Infosys rewards Sikka with 1.24 lakh more shares

Infosys Ltd has allotted over 124,000 shares valued at Rs.5 each at par to its first non-founder chief executive Vishal Sikka, the global software major said on Tuesday.

"The board granted 124,061 restricted stock units (shares) to Vishal Sikka at a price of Rs.5 per share, as per the provisions of the 2011 plan," the company said in a regulatory filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

"The additional share allotment is part of the job contract, which stipulates an annual grant of shares valued at $2 million for every year of his (Sikka) five-year tenure, which began on August 1, 2011," said a company spokesperson.

The 48-year-old executive is paid Rs.32 crore ($5.08 million) annual salary besides stock option of $2 million (Rs.12.7 crore). The package includes $900,000 base salary and $4.18 million as variable pay per annum.

Sikka's total package of $7.08 million, including stock units, pales in comparison to a whopping $84 million global software product maker Microsoft pays to its Indian-born chief executive Satya Nadella.