PM to clear Demands of Armed Forces

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is set to clear the demands of the armed forces on the sixth pay commission.

Officers of the Lieutenant Colonel rank will now get Rs. 10000 more than the present salary per month.

As per the new provisions, the three star officers will be at par with Director Generals of Police.

It also makes provisions for retiring jawans to continue to get pension equivalent to 70 per cent of their the last pay the draw.

However, the demand for pay parity between military and civilian officers has been rejected.

A ministerial committee, headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, was set up to look into the armed forces' grievance about pay anomalies. The committee, which also included Antony and Chidambaram, was set up by the Prime Minister on September 25 in the wake of deep resentment in the armed forces, who complained that there were anomalies in the sixth pay commission recommendations and that it had lowered the status of their officers.

(As reported by NDTV)

CPC HBA recommendation not implemented yet

The Economic downturn seems to be delaying the announcement of a new home loan policy for Central Government employees as recommended by the Sixth Central Pay Commission (CPC).

Known as the house building assistance (HBA), it’s a key interest-bearing advance given by the government to its employees to construct/acquire house/flats of their own. The HBA is given to all permanent employees, members of All India Services (IAS, IPS & IFS) deputed to the Central government, public sector undertakings (PSUs) under control of the Centre, international organisations, autonomous bodies etc. The advance is to assist acquiring a plot and constructing a house thereon, building a new house on a plot already owned singly or jointly with spouse, enlarging living accommodation in a house, purchase of a ready built house/flat etc.

According to existing rules, the cost of the house (excluding cost of land) should not exceed 134 times the basic pay (and dearness pay taken together) subject to a maximum of Rs 18 lakh and a minimum of Rs 7.5 lakh. Although this advance is interest bearing, it has an inherent subsidy since interest is has to be paid only after the principal has been repaid and simple interest is chargeable on the advance. The rates of interest, therefore, are somewhat lower than existing market rates.

The Sixth Central Pay Commission in its report said: “It is desirable to provide only for the element of interest subsidy and make available various interest bearing advances to government employees through arrangements with public sector banks. This will not only give the government employee the freedom to approach the specified bank for a loan but would also simplify the existing procedures saving a lot of administrative work which is presently being done in government offices for grant of loans and servicing thereof.” The CPC recommended the government should enter into an agreement with leading PSU banks to extend this facility at pre-determined competitive rates to its employees. The employee shall take the loans/advances directly from the bank with the approval of the sanctioning authority in the government and repay installments directly to the bank.

The Sixth CPC also said: “The eligibility for taking the advances should also be removed because the repaying capacity would, in any case, be consid ered by the concerned bank at the time of pro cessing the loan application. This will also extend to the ceiling of Rs 18 lakh presently prescribed on the cost of house for pur poses of house building advance. Therefore, this ceiling should also be removed.” But this policy has not been implemented till date. The Ministry of Finance in a notification dated October 24 said: “The implementation of the recommenda tions of the Sixth Central Pay Commission relating to interest bearing advances granted to government employees is under consideration of the government. Meanwhile, pending finalisation of the new arrangement, the existing provisions for interest-bearing advances to purchase motor car, motorcycle, scooter, moped and personal computer would continue to be in operation.” But it was silent on the HBA.

(Published in Hindustant Times, Delhi on 22/12/2008)

Revenue Officials agitating over 'Raw Deal'

(Times of India, New Delhi Edition 12/11/08)

At a time when the government is facing an economic downslide with lower or negative tax collection, it is facing serious unrest in the ranks of departments assigned the job of mopping up resources with thousands of customs, central excise and income tax officials being up in arms against anomalies in their pay scales and bleak promotional avenues.

Thousands of customs officials struck work on Tuesday and took to the streets against the delay in their promotions, in what can set back government’s already difficult task to realise the revenue target. Customs and central excise officials from across the country gathered at Jantar Mantar in the Capital on Tuesday, to march up to barricades raised at Parliament Street police station.

The protest comes even as income tax officials, another revenue gathering arm, have already resorted to a ‘go slow’ to insist on removal of pay anomalies and for better prospects of promotion

There has been no official announcement yet. But officials of the income tax department, sources say, have been dragging their feet on the surveys that are crucial for detecting tax evasions and tax collection. Sources said all field formations of income tax have stopped sending Central Action Plan (CAP) dossiers since August to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).

The CAP is a vital report generated on a monthly basis that gives a summary of scrutiny assessments, demands raised and collected, arrears collection and manpower deployment, besides helping in collection of data for micromanagement of the economy.

Sources said revenue secretary P V Bhide has called a meeting of all 18 chief commissioners of I-T at North Block on Wednesday to deliberate on the slowdown in the tax collection. With a few CBDT members having already raised the issue of discontentment in the rank and file over the pay anomalies and its impact on the tax mop up, the revenue department boss is likely to address the matter.

