New Delhi, February 2: Central government employees who have been waiting for an announcement on higher allowances since last eight months it seems that their wait is finally over, as the Union Government is likely to make an announcement on March 9, a day after polling for five state assembly states is over, India today report said. The recommendations made by the 7th Pay Commission were cleared by the Narendra Modigovernment on June 29 last year and since then more than 53 lakh, central government employees and 46 pensioners are eagerly waiting for a further announcement on 7CPC implementations and under higher allowances.
Most of the central government employees were upset when Finance Minister Arun Jaitley made no mention of the 7th pay Commission in the first part of the Budget session. A large number of central government employees had pinned their hopes on Jaitley’s Budget speech to hear some good news on a hike in allowances. But on March 8, with the Assembly elections in five state comes to an end, the model code of conduct in these five state – Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Manipur, Uttarakhand and Goa – will be lifted simultaneously.
According to India Today report, the second part of the Budget session which commences on march 9 and will continue till April 12, all eyes will be on it. This one-month long session will provide enough time to Arun Jaitley to make an announcement on higher allowances that will benefit nearly 53 lakh government employees and 46 lakh, pensioners.
Here are 10 updates on 7th Pay Commission:
  • In June 2016, the Union Government cleared the recommendations made by the high-powered committee on Central Seventh pay Commission. In this, the commission recommended a 14.27 per cent hike in basic pay, which was compared to the lowest in 70 years.
  • In the 7th Pay Commission, the hike in aggregate pay stood at 23.5 per cent, with the minimum pay increased from Rs 7,000 to Rs 18,000 per month.
  • The government while approving the recommendations made by the 7th Pay Commission announced that employees would draw increased pay in their August salary, and would simultaneously get the arrears calculated from January 1, 2016.
  • Out of 196 allowances that were given to government employees, 53 allowances was recommended by the 7th Pay Commission to abolish it completely. The 7th Pay Commission also suggested that some allowances be merged.
  • In metros, the 7CPC suggested reducing the House Rent Allowance (HRA) to 24 per cent from 30 per cent of the basic pay, a move that did not go down well with employees who protested the recommendations.
  • In July last year, the government appointed a committee under Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa to review the recommendations. This Committee on Allowance was given four months to submit its report. The deadline was further extended to February 22, 2017.
  • The Committee on Allowances submitted its detail report to the Finance Minister Aru Jaitley on the appointed date.
  • According to reports, the Committee suggested keeping the HRA at 30 per cent of the basic pay as under the 6th pay Commission. The Committee on Allowances also suggested keeping the transport allowance the same.
  • Since the government is still dilly-dallying to make any further announcement on implementations of allowances this financial year, employees in large number expect good news to come before April 1, so that they can draw revised salaries from the new financial year.
  • The National Joint Council of Action (NJCA) had also called a nationwide strike on March 16, as no collective decision has been taken by the government in last eight months.