{
  "id": 19419470,
  "title": "Nearly half of India Inc top bosses earn over 100 times their staff pay",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/11/nearly-half-of-india-inc-top-bosses-earn-over-100-times-their-staff",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-11-11T00:30:38.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Live Mint",
    "slug": "live-mint",
    "url": "https://www.livemint.com/news/nearly-half-of-india-inc-top-bosses-earn-over-100-times-their-staff-pay-11793961208406.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "India's top corporate executives are earning nearly 100 times the median pay of their company's rank-and-file employees, according to a Mint analysis. In the fiscal year 2026, 45% of executive heads across 232 BSE 500 companies had salaries more than 100 times their median employee remuneration, a rise from nearly 40% in 2020. The study, based on annual reports from 2020 to 2026, indicates that the concentration of wealth at the top is growing. Nearly 7% of board members earned ₹10 crore or more in 2026, more than double the 3% recorded in 2020. Conversely, the number of directors earning under ₹1 crore dropped to nearly 70% from 76% six years earlier. Anandorup Ghose, managing director of upGrad Next, attributes the rise to strong corporate growth, increasing business complexity, and a limited supply of experienced leaders. Companies are also competing for a small pool of proven CEO talent, driving up compensation. The shift towards variable pay linked to performance and long-term incentives has further widened the gap between executive and employee wages. While fixed pay accounted for 70-80% of Indian CXO compensation until around 2010, it now makes up at least 60% of professional CEOs' compensation at larger companies. The growing trend has also drawn closer shareholder scrutiny, prompting boards to exercise greater caution over compensation decisions.",
  "summary": "The gap between India Inc’s corner office payouts and average staff salaries widened sharply over the past six years. Around 45% of BSE 500 executive heads earned over 100 times their median staff pay in FY26.",
  "key_points": [
    "45% of top executives earned over 100 times median staff pay in 2026.",
    "7% of board members earned ₹10 crore or more in 2026.",
    "Companies increased variable pay linked to performance and long-term incentives."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The widening pay gap reflects a competitive scramble for scarce leadership talent that prioritizes performance-linked incentives over traditional fixed salaries, concentrating wealth among a shrinking group of top executives.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}