The discontentment over the ‘alleged’ raw deal from the 6th pay commission is not only restricted to the IRS cadre officers, but spread even to the ranks of inspectors, superintendents and promotee assistant commissioners who feel they have been ignored. The lower rungs feel discriminated even from their top bosses in the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) and CBDT.

Ravi Malik, an office-bearer of the All-India Association of Central Excise Officers which organised the march, alleged that the higher-ups in the CBEC had deliberately delayed promotions for superintendents and others eligible to be promoted in Group A. “Even when promotions are granted, they are in the Junior Group A level and many of those promoted remain without a posting for a long time,” he said.

Babus' getting first 6th CPC salary today

Babus' in Delhi are today going to get their first increased salary after implementation of Sixth Pay Commission recommendations. Most of the detpartments have made fixation as per guidelines provided by the Ministry of Personnel. Babus' are laughing all the way to the bank.

As festivial season is near, Corporate sector is eying this increased salary and arears that Babus' are going to get.

Govt. Setup committee for Armed Forces

The government has finally responded to Army's continued displeasure over the pay hike.

It has decided to form 3-member committee headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee. The committee will also have Defence Minister AK Anthony and Finance Minister P Chidambaram as its members.

The proposed committee will look into the grievances of the Armed Forces related to the remuneration being offered to them in the Sixth Pay Commission.

The decision was taken after PM was consulted in the US on the issue.

All pending issues of Army on pay hikes will be addressed and resolved latest by October end.

All service headquarters - Army, Navy and Air Force - will issue notification on Monday to hand out the revised payscale according to the Sixth Pay Commission.

Armed Forces continue with old pay

Armed forces personnel will not get new Pay Scale in this month's salary.

Protesting against the “anomalies” in their new pay scales, the Defence Forces on Friday (September 26) did not submit their revised salary bills to the ministry's accounts office. By doing so, the Armed Forces have refused to implement the 6th Central Pay Commission (CPC) report as existing “disparities” affected personnel across all ranks. Government sources say that the file forwarded by the Defence Ministry to the Finance Ministry is now with the Prime Ministers Office (PMO). Finance Ministry has expressed its inability to implement demands due to budgetary constraints.

On Thursday (September 25), the government agreed in principle the Services' demand for restoring 70% “extant pensionary weightage” to jawans on the basis of their last drawn pay. But the Armed Forces are cut up with the Finance Ministry over the rejection of their three other demands concerning officers.

The CPC had recommended that the jawans be given 50% “pensionary weightage” and provided an option of lateral entry into paramilitary and central police forces. The Armed Forces wanted the lateral entry scheme to be first approved and implemented by the government before the CPC recommendation on the 50% “pensionary weightage” came into effect.

"We have accepted salaries this month under the old pay scales, as we expect the government to take a quick decision on all our demands soon after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh returns from his US visit on October 1,” a defence officer said.

Defence Minister A K Antony and the three Services chiefs have already represented to the prime minister on the four “core issues” they have with the CPC notification. Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta and Army chief General Deepak Kapoor met Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar and PMO officials yesterday to apprise him of the “anger” among the 70,000 officers over their demands not finding favour with the bureaucracy.

They have also requested the country's top political leadership to decide on their CPC demands and to implement the pay commission notification in abeyance till the issues were resolved. “It is just a matter of less than Rs 450 crore annually if the government accepts the four demands of the Armed Forces, which is not a huge burden on the exchequer,” an officer said.

Among the other demands were placing Lt Colonels and their equivalents in the Navy and Air Force under Pay Band-4 instead of Pay Band-3, Grade Pay to officers from Captain to Brigadiers on par with their civilian counterparts, and placing Lt Generals in the Higher Administrative Grade (HAG) Plus pay scales as the Director Generals of paramilitary and police forces.

(From various news agencies)

Armed Forces Vs. Paramilitary

A dangerous split between the armed forces and the paramilitary, arising from the revised Sixth Pay Commission report, could have disastrous consequences for joint operations in troubled regions, the military has told the PMO.

Admiral Sureesh Mehta, Navy chief and chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee, has cautioned the government that the relationship between the two sits on a tinderbox and infighting would "seriously jeopardise" operations.

The revised report has altered the existing parity between the armed forces and Central Paramilitary Forces (CPMF)/Group A services and IAS by retaining lieutenant colonels in a lower pay band than their paramilitary and civilian counterparts. Pay scales have tradition- ally determined status among government officials.

Mehta told the PMO that ascendancy gained by paramilitary would "seriously hamper command and control functions between the army and the Border Security Force/CPMF".

