A complete reference blog for Indian Government Employees

Friday 24 March 2017

Why 7th Pay Commission's 'miserly' hike is understandable


Why 7th Pay Commission's 'miserly' hike is understandable
The central government is well aware of the fiscal trap pay hike largesse portends.


The 33 lakh-strong central government employees are peeved with what they perceive to be a niggardly increase granted by the 7th Pay Commission vis-à-vis the earlier pay commissions and accepted with alacrity by the central government.

The government though has averred that it is “not appropriate” to compare the increase in minimum pay suggested by the 7th Central Pay Commission with that of the previous commissions. According to the 7th Pay Commission, the real increase given in 1996 and 2006 in minimum pay was 31 per cent and 51 per cent.
As compared to that, the commission recommended an increase of 14.29 per cent. In concrete terms, the minimum salary has been hiked from Rs 7,000 per month to Rs 18,000 per month. The central government employees want it to be fixed at Rs 26,000 per month (Source: India.com).

The central government is well aware of the fiscal trap pay hike largesse portends, given the real and grim possibility of state government employees making a clamour for parity with central government salaries.
A Hindu report, however, takes a more charitable view of things when it says that data compiled from multiple sources, including a 2008 official survey, Right to Information applications, media reports and the 2011 Census shows that India has 1,622.8 government servants for every 1,00,000 residents. In stark contrast, the US has 7,681. The central government, with 3.1 million employees, thus has 257 serving every 1,00,000 population, against the US federal government's 840.

But then comparisons are proverbially odious. The US outdoes India in most government norms including judge-to-population ratio. While it is desirable to emulate the US, practical considerations including the size of the Indian population and the absolute number of employees make it veer towards caution.

Any egregious hike by the central government would have a precipitous impact not only on its finances but also on states, many of which are BJP ruled.

The central government is only following the template it laid down for itself when it boldly addressed the festering problem of the armed forces. While agreeing to one-rank-one-pension (OROP) norm in principle, it stood its ground and remained firm on ensuring this parity only every five years as against the unreasonable demand of every year.

At Rs 93,231 (Economic Survey report) for 2015-16, India’s per capita income for a month translates into an abysmal Rs 7,769 as opposed to what the central government employees have been offered - Rs 18,000. Mind you, the national average hides an inherent skew - the unorganised sector workers intuitively must be getting only half of the national average.

The point is the central government cannot be gung-ho about pay increases for employees coming under its jurisdiction given its ripple effect, in so far as similar demands from state government employees as well as the justified heart-burn it would cause among other employees especially in the unorganised sector.

Time was when public sector bank (PSB) employees got considerably more than central government employees. But successive pay commissions appointed by the central government have upset the PSB employees’ applecart. The sad truth is the central government pays out of the seemingly bottomless coffers of the consolidated fund of India whereas banks have to pay from their revenue and are answerable to their shareholders.

In any case, when the base is already large, further increases necessarily will have to taper down and be incremental. The 2006 increase of 51 per cent was indeed egregious. An encore of it in 2016 was just not possible.

As an aside, it must be pointed out that the central government job is no longer a cushy one, what with a demanding Prime Minister snapping at their heels. They are for the first time feeling the heat of the private sector motto - work hard, party hard.
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Decision on 7th CPC allowances : Deep sense of frustration among employees


Decision on 7th CPC allowances : Deep sense of frustration among employees
Delaying 7th CPC allowances announcement will cause deep sense of frustration among Central Government employees.


"Reports indicate that the Government might take more time to announce its decisions regarding the Ashok Lavasa Committee's report on allowances that were prescribed by the Seventh Pay Commission"
The Committee on Allowances was formed under the leadership of Ashok Lavasa in July 2016 to review the recommendations on allowances by the 7th CPC. The committee was initially given 4 months period to submit its report to Finance Ministry.

Later, citing the stagnation that resulted due to demonetization, the Finance Ministry extended the period for submitting the report to 22nd Feb 2017.

Replying to a question in the Parliament, Central Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said, on March 10, that the Allowance Committee has not yet submitted its report and that the government will immediately announce its decisions on the report as soon as it is received. He added that the committee is in the last leg of preparing its reports and that it would be submitted to the government very soon.

Previously, it was said that the government will announce its decision as soon as the assembly elections in the five states concluded. Announcements were expected in Arun Jaitley’s budget speech in the Parliament. BJP’s win in the elections is now believed to be the reason behind a dramatic change in the situation.
As far as the Central Government employees are concerned, those living in the accommodations provided by the government are not bothered by the House Rent Allowance because the government doesn’t pay them any House Rent Allowance. Moreover, most higher officials stay in government accommodations.
Decisions on allowances offered to the armed forces are of special significance.

