At a time when automation is steadily consuming into jobs and revenues are slowing throughout the Indian IT sector, chief executives proceed to attract exorbitant pay packages, a lot of which rise yr after yr.

C Vijayakumar is reportedly strolling away with the most important paycheque amongst his friends within the nation’s high IT companies. Whereas the HCLTech CEO is already the highest-paid government among the many high 5 such firms at ₹94 crore, his remuneration is anticipated to go even greater. 

Beginning September 1, as he begins a 3rd time period as CEO and MD, he’ll draw an annual wage of ₹154 crore (~$18.6 million)—a staggering 71% soar over his present compensation.

Furthermore, over the following 5 years, Vijayakumar can also be set to obtain long-term incentives price $8.82 million, linked to the corporate’s enterprise efficiency.

The announcement comes as HCLTech, which posted 4.3% income development to $13.8 billion in FY25, continues to outpace its friends. This marks the corporate’s second consecutive yr because the fastest-growing IT agency among the many high 5 Indian gamers. On the AI entrance, the corporate has additionally fashioned a partnership with OpenAI, which distinguishes it from its friends.

The board attributed Vijayakumar’s reappointment to his “superior monetary execution” and “dedication to long-term worth creation”.

In the meantime, TCS is trimming its workforce by 2% and Infosys has projected its slowest development in a decade. The $283 billion IT sector is present process a interval of transition, and never each participant is making it by means of with equal success.

Among the many leaders, Infosys CEO Salil Parekh ranks subsequent after Vijayakumar, incomes ₹80.62 crore following a 22% pay hike. He oversees a significantly bigger firm, producing $19.28 billion in income. 

In distinction, regardless of heading India’s largest IT agency with $30.18 billion in income, TCS boss Ok Krithivasan is the lowest-paid CEO among the many high 5 gamers, drawing ₹26.5 crore.

Wipro’s Srinivas Pallia and Tech Mahindra’s Mohit Joshi every took house roughly ₹54 crore in annual pay, with Joshi standing out because the youngest among the many lot at 51.

Notably, the executives’ inventory holdings reveal one other layer of disparity. Parekh’s stake in Infosys is valued at roughly ₹175 crore, whereas Vijayakumar’s HCLTech shares are price round ₹98 crore. Krithivasan’s holdings in TCS quantity to only ₹3.4 crore, contemplating that the corporate doesn’t supply ESOPs.

The Mid-Cap Tens of millions

The highlight is more and more turning to mid-sized IT firms, not solely for his or her development. Their CEOs are quietly rising as a few of the highest-paid leaders within the sector.

On the high of that checklist is Sandeep Kalra, CEO of Persistent Programs, who earned ₹148 crore in FY25, narrowly behind Vijayakumar. The majority of his compensation got here from a one-time inventory grant issued on the time of his appointment. But, even excluding this, his wage is considerably greater than that of a number of CEOs operating a lot bigger companies.

Shut on his heels is Sudhir Singh of Coforge, whose FY25 compensation totals ₹105 crore—greater than double the compensation of the TCS chief. Coforge has had a breakout yr—revenues are up, income have doubled, and its AI-first technique is being rewarded on the bourses and on the boardroom desk.

Nitin Rakesh, the long-time CEO of Mphasis, earned ₹59.2 crore this yr, barely forward of his friends at Wipro and Tech Mahindra. His pay bundle contains a mixture of long-term incentives and bonuses tied to new deal wins and working margins.

Amit Chadha, CEO of L&T Know-how Providers (LTTS), drew ₹18.1 crore. Whereas modest on this context, it’s nonetheless up from the earlier yr and features a wholesome mixture of wage, bonus and inventory grants, particularly notable in a yr when LTTS reported solely flat revenue development regardless of robust revenues.

Not distant within the rankings is Samir Dhir, CEO of Sonata Software program, who took house ₹14.3 crore—modest when in comparison with the others, however reflective of the corporate’s present scale. Sonata has made strides in product engineering and digital transformation, and Dhir’s pay has been aligned with targets set throughout the agency’s latest pivot in the direction of platform-led choices.

Within the enterprise course of administration area, WNS Holdings’ Keshav Murugesh earned ₹22.8 crore this yr, making him one of the vital well-compensated leaders within the non-IT providers area. His bundle displays each longevity and constant supply in a phase of the tech trade that hardly ever instructions the highlight.

Employee Pay Tells One other Story

Whereas government compensation packages hit file highs, worker salaries inform a extra difficult story. HCLTech did increase its median worker wage by 17.63% in FY25, up from 7% the earlier yr. However at Wipro and Tech Mahindra, median pay truly dropped, citing income dips and headcount discount.

TCS, which employs over six lakh individuals, granted a 7.5% increase, down from final yr’s 9%. Infosys provided a 9.63% enhance.

Alternatively, Tech Mahindra, which noticed a income dip of 0.21%, slashed median salaries by greater than 6%, whereas Wipro minimize general worker compensation by 0.6%.

The numbers reveal a transparent and rising divergence: high executives are being rewarded as in the event that they’re in a bull market, whereas a lot of the workforce is working by means of a slowdown. For an trade constructed on the power of its expertise, the message is difficult to overlook—AI stands out as the new engine, however the rewards are being pushed to the entrance of the aircraft.

That wave is lifting the boardroom lots greater than the remaining.

The put up Indian IT CEOs Hold Getting Richer, Even within the Mid-Tier appeared first on Analytics India Journal.