India’s IT pay league: One CEO earned more than double the next biggest name

Record payday

Persistent Systems CEO Sandeep Kalra topped India’s IT sector CEO compensation list in FY26 with a staggering ₹388.6 crore. The figure stands out sharply against peers and was driven largely by long-term stock option realisations and perquisites.

HCLTech gap

HCLTech CEO C Vijayakumar was the second-highest paid IT chief, with compensation of ₹175 crore in FY26. While substantial, his package was less than half of Kalra’s, highlighting the extraordinary scale of Persistent Systems’ CEO payout.

₹100 crore club

Mphasis CEO Nitin Rakesh also crossed the ₹100 crore mark, receiving ₹104.7 crore in FY26. His inclusion makes the compensation league particularly striking, with three IT chiefs commanding payouts above ₹100 crore.

IT heavyweights

The list also features some of India’s most recognisable technology leaders, including Infosys CEO Salil Parekh, Wipro CEO Srinivas Pallia and TCS CEO K Krithivasan. Their compensation offers a snapshot of how leadership pay varies across India’s IT giants.

Stock driven

Kalra’s ₹388.6 crore payout needs to be viewed differently from a conventional annual salary. A major portion came from long-term stock option realisations and perquisites, showing how equity-linked compensation can dramatically amplify an IT CEO’s reported earnings in a single financial year.