NEW DELHI: The Finance ministry has asked all Central ministries to ensure revised rates of allowances as per the 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) are paid from the current month, a move that will benefit 48 lakh employees.
In a bonanza to Central government employees, the Union Cabinet had last month approved recommendations of the CPC with 34 modifications, which will mean an additional annual burden of Rs 30,748 crore on the exchequer. All allowances are given with effect from July 1, 2017. It will benefit 34 lakh civilian employees and 14 lakh defence personnel.
The resolution conveying the Central government's decision on recommendations of the CPC on allowances was published in Gazette of India yesterday. "The ministries concerned have now been advised to issue their Orders on Allowances governed by them immediately so that the revised rates of allowances get reflected in the current month's salary bills of the government employees," the Finance ministry said in a statement.
The allowances as recommended by the 7th Central Pay Commission would have cost the exchequer Rs 29,300 crore. The modified allowances approved by the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will increase the burden by Rs 1,448 crore to Rs 30,748 crore per annum. The allowances have been rationalised and subsumed in newly proposed Dress Allowance to be paid annually in four slabs -- Rs 5,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000 for various category of employees.
Allowance granted to CRPF personnel deployed in Naxal-hit areas will be governed by the Risk and Hardship Matrix and the rates will go up to Rs 17,300-25,000 per month, from Rs 8,400 -16,800.