exam completion date as the graduation date when the formal award date is later, declaring a four-year program duration when the records show five years due to a gap year, or describing a certificate program as a diploma.
Employment Period Discrepancy:
For experienced candidates, if the employment period declared (start date or end date) differs from what the employer’s records show, this is flagged. Candidates sometimes misremember exact dates or use approximate dates in their portal entry. Small discrepancies (one to two months) are typically explainable; larger ones require documentation.
Missing Relieving Letter:
If an employment history was declared but no relieving letter was provided and the employer cannot confirm a clean departure, this is flagged. The resolution requires either providing the relieving letter or explaining the circumstances of the departure with supporting documentation.
Name or DOB Inconsistency:
Any inconsistency between the name or date of birth on different submitted documents triggers an identity flag. As discussed, these are extremely common in India due to historical record-keeping inconsistencies.
Unverifiable Institution:
If the BGV agency cannot find records confirming that the institution exists and was accredited at the time of attendance, this is a serious flag. Most legitimate institutions can be verified; this flag typically arises either from an actual fake institution or from data entry errors (wrong institution name, wrong affiliation details).
Address Not Confirmable:
If the declared address cannot be confirmed through available documentation and field verification, an address flag is raised. This is typically resolved by providing additional address proof.
Criminal Record Finding:
Any finding in criminal databases is immediately flagged for HR review. The severity varies as discussed; even a minor finding triggers a flag and review process.
How BGV Discrepancies Are Resolved
The resolution process for BGV discrepancies is a structured, documented process. Understanding how it works helps candidates navigate it effectively when it occurs.
Step 1: Notification of the Discrepancy
When a discrepancy is identified, the BGV agency sends a notification through the portal or by email. This notification specifies: the component affected (education, employment, identity, etc.), the specific finding (for example, “declared aggregate percentage of 72.5% does not match institution records showing 71.8%”), and the documents or information required to resolve it. A response deadline is typically specified.
Step 2: The Candidate’s Response
Respond to the discrepancy notification as quickly as possible, and certainly before the specified deadline. The response should include: a clear explanation of why the discrepancy exists, the supporting documentation that clarifies the discrepancy, and ideally an official document from the institution or employer that reconciles the two figures.
For percentage discrepancies, the most effective response is: “The discrepancy arises from different aggregation methodologies. I calculated my aggregate as [method A], which yields [declared percentage]. The institution’s records may use [method B]. I attach my official mark sheets so the correct aggregate can be independently computed.” Attach all mark sheets in the response.
Step 3: Agency Review of the Response
The BGV agency reviews the response and supporting documentation. If the explanation is satisfactory and the documentation supports it, the discrepancy is resolved and the component status updates to “Closed - Clear.” If the documentation is insufficient or the explanation does not resolve the discrepancy, a second request for information may be sent.
Step 4: HR Review for Unresolved Discrepancies
If a discrepancy is not resolved through the candidate’s clarification, the case is escalated to Infosys HR for review. HR reviews the full context: the nature of the discrepancy, the candidate’s response, any supporting documentation, and the potential impact on eligibility or employment suitability.
HR may reach out to the candidate directly for additional information or to ask for a meeting to discuss the discrepancy. Responding to HR communication with the same promptness and honesty as to the BGV agency is important.
What Makes a Response Effective:
Effective discrepancy responses share these qualities: they are prompt (sent well before the deadline), they are honest (they do not attempt to create a new narrative that conflicts with what the institution confirmed), they provide specific documentation (not vague assurances), and they acknowledge the discrepancy rather than disputing the agency’s finding without evidence.
The worst possible response to a discrepancy notification is silence or a delay past the deadline. Unresolved discrepancies default toward negative outcomes; engaging proactively with the resolution process keeps the path toward a positive outcome open.
When BGV Results in Serious Consequences
Most BGV findings, even flagged ones, are resolved through clarification and result in a clear outcome. A smaller number of findings are serious enough to affect employment. Understanding what constitutes a serious finding calibrates expectations honestly.
