Seventh Pay Commission report in its final stage; Govt decision awaited

While the report on the Seventh Pay Commission is still awaited, the minister of state for finance, Arjun Ram Meghwal confirmed that the committee set up for this purpose is in the final stage of consideration. However, the end decision of implementation will be taken by the government after the submission of the report.   

The recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission headed by Justice AK Mathur was accepted by the government in June, 2016. The recommendations for increasing the basic pay and pension was accepted by the government, however, the suggestions in connection with allowances were referred to the Ashok Lavasa Committee.   

After the screening of all the 196 existing allowances, the Seventh Pay Commission recommended the elimination of 51 allowances and the subsuming of 37 allowances. The allowances form an important part of a government employee's salary.   

The Commission has suggested that the HRA should be 24 per cent, 16 per cent and 8 per cent of the new basic pay, in accordance with the grade of cities. It also recommended the revision of HRA to 27 per cent, 18 per cent and 9 per cent when the DA crosses 50 per cent mark, while the HRA is proposed to be revised to 30 per cent, 20 per cent and 10 per cent on the DA crossing the 100 per cent mark.