TCS CEO K Krithivasan's Compensation Revealed for FY26
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) CEO and Managing Director K Krithivasan received a total remuneration of over ₹28 crore in the financial year 2026. This figure, disclosed in the company's latest annual report, marks a 6.3% increase from the previous year. However, despite leading India's largest IT services firm by revenue and workforce, Krithivasan's pay package positions him in the middle of the pack when compared to other leading Indian tech CEOs.
The disclosure of Krithivasan's salary comes at a time when TCS faces scrutiny over employee salary revisions and appraisal outcomes, highlighting a broader industry discussion about executive compensation versus employee earnings.
Breakdown of Krithivasan's Pay Package
Krithivasan's FY26 compensation structure was heavily weighted towards performance-linked incentives. His package included more than ₹1.67 crore in base salary, ₹1.43 crore in benefits, allowances, and perquisites, but the largest component was nearly ₹25 crore in commission. This structure emphasizes variable payouts as the primary driver of his earnings.
The annual report also shed light on the internal pay disparity within TCS, revealing that Krithivasan's compensation was approximately 333 times the median employee salary at the company.
How TCS CEO Salary Stacks Up Against Peers
A comparison across India's top technology companies reveals significant differences in CEO compensation. HCLTech CEO C Vijayakumar remains the highest-paid executive, earning an impressive ₹94.6 crore in FY25. His compensation has seen a substantial rise, with HCLTech's board reportedly approving a further increase that could push his package to nearly ₹154 crore.
Other prominent tech leaders also command higher salaries than Krithivasan:
- Infosys CEO Salil Parekh: Received ₹80.62 crore in FY25, a significant increase from ₹56.5 crore in FY23.
- Tech Mahindra CEO Mohit Joshi: Earned approximately ₹54 crore in FY25.
- Wipro CEO Srinivas Pallia: Also received around ₹54 crore during FY25.
- Former LTIMindtree CEO Debashis Chatterjee: Saw his remuneration climb from ₹17 crore to ₹32.5 crore within two years.
In this landscape, Krithivasan's ₹28 crore package, while substantial, appears modest relative to several of his counterparts in the Indian IT sector.
Widening CEO-Employee Pay Gaps Across IT Sector
Annual report disclosures indicate a continuing trend of rising executive compensation across India's IT sector, often paralleled by widening salary gaps with employees. Industry analysis suggests that CEOs of the six largest IT firms collectively earned around ₹340 crore in FY25. The disparity between CEO compensation and median employee earnings has grown at several companies, with Infosys's CEO earning over 750 times the median employee salary and Tech Mahindra's ratio exceeding 840 times.
These compensation trends emerge amid an uncertain operating environment for the Indian IT industry. Despite a more than 12% growth in IT service exports in FY25, companies are navigating economic uncertainties, the impact of AI-led disruption, and evolving global technology spending patterns. For TCS, the discussion around executive pay is particularly salient as the company plans to reduce approximately 12,000 jobs, or nearly 2% of its workforce, making executive and employee compensation a closely watched topic.