Cabinet approved revised allowances for central employees

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved the recommendations of the 7^th CPC on allowances with some modifications. The revised rates of the allowances shall come into effect from 1^st July, 2017 and shall affect more than 48 lakh central government employees.

Salient features :
1. No arrears as it would come into effect from 01.07.2017
2. HRA remains @ 24, 16 and 8 % ( As recommended by Pay Commission)
As the HRA at the reduced rates may not be sufficient for employees falling in lower pay bracket, it has been decided that HRA shall not be less than Rs 5400, Rs 3600 and Rs1800 for X, Y and Z category of cities respectively. This floor rate has been calculated @ 30%, 20% and 10% of the minimum pay of Rs18000.
Keeping in view the current inflation trends, the Government has decided that these rates will be revised upwards when DA crosses 25% and 50% respectively.
3. Children Education Allowances enhanced from Rs 1500 p.m. to Rs 2250 p.m.
Hostel Subsidy will also go up from Rs 4500 per month to Rs 6750 per month.
Click here for the PIB Release for details.

HRA 30% , 27% or 24% ? All eyes on cabinet meet tomorrow

The wait to get clarity on allowances like House Rent Allowance (HRA) and Dearness Allowance (DA) under the 7th Pay Commission may  be over on Wednesday as the Cabinet is likely to convene a meeting and announce its decision. 

One crore Central Government employees and pensioners are waiting for news on their arrears and allowances like HRA and DA. 

The 7th Pay Commission had recommended HRA too be fixed at 24%, 16% and 8% depending on the cities employees work in. 

However, employees were not happy with this increase and demanded 30%, 24% and 16% HRA. 

Cabinet to take final call on higher allowances, HRA on June 28

The Union Cabinet is expected to take final call on proposals related to higher allowances, including HRA (House Rent Allowance), under the 7th Pay Commission, on June 28. The central government employees are likely to get higher allowances as per the 7th Pay Commission from July. However, the central government employees have been demanding arrears on higher allowances, but the government is in no mood to accept this demand. While the salaries of central government employees have been hiked as per the 7th Pay Commission, revised higher allowances haven’t been paid since July last year.

Bunching Order dated 07.09.2016 to be put on hold – Finmin Instruction

In order to ensure consistency of approach in applying the provisions relating to bunching and to address the queries on various aspects of bunching, it has been decided to issue detailed guidelines on bunching.
Click here for the order

Suspense on higher allowances continues...cabinet did not take up the issue today

Central government employees will have to wait a while longer for availing benefits of the changed allowance rates as the Union Cabinet did not discuss the matter even in the second meeting this month. The proposals in this regard, which the Cabinet has to take a decision on, were not tabled for deliberation as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is on a trip to South Korea.

Cabinet did not discuss Central employees' allowances

Disappointment continues.....at least up to next cabinet meeting

The waiting for Central government employees, who are hoping for higher HRA and other allowances, could get a tad longer since the Union Cabinet did not take up the matter for discussion on Wednesday.

The proposals on allowances made by the 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) given last year were referred to an expert committee headed by finance secretary Ashok Lavasa who submitted his report in April. The panel had suggested modifications, which were then referred to an Empowered Committee of Secretaries (E-CoS) for final approval by the Union Cabinet.

Cabinet likely to finalise central govt employees' allowances next week

The Union Cabinet is likely to take a call on the allowance structure of central government employees soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns from his four-nation foreign visit.  This could come to pass on June 7, media reports suggest.

The recommendations of Committee on Allowances, led by Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa, were to be taken up in a meeting of the Empowered Committee of Secretaries (E-CoS) scheduled yesterday (June 1).

Yesterday's meeting focused on House Rent Allowance (HRA) rates. The 7th Central Pay Commission had brought down the HRA to 24 per cent, 16 per cent and 8 per cent for Class X, Y and Z cities respectively, which had the central government employees miffed.