Findings That Are Typically Manageable:
Minor percentage discrepancies (under 0.5 percentage points) due to calculation methodology differences: typically resolved by explanation and documentation.
A single cleared backlog that was not declared: typically resolved by an honest acknowledgment and confirmation that the backlog is cleared.
A name variation across documents due to historical record-keeping: typically resolved by a self-declaration explaining the variation, supported by available official documentation.
An employment period discrepancy of one to two months: typically resolved by providing the original offer letter and acceptance documentation or calendar evidence.
Findings That Are Significant and Require Careful Navigation:
Multiple undeclared cleared backlogs: depends on whether the eligibility criteria would have been affected. If the backlogs are within the allowed limit and were cleared, an honest explanation typically resolves it.
An employment period discrepancy greater than three months: requires specific documentation and a clear explanation. May be resolved or may result in an HR review depending on context.
A percentage discrepancy greater than one percentage point: requires detailed explanation and documentation. May be resolved or may result in an HR review.
Findings That Typically Result in Offer Withdrawal or Separation:
Material misrepresentation of educational qualifications: declaring a qualification that was not obtained, falsifying a degree certificate, or claiming attendance at an institution you did not attend. These are fundamental integrity violations that result in offer withdrawal for pre-joining candidates or termination for candidates already employed.
Active (uncleared) backlogs concealed as cleared: declaring that all backlogs are cleared when some are not. If the active backlog renders the candidate ineligible, the offer is withdrawn.
A fake institution: if the institution from which a degree is claimed does not exist or was not accredited to award the claimed degree, this results in offer withdrawal.
Serious criminal history concealed: a criminal conviction for a serious offense (fraud, violence, theft) that was not declared and that Infosys’s risk assessment determines is incompatible with deployment on client projects.
Severe employment misrepresentation: claiming senior experience or a senior designation that does not exist in employer records, used to obtain a higher-level position or salary.
The Concept of a “Good Faith” Error:
Infosys’s handling of discrepancies distinguishes between good faith errors (the candidate made an honest mistake in a declaration) and intentional misrepresentation. A good faith error with a reasonable explanation is handled very differently from evidence of intentional falsification. If you made an honest mistake in a declaration, the honest acknowledgment of that mistake and its explanation is always more effective than attempting to maintain the inaccurate declaration.
Proactive Steps to Support Your BGV
The most effective BGV support is preparation done before the portal submission, not remediation after a flag is raised. The following steps taken proactively reduce the probability of BGV complications to near zero for candidates with honest backgrounds.
Step 1: Compute Your Aggregate Percentage Officially
Before entering your percentage on the portal, obtain the official aggregation methodology from your university. Many universities publish this in their academic regulations or on their website. If you cannot find it, call the examination cell and ask. Compute the percentage using the official method. Compare it to your previous calculations and use the official figure.
Step 2: Gather Every Mark Sheet Before Completing the Portal
Physically gather every mark sheet and academic document before sitting down to complete the portal. Attempting to complete the portal from memory leads to errors in semester-level data entry. With all mark sheets in hand, enter data directly from the official documents.
Step 3: Check Your Institutions’ Contact Information
Verify that all of your academic institutions are currently reachable. A quick web search confirms whether an institution still operates, has relocated, or has merged with another institution. If your college or school has changed significantly, note this for the BGV response if the agency has difficulty locating it.
Step 4: Declare Everything Proactively
If there is anything in your history that you are uncertain about declaring, err on the side of declaration. The cost of honest declaration of a minor complication is very low. The cost of undeclared information surfacing in BGV is very high. Proactive declaration with a clear explanation is the consistently superior approach.
Step 5: Prepare Your References in Advance
If references are required, contact your references before the BGV initiates and confirm they are available and willing to respond to verification requests. Provide them with a brief reminder of the context (when you knew them, in what capacity, what work you did together) so their response is specific and relevant.
Step 6: Organize and Store Documents Safely
Keep digital copies of every document that is relevant to your BGV in a secure, accessible location. When a discrepancy notification arrives, the ability to immediately send supporting documentation is significantly better than needing to locate and scan documents under deadline pressure.
