New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared the Seventh Pay Commission that would hike the salaries and allowances for over one crore central government employees and pensioners by at least 23.5 per cent.
The decision to this effect was taken in a meeting which was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sources said. The move, which will impact nearly 50 lakh employees and 58 lakh pensioners, is likely to be implemented from January 1.
The pay panel, in November last year, had recommended a 14.27 per cent hike in basic pay at junior levels – the lowest in 70 years. The previous 6th Pay Commission had recommended a 20 per cent hike, which the government doubled while implementing it in 2008.
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The government in January had set up a high-powered panel under the Cabinet Secretary to process the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission that will have a bearing on remuneration of nearly 50 lakh central government employees and 58 lakh pensioners.
The Commission had recommended a 23.55 per cent overall hike in salaries, allowances and pension involving an additional burden of Rs 1.02 lakh crore, or nearly 0.7 per cent of GDP.
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The entry-level pay has been recommended to be raised to Rs 18,000 per month, from the current Rs 7,000, while the maximum pay, drawn by the Cabinet Secretary, has been fixed at Rs 2.5 lakh per month from the current Rs 90,000.
While the Budget for 2016-17 did not provide an explicit provision for implementation of the 7th Pay Commission, the government had said the once-in-a-decade pay hike for government employees has been built in as interim allocation for different ministries.
