7th Pay Commission

The 7th Pay Commission has brought many revised changes to the salary structure of government employees. To give a fair idea about the benefits to be gained by the employees covered under the ambit of the 7th Pay Commission, following figures can be taken into consideration.

• The general pay scale for currently serving employees will increase by 16%.
• The general increase in the income of the pensioners will be approximately 23%.
• The general increase in the allowances granted to the employees will be to the extent of 63% approximately.

Some of the latest updates of the 7th Pay Commission are discussed below.

For Pensioners

The latest revision in the pension limits under the 7th Pay Commission will benefit approximately 25,000 teaching and non-teaching staff pensioners not only from the Central Universities but also from deemed universities and the University Grants Commission (UGC). The facility can also be extended to the non-teaching staff as discussed above, provided they agree to assume the pay scales guided for Central Government Universities.

For Railway Employees

The commission has proposed the facility of free passes to be made available to the railway employees. The railway employees and their spouses however were not entitled for leave travel allowances and LTC has now been availed to them.

For Central Government Employees

Although the commission has decreased the HRA slightly, the increase in the basic pay has been to the extent of 25%. This is estimated to benefit about 50,00,000 employees and 65,00,000 pensioners of the Central Government.

Payment for Government Employees

The 7th Pay Commission has revised the minimum payment for the government employee on the entry-level from Rs. 7,000 to Rs. 18,000 and for a newly selected Class I Officer to Rs. 56,100 per month. The maximum payment of government employees has also been revised to Rs. 2,25,000 per month for Apex Scale and Rs. 2,50,000 for Cabinet Secretary and other people working at the same level.

Dearness Allowances (DA)

The dearness allowance has been increased for all the Central Government employees as well as pensioners and staffers. The dearness allowance which was earlier 9% is now revised to 12%.

Annual Increment, Allowances and Advances

The revisions made by the 7th Pay Commission also apply to the annual increments, advances and allowances that are part of the salary structure. While the annual increments have been continued as that at the previous level of 3% per annum, the government has discontinued a total of 53 allowances that were previously applicable. Furthermore, all the non-interest bearing advances have been discontinued and the House Building Advance has been increased from Rs. 7,50,000 to Rs. 25,00,000.

Gratuity

Apart from the above recommendations in the allowances, annual increments, basic pay, etc., the pay commission has also recommended that the gratuity be increased from Rs. 10,00,000 to Rs. 20,00,000. Also, if there is an increase in the Dearness Allowance by a rate of 50% then there may be a corresponding rise in the gratuity by 25%.

Work Related Illness and Injury Leave

In the case of any employee who has been hospitalized due to any illness, the 7th Pay Commission has recommended to provide them with their full pay and all the applicable allowances. In order to ensure uniformity in the system, the pay commission has recommended a fitment factor of 2.57 that is applicable to all the employees.

Medical Benefits

The central government has recommended a Health Insurance Scheme for all the Central Government employees as well as cashless medical benefits for pensioners that are outside the purview of Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) area.

Pay Matrix

The pay matrix according to the 7th pay commission has been mentioned below. According to the 7th Pay Commission, the status of the government employee will not be decided by the grade pay, but by the level in the new pay matrix as mentioned below. The fitment factor (Pay band and grade pay) has changed from 2.57 to 2.67 to a particular level and the pay hierarchy has also changed.

Here is the pay matrix table for employees of the Central Government:

1. Grade Pay 1800 to 2800 – Level 1 to Level 5

PB-1 (5200 to 20200)

2. Grade Pay 4200 to 5400 – Level 6 to Level 9

PB-2 (9300 to 34800)

3. Grade Pay 5400 to 7600 – Level 10 to Level 12

PB-3 (15600 to 39100)

4. Grade Pay 8700 to 10000 – Level 13 to Level 14

PB-4(37400 to 67000)

No Grade Pay – Hag Scales

Level 15 to Level 18

These are the details relating to the 7th Pay Commission which is applicable to all the Central Government Employees including pensioners and staffers. Ideally there is a gap of 10 years between any two pay commissions. Hence, the recommendations of the 7th pay commission will be applicable for another 6 years at least or until the 8th pay commission is announced.

FAQs on 7th Pay Commission