More than 50 lakh employees are hoping that the Centre will implement the revised allowances from April 1 onwards.
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OROP: One Rank One Pension Scheme


One Rank One Pension Scheme

OROP


Around 3200 representations for addressing the anomalies on One Rank One Pension (OROP) were received from individuals / Associations which were examined and issues referred to the Judicial Committee on OROP for its recommendations. The Committee has submitted its report on 26.10.2016.

Pension Grievances Cell in the Department is receiving grievances of the pensioners / family pensioners regarding non-payment of OROP benefits and taking up the matter with the concerned offices e.g. Controller General of defence Accounts (CGDA), Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pension) and Pension Disbursing Agencies (Banks) for redressal of their grievances in a time-bound manner. Service Headquarters and CGDA also have dedicated grievances Directorates / Cells for redressal of the grievances of Ex-Servicemen. Disposal of the grievance is monitored at the highest level in the Government.
Annual Financial implication on account of grant of OROP is estimated at Rs. 7,488.70 Crore and Rs. 10,925.11 Crore towards arrears for the period of 01.07.2014 to 31.12.2015.

The status of payment to the Defence Forces Pensioners / Family Pensioners on account of implementation of OROP order, as on 27.02.2017 are as under:-

No. of cases paid (1st instalment and lump sum payments)Amount disbursed
(Rs. in crore)
No. of cases paid 2nd instalmentAmount disbursed
(Rs. in crore)
19,93,8154,076.9515,57,9502,298.21

As per Government order dated 07.11.2015 on OROP, the pension would be re-fixed every 5 years.
Personnel who opt to get discharged after 07.11.2015 on their own request under Rule 13(3)1(i)(b), 13(3)1(iv) or Rule 16B of the Army Rule 1954 or equivalent Navy or Air Force Rules will not be entitled to the benefits of OROP.

This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Dr. Subhash Bhamre in a written reply to Shri Mullappally Ramachandran and others in Lok Sabha today.

PIB
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Ordnance Factory Board

Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) was established in 1979. It is a departmentally run production organization functioning under the Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence and manufactures Arms, Ammunitions, Artillery Guns, Tanks, Combat Vehicles, Troop Comfort items and other equipment required by the Armed Forces. It serves as a dedicated production base for military hardware needs of the Armed Forces, with a view to achieve self-reliance in defence preparedness of the country.

Performance of OFB in terms of value of issue during the last three years and current year is as below:
(Rs. in Crore)
2013-142014-152015- 162016-17
(till February 2017)
11,12311,36413,04712,426


This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Dr. Subhash Bhamre in a written reply to Shri Laxmi Narayan Yadav in Lok Sabha today.

PIB
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7th CPC Allowance Committee Report - Minister once again replied in Parliament on 22.3.2017


7th CPC Allowance Committee Report - Minister once again replied in Parliament on 22.3.2017

DoPT Minister replied in Lok Sabha on 22nd March 2017 regarding the status of the Committee on Allowances.

Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Shri DR. JITENDRA SINGH said in a written reply to various questions regarding the report of allowance committee in Parliament on 22.3.2017 as follows:

“Several representations have been received from various employees’ associations on allowances by the Committee on Allowances. Joint Consultative Machinery (JCM) has also requested to resolve the pending issues including allowances as soon as possible.

To examine the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission on Allowances (other than Dearness Allowance), a Committee of Secretaries under the Chairmanship of Finance Secretary and Secretary, Expenditure has been set up by the Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure on 22.07.2016.
In the 13 meetings held so far, the Committee has interacted with National Council (Staff Side), Joint Consultative Machinery (JCM) and the representatives of All India Railwaymen Federation (AIRF), National Federation of Indian Railwaymen (NFIR), All India Train Controllers Association (AITCA), All India Guards Council (AIGC), Federation of National Postal Organization, National Federation of Postal Employees, Bhartiya Postal Employees Federation, Bhartiya Postal Employees Association (Group-C), Joint Action Council of Service Doctors Organization (JACSDO), All India GDMO Association (AIGDMOA), Delhi Administration Doctors Welfare Association (DADWA), Faculty Association (Maulana Azad Medical College and associated hospitals), Faculty Welfare Association (Lady Hardinge Medical College), Safdarjung Hospital Medical Officers Association, All India Government Nurses Federation (AIGNF), Railway Nurses of India, All India ESIC Nurses Federation, PGI Nurses Welfare Association, Trained Nurses Association of India (TNAI), National Federation of Atomic Energy (NFAEE).

The Committee has not yet submitted its report to the Government. Decisions on implementing the Report will be taken after the Report is submitted by the Committee.

Authority: Lok Sabha
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