Wipro new CEO to get Rs 10 crore salary

T K Kurien, the new chief of the IT business and CEO of Wipro, will get an annual salary package of up to Rs 10 crore.

As per the terms of appointment of Kurien, salary is in the range of minimum of Rs 3 crore to a maximum of Rs 10 crore a year, Wipro said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

This would include periodic increments, variable pay (based on performance criteria), leave travel allowance, house rent allowance, company provided car and driver, furniture and equipment and provident fund among others.

Kurien's is one of the highest salary packages in the IT industry. According to TCS' Annual Report 2009-10, company CEO and Managing Director S Ramadorai received Rs 3.61 crore in salary, benefits and perks and commission for the period between April 1, 2009 and October 5, 2009. 

Infosys CEO and MD S Gopalakrishnan received Rs 1.01 crore during the fiscal 2009-10, says the company's annual report.

Kurien will get 12 months salary as severance benefits in case his services are terminated. This benefit will be calculated on the basis on the last drawn salary before the termination.

'If the company terminates the agreement, the company will communicate the same in writing to the CEO and the CEO will be eligible for severance benefits as follows: 12 months last drawn salary,' the filing said.

Salary for this purpose includes basic pay, benefits and allowances and variable pay, it added.

In January this year, Wipro appointed Kurien to lead Wipro's IT business after sacking joint CEOs -- Girish Paranjpe and Suresh Vaswani and dismantling the joint CEO system.