Industry fiercely protects right to pay CEOs

NEW DELHI: Corporate India today warned the government that any regulation of CEOs' pay may lead to flight of talent and capital from the country and said salaries are best decided by the industry.

"Any new norms on compensation to India CEOs may set in motion a flight of talent and capital away from the country," industry chamber FICCI's president Harsh Pati Singhania said in a statement.

Joining the debate with Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid who said that the CEOs' remuneration should be regulated, heads of apex industry chambers said that they would like the issue to be settled by and within India Inc.

The Confederation of Indian Industry is working on a governance code for its members that would deal with remuneration of executives at board level and a level below.

A CII task force, under the chairmanship of former Cabinet Secretary Naresh Chandra is studying the key issues of corporate governance, including the compensation packages of senior management.

"CII has always believed that corporates have a social responsibility and always supported self regulation..," its President Venu Srinivasan said.

Khurshid's remark triggered a debate whether pay packets of industry honchos, some of whom are paid as much as Rs two crore a month, should be regulated.