Average Pay for CEOs Crosses Rs 20 Million Mark in India – Study

NEW DELHI (NNN-Bernama) -- The average annual compensation for a CEO in India stands at over Rs 20 million and is nearly 2.6 times the pay package for other top business executives in the country, Press Trust of India (PTI) reported Thursday, citing a new study.

According to the top executive compensation report 2011-12, released by global management consultancy Hay Group Thursday, the average CEO (Chief Executive Officer) compensation has crossed Rs 20 million mark, on cost-to-company (CTC) basis.

A CTC pay package typically includes salary, bonus, commissions, reimbursements, and various other benefits.

For the next level of top executives (excluding the CEO), the average pay package is now above Rs 10 million, it added.

The study further pegged the average CEO compensation at "larger, more complex organisations" at more than Rs 70 million.

Hay Group said the CEO compensation has seen an increase on a year-on-year basis and the uptrend is likely to continue going forward, as there is a lack of "holistic" CEOs.

Besides, the cross-sector employability of CEOs is also likely to fuel the compensation packet, the study said.

Hay Group' Rewards Practice Leader Sridhar Ganesan said that the average CEO salary in the country is now 2.6 times that of the the rest of the executive population, in terms of total pay package.

While the exact increase in the CEO pay levels could not be ascertained, the government data shows that India's per capita income grew by 15.6 per cent to cross Rs 50,000 level for the first time in 2010-11. It is expected to further cross Rs 60,000 level in the current fiscal, ending March 31, 2012.

As per the data disclosed by listed companies, their top-management remuneration grew by 36 per cent in 2010-11, while the rise in overall staff costs was about 18 percent.(US$1=Rs49.19) -- NNN-BERNAMA