Step 7: Monitor Your Email and Portal Throughout the BGV Period
BGV queries have response deadlines. Missing a deadline because you were not monitoring your registered email can result in the discrepancy being escalated without a candidate response, which defaults toward a negative outcome. Check your email and the BGV portal status daily during the active BGV period.
BGV for Different Hiring Tracks
The BGV process varies somewhat across different Infosys hiring tracks, reflecting the different risk profiles and documentation requirements of each.
Campus Placement (SE Track):
Standard fresher BGV covering education verification, identity verification, and address verification. Employment verification is skipped unless a formal internship was declared. The process is batch-oriented, meaning your BGV is initiated and managed as part of the batch from your campus, which can sometimes accelerate processing because the agency handles multiple verifications from the same institution simultaneously.
InfyTQ and Off-Campus (SE Track):
Identical in scope to campus BGV. The batch context is absent, so there is no potential acceleration from simultaneous same-institution verifications. Processing is fully individual.
Power Programmer (PP) and Specialist Programmer (SP) Tracks:
The same scope as SE BGV for freshers. The premium designation does not inherently trigger a more intensive BGV for a candidate with no prior employment. However, candidates who later move to client roles involving higher security access may have a supplemental BGV.
Lateral Hire (Experienced):
The most comprehensive BGV scope: education verification, employment verification (for all declared employers), identity verification, address verification, reference checks, and typically a criminal record check. The processing time is longer and the documentation requirements are more extensive.
Internal Transfer or Deputation:
Infosys employees being considered for roles at clients or for international deputation may undergo supplemental BGV that covers additional years of history or includes client-specific requirements such as FINRA checks for financial services or DBS checks for UK-based clients. These are separate from the initial joining BGV.
BGV After Joining: Can It Still Affect You?
For most candidates who join Infosys, the BGV initiated during the pre-joining period is the only BGV they will experience until a supplemental check is required for a specific client or role. However, several situations can create BGV activity after joining.
Ongoing BGV for Pre-Joining Cases:
If your BGV was not completed before your joining date (common for freshers), it continues running after you join. During this period, your employment is conditional on satisfactory BGV completion. Most candidates never experience any consequences from this because the BGV eventually concludes with a clear status.
If the BGV finds a serious discrepancy after you have joined, the situation is handled through HR as an employment matter rather than as a pre-joining issue. The consequences range from a formal warning and documentation requirement to termination depending on the severity of the finding.
Client-Specific BGV:
When you are deployed on a client project that has specific BGV requirements (a financial services client requiring FINRA registration, a healthcare client requiring a federal background check, or a government client requiring security clearance), a supplemental BGV is conducted specifically for that deployment. If you have been cleared in the initial Infosys BGV, this supplemental check typically focuses on client-specific requirements beyond what Infosys’s standard BGV covers.
Promotion or Role Change BGV:
For some senior promotions, particularly to roles involving access to sensitive client systems or to roles in specific industry verticals, Infosys may refresh the BGV to cover more recent history. This is not universal and depends on the specific role.
How to Handle Post-Joining BGV Activity:
Approach any post-joining BGV communication with the same responsiveness and honesty as pre-joining BGV. An outstanding BGV query during your first year of employment is an employment matter that your HR business partner can help navigate. Do not ignore it, do not respond partially, and do not attempt to manage it outside the official process.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. When does the Infosys BGV start?
The BGV is typically initiated shortly after the iConnect portal submission is complete and verified, usually within one to two weeks of the portal deadline. The exact initiation date is visible on the portal under the BGV section. For large campus batches, the BGV for the entire batch may be initiated on a specific date after all candidates in the batch have completed their portal submissions.
2. What happens if my BGV is not complete by my joining date?
For most fresher cohorts, you join and begin training while BGV continues. The BGV completion is not a prerequisite for joining in standard fresher processes. Your employment during this period is conditional on satisfactory BGV completion. If BGV is still pending after several months of employment, HR will communicate the status and any required actions.
