CEOs earning crores in salaries

Calls for reining in astronomical salaries for corporate head honchos notwithstanding, the number of top management personnel getting a pay package running into crores of rupees has crossed the century mark, and the data flow has just started.

Out of more than 4,500 listed companies in the country, about 175 entities have so far disclosed the last pay package for their CEOs and other top management personnel, which includes 60 companies having paid in crores to one or more of their top executives. So far, there are 105 top management personnel who were paid annual remuneration in crores of rupees during the last fiscal, ended March, 2010, or December, 2009.

The list is topped by media baron Kalanidhi Maran and wife Kaveri Kalanidhi with total remuneration of a little over Rs. 37 crore each in the fiscal ended March 2010.

This is despite the two capping their collective salary at Rs. 74.16 crore, about 22 per cent below their entitlement of Rs. 94.8 crore for the year.

Mr. Maran, the Managing Director of Sun TV Network, and Kaveri Kalanidhi, joint MD, opted to limit their remuneration for 2009-10 to Rs. 74.16 crore, the same paid to them in the last fiscal.

The list also includes Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani, who has also taken a voluntary pay cut and still figures among the highest paid so far with Rs. 15 crore, less than half of what he is eligible for.

While Mr. Ambani capped his salary at Rs. 15 crore for the second straight year, three RIL executive directors — P.M.S. Prasad, Hital Meswani and Nikhil Meswani — saw their remuneration rise to Rs. 1.53 crore, Rs 11.14 crore and Rs 11.14 crore respectively.

“The Chairman and Managing Director's compensation has been set at Rs. 15 crore as against Rs. 39.36 crore that he is eligible as per the shareholders' approval, reflecting his desire to set a personal example for moderation in managerial compensation levels,” the RIL said in its annual report, the document where all listed companies disclose payouts to top management.

At a time when there is a raging debate on right-sizing CEO salaries, the RIL had announced in October last year that Mr. Ambani would take a pay cut.