Calls for reining in astronomical salaries for corporate head honchos notwithstanding, the number of top management personnel getting a pay package running into crores of rupees has crossed the century mark, and the data flow has just started.

Out of more than 4,500 listed companies in the country, about 175 entities have so far disclosed the last pay package for their CEOs and other top management personnel, which includes 60 companies having paid in crores to one or more of their top executives.

So far, there are 105 top management personnel who were paid annual remunerations in crores of rupees during the last fiscal, ended March, 2010, or December, 2009.

The list is topped by media baron Kalanithi Maran and wife Kaveri Kalanithi with total remuneration of a little over Rs 37 crore each in the fiscal ended March, 2010. This is despite the two capping their collective salary at Rs 74.16 crore, about 22 per cent below their entitlement of Rs 94.8 crore for the year.

Maran, the Managing Director of Sun TV Network, and wife Kaveri, joint MD, opted to limit their remuneration for 2009-10 to Rs 74.16 crore, the same paid to them in the last fiscal.

The list also includes Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani, who has also taken a voluntary pay cut and still figures among the highest paid so far with Rs 15 crore, less than half of what he is eligible for. Four other executives from the same company earned in crores during the year.

While Ambani capped his salary at Rs 15 crore for the second straight year, three RIL executive directors -- P M S Prasad, Hital Meswani and Nikhil Meswani -- saw their remuneration rise to Rs 1.53 crore, Rs 11.14 crore and Rs 11.14 crore respectively.

"The Chairman and Managing Director's compensation has been set at Rs 15 crore as against Rs 39.36 crore that he is eligible as per the shareholders' approval, reflecting his desire to set a personal example for moderation in managerial compensation levels," RIL said in its annual report, the document where all listed companies disclose payouts to top management.

The remuneration paid to another RIL director, H S Kohli declined from Rs 1.35 crore to Rs 1.32 crore, but he is no longer associated with the company and resigned on May 16.

At a time when there is a raging debate on right-sizing CEO salaries, RIL had announced in October last year that Mukesh Ambani would take a pay cut as a result of which his pay package dropped to Rs 15 crore for the 2008-09 fiscal from over Rs 44 crore in 2007-08. Mukesh Ambani was the top-paid executive in India during 2007-08.