New Delhi, June 2 (IANS) Infosys CEO Salil Parekh’s annual pay rose by 22 per cent to Rs 80.6 crore in the financial year 2025, the company revealed in its latest annual report on Monday.

This increase was mainly because Parekh exercised more restricted stock units (RSUs) this year, which is a form of equity compensation given to top executives.

Parekh earned Rs 49.5 crore through these stock options, compared to Rs 39 crore in the previous fiscal year.

His base salary remained the same as last year at Rs 7.5 crore, while his variable pay increased to Rs 23.2 crore from Rs 19.8 crore.

He also received Rs 50 lakh as retiral benefits, as per the report.

Infosys provides RSUs under two separate plans.

Under the 2015 plan, the stocks are given based on the time spent at the company, while the 2019 plan is performance-based, which includes targets like total shareholder returns and operational metrics.

Parekh’s total compensation in FY25 was higher than that of other top IT CEOs in India.

TCS CEO K Krithivasan earned Rs 26.5 crore, and Wipro CEO Srinivas Pallia earned about Rs 53.6 crore or $6.2 million in the same period.

Parekh’s salary was 752 times more than the median salary of an Infosys employee, which was Rs 10.72 lakh in FY25.

In a letter to shareholders, Parekh said Infosys continues to be a leader in areas like artificial intelligence (AI), cloud, data, and digital services.

He mentioned that the company hired 15,000 college graduates during the year and ended FY25 with a workforce of over 3.2 lakh employees.

In April 2025, Infosys also gave Parekh stock option grants worth Rs 50 crore. These include performance-based stock incentives linked to equity and ESG goals.

However, this sharp rise in CEO pay comes at a time when Infosys has faced market uncertainty, cut variable pay, and let go of several trainees from its Mysuru campus.

Despite these challenges, Parekh highlighted that FY25 was a year of strong execution and thanked all employees for their contributions in creating value for clients.

–IANS

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