A study by consulting firm Hay Group, titled the 'Top Executive Compensation Report 2012-13', with insights from 158 organizations, reveals the average CEO in corporate India earns three times what others in the top bracket take home. Till a couple of years ago, the multiplier was barely 1.5 times. Now, it goes up to five times in the basic resources sector, 4.5 times in automobiles, 4.4 times in organized retail and 3.3 times in telecom - all sectors in which top-flight talent is hard to come by. The Hay Group study suggests India Inc's relatively recent penchant for hiring CEOs from outside is driving up compensation at the top. While a few consultants attribute the tendency to hire CEOs from outside - and the resultant rising pay - to a reluctance or inability of incumbents to plan their succession; others believe that paying more to attract external CEO talent is just one side of the coin. The flip side is that often companies also have to push the envelope to retain head honchos threatening to leave.

Source: The Economic Times