India’s Highest-Paid CEOs & Business Leaders in FY26

₹388.58 crore.

That is the total remuneration received by Persistent Systems CEO Sandeep Kalra in FY2025–26, making him the highest-paid executive among the companies covered in the latest ranking.

For context, ₹388 crore is not simply a very large salary. It is more than ₹32 crore a month if you were to divide the headline figure equally across 12 months.

But that calculation also misses the most important part of the story.

At the top of India's corporate ladder, compensation is rarely just a fixed paycheck. Executive pay can include salary, performance bonuses, commissions, long-term incentives, stock options, RSUs and other benefits. A particularly large equity-related payout can therefore make one year's "salary" look dramatically different from the next.

And FY26 provides some striking examples.

Sandeep Kalra crossed the ₹300-crore mark. HCLTech's C. Vijayakumar crossed ₹170 crore. Three other executives crossed ₹100 crore, while the tenth person on the list still earned more than ₹67 crore in total remuneration.

So, who were India's highest-paid corporate leaders in FY26 — and what do their pay packages tell us about how India's biggest companies reward their top executives?

1. Sandeep Kalra — Persistent Systems: ₹388.58 crore

At the top of the list is Sandeep Kalra, Executive Director and CEO of Persistent Systems.

Kalra's total remuneration for FY26 stood at ₹388.58 crore, making him a significant outlier even among India's highest-paid executives. His remuneration increased by about 162% year-on-year, according to the Capitaline-based ranking.

The number needs context, though.

Persistent's remuneration disclosures show that stock-option exercises can create a substantial perquisite value in the year in which those options are exercised. In other words, a headline compensation number can be heavily influenced by equity rather than recurring fixed salary. Persistent's previous remuneration disclosures explicitly distinguish the perquisite value arising from stock-option exercises from CTC.

That distinction is crucial when comparing CEO compensation across companies.

2. C. Vijayakumar — HCLTech: ₹171.93 crore

HCLTech CEO and Managing Director C. Vijayakumar ranks second, with total remuneration of ₹171.93 crore in FY26.

His remuneration rose by approximately 85% year-on-year.

Vijayakumar's package is another good example of how senior executive compensation works.

HCLTech's remuneration structure includes fixed salary, performance bonuses and multiple long-term incentive components. The company's disclosed remuneration framework for Vijayakumar includes performance-linked components tied to parameters such as revenue growth, EBIT margins, strategic goals, shareholder returns, revenue growth and free cash flow.

So when you see a ₹170-crore-plus figure, it shouldn't be interpreted as a ₹14-crore monthly salary.

It is a combination of different forms of compensation, some of which are linked directly to performance and equity.

3. Pawan Munjal — Hero MotoCorp: ₹122.31 crore

Pawan Munjal, Executive Chairman of Hero MotoCorp, takes the third spot with remuneration of ₹122.31 crore.

His FY26 compensation increased by approximately 12% from the previous year.

Munjal has been one of the most prominent names in India's automobile industry and has been closely associated with Hero MotoCorp's expansion beyond its traditional two-wheeler business.

His position also highlights an important point about the list: it isn't restricted to people whose official designation is "CEO." It includes senior corporate leaders whose remuneration places them among India's highest-paid executives.

4. S. N. Subrahmanyan — Larsen & Toubro: ₹120.84 crore

Larsen & Toubro Chairman and Managing Director S. N. Subrahmanyan earned ₹120.84 crore in FY26.

That was approximately 58% higher than his remuneration in the previous year.

Subrahmanyan has spent decades at L&T and has been associated with the company's expansion across infrastructure, engineering and other large-scale projects.

His FY26 remuneration puts him just behind Pawan Munjal — and makes him one of only a handful of executives in the ranking to cross the ₹100-crore mark.

5. Murali K. Divi — Divi's Laboratories: ₹100.26 crore

At No. 5 is Murali K. Divi, Founder and Managing Director of Divi's Laboratories.

His total remuneration reached ₹100.26 crore in FY26, representing an increase of around 14% over the previous year.

Divi's Laboratories operates in the pharmaceutical sector, making Divi one of the highest-paid executives from India's pharma industry in this ranking.

And with his compensation crossing ₹100 crore, five executives in the ranking had now reached or exceeded that threshold.

6. Salil Parekh — Infosys: ₹82.60 crore

Salil Parekh, CEO and Managing Director of Infosys, received ₹82.60 crore in FY26.