3. I have a backlog in my final semester that is not yet cleared. Can I still join?
Generally no. The standard Infosys eligibility criteria require no active backlogs at the time of joining. If you have a pending backlog that you were not aware of or that arose after selection, communicate this to HR immediately. Joining with an undisclosed active backlog and having it discovered during BGV is significantly more serious than proactively communicating it.
4. My BGV status has been showing “In Progress” for six weeks. Should I be concerned?
Six weeks in progress is within the normal range for education verification, particularly if the institution is slow to respond. Check whether any of the individual component statuses show a query or discrepancy flag. If all components show “In Progress” or “Pending” without any flags, the BGV is simply awaiting responses. If a specific component shows a query, respond to it immediately.
5. The BGV agency asked for my original mark sheets to be submitted to them physically. Is this legitimate?
BGV agencies do not typically require physical submission of original documents. They work from scanned copies and institutional responses. If someone claims to be from a BGV agency and requests you to physically send original documents, verify this request through the Infosys HR helpdesk before complying. This type of request is unusual and warrants verification of legitimacy.
6. I calculated my percentage as 72.5% but the BGV found 71.8%. What should I do?
Respond to the discrepancy notification with a detailed explanation of how you computed your percentage, specifically the aggregation formula and whether you included all semesters or courses in the calculation. Attach all mark sheets. Most such discrepancies are resolved through this explanation. If the official university method produces 71.8%, accept that figure and explain that the discrepancy arose from using an unofficial calculation method.
7. I was terminated for cause by a previous employer. Does this affect my Infosys BGV?
It depends on the nature of the termination and whether you declared it. If you declared the employment period accurately and the reason for leaving accurately, the BGV confirms what you declared. If the termination was for cause (as opposed to performance-based separation), and especially if it was for integrity-related reasons (fraud, misconduct), and this was not disclosed, the BGV finding creates a serious situation. The best approach in complex employment history situations is to be completely honest in declarations and to discuss complex history with HR during the offer stage rather than leaving it for BGV to discover.
8. My college has closed down since I graduated. Can Infosys verify my degree?
Degrees awarded by institutions that have since closed are still verifiable through: the affiliated university that awarded the degree (if the institution was an affiliated college), the state university that absorbed the institution, or the NAAC/UGC records. The BGV agency handles closed institution verifications routinely and will try multiple verification paths. If verification is ultimately impossible, the case is marked “unable to verify” and reviewed by HR with the documentation you provide (the original degree certificate and mark sheets) as the primary evidence.
9. I have a case pending in a civil court related to a property dispute. Does this affect BGV?
Civil court cases, including property disputes, are generally not the target of criminal record checks, which focus on criminal proceedings. However, the BGV declaration form may ask about any legal proceedings, not just criminal ones. If it does, declare the civil case honestly. A civil property dispute does not typically affect employability.
10. Can I see the BGV report once it is complete?
You can see the status of each BGV component through the portal. The full detailed report is typically available to Infosys HR, not to the employee. If a finding affects your employment and you believe it is factually incorrect, you can request a review through HR and may be able to see the specific finding that is disputed.
11. What is the difference between a BGV “flag” and a BGV “failure”?
A flag means a discrepancy or question has been identified that requires clarification. A flag does not automatically mean failure; most flags are resolved through the clarification process and result in a clear outcome. A failure (or more precisely, a closed discrepancy finding) means the BGV found a discrepancy that was not resolved through clarification, or found a material misrepresentation that is not reconcilable with honest employment.
12. Does Infosys check social media during BGV?
The standard Infosys BGV scope as typically described does not include social media screening. However, some BGV profiles for senior roles or client-facing roles may include open-source intelligence checks that include publicly accessible social media. The standard practice is to verify what is declared, not to conduct open-ended investigations of candidate behavior.
13. My percentage was above 60% when I applied but a grade revision lowered it slightly. What should I do?
Contact HR immediately. A retroactive grade revision that affects eligibility is a material change that must be communicated proactively. Do not wait for BGV to surface it. Proactively informing HR allows a discussion about whether the revised percentage still meets eligibility criteria and how to proceed. Waiting for BGV to discover a revised percentage that you knew about is the wrong approach.
