At a time when the IT industry is constantly worrying about job cuts and AI taking over work, Infosys has quietly hit a very different kind of milestone. According to the company’s latest annual report, 130 India-based employees at Infosys earned more than Rs 1 crore annually in FY26. That is a 16 percent jump from 112 in the year before, and the highest number the company has ever disclosed. It is not a small achievement for a sector that has been under pressure from all sides.
Why Did the Numbers Go Up?
The short answer is stocks and smarter pay revisions. Infosys said the rise was largely driven by changes in the value of stock-based incentives that had been granted in earlier years and were then exercised during FY26, along with compensation revisions.
But there is another factor that does not get talked about enough: fewer people leaving. Only 22 employees in the Rs 1 crore-plus category exited during FY26, compared with about 67 departures over the previous two financial years. When your top earners decide to stay, the count naturally climbs.
The number of employees earning over Rs 1 crore had stood at 112 in FY25, after declining to 103 in FY24. Before FY22, the figure had remained below 100. So while the jump looks sudden, it has actually been building up steadily over the last few years.
It is also worth noting what this count does not include. The list covers only India-based employees who were present for the full fiscal year, leaving out those who joined or exited mid-year. The company’s top 10 employees’ remuneration details are separately disclosed and are not part of this main count. That means the real picture of high earners at the company is even wider.
What About the Boss and the Bigger Picture?
Infosys CEO Salil Parekh earned Rs 82.6 crore during FY26, a 2.5 percent increase from the previous year. A significant portion of his compensation came from stock options and performance-linked incentives.
On the company level, things look reasonably healthy. Infosys reported an 11 percent rise in employee benefit expenses, totalling Rs 95,094 crore in FY26, which made up 53 percent of its Rs 1.8 lakh crore revenue for the year. The firm’s revenue grew 10 percent, with net profit increasing 10.2 percent to Rs 29,440 crore.
The company has also introduced higher salary bands for specialist and AI-focused roles, signalling a clear shift toward skill-based pay structures. In other words, if you know your AI, Infosys is willing to pay for it.
For everyone watching the Indian IT sector closely, this data point matters. It shows that even as companies talk about doing more with less, the ones at the top of the skill ladder are doing just fine.
Syed Ziyauddin is a media and international relations enthusiast with a strong academic and professional foundation. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Media from Jamia Millia Islamia and a Master’s in International Relations (West Asia) from the same institution.
He has work with organizations like ANN Media, TV9 Bharatvarsh, NDTV and Centre for Discourse, Fusion, and Analysis (CDFA) his core interest includes Tech, Auto and global affairs.
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