Billionaire and RIL chief Mukesh Ambani's total pay package stood at Rs15 crore, as against his eligibility of Rs38.82 crore

New Delhi: Billionaire Mukesh Ambani decided to forgo nearly Rs24 crore from his annual pay last fiscal as chief of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), keeping his salary capped at Rs15 crore for the fourth year in a row, reports PTI.

However, RIL's total outgo towards remuneration to its all top management personnel, as also the sitting fees and commissions for its non-executive directors, increased during the fiscal year ended 31 March 2012. Mr Ambani's salary has remained unchanged at Rs15 crore since the fiscal 2008-09.

In its latest annual report for the year 2011-12, RIL said that Mr Ambani's total pay package stood at Rs15 crore, as against his eligibility of Rs38.82 crore as per the shareholders' approval.

Detailing his pay package, RIL said that Mr Ambani's "compensation has been set at Rs15 crore as against Rs38.82 crore that he is eligible as per the shareholders' approval, reflecting his desire to continue to set a personal example for moderation in managerial compensation levels".

In the fiscal 2010-11 also, Mr Ambani was eligible for a pay package of Rs38.75 crore, but he took home only Rs15 crore.

The company's total remuneration for top management personnel and commission paid to non-executive directors had declined during 2010-11, but rose again in 2011-12.

The decision to cap Ambani's salary at Rs15 crore was taken way back in October 2009, amid a raging debate on right-sizing of CEO salaries.

The decision led to a hefty pay cut for Mr Ambani, as his remuneration dropped to Rs15 crore for fiscal 2008-09, from over Rs44 crore in 2007-08. The RIL chief was India's top-paid executive in 2007-08.

Mr Ambani's total package for 2011-12 as the Chairman and Managing Director of the country's biggest private sector entity, included Rs4.16 crore as salary, Rs60 lakh as perquisites and allowances, Rs78 lakh as retiral benefits and Rs9.46 crore as commission.

While Ambani was RIL's top-paid executive in 2011-12, he was followed by whole-time directors Nikhil Meswani and Hital Meswani with total remuneration of Rs10.99 crore each, PMS Prasad (Rs5 crore) and Pawan Kumar Kapil (Rs1.99 crore).

The company's total top managerial remuneration rose to Rs44 crore, from Rs41 crore in the previous fiscal, while sitting fees and commission paid to non-executive directors rose to Rs1.85 crore, from Rs1.68 crore in 2010-11.

The non-executive directors are paid sitting fee of Rs20,000 for attending each meeting, besides annual commission of Rs21 lakh each. However, total commission payable to them are capped at 1% of the company's net profit.

Among executive directors, the remuneration paid to Nikhil and Hital Meswani was higher at Rs11.05 crore each in 2010-11, while it was lower at Rs2.37 crore for Mr Prasad.

Mr Ambani's salary as also perquisites and allowances were unchanged during 2011-12, but retiral benefits fell from Rs1 crore and commission rose from Rs9.24 crore in 2010-11.