When it comes to Indian tech industry, the name that comes to mind for highest salary is Google CEO Sundar Pichai. But he has been overtaken. C Vijaykumar, CEO of HCLTech, is now the highest paid Indian CEO, with a total of ₹94.6 crore in FY 2024-25—that’s more than ₹26 lakh per day.
Salary Breakdown and Comparison with Sundar Pichai
According to HCLTech’s annual report, C Vijaykumar got a basic pay of ₹15.8 crore, performance-linked bonus of ₹13.9 crore, long-term RSUs of ₹56.9 crore and additional bonus of ₹1.7 crore. His salary rose 7.9% compared to last year while regular employees got an average increment of 3.1%.
In comparison, Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s total salary in FY 2024 was $10.73 million (around ₹90 crore). His base pay was $2 million (₹16 crore) and the largest chunk—$8.27 million (₹69 crore)—was for his personal security. So Vijaykumar’s salary is more than Pichai’s.
Vijaykumar’s Salary vs Employees and HCLTech’s Performance
The report also said that C Vijaykumar’s salary is 662.5 times more than the median salary of other HCLTech employees. The company has 1,67,316 permanent employees and 56,104 subsidiary employees.
Under his leadership, HCLTech has recorded a revenue CAGR of 9.3%, EBIT CAGR of 8.1% and net income CAGR of 6.9% between FY16 and FY25. The company has also added significant number of clients, $100 million clients from 8 to 22, $50 million clients from 19 to 52 and $20 million clients from 75 to 138.
Salary Revised for FY 2025-26
HCLTech board has approved Vijaykumar’s revised package where his salary will be $18.6 million (₹154 crore) in FY 2025-26. That’s more than ₹42 lakh per day in the coming year. HCL Tech Chairperson Roshni Nadar said, “The industry is going through a change with AI. We have to change ourselves fast. We are ready to move ahead even in a tough situation.”