New scales, 15 pc additional pay for armed forces Implementation from Jan ’07

The Pay Revision Committee has suggested an additional pay of 15 per cent for the armed and paramilitary forces, over and above the revised basic pay scales. The committee has also proposed to upwardly revise the basic pay scales recommended by the Sixth Pay Commission (SPC) and an increase in grade pay at all levels.

The SPC had recommended a maximum grade pay of Rs 13,000, while the committee has suggested Rs 18,000 as the highest grade pay. The grade pay fixed by the SPC for the junior most Group A officer was Rs 5,400, which the committee has increased to Rs 7,000. The committee has also suggested annual increments of four per cent instead of the 2.5/3.5 per cent recommended by the SPC. The suggestions drafted by the committee, headed by the Cabinet Secretary, are subject to final approval and sanction of the Cabinet.

However, the committee has also suggested that new pay scales be implemented with effect from January 1, 2007, instead of January 1, 2006, that was recommended by the SPC. If approved, this would imply that Central government employees would not get arrears equivalent to one year’s revised salary as was being expected. The recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission were implemented with effect from January 1996. Since a pay commission is set up once it 10 years, it was believed that the recommendations of the SPC would be implemented from January 2006.

According to documents available with The Tribune, the 15 per cent additional pay worked out by the committee ranges from Rs 1,248 per month at the lowest level to a maximum of Rs 9,048 at the highest.

In addition, the committee has suggested 15 pay scales instead of the 22 recommended by the SPC. It has that also suggested 10 pay bands instead of the four recommended by the latter.

The lowest pay scale (1-S) recommended by the SPC was 4440-7440 1300. The corresponding pay scale (PB-1) suggested by the committee is 5,500-16,500 with grade pay of Rs 2,500. The basic pay works out to be Rs 8,000 and with the inclusion of annual increment (4 pc), dearness allowance (15 pc) and the 15 per cent additional pay, the lowest gross pay works out to be Rs 10,816.

The highest pay scale recommended by the SPC was 39,200-67,000 13,000. The corresponding scale suggested by the committee is 40,000-60,000 along with a grade pay of Rs 18,000. In this scale, the basic pay works out to be Rs 58,000 and with the inclusion of increment, DA and additional pay the gross pay at the highest level (PB-10) works out to be Rs 78,416.

Applicable allowances and benefits depending upon the service and place of posting are separate.

Prior to the SPC recommendations, the Central government had pay scales running from S-1 to S-32. The SPC recommendations placed the existing scales from S-1 to S-3 in the pay band 1-S, from S-4 to S-8 in the pay band PB-1, from S-9 to S-15 in the pay band PB-2, from S-16 to S-27 in the pay band PB-3 and from S-28 to S-32 in the pay band PB-4. The committee has divided these into 10 pay bands.
Source : The Tribune