Unlike some of the larger jumps further up the ranking, Parekh's compensation increased by only around 2% year-on-year.

That makes his position particularly interesting.

Infosys is one of India's most valuable technology companies, yet its CEO's total remuneration is substantially below the headline compensation figures of Kalra and Vijayakumar.

It is a useful reminder that company size and CEO compensation don't necessarily move in lockstep. Compensation structures, equity awards, performance targets and individual employment terms can all make a difference.

7. Neeraj Kanwar — Apollo Tyres: ₹78.41 crore

Apollo Tyres Vice Chairman and Managing Director Neeraj Kanwar received ₹78.41 crore in FY26.

His remuneration rose by approximately 96% year-on-year.

That makes Kanwar one of the biggest year-on-year movers in the ranking, even though his total compensation remains below the ₹100-crore mark.

8. H. M. Bangur — Shree Cement: ₹68.59 crore

68. M. Bangur, associated with Shree Cement, received ₹68.59 crore in FY26.

His remuneration increased by around 8% compared with the previous year.

Bangur's presence also shows that India's highest executive compensation isn't limited to technology and financial services. Traditional industries continue to feature prominently when it comes to rewarding senior leadership.

9. Ambarish Kenghe — Angel One: ₹68.23 crore

One of the most dramatic jumps on the list belongs to Ambarish Kenghe, Group CEO of Angel One.

His FY26 remuneration stood at ₹68.23 crore, representing a reported increase of more than 10,000% year-on-year.

But before concluding that his regular salary suddenly increased by thousands of percent, look at the composition.

The reported FY26 figure included approximately ₹55.53 crore from ESOPs.

This is perhaps the clearest example of why the word "salary" can be misleading when discussing executive pay.

A large equity-related benefit recognised in one financial year can completely change the headline number.

10. Mohit Joshi — Tech Mahindra: ₹67.58 crore

Tech Mahindra CEO and Managing Director Mohit Joshi rounds out the top 10.

Joshi received ₹67.58 crore in FY26, around 25% higher than the previous year.

Joshi joined Tech Mahindra in 2023 after a long career at Infosys, where he held several senior leadership positions.

His inclusion means the top 10 list spans technology, automobiles, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, cement, tyres and financial services.

The complete FY26 ranking

Source: Capitaline data and company annual reports, as reported by Financial Express. Figures represent total remuneration and may include salary, bonuses, commissions, perquisites and stock-based benefits.

Why CEO "salary" can be a misleading number

There's a reason these numbers can look almost unbelievable.

A CEO's remuneration can broadly come from several buckets:

Fixed compensation: The regular salary paid for the executive's role.

Performance-linked pay: Bonuses or incentives tied to financial and strategic targets.

Long-term incentives: Compensation designed to reward performance over several years.

Equity compensation: Stock options, RSUs or ESOPs that can become extremely valuable when exercised or vested.

Perquisites and benefits: Other forms of compensation disclosed by the company.

The result is that two CEOs earning ₹70 crore in total remuneration could have completely different compensation structures.

One might receive a large cash bonus.

Another might receive most of the amount through equity.

And another might have a relatively high fixed salary combined with long-term incentives.

That is why total remuneration is useful for ranking executives, but it isn't the same thing as annual cash salary.

The biggest takeaway from India's CEO pay rankings

The most interesting number here may not actually be ₹388.58 crore.

It is the fact that equity-linked compensation can dramatically change the annual earnings of India's top executives.

Ambarish Kenghe's ₹68.23-crore figure, for instance, included ₹55.53 crore from ESOPs. C. Vijayakumar's compensation structure includes substantial performance-linked and long-term incentive components. And Persistent's remuneration disclosures demonstrate how exercising stock options can create a large perquisite value in a particular year.

So, the next time you see a headline saying:

"CEO earns ₹100 crore."

The better question is:

How much of that ₹100 crore was actually salary?

Because at the highest levels of corporate India, the answer can be very different from the headline.

Sources

The FY26 ranking and remuneration figures are based on Capitaline data and individual company annual reports, as reported by Financial Express.

HCLTech's official FY2025–26 annual-report materials provide its latest disclosures and remuneration information for C. Vijayakumar.

Persistent Systems' official investor materials identify Sandeep Kalra as its Executive Director & CEO and provide the company's FY26 reporting.