National Stock Exchange has proposed a yearly salary of ₹8 crore for Vikram Limaye, who is set to be installed as the managing director and chief executive of the country’s largest bourse company as shareholders vote on his appointment and remuneration on March 8, at an extraordinary general meeting.
In the financial sector, only Aditya Puri has a higher yearly pay of ₹9.7 crore, plus stock options, at HDFC Bank.
NSE, by contrast, doesn't offer stock options to any of its staffers, not even its chief executive. Called Employee Stock Option Plans, Esops are often valued much more than the salary.
NSE, for example, proposes to give Limaye 2.6 times more than the ₹3 crore he got at IDFC in 2016-17. But NSE offers no stock options.
IDFC, by contrast, gave Limaye stock options worth ₹5.5 crore last financial year, in addition to the salary. He also held shares worth ₹11 crore in the infrastructure lender.
Interestingly, Limaye’s proposed salary is less than that of his predecessor Chitra Ramkrishna (₹9.12 crore for 2015-16) but higher than that of Ashishkumar Chauhan, managing director and chief executive at rival BSE. Chauhan got ₹3.3 crore in 2015-16.
BSE is currently valued at ₹5,365 crore, while NSE is expected to be valued at more than ₹40,000 crore during its initial public offering of shares.
Image: Vikram Limaye. Photograph: Tom Dulat/Getty Images.