How Much India's Highest-Paid CEOs Earn Every Year

Recently, Zerodha’s Founder and CEO Nithin Kamath faced backlash after news reports suggested that founders will draw a salary of up to ₹100 crore every year. Later, he did issue a clarification.

But, that got me thinking, who are the highest-paid CEOs in India? We did some research and here’s what we found out.

1. Mukesh Ambani (Reliance Industries)

Mukesh Ambani is the owner of Reliance Industries and he holds 44.7% stakes in the company. His salary? It’s almost ₹15 crores per annum, as per reports.

2. CP Gurnani (Tech Mahindra)

CEO and Managing Director of Tech Mahindra, CP Gurnani is one of the highest-paid CEOs in India. According to reports, he earned ₹28.57 crores in the fiscal year 2020. If reports are to be believed, he earned ₹146.19 crores in the fiscal year 2018.

3. Pawan Munjal (Hero Motocorp)

For those who don’t know, Pawan Munjal is the Chairman, Managing Director and CEO of Hero Motocorp. As per reports, he took home ₹85.59 crores as salary in the fiscal year 2020, making him one of the highest-paid CEOs in India.

4. SN Subrahmanyan (Larsen & Toubro)

The CEO and Managing Director of Larsen and Toubro, SN Subrahmanyan was paid around ₹48.45 crores for the year 2019, according to reports. He has been part of the company for 33 years and he was appointed as the CEO in 2017.

5. Salil Parekh (Infosys)

Salil Parekh is the CEO and Managing Director of Infosys and his annual pay package rose to ₹49.68 crores in 2020-21 as per reports. He took over the company in 2018.

6. Rajiv Bajaj (Bajaj Auto)

CEO and MD of Bajaj Auto, Rajiv Bajaj got an annual salary of ₹39.86 crores in fiscal year 2020, as per reports. He has been the MD of the company since 2005. In case you didn’t know, he was the one who introduced the Pulsar range of motorcycles in India.

7. Sunil Mittal (Bharti Enterprises)

Sunil Mittal is the founder and chairperson of Bharti Enterprises. And, if reports are to be believed, he took home a salary of ₹30.1 crores in the fiscal year 2020. Today, his company, Bharti Enterprises has diversified interests in telecom, insurance, real estate, education, malls, hospitality, Agri, and food among other ventures.

8. Guenter Betschek (Tata Motors)

Guenter Betschek is the CEO and Managing Director of Tata Motors. As per reports, he took home a package of ₹26.29 crores for the year 2019. Betschek was appointed as the COO of Airbus for 4 years before being appointed as the CEO of Tata Motors. Apparently, he made over ₹19,27,78,000 in 2020 as the Director, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director at Tata Motors.

9. Vishal Sikka (Vianai)

Vishal Sikka is the founder and CEO of Vianai, a startup based in the San Francisco Bay Area that provides advanced technological software and services in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to large companies around the world. Previously, he was the CEO of Infosys. As per reports, Sikka earned ₹13 crores in the fiscal year 2018. As the former CEO of Infosys, he earned ₹49 crores in the year 2017.

10. Rajesh Gopinathan (Tata Consultancy)

The CEO of Tata Consultancy Services, Rajesh Gopinathan’s annual salary increased to ₹20 crores in the fiscal year 2020-21. His annual package increased by 52% as compared to last year.