Naveen Jindal is India's highest paid CEO

At a time when the Members of Parliament bagged a 300 per cent-plus salary hike, India Inc has taken a pay hike between 50-90 per cent. Some head honchos have also taken a cut in their pay packages.

India's richest business tycoon Mukesh Ambani decided to take a pay cut two years ago to take home an annual salary of Rs 15 crore (Rs 150 million).

Other CEOs have followed suit by maintaining the same salary or have received salaries according to their company's performance.

Interestingly, topping the list of India's highest paid executives in India is a Member of Parliament from Kurukshetra, Naveen Jindal who is also the executive vice chairman and managing director of Jindal Steel & Power.

Naveen Jindal, of the Congress, has topped the list with a remuneration of Rs 39.70 crore (Rs 397 million).

According to report in The Economic Times, Jindal has received Rs 39.70 crore as commission, salary and other perks during 2009-10. 

However, the exact amount of his earnings for last year will be revelaed only when the company publishes its annual report.

Recently, Kishore Biyani of Future group had offered Rs 50 crore (Rs 500 million) to V Vaidyanathan to shift base to Future Capital Holdings from ICICI Prudential Life Insurance. This is undoubtedly the highest salary for an Indian non-promoter CEO.

Vaidyanathan, former managing director and CEO of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, is said to have received 20 lakh (2 million) warrants worth Rs 47.40 crore (Rs 474 million) as a sign-on bonus.

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One third of the 25 top-paid executives of listed firms either took a pay cut or did not hike their salaries, highlighting the trend of Indian firms to scale down payscales according to performance, says the ET report.

Meanwhile, a parliamentary panel on the new Companies Bill has suggested the salaries of chief executives be capped and shareholders should have a say in managerial remunerations.  It has asked the Union corporate affairs ministry to develop a 'rational formula' for managerial remunerations.

Last year, Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid had said companies should avoid paying their top executives what he termed 'vulgar salaries'. Earlier, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had also urged India Inc to keep a tab on excessive management remuneration.

Click NEXT to find out India's highest paid CEOs . . . (The list does not include some companies including those led by Anil Ambani, who have not submitted their annual reports.)

Kalanidhi Maran and Kavery Maran

Kalanidhi Maran and wife Kavery Maran, who were the highest paid executives last year, are now at the second position with their salaries remaining unchanged at Rs 37.08 crore (Rs 370.8 million).

Kalanidhi Maran, the chairman and managing director of Sun Network, owns television channels, FM radio stations, DTH service and newspapers in South India. He recently acquired a majority stake in low-cost airline SpiceJet.

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Pawan Munjal

Pawan Munjal is the fourth highest paid CEO with a compensation of Rs 30.88 crore (Rs 308.8 million), a 57 per cent rise compared to the previous year.

Pawan Munjal is the managing director and CEO of Hero Honda. He is responsible for growth and strategic planning for the entire Group.

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Brijmohan Lall Munjal

B M Munjal is the fifth highest paid CEO with a package of Rs 30.63 crore (Rs 306.3 million), a 55 per cent rise over the previous year.

Founder director and chairman of the $2.8 billion Hero Group, Brijmohan Lall Munjal has also served as the president of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). He has also won the Padma Bhushan Award.

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Toshiaki Nakagawa

Toshiaki Nakagawa, joint managing director, Hero Honda is at the sixth position in terms of highest salaries.

With a 57 per cent rise in salary, Nakagawa's salary is at Rs 30.03 crore (Rs 300.3 million).

He joined Honda Motor Co, Ltd, Japan in April 1973. He later took over various assignments at senior positions in the worldwide Honda network. He looks at overseas sales of automobiles and motorcycles.

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Sumihisa Fukuda

Sumihisa Fukuda, technical director, Hero Honda received an 89 per cent hike in his compensation. His salary stands at Rs 29.91 crore (Rs 299.1 million)

Sumihisa Fukuda who was appointed as an additional and technical director on May 13, 2008, has more than 30 years of experience.

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Onkar Kanwar

The chairman of Apollo Tyres, Onkar Kanwar saw a whopping rise in salary commensurate with a rise in company's profit.

Kanwar bagged the eighth highest salary of Rs 29.69 crore (Rs 296.9 million), a rise of 222 per cent.

Onkar Kanwar is the chief architect of the company's vision and guides the company's operations. Under his leadership in the 1980s and 90s, Apollo became a professionally run tyre manufacturer.

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P R R Rajha

Unlike other CEOs, PRR Rajha's compensation dropped by 3 per cent to Rs 27.91 crore (Rs 279.1 million).

Rajha is the managing director of Madras Cements Ltd. He also serves as chairman of Ramco Systems, Ramco Industries and Rajapalayam Mills Ltd.

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Pankaj Patel

Pankaj Patel, chairman and managing director of Cadila Healthcare, with a salary of Rs 28.63 crore (Rs 286.3 million) is the tenth highest paid CEO in India.

He received a pay hike of 88 per cent.

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Anil Ambani was the highest paid among promoter and non-promoter chief executive officers last year. With a package of over Rs 52 crore (Rs 520 million) in 2008-09, Anil even scored higher than elder brother Mukesh Ambani, who is the richest person in India.

This year's annual reports are yet to be published. It remains to be seen if Anil Ambani will continue to be the highest paid CEO.

Mukesh Ambani had decided to lower his pay package by nearly two-thirds to Rs 15 crore (Rs 150 million) during 2008-09 from over Rs 44 crore (Rs 440 million) in 2007-08.