14. I completed my degree from a foreign university. How does the BGV handle international education verification?
International education verification follows a similar process but uses international verification channels. The BGV agency contacts the foreign institution through its official verification mechanisms, which may include the institution’s international transcripts office or a country-specific verification service. The process takes longer than domestic verification. If your foreign degree is from an institution not recognized by Indian equivalency standards, there may be additional documentation requirements.
15. What happens to my existing employment if BGV raises a finding after I have been at Infosys for a year?
A BGV finding that surfaces after a significant period of employment is handled as an employment matter by the HR business partner. The process involves a formal discussion, presentation of the finding, the employee’s response, and a determination based on HR policy. The outcome depends on the nature and severity of the finding and the quality of the employee’s response and explanation. Employees with a strong performance record and a minor, explainable historical discrepancy are treated differently from those with evidence of intentional misrepresentation.
BGV Quick Reference: What Gets Checked and What Does Not
The following table summarizes the standard scope of Infosys BGV across different components, helping candidates quickly identify which areas apply to their specific situation.
| Component | What Is Verified | Who Is Contacted | Typical Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (10th, 12th) | Certificate authenticity, marks, board enrollment | CBSE/ICSE/State Board verification portal | 1-3 weeks |
| Education (Undergraduate) | Degree awarded, dates, aggregate percentage, backlog history | University registrar or examination cell | 3-8 weeks |
| Identity | Name, DOB, Aadhar validity, PAN validity | UIDAI database, Income Tax department | 3-7 days |
| Address (Current) | Address exists, candidate associated with it | Document cross-check, field visit if required | 1-2 weeks |
| Address (Permanent) | Address exists, candidate associated with it | Document cross-check, field visit if required | 1-2 weeks |
| Employment (prior) | Designation, dates, departure circumstances | Previous employer’s HR department | 2-6 weeks per employer |
| Criminal Record | Criminal cases, court records | Police databases, court records | 1-4 weeks |
| References | Referee relationship, candidate’s work quality | Direct contact with named referees | 1-2 weeks |
Key:
- Components in the first five rows apply to all candidates
- Employment verification applies to candidates who declared prior formal employment
- Criminal record check applies based on the specific BGV profile assigned (not universal for all freshers)
- Reference checks apply primarily to experienced hires and some PP/SP track candidates
The Most Important Things to Remember About Infosys BGV
For candidates who want the essential takeaways without reading the full guide, the following condensed summary captures what matters most.
One: Honesty is the complete protection. The entire BGV process, including all flags, all discrepancies, and all consequences, applies only to information that is inaccurate or misrepresented. Candidates who have declared everything accurately have a BGV experience that is passive: it runs in the background, concludes with a clear status, and has no effect on their training or career progression. The anxiety about BGV is overwhelmingly concentrated among candidates who know they declared something inaccurately.
Two: A flag is not a failure. The BGV process is designed to surface questions and resolve them, not to conduct a prosecution. Most flags are resolved through clarification and documentation. The process gives candidates the opportunity to explain discrepancies. Using that opportunity honestly and promptly resolves the vast majority of flagged situations.
Three: Proactive disclosure beats discovered concealment every time. If you know there is something in your background that might surface in BGV, declaring it proactively and providing context during the joining process is significantly better than letting BGV discover it independently. The difference in how Infosys HR handles “the candidate told us about X” versus “the BGV agency found X that the candidate did not disclose” is substantial.
Four: Respond to queries immediately. BGV queries have deadlines. A query that is not responded to defaults toward escalation. Escalated queries default toward negative outcomes. The simplest protection against this is to monitor your email and portal daily during the BGV period and respond within 24 hours to anything that requires a response.
Five: The BGV record you build at Infosys follows you. The experience letter and employment record that Infosys creates for you is the document that future employers’ BGV agencies will verify. Maintaining accurate, consistent professional records throughout your career begins with accurate, consistent declarations during the Infosys joining process.
These five principles, applied consistently from the point of offer acceptance through the first year of employment, eliminate the vast majority of BGV risk that candidates experience.
