According to the Deloitte India Executive Performance and Rewards Survey 2025, chief executive officers (CEOs) in India receive a median salary of Rs 10 crore, reflecting a 13% increase from the previous year. This compensation package consists of 25% short-term incentives and 35% long-term incentives. Other C-suite executives, including chief operating officers (COOs), chief financial officers (CFOs), and chief human resource officers (CHROs), experienced salary increases ranging from 7% to 11%. Approximately 60% of total CXO compensation is fixed, while the remainder is derived from short-term incentives.

Following CEOs, COOs and CFOs command the highest salaries among C-suite executives, with their total compensation averaging around Rs 4 crore. However, as CXO pay is increasingly tied to equity performance, there is a possibility that compensation may be impacted in the coming year. Currently, there is a high demand for CXO talent, but the supply remains limited.

The survey indicates a growing emphasis on comprehensive functional or business performance evaluations for short-term incentives at the CXO level. In contrast, long-term incentives are primarily focused on financial performance metrics. Scorecards are the most commonly used tool for assessing the performance of CEOs and CXOs. Compared to the previous year, Indian companies are reducing bonus payouts for CXOs who fail to meet financial and strategic objectives.

Launched in September 2024 and covering over 400 organizations, the survey reveals that more companies are adopting share-based long-term incentives. Additionally, the proportion of pay linked to stock awards is increasing, leading to higher associated costs.