Sanjiv Puri sees 47% jump in FY21 payout

The annual remuneration of ITC Chairman and MD, Sanjiv Puri, increased 47 per cent in FY21 as the full-year impact of his revised pay structure came into effect.

Puri’s gross remuneration for the year ending March 31, 2021 stood at ~11.95 crore, which includes basic consolidated salary of ~2.64 crore, performance bonus and longterm incentives/commission of ~6.98 crore and other perquisites. Much of the increase was on account of performance bonus and long-term incentives. In FY20, his gross remuneration was ~7.6 crore (the figure does not include contribution to approved pension funds). Puri’s remuneration was approved by shareholders in September 2019 and was effective October 2019. The FY20 remuneration had considered the increased pay only in part.

In 2019, ITC changed the remuneration structure of its key management personnel after its single largest shareholder, British American Tobacco (BAT), decided not to support the company’s proposal to continue with the equitylinked Employee Stock Option Scheme (ESOP) in 2018, on grounds of stake dilution. Historically, ITC used a mix of remuneration and the equity-linked ESOP scheme for retaining and attracting talent. The company’s Nomination and Compensation Committee then restructured the compensation of key managerial personnel, including the chairman and managing director and wholetime directors, which was approved by shareholders through postal ballot on September 23, 2019.