Extended Education Verification: State Board Specific Considerations
India’s diversity of state education boards creates specific BGV challenges that are worth understanding for candidates from different states.
CBSE and ICSE:
These centralized boards have well-established digital verification portals that BGV agencies can access directly. CBSE’s DigiLocker integration and ICSE’s verification portal typically enable fast, reliable verification. Candidates from CBSE and ICSE schools typically see their 10th and 12th verification complete within one to two weeks.
State Boards (Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, UP, etc.):
State board verifications vary significantly in speed and reliability. Boards that have invested in digital infrastructure (Maharashtra’s HSC board, Tamil Nadu’s state board) complete faster. Boards with primarily paper-based records take longer and require the agency to either send a physical letter or contact the board office directly.
For candidates from state boards with slow verification, the education verification component may be the last to complete. This is normal and not a reflection of any problem with the candidate’s records; it simply reflects the administrative capacity of the board.
University Affiliated Colleges:
Most undergraduate degrees in India are awarded by affiliating universities rather than by the college directly. The BGV agency contacts the affiliating university’s registrar, not the college itself, for degree verification. Knowing which university affiliates your college is important: it is the university name, not the college name, that appears on the degree certificate and that the BGV agency contacts.
Some common confusion points: a candidate who attended XYZ Engineering College, which is affiliated to ABC Technical University, should list “ABC Technical University” as the awarding institution for the degree, with “XYZ Engineering College” as the attending institution. Entering only the college name without the affiliating university can create confusion in the verification process.
Deemed Universities:
Deemed universities (institutions declared as universities by the UGC that award their own degrees rather than affiliating to a state university) have their own registrar offices and verification processes. If your institution is a deemed university, verify this from your degree certificate and list the institution name exactly as it appears on the degree certificate.
Autonomous Colleges:
Some colleges have autonomous status, meaning they award marks under their own board (rather than the affiliating university) for some or all courses. For autonomous colleges, the verification may need to contact both the college and the affiliating university depending on what type of certificate was issued.
Employment Verification: Navigating Complex Work Histories
For experienced candidates, employment verification with complex work histories requires careful preparation.
Multiple Short-Term Engagements:
Candidates who have had multiple employers over a short period face more complex employment verification because each employer must be independently verified. Each verification introduces its own timeline and potential delay. For candidates with five or more prior employers over five years, the employment verification component may take significantly longer than the education component.
In declaring employment history, list every formal employer regardless of how short the tenure was. A two-month employment stint should be declared with its accurate dates; omitting it creates a gap in your employment history that the BGV agency may query.
Contract and Vendor Employment:
Some IT professionals are employed by vendor companies or on contract terms and deployed to client organizations. The BGV agency verifies your employment with the direct employer (the vendor or contracting company), not with the client organization you were deployed at. Ensure your experience letter and relieving letter come from the direct employer.
Startup Employment:
Startups, particularly early-stage ones, may not have the formal HR documentation infrastructure that large enterprises do. If a startup you worked for has since shut down, obtaining employment verification documentation may require: tracking down the founders through LinkedIn, locating archived records of the company’s existence (website archive, LinkedIn company page, regulatory filings), and providing any documentation of your employment (email correspondence, salary bank transactions, EPF records showing contributions).
BGV agencies are accustomed to the challenges of verifying employment at startups and defunct companies. What matters is that you declare the employment honestly, provide whatever documentation is available, and respond promptly to any queries the agency has.
Freelance and Self-Employment:
Declared freelance or self-employment periods require a different type of verification: typically, the candidate provides evidence of the self-employment (bank statements showing payments received, GST registration if applicable, client testimonials or engagement letters, portfolio of work) rather than an employer’s verification. The BGV agency reviews this evidence and makes a determination about whether the declared self-employment period is credibly supported.
How BGV Connects to the Infosys Probation Period
The probation period at Infosys runs from the joining date and typically ends after six months, at which point the employee is formally confirmed. The relationship between BGV and probation confirmation is direct.
