Kalanidhi Maran: India's highest paid executive

India's largest media and entertainment company Sun TV Network's chairman and managing director Kalanidhi Maran, along with this wife and joint managing director of the company Kavery Kalanidhi, are ranked as the highest-paid executives in India, earning Rs. 37.08 crore each as salary during FY09, a leading business daily reported. Notably, Maran has ranked among India's highest paid executives in 2007 and 2008 as well.

The report came a day after the corporate affairs minister Salman Khurshid warned firms against paying 'vulgar salaries' to executives. It said that the couple overtook India's leading industrialists Reliance Communication's Anil Ambani, former Ranbaxy CEO Malvinder Singh, Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal and Hero Honda's Brijmohan and Pawan Munjal. For the year ended 31 March 2009, Sun TV posted net sales of Rs. 1,039.3 crore and a net profit of Rs. 340 crore. Sun TV paid 7.13% of its net sales or 21.8% of its net profit as salaries to the two executives. In comparison, Reliance Communications, which posted net sales of Rs. 22,250.5 crore and a net profit of Rs. 6,248 crore for the year ended 31 March 2009, paid chairman Anil Ambani Rs. 30.02 crore in salary.