Infosys increases salary of CEO Salil Parekh for FY25 by 22% to Rs 80.6 crore

Salil Parekh, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Infosys, received a 22% increase in annual compensation for the fiscal year ending March 2025, taking his total remuneration to Rs 80.62 crore, the company said in its annual report released Monday.

The rise was primarily due to a jump in stock options exercised by Parekh during the year, which accounted for Rs 49.5 crore of his total pay. This included 3,06,276 restricted stock units (RSUs) from a 2015 incentive plan and another 39,141 RSUs granted under a 2019 plan. His base salary stood at Rs 7.45 crore, nearly unchanged from the previous fiscal, while variable pay and incentives rose to Rs 23.18 crore from Rs 19.75 crore in FY24. Retiral benefits amounted to Rs 49 lakh.

According to the Income Tax Act, only stock options exercised during the period are included in the annual remuneration. Stock grants that remain unexercised are excluded. The report said Parekh was granted 3,82,071 RSUs in FY25 and now holds 11,85,548 shares in the company.

Parekh’s current term runs until March 31, 2027. The board, citing a performance evaluation and recommendation from the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, has endorsed his reappointment. He will retire at the upcoming Annual General Meeting but has offered himself for reappointment, as permitted under the rules.

Since taking over as CEO and managing director on January 2, 2018, Parekh has overseen a period of steady growth, marked by a focus on digital transformation, business turnarounds, and international expansion. His reappointment was previously ratified by shareholders in 2022, along with revisions to his compensation structure.

Infosys ended FY25 with revenue of $19.28 billion, up 3.85% from the previous year, making it the second-fastest growing company among India's top five IT firms, behind only HCLTech. The company’s performance and rising executive compensation are closely linked, with Parekh earning 752 times the company’s median employee salary of Rs 10.72 lakh. As of March 2025, Infosys had 323,578 employees.

In comparison, Tata Consultancy Services CEO K. Krithivasan earned Rs 26.5 crore, a 4.6% increase, while Wipro CEO Srinivas Pallia received Rs 53.64 crore. Tech Mahindra CEO Mohit Joshi’s compensation stood at approximately Rs 15 crore, based on the company’s March 2024 figures.

Among India’s largest IT firms, HCLTech’s CEO C. Vijayakumar remained the highest paid executive, earning Rs 84.16 crore in FY24. While Infosys emphasized disciplined cost management and margin expansion during a slower growth year, the company added nine new crorepati employees in FY25, taking the total number of staff earning over Rs 1 crore annually to 112.