Top 10 Highest Paid CEOs of India

70 years post independence, India is touching new heights is all fields of development. The home to Asia’s richest billionaire, India is also the home to some of the most well paid executives and a bunch of millionaires. While everyone knows it pays to be a CEO, not many know how much. Let’s take a look at who the 10 highest paid CEOs of India are and how much they get paid.

1. C.P. Gurnani

Gurnani is the CEO of the multinational information technology, networking technology solutions provider Tech Mahindra. For the financial year 2016-2017, Gurnani earned a salary of Rs. 150.7 crores including perks and bonuses. India’s fifth largest service provider pays the highest salary to their CEO, trumping the salaries of the entire boards of TCS, Infosys and Wipro.

2. Kalanithi Maran

The grand nephew of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, Kalanithi Maran is the Chairman and MD of The Sun Group, Suryan and Red FM, Sun Cable Vision and Sun Pictures. Having started his entrepreneurial journey in 1990, Kalanithi has come a long way and has earned Rs. 62 crores for the financial year 2016 – 2017. He was named the “Television king of southern India,” by Forbes and also won the Young Businessman award from CNBC and Ernst & Young.

3. Pawan Munjal

 The Chairman, Managing Director and CEO of Hero Motocorp., Pawan Munjal is the son of Brijmohan Lall Munjal. During its much publicized partnership deal with Honda Motors, Pawan Munjal was the chairman for Hero MotorCorp. For the fiscal year 2016 – 2017, he took home a salary of Rs. 60 crores and is considered to be one of India’s 50 Most powerful people as of 2017.

4. Vishal Sikka

The CEO of India’s second largest IT services exporter, Vishal Sikka joined Infosys in 2014. Inducted as a full time director of the board as the CEO and MD, Vishal’s annual compensation was set at $ 6 million, with stock options worth $ 5 million. His salary for 2017 was Rs. 45. 11 crores inclusive of a 50% hike in remuneration.

5. N. Chandrasekaran

One of the youngest CEOs of the Tata Group, Natarajan Chandrasekaran took over the position in 2009. He spent his entire career working in Tata Consulting Services and led the company to generate a consolidated revenue of $ 16.5 billion in 2015 – 2016. As a compensation for his services, he took home a salary of Rs. 25.9 crores in 2017.

6. Rahul Bajaj

Harvard Business School alumnus, Rahul Bajaj took over the Bajaj Group in 1965 and is currently serving as the chairman of the conglomerate. For the fiscal year 2016-2017, he earned a salary of Rs. 25.59 crores and is also one of the richest billionaires in the world with a net worth of $2.4 billion.

7. Guenter Butschek

 Guenter Butschek was appointed as the chief executive officer of Tata Motors worldwide after two years of extensive search with a proposed annual package of Rs.28-29 crores per year. However, for the financial year 2016-2017, Guenter took home only Rs. 22.5 crores as his salary.

8. Kumar Mangalam Birla

One of the main proponents of the Indian Industrial Revolution, Kumar Mangalam Birla is the Chairman of Aditya Birla Group and the chancellor of the Birla Institute of Technology and Science. Birla took over the position of the chairman in 1995 when he was 28 years old. His salary for the financial year 2016 – 2017 was Rs. 22.5 crores.

9. Yogesh Chander Deveshwar

The chairman and CEO of Indian Tobacco Company (ITC,) Yogesh Chander Deveshwar is India’s longest serving CEO and earned nearly the triple of the second highest salary in his company in 2011. For the financial year 2016 – 2017, his salary was Rs. 21.16 crores.

10. Mukesh Ambani

The richest person of Asia, Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani is the chairman, managing director and largest shareholder of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) with a 44.7% stake in the company. His net worth is estimated to be around $ 36.2 billion. Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani earned a salary of Rs. 15 crores for the financial year 106 – 2017 and has consistently held the title of India’s richest person.