7th Pay Commission LIVE updates: Big day for 47 lakh staff at Centre, Modi government may announce hike in Cabinet meet today

People who are directly or indirectly connected to 7th Pay Commission benefits are keeping a close eye on the meet.

The Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa-led Committee on Allowances has already submitted its report to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley

7th pay commission allowance news 2017 LIVE Updates: It’s a big day today for nearly 47 lakh Central government employees as Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday returned home after concluding his three-nation tour of Portugal, the US and the Netherlands and reportedly a Cabinet meeting may take place to take up the proposal to hike in HRA and other allowances with respect to 7th Pay Commission. According to various media reports, this is the last Cabinet meet of this month of the Narendra Modi led Central government. People who are directly or indirectly connected to 7th Pay Commission benefits are keeping a close eye on the meet to know what transpires in the Cabinet meet in terms of their HRA and allowances.

Here are all the 7th Pay Commission allowance news 2017 LIVE UPDATES and other developments:-

4:00 PM The Union government could not fully implement the recommendations of 7th Pay Commission due to dissatisfaction raised over HRA and allowances.

3:51 PM According to various media reports quoting sources, HRA could be approved at 27% of the basic pay. HRA forms a major part of the salaries of Central government employees.

3:22 PM The Cabinet meet was expected to take place in the morning but as PM Modi was on foreign trip and returned home on Wednesday morning only hence it could not take place. The meeting is likely to take place in the evening around 5 PM.

3:15 PM: After the recommendations of 7th Pay Commission were implemented in June last year (with effect from Jan 1, 2016), there were objections raised by the employees over HRA and other allowances.

3:00 PM This meeting is also important as it is possibly the last Cabinet meet of the Modi government of the month of June.

2:48 PM Central government employees are expecting that the long wait for the HRA and other allowances will end today as the Cabinet meeting may take a final decision on the long-pending recommendations submitted by Ashok Lavasa Committee.

2:35 PM For the past several weeks, the decision on HRA and allowances could not take place due to some reason or the other. Now, it is expected that the approval by the Modi Cabinet may take place soon.

2:20 PM The 7th pay commission had recommended that of a total of 196 allowances, 52 be abolished altogether and 36 be abolished as separate identities by subsuming them in another allowance.

2:04 PM: Procedure to be followed for approval – The allowance committee report (Lavasa) is examined by the Department of Expenditure. Once that is done, it gets placed before the Empowered Committee of Secretaries (E CoS) set up to screen the 7th pay commission recommendations and to firm up the proposal for approval of the Cabinet.

1:48 PM It is important to know that while recommendations of the 7th CPC on pay and pension were implemented with the approval of the Cabinet, allowances continued to be paid at old rates.

1:15 PM The 7th pay commission had recommended that the rate of HRA be revised to 27 per cent, 18 per cent and 9 per cent when DA crosses 50 per cent, and further revised to 30 per cent, 20 per cent and 10 per cent when DA crosses 100 per cent. With regard to allowances, employee unions have demanded HRA at the rate of 30 per cent, 20 per cent and 10 per cent.

1:00 PM The 7th Pay Commission had recommended HRA too be fixed at 24%, 16% and 8% depending on the cities where employees are based. However, a number of employees were not happy with this hike and demanded 30%, 24% and 16% HRA bracket.

12:38 PM The Committee on Allowances that Arun Jaitley had set up last year under leadership of Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa submitted its reported earlier this year and suggested that HRA to be fixed at between 25% and 27%

12:20 PM Central government employees are seeking revised allowances including HRA.

11:55 AM  Lavasa Committee had suggested modifications in some allowances applicable universally to all employees and also for those in specific categories, including railways and defence, after examining the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations.

11:20 AM The Lavasa Committee has suggested modifications in some allowances applicable universally to all employees.

The Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa-led Committee on Allowances was constituted by the government to examine the 7th CPC recommendations on allowances.

11:05 AM The Union Cabinet may fix HRA rates between recommendations of AK Mathur panel and 6th CPC/existing, most likely at 27 per cent.

11:00 AM: The Union Finance Ministry in a statement had confirmed that modifications have been suggested in some allowances.