India's Highest-Paid CEOs in 2026
The highest disclosed CEO remuneration packages for FY26, the fiscal year ended March 2026 — led by Sandeep Kalra's ₹388.58 crore, more than double the #2 spot, and most of it isn't salary at all.
Quick Answer
Sandeep Kalra, CEO of Persistent Systems, is India's highest-paid CEO for FY26 at ₹388.58 crore in total remuneration — more than double C. Vijayakumar of HCLTech in second place at ₹171.93 crore. Most of Kalra's figure came from variable and equity-linked pay, not fixed salary — a pattern that shows up across several names on this list.
India's highest-paid CEOs collected a combined ₹1,269.33 crore in FY26 (the fiscal year ended March 2026) — but the headline number hides an important story. Sandeep Kalra of Persistent Systems topped the ranking at ₹388.58 crore, more than twice the second-highest figure. But much of that total came from equity-linked and other variable compensation rather than fixed salary. Across the 10 executives in this ranking, technology leaders dominate the list, while unusually large stock-option and incentive payouts caused several executives' reported compensation to surge from the previous year. Unlike salary surveys built on vague averages, Indian listed companies disclose individual director and executive remuneration in their annual reports and regulatory filings — this ranking uses those disclosed figures throughout.
Total FY26 Remuneration — ₹ Crore
Source: Company annual reports, Capitaline data (via Financial Express, InsideIIM)Tap any name to jump to their full breakdown below.
Ranked #10 to #1
Mohit Joshi
- Total remuneration:
- ₹67.58 Cr
- Category:
- Tech Mahindra · IT Services
- Revenue sources:
- Base salary, performance bonus, stock-based compensation
Mohit Joshi joined Tech Mahindra as CEO and Managing Director in December 2023 after a long career at Infosys, where he rose to President.
Joshi's FY26 remuneration rose about 25% year-over-year, a far more typical increase than several names higher on this list.
Source: Financial Express/Capitaline, via InsideIIM, Storyboard18
Ambarish Kenghe
- Total remuneration:
- ₹68.23 Cr
- Category:
- Angel One · Financial Services
- Revenue sources:
- Base salary, ESOPs
Kenghe became Group CEO of Angel One in March 2025, joining from a product leadership career spanning Google Pay, Myntra, and Bain & Company.
Kenghe's reported pay jumped more than 10,000% year-over-year — but ₹55.53 crore of his ₹68.23 crore total came from ESOPs, not a change in salary.
Source: Financial Express/Capitaline, via InsideIIM, Storyboard18
H.M. Bangur
- Total remuneration:
- ₹68.59 Cr
- Category:
- Shree Cement · Cement & Building Materials
- Revenue sources:
- Base salary, commission, dividends on promoter holding
Bangur has led Shree Cement, one of India's largest cement producers, for decades as part of the company's founding family.
Neeraj Kanwar
- Total remuneration:
- ₹78.41 Cr
- Category:
- Apollo Tyres · Automotive
- Revenue sources:
- Base salary, commission, performance bonus
Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Apollo Tyres, Kanwar has led the tire manufacturer's global expansion into Europe and the Americas.
Kanwar's pay rose about 96% year-over-year — one of the largest jumps in this top 10 outside of Kalra and Kenghe.
Source: Financial Express/Capitaline, via InsideIIM
Salil Parekh
- Total remuneration:
- ₹82.60 Cr
- Category:
- Infosys · IT Services
- Revenue sources:
- Base salary, performance bonus, RSUs
Parekh has led Infosys, India's second-largest IT services company, since 2018.
Parekh's pay rose only about 2% year-over-year, among the smallest increases of anyone in this top 10.
Source: Financial Express/Capitaline, via InsideIIM
Murali K. Divi
- Total remuneration:
- ₹100.26 Cr
- Category:
- Divi's Laboratories · Pharmaceuticals
- Revenue sources:
- Base salary, commission, dividends on promoter holding
Divi co-founded Divi's Laboratories, now one of India's largest pharmaceutical API manufacturers, and remains a major shareholder alongside his executive role.
Divi's pay rose about 14% year-over-year, a steadier increase than most of the names above him on this list.
