Albinder Singh Dhindsa became chief executive of Eternal on 1 February 2026. The company’s annual report records that he “has voluntarily waived his salary from February 1, 2026”, the day the job became his. Against his name, the remuneration table for the year shows zero.
The same table shows zero against his predecessor. Deepinder Goyal led the company as managing director and chief executive until he stepped down on 1 February 2026, and the report says he “had voluntarily waived his salary for the period from April 1, 2021 until the date of his resignation”, four years and ten months in all.
Goyal stayed on the board. He was appointed vice chairman and a non-executive director from 13 March 2026, and the report notes that he “does not draw remuneration and sitting fees in the said capacity”.
A third waiver in the same table
The chief executives are not the only nil entries. The same notes record that Akshant Goyal, Eternal’s chief financial officer, “has voluntarily waived his salary from January 1, 2022”. All three waivers are stated in the company’s words and without further explanation.
What the zero covers
A note attached to the table says its figures exclude “the perquisite value of stock options granted in previous years but exercised during the financial year by the employees of the Company”. The zero therefore describes salary. Stock options exercised during the year are counted outside the table, and the table does not say whether either chief executive exercised any in 2025-26.
Among the chief executives of the Nifty 50, four entries for the year read nil or zero. Two are at Eternal. Reliance Industries prints nil for Mukesh Ambani, and IndiGo’s report says its managing director, Rahul Bhatia, “does not receive any remuneration from the Company“. All four appear, with each company’s own notes, in the full list of what Nifty 50 chief executives were paid.
Sources
- Eternal, Annual Report 2025-26, Board’s Report, Annexure IV, particulars of employees and related disclosures, notes 2, 4, 5 and 6, and the list of key managerial personnel
- Reliance Industries, Integrated Annual Report 2025-26, Corporate Governance Report, remuneration of the executive directors
- InterGlobe Aviation, Annual Report 2025-26, Board’s Report, Annexure C
