TCS CEO Rajesh Gopinath takes home Rs 16 cr in FY19, annual pay rises 28%

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Chief Executive Officer Rajesh Gopinathan’s salary last financial year rose over 28 per cent annually to nearly Rs 16 crore, according to the company’s annual report.

Gopinathan’s compensation included Rs 1.15 crore in salary, Rs 1.26 crore in perquisites, Rs 13 crore in commission, and over Rs 60 lakh in other allowances — all of which added to a remuneration of Rs 16.02 crore. In 2017-18, his compensation was Rs 12.49 crore. The ratio of Gopinathan’s salary to median remuneration was 262.30, which means he was paid 262.30 times more than the average salary for employees.

TCS Chief Operating Officer N Ganapathy Subramaniam earned over Rs 11.61 crore in 2018-19 (FY19), compared to Rs 9.29 crore last financial year. His pay package rose 24.88 per cent during the period. Subramaniam’s salary was 190.01 times higher than the average employee salary. 

Ramakrishnan V, TCS’ chief financial officer, took home Rs 4.13 crore package in FY19.

The Mumbai-based company said the average annual increase during the financial year was 6 per cent in India. “However, during the course of the year, the total increase is approximately 7.2 per cent, after accounting for promotions and other event-based compensation revisions,” the annual report said.

TCS said employees outside India received a wage increase, varying from 2 per cent to 5 per cent. “The increase in remuneration is in line with the market trends in the respective countries. Increase in the managerial remuneration for the year was 14.66 per cent,” it said.

The percentage increase in the median remuneration of employees in the financial year was 3.70 per cent, the annual report said. 

Risks to business

The firm also mentioned the US-China trade conflicts, Brexit, and escalation in India-Pakistan conflicts as factors that pose a risk to TCS’ business. “Given the scale and geographic spread of the company’s operations, litigation risks can arise from commercial disputes, perceived violation of intellectual property rights, and employment related matters.  Our rising profile and scale also makes us a target to litigations without any legal merit. This risk is inherent to doing business across the various countries and commensurate with risk faced by other players similarly placed in the industry. In addition to incurring legal costs and distracting management, litigations garner negative media attention and pose reputation risk. Adverse rulings can result in substantive damages,” it added.

TCS is currently involved in a court battle in the US with Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), a US-based insurance platform provider to a client of TCS.  CSC filed for a temporary restraining order against TCS last month, after accusing it of misappropriating its trade secrets. TCS, in turn, said CSC was trying to disrupt its $2-billion deal with their common client Transamerica Corporation.  

A US court on Monday denied CSC’s application for a temporary restraining order against TCS. TCS is also involved in similar legal battles with US software firm Epic Systems, and US-based Simonelli Innovation LLC.