No hike for 4 years, Mukesh's salary remains Rs 15 cr

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani decided to forgo nearly Rs 24 crore (Rs 240 million) from his annual pay last fiscal as chief of Reliance Industries Ltd, keeping his salary capped at Rs 15 crore (Rs 150 million) for the fourth year in a row.

However, RIL's total outgo towards remuneration to its all top management personnel, as also the sitting fees and commissions for its non-executive directors, increased during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012.

Ambani's salary has remained unchanged at Rs 15 crore (Rs 150 million) since the fiscal 2008-09.

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In its latest annual report for the year 2011-12, RIL said that Ambani's total pay package stood at Rs 15 crore, as against his eligibility of Rs 38.82 crore (Rs 388.2 million) as per the shareholders' approval.

Detailing his pay package, RIL said that Ambani's 'compensation has been set at Rs 15 crore as against Rs 38.82 crore that he is eligible as per the shareholders' approval, reflecting his desire to continue to set a personal example for moderation in managerial compensation levels'.

In the fiscal 2010-11 also, Ambani was eligible for a pay package of Rs 38.75 crore (Rs 387.5 million), but he took home only Rs 15 crore.

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The company's total remuneration for top management personnel and commission paid to non-executive directors had declined during 2010-11, but rose again in 2011-12.

The decision to cap Ambani's salary at Rs 15 crore was taken way back in October 2009, amid a raging debate on right-sizing of CEO salaries.

The decision led to a hefty pay cut for Ambani, as his remuneration dropped to Rs 15 crore for fiscal 2008-09, from over Rs 44 crore (Rs 440 million) in 2007-08.

Ambani was India's top-paid executive in 2007-08.

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Ambani's total package for 2011-12 as the chairman and managing director of the country's biggest private sector entity, included Rs 4.16 crore (Rs 41.6 million) as salary, Rs 60 lakhs (Rs 6 million) as perquisites and allowances, Rs 78 lakhs (Rs 7.8 million) as retiral benefits and Rs 9.46 crore (Rs 94.6 million) as commission.

While Ambani was RIL's top-paid executive in 2011-12, he was followed by whole-time directors Nikhil Meswani and Hital Meswani with total remuneration of Rs 10.99 crore (Rs 109.9 million) each, PMS Prasad (Rs 5 crore or Rs 50 million) and Pawan Kumar Kapil (Rs 1.99 crore or Rs 19.9 million).

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The company's total top managerial remuneration rose to Rs 44 crore (Rs 440 million), from Rs 41 crore (Rs 410 million) in the previous fiscal, while sitting fees and commission paid to non-executive directors rose to Rs 1.85 crore (Rs 18.5 million), from Rs 1.68 crore (Rs 16.8 million) in 2010-11.

The non-executive directors are paid sitting fee of Rs 20,000 for attending each meeting, besides annual commission of Rs 21 lakhs (Rs 2.1 million) each.

However, total commission payable to them are capped at 1 per cent of the company's net profit.

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Among executive directors, the remuneration paid to Nikhil and Hital Meswani was higher at Rs 11.05 crore (Rs 110.5 million) each in 2010-11, while it was lower at Rs 2.37 crore (Rs 23.7 million) for Prasad.

Ambani's salary as also perquisites and allowances were unchanged during 2011-12, but retiral benefits fell from Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million) and commission rose from Rs 9.24 crore (Rs 92.4 million) in 2010-11.

Among the executive directors, Prasad and Kapil were not paid any commission during 2011-12.

At its AGM next month, RIL would seek shareholders' nod for payment of commission of up to 0.40 per cent of net profit to Ambani and two whole-time directors (Nikhil and Hital Meswani) as remuneration in addition to their salary, perquisites and allowances.