MUMBAI : Though many chief executives led by example taking pay cuts during the pandemic, an analysis of annual reports and public disclosures by Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IIAS) showed that the earnings of a few promoter-chief executives either rose or remained flat despite employees suffering salary cuts. “Corporate India is a contradiction at several levels, several promoters that put themselves ahead of their employees and increased their compensation despite the stress faced by their employees," said IIAS in a note shared with Mint.
The analysis of 900 entities, accounting for 95% of Indian firms in terms of market capitalization, showed the net take-home salary of 12 CEOs from 10 firms, such as the Marans of Sun TV Ltd, Pawan Munjal of Hero Motor Corp.
and Sajjan Jindal of JSW Steel, was at over ₹30 crore in FY21. The remuneration of Kalanidhi Maran, CEO, SunTV, was at ₹87.5 crore, aggregating 28% of the company’s FY21 employee benefit expense, while Venketrama Raja’s compensation of ₹59.7 crore was 14% of Ramco Cements Ltd’s FY21 employee benefit costs. “Family compensation in Sun TV Ltd aggregated 57% of FY21 employee costs, 20% in Balkrishna Industries Ltd, and about 17% in Divi’s Laboratories Ltd," said IIAS.
Rajiv Podar, joint managing director, and Arvind Podar, chairman and managing director of Balakrishna Industries, took home a higher remuneration in FY21 compared to FY20.