Probation Confirmation Criteria:
Probation confirmation is based on several factors: satisfactory performance during training (passing assessments, successful stream allocation), satisfactory behavior and conduct, and satisfactory background verification. All three must be met for probation to be formally confirmed.
What Happens to Probation If BGV Is Pending:
If BGV is still in progress at the probation confirmation date (six months after joining), the confirmation may be deferred until BGV concludes. This does not mean you are at risk; it simply means the formal confirmation process waits for the BGV outcome. If BGV concludes with a clear status shortly after the six-month mark, probation is confirmed retroactively or as of the BGV clearance date depending on Infosys’s specific policy at the time.
What Happens If BGV Finds a Discrepancy During Probation:
A serious discrepancy found during the probation period is handled as both a BGV matter and an employment matter simultaneously. During probation, the standard of care from the employer’s perspective is lower: Infosys has more flexibility to separate during probation than after confirmation. A finding that might result in a warning and documentation for a confirmed employee may result in a probation failure for a probationary employee.
This is another reason why the six months after joining are a period when BGV responsiveness is particularly important: the probation period is the window of maximum vulnerability to employment consequences from BGV findings.
Confirmation Communication:
Probation confirmation at Infosys is typically communicated through a letter issued by HR and accessible through InfyMe. If you are approaching the six-month mark and have not received confirmation communication, and if your BGV is still showing as in progress, proactively raise a ticket through the HR helpdesk to understand the status rather than assuming everything is proceeding normally.
BGV Glossary: Terms You Need to Know
Aggregate Percentage: The overall academic performance percentage computed across all semesters or years of the degree program. The specific computation methodology varies by university; the official methodology is what the BGV agency uses.
Arrear / Backlog: A subject that was not cleared in the first attempt of an examination. Can be active (still to be cleared) or cleared (subsequently passed). Both types must be declared on the portal.
BGV (Background Verification): The systematic process of independently confirming the accuracy of information provided by a candidate during the hiring process.
BGV Profile: The specific set of BGV components that apply to a particular candidate based on their hiring track, role, and declared history.
Clear Status: A BGV outcome indicating that all verified information matches what was declared with no unresolved discrepancies.
Discrepancy: A mismatch between what was declared and what the verification process found.
Employment Verification: The BGV component that confirms prior employment history by contacting previous employers.
Experience Letter: A formal letter from a previous employer confirming the period and nature of employment. Required for employment verification.
Flag: A discrepancy or question raised during the BGV process that requires clarification or additional documentation.
Relieving Letter: A formal letter from a previous employer stating that the employee has been formally released from their duties with no pending obligations.
Unable to Verify: A BGV outcome for a specific component where the agency exhausted all available verification methods without receiving a confirmation. Handled differently from a negative finding.
UAN (Universal Account Number): The unique identifier for an employee’s Provident Fund account. A UAN generated at a previous employer can be linked to the new Infosys PF account.
BGV Consent: The authorization you provide (typically as part of the joining formalities) for Infosys and its BGV agency to conduct the verification on your background.
Third-Party BGV Agency: The external company contracted by Infosys to conduct background verification, distinct from Infosys itself.
Probation Period: The initial employment period (typically six months) after joining, during which the employment is formally confirmed contingent on satisfactory performance and BGV completion.
Final Note: BGV as a Standard Professional Practice
Background verification is not unique to Infosys. Every major IT services company, product company, GCC, bank, consultancy, and multinational employer in India and globally conducts background verification for new hires. The specific components, timelines, and agency relationships vary, but the fundamental purpose and process are consistent across the industry.
Candidates who approach their first BGV experience at Infosys with accurate declarations, organized documentation, and prompt responsiveness to queries develop the habits that serve them in every subsequent BGV across their career. The professional who builds a clean, consistent, verifiable employment history from their first job forward is the professional for whom BGV becomes an invisible background process rather than a source of anxiety.
That professional starts here, with the Infosys joining BGV, by declaring every academic and employment detail honestly and accurately, by organizing and providing clear documentation, and by engaging with any queries promptly and constructively. Everything else about the BGV process takes care of itself.