Bengaluru: Infosys has deferred online assessment tests and in-person evaluations for more than 20,000 job applicants after detecting multiple instances of impersonation and candidate assessment malpractices during the hiring assessments.The company, which recruits from 300-400 colleges across India each year, postponed assessments for specialist programmer and digital specialist engineer candidates after uncovering attempts to game the evaluation process. Infosys has since introduced additional guardrails, and verification checks to preserve the integrity of its hiring assessments.In an email to candidates, the company said, “We have an update regarding the online hiring exam for the specialist programmer (Trainee) and digital specialist engineer (trainee) roles. The scheduled assessment has been deferred. We will reach out to you with an updated schedule once the revised plan is finalised. We truly appreciate your flexibility and understanding. The revised exam date will be shared with all registered candidates in due course.”When contacted by TOI, Infosys confirmed the deferment. “The online hiring exam and the in-person evaluation for the specialist programmer and digital specialist engineer roles have been deferred. We have informed all affected candidates and will communicate the revised schedules once they are finalised,” the company said.Infosys added that the deferment does not affect its hiring plans. “This deferment does not impact our hiring commitments, and we remain focused on identifying, hiring and nurturing top talent.”Infosys continues to hire aggressively from campuses. The company added more than 20,000 freshers in FY26 and has indicated a similar intake target for FY27.The company conducts online screening through its digital learning platform, Springboard. To date, the platform has reached more than 15 million people, including employees, client workforces, students, teachers and community members through digital skilling initiatives.Last year, Infosys moved from a virtual-only recruitment model to a hybrid approach combining virtual and in-person hiring. The company had earlier noted that virtual hiring presents challenges, including fake profiles, limited opportunities to build personal rapport, and technical issues that can affect the effectiveness of candidate assessments. In the same period, Infosys terminated around 600 trainees at its Mysuru campus after they failed to clear internal assessments despite being given three attempts.During FY26, Infosys received 5.8 million job applications, interviewed 450,901 candidates and extended offers to 87,286 applicants, excluding its subsidiaries.