Deloitte India Executive Performance and Rewards Survey: With double-digit compensation increases, CEO pay in India stands at INR 10 crore for FY 2024–25
Professional CEO compensation stands at INR10 crore in India
According to the Deloitte India Executive Performance and Rewards Survey 2025, median compensation for non-promoter or professional CEOs now stands at INR10 crore; up by 13 percent compared with the previous year. Only 40 percent of total CEO compensation is fixed and the remaining 60 percent is at-risk. Short-term incentives or annual bonuses comprise 25 percent of total CEO compensation and long-term incentives constitute the balance of 35 percent. The pay for other CXOs such as COOs, CFOs, CHROs, CMOs and CSOs over the last year saw an increase, ranging between 7 percent to 11 percent. Approximately 60 percent of total CXO pay is fixed while the remaining is equally split between short-term and long-term incentives. COOs and CFOs continue to be the highest paid executive positions after the CEO with a total compensation nearing INR4 crore.
“CXO compensation continues to rise in India with this talent pool remaining restricted and consequently in high demand. We are yet to observe any negative impact of the ongoing correction in the equity markets on CXO compensation. That may come through in next year’s numbers given the high linkage of CXO compensation with equity prices. NRCs are already taking cognizance of the rising market volatility and may alter the approach for compensation reviews going forward. Apart from the CEO, we observe significant compensation corrections in the legal, risk and compliance functions where absolute compensation has historically lagged other functions.”
- Anandorup Ghose, Partner, Deloitte India
Performance, incentives and governance
The survey points to an increased focus on holistic functional or business performance assessments in short-term incentives—beyond being purely financial—at a CXO level. However, long-term incentives are driven more through a singular focus on financial performance. Most companies continue to use a scorecard approach while assessing CEO and CXO performances comprising financial and strategic priorities. To ensure progress, particularly with respect to strategic targets, organisations are increasing the emphasis on performance on such lead metrics while determining short-term annual bonus payments. India Inc. is also paying lesser bonuses to CXOs for missing financial and strategic targets compared with the year before.
The study reveals that not only are more companies granting share-based long-term incentives now but also the quantum of pay linked to stock awards and the cost incurred by companies on these plans is rising. Additionally, there is more scrutiny on new share-based plan approvals than ever witnessed before, with proxy-advisory firms challenging management proposals and influencing voting outcomes. Shareholder rejection rates have gone up four times the past one year alone.
“Share-based pay is becoming more intricate with the rising use of performance shares and multiple plans. New proposals are being put under the microscope to ensure that the interest of all stakeholders is protected. This is a welcome development as enhanced governance leads to better decisions. We are already seeing clear improvements in the quality of proposals going to the shareholders.”
- Dinkar Pawan, Director, Deloitte India
The survey also reveals that with CEO and CXO tenures getting shorter and performance expectations and shareholder activism rising; there is more upward pressure on pay and benefits and executive contracts are being heavily negotiated.
About the survey:
The sixth edition of the Deloitte India Executive Performance and Rewards Survey was launched in September 2024 as an India-specific B2B survey. More than 400 organisations participated in the survey, and it did not include any public sector companies.
About Deloitte
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Media contact
Pallavi Das
Deloitte Shared Services India LLP
Email: paldas@deloitte.com