Infosys board approves hike in COO Pravin Rao's salary

New Delhi, Feb 23 () Infosys today said its board has approved pay hike of its Chief Operating Officer U B

Pravin Rao

. "The board approved the recommendations of the

Nomination and Remuneration Committee

for the revision of the remuneration payable to U B Pravin Rao, Chief Operating Officer and Whole-time Director, subject to approval of the shareholders," Infosys said in a BSE filing. His fixed salary per annum has been raised to Rs 4.62 crore while the variable component of his package will stand at Rs 3.87 crore, payable on achievement of targets set by the board. This is with effect from November 1, 2016. He will also be eligible for 27,250 restricted stock units (RSUs) and 43,000 stock options (

ESOP

) based on fiscal 2016 performance once the same is approved by the shareholders. According to Infosys' Annual Report 2015-16, Rao's remuneration stood at Rs 9.28 crore, including Rs 3.6 crore in fixed salary and Rs 5.68 crore in variable pay and long-term bonus. The board has also "recommended that approval of the shareholders be sought for the resolution appointing

D N Prahlad

as an independent director", it added. Prahlad was appointed Additional Director at the board meeting on October 14, 2016, the filing said. The board also recommended adoption of new

Articles of Association

of the company in conformity with the Companies Act, 2013, to be put up for shareholders' approval. This could include a provision for buyback. The shareholders can vote on these matters on March 2-31 and the results will be out on April 5. Over the last few weeks, Infosys has come under fire from some of the co-founders who have alleged corporate governance lapses. The founders own about 13 per cent stake in the Bengaluru-based firm. Some former employees also called for re-constitution of the board and demanded that Chairman

R Seshasayee

step down taking moral responsibility over issues like steep compensation hike for

Sikka

and hefty severance packages to ex-CFO

Rajiv Bansal

and

David Kennedy

, its former general counsel. The Infosys board and management have, however, stood their ground, denying these charges. On an investor call, Sikka had recently stated that the company's large clients have come out in its support. SR ARD