New Delhi/New York, November 9
Barack Obama, as the next President of the world’s largest economy, will get an annual salary of $400,000, an amount ten times more than the emoluments being paid to the Indian President.

In Indian currency, the annual salary for the First Citizen of the world’s largest economy translates into about Rs 2 crore per year or about Rs 16 lakh per month, excluding any perks and allowances.

Barack Obama was elected as the 44th President of the US earlier this month and would replace George W. Bush in the Oval Office on January 20.

The US government provides for its President an aggregate compensation of $400,000 a year, to be paid on monthly basis during his or her term. In addition, he gets an expense allowance of $50,000 toward costs related to discharge of official duties and any unused amount under this head needs to be reverted to the treasury.

The Indian government, earlier this year, raised the emoluments to be paid to the President to Rs 1.5 lakh per month, which translates into an annual figure of Rs 18 lakh.

However, compared with the top-paid corporate executives, the salary of the US President is less than not only those in America, but also in India.

In India, the annual salary of Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani, believed to be the top paid executive of India Inc, swelled last fiscal to Rs 44.02 crore, which is nearly 20-times of the emoluments paid to the US President. The salary of the US President was doubled in January 2001 from $200,000 to $400,000. Prior to that, the salary was doubled from $100,000 in 1969. — PTI