Source: Financial Express/Capitaline, via Upgrad, InsideIIM
S.N. Subrahmanyan
- Total remuneration:
- ₹120.84 Cr
- Category:
- Larsen & Toubro · Infrastructure & Engineering
- Revenue sources:
- Base salary, performance bonus, stock-based compensation
Subrahmanyan leads Larsen & Toubro, India's largest engineering and construction conglomerate, spanning infrastructure, defense, and technology.
Subrahmanyan's pay has nearly doubled two years running — up ~50% in FY25 to ₹76.25 crore, then up another 59% in FY26 to ₹120.84 crore, crossing the ₹100-crore mark for the first time, driven largely by stock option exercises.
Source: Financial Express/Capitaline, via PeopleMatters, Upgrad
Pawan Munjal
- Total remuneration:
- ₹122.31 Cr
- Category:
- Hero MotoCorp · Automotive
- Revenue sources:
- Base salary, commission, dividends on promoter holding
Chairman and Managing Director of Hero MotoCorp, the world's largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters by volume, Munjal leads the company his family founded.
Munjal's FY26 pay rose about 12% year-over-year — a relatively modest increase compared to several others in this top 10.
Source: Financial Express/Capitaline, via Upgrad, InsideIIM
C. Vijayakumar
- Total remuneration:
- ₹171.93 Cr
- Category:
- HCLTech · IT Services
- Revenue sources:
- Base salary, performance bonus, stock-based compensation
Vijayakumar has served as CEO and Managing Director of HCLTech since 2016, during which the company's market capitalization has grown nearly fourfold.
Vijayakumar's pay rose roughly 85% year-over-year, driven mainly by long-term incentives and stock options. He draws his remuneration through HCL America, the company's US subsidiary, and is based in the United States.
Source: Financial Express/Capitaline, via Storyboard18, InsideIIM
Sandeep Kalra
- Total remuneration:
- ₹388.58 Cr
- Category:
- Persistent Systems · IT Services
- Revenue sources:
- Base salary, performance bonus, stock-based compensation
Kalra has led Persistent Systems' growth into cloud computing, digital engineering, and AI services as CEO and Executive Director.
Kalra's total remuneration rose about 162% year-over-year — but his fixed pay and benefits account for only around ₹22.58 crore (roughly 6%) of the ₹388.58 crore total, with the rest coming from stock-based compensation.
Source: Financial Express/Capitaline, via Storyboard18, InsideIIM
What the numbers tell us
The single biggest story in this year's ranking isn't just who's on top — it's how much of this list is driven by variable and equity-linked pay vesting in a single year rather than rising base salaries. Both the #1 and #9 spots saw triple- or four-digit percentage jumps in reported pay, largely tied to stock-based awards — a reminder that "total remuneration" in a single fiscal year can look very different from a CEO's ongoing annual cash salary. Across all 10 executives, this top 10 collected ₹1,269.33 crore combined in FY26, averaging ₹126.93 crore and a median of ₹91.43 crore — pulled well above that median by Kalra's outsized figure at the top.
- Data period:
- FY26 (fiscal year ended March 2026)
- Last updated:
- October 3, 2026
- Sources:
- Company annual reports and stock exchange filings, compiled via Capitaline data, as reported by Financial Express, InsideIIM, and Storyboard18
This ranking uses each CEO's total disclosed remuneration for FY26 (the fiscal year ended March 2026), as reported in company annual reports and filed with Indian stock exchanges. Total remuneration includes base salary, performance bonuses, commissions, perquisites, and variable or equity-linked compensation such as ESOPs and RSUs — figures are cross-checked against multiple independent outlets reporting the same underlying Capitaline-compiled dataset. Because equity-linked compensation can vest or be exercised unevenly year to year, a CEO's total remuneration in any single year can swing dramatically without a corresponding change in base salary — see the callouts on Sandeep Kalra and Ambarish Kenghe above for two clear examples this year. Companies whose FY26 annual reports were not yet available at the time of compilation may not appear in this ranking. As a result, this should be understood as a ranking of the highest disclosed remuneration figures available for the covered FY26 disclosures, rather than a guarantee that every Indian executive's final FY26 compensation is represented.
Figures marked as estimates are based on publicly available information and may vary from other published sources.
Frequently Asked Questions
The large majority of Kalra's ₹388.58 crore FY26 total came from stock-based compensation, not fixed salary — his base pay and benefits account for only around ₹22.58 crore (roughly 6%) of the total. A large block of stock awards vesting or being exercised in a single year can produce a reported figure far above a CEO's typical annual pay.