New Delhi, Oct. 22 -- The contentious issue of high executive remuneration has long fuelled debate, both in India and around the world. The median remuneration for top executives in FY25 increased by 11.1%, slightly slower than the 14% rise in FY24, a Mint analysis of the latest annual reports of India's largest listed companies showed.

For the first time in recent years, the growth in directors' remuneration was nearly in line with the overall profit growth of Indian corporates in FY25. Despite this performance alignment, the salary gap with average employees continued to widen.

Specifically, among the highest-paid C-suite executives, seven of the top 10 received raises that were steeper than those of their median employees. The analys...