A new study by global management consulting firm Hay Group reveals that top executives in India are paid nearly $30,000 a year less than what their counterparts in the other BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries are paid.

Adjusted for taxes and the cost of living, India''s top managers boast of an average disposable income of $92,750, while Russia''s managers topped with a disposable income of $157,348, followed by those in China with $126,281 and in Brazil $123,766, global management consultancy firm Hay Group''s latest world pay report said.

Senior managers in Western European countries fare poorly by comparison. The UK is ranked just 40th in the management pay stakes, Germany is placed at 19th position followed by Italy 28th and France at the 31st rank.

All the three BRIC nations except India were among the list of Hay''s top 20 countries for top management remuneration, India was way down at 36th out of 47 countries, way below China''s 14th rank.

The report defined pay as total cash, which is equal to base salary plus any annualised short-term variable incentive.

The report took into consideration factors like cost of living and tax to reveal disposable income levels the true purchasing power of managerial pay for surveyed countries in North America, South America, Middle East, Africa, Europe and Asia Pacific.

According to the report, India''s large base of skilled talent has made the management pay somewhat immune to the global market despite the growing economic development. It said, "India benefits from a large tier of well educated, English-speaking local talent, making management pay more immune to the international market."

Sounding a note of optimism, the report said that top Indian managers could expect fatter pay packets in the future as managers'' pay was increasing between 15-20 per cent annually in the country and the country''s senior managers were unlikely to remain at the bottom of the remuneration league for long.

In comparison, Hern Yin Goh, reward information services manager, Hay Group China noted , "Chinese companies have realised the need to attract management talent as economic acceleration continues apace, having a significant upward impact on managers pay."

In Russia and Brazil managers enjoy far higher levels of buying power for their pay than their counterparts in the US and other developed markets.

Managers in the oil-rich, tax-free states of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates take home the highest disposable incomes worldwide, with pay equating to buying power in excess of 220,000 dollar.