Troubled Paytm Looks To Cut Losses By Capping Board's Compensation To ₹48 Lakh

Paytm has suggested reducing board member salaries in an effort to improve its financial position. This is according to a regulatory filing the payment service provider made on Wednesday, August 21.

The action is in line with the business's initiatives for corporate governance and responsible financial discipline.

New compensation structure

Subject to shareholder approval, the proposed new remuneration framework would cap the yearly compensation of each non-executive independent director at Rs 48 lakh, with Rs 20 lakh serving as a fixed component.

To maintain good governance, the variable component will be based on attendance at meetings and membership/chairpersonship roles held in the board's various committees.

Revised compensation structure

If the revised compensation structure is approved by the shareholders at the upcoming annual general meeting (AGM) next month, it will take effect on April 1, 2024.

In the past, Ashit Ranjit Lilani and other non-executive independent directors of Paytm's board received yearly salaries of Rs 1.65 crore and Rs 2.07 crore, respectively, from the company.

The new compensation plan, as disclosed in the company's exchange filing, is predicated on benchmarking that the company conducted, taking into account industry best practices and similarly capitalized companies in related industries or business categories.

Selling ticketing business to zomato

Paytm has chosen to divest its entertainment ticketing division to food delivery aggregator Zomato, as it focusses on its core competency of payments.

The parent company of Paytm, One97 Communications Ltd., will sell Zomato its "100 per cent stake in its subsidiaries OTPL and WEPL, which operate the TicketNew and Insider platforms, respectively" as part of the agreement, according to a press release.

According to the release, about 280 current workers from the entertainment ticketing company will also be transferred. The purchase will be finalised ninety days after the share purchase and sale agreement is signed.