Success of military operations hinge on the efficiency of command and control. After briefing the PM on "core issues" last week, Mehta met finance minister P. Chidambaram and MoS in the PMO Prithviraj Chauhan on Tuesday Military sources said Mehta has told the PMO that perks of higher status given to CPMF/civilian officers, and denied to equally placed service officers, would result in despondency among them. "A CPMF officer whose pay parity was below a lieutenant colonel in the 4th and 5th pay panel reports has been elevated to the pay scale of a Colonel. This will not be acceptable to either the lieutenant colonel or the Colonel," a senior army officer told HT.

Another "serious error" pointed out by Mehta includes exclusion of lieutenant generals and equivalent from the Higher Administrative Grade pay band. Only army commanders and DGPs and equivalent figure in this grade.

He has also sought the intervention of the PMO to provide the HAG+ pay band for lieutenant generals and equivalent holding posts of principal staff officers, director general and controllers in the services.

Points of Friction

• Revised pay panel report has altered existing parity by retaining lieutenant colonels in a lower pay band than their paramilitary counterparts
• Perks of higher status given to CPMF/civilian officers, not to equally placed service officers

(Hindustan Times Delhi 11/09/08)

Armed Forces grievance to Prime Minister

In a rare departure, Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta has taken the Armed Forces grievance on the pay panel to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The Admiral, who is also Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, met the PM late on Thursday night and brought up ‘core issues’ in the pay commission relating to lowering of pay scales of Defence personnel in comparison to their civilian counterparts.

It is learnt that while Mehta visited the PM to brief him on his recent visits to Japan and South Korea, the issue of anomalies in the pay commission that has led to the ‘lowering of status of Defence officers and men’ was brought up at the end of the meeting.

The Navy chief handed over a detailed representation to the Prime Minister highlighting the perceived anomalies and once again sought the intervention of the Union Cabinet to resolve the issues.

The incident may lead to a little embarrassment for the Defence Ministry that had earlier raised objections over a letter written by the Army Chief to President Pratibha Patil over the pay panel.

“The focus was on the core issues of lowering of status of Defence personnel that will infringe on operational aspects in the field where officers will need to interact with their civil counterparts,” a senior officer said.

The main problem being a lowering of parity of Lt Col and equivalent officers with their counterpart in the paramilitary forces. With the new pay panel norms, central paramilitary officers who were till now ranked lower to Armed Forces officers have been placed in a higher pay band.

On Monday, the three service chiefs had met Defence Minister A K Antony and urged him for the intervention of the Cabinet, rather than a committee to consider its demands on the pay panel report.

In a letter to the Defence Minister, Mehta had said any disruption in the existing parities of pay would lead to serious operational problems for the Armed Forces whenever they would need to work along with paramilitary and civilian officers.

The Armed Forces are angry over the ‘degradation’ of officers of the rank of Lt Cols who have been placed in the Pay Band 3, a grade lower than the PB 4 that their civilian counterparts have been given. They have also demanded that Lt Gen rank officers should be put in the new Pay Band of Higher Administrative Grade (HAG) Plus, in which Director General level officers of civil services and paramilitary have been placed.

(Indian Express Delhi edition 06/09/08)

Get ready for Tax now

For lakhs of central government employees looking forward to receiving 40% of the accumulated arrears on their increased salary next month here’s a dampener. The government has decided to levy tax on the entire amount of arrears — 60% of which will be paid next year — in the current fiscal itself.

For most employees, the decision will virtually wipe out almost the entire 40% arrears to be paid to them this year. Senior bureaucrats will suffer most as their tax will be topped with a surcharge of 10%, on income of Rs 10 lakh and above.
A senior finance ministry official said the surcharge to be paid by officers of the rank of joint secretary and above ranges between Rs 24,600 and Rs 52,500. The impact will be less on the lower grades.

Last month, the Centre had announced an average increase of 21% in salaries of its employees. The hikes, effective from January 1, 2006, would burden the exchequer by more than Rs 17,500 crore annually while the arrears alone account for more than Rs 29,000 crore.

(Times of India Delhi dated 03/09/08)

Resolve disparity say Service Chiefs

Raising fresh objections to the Sixth Pay panel notification after the Cabinet cleared it on August 14, the three chiefs of the Armed Forces, in an unprecedented move, have written to Defence Minister A K Antony that implementation for officer ranks be “held in abeyance” until their objections are addressed.

Earlier, they had raised two broad objections : higher salary for Personnel Below Officer Ranks (PBORs) and parity with civil servants for officer ranks. While thanking the government for hiking salaries of PBORs, they claim the disparity has only increased between service officers and their civil service counterparts.

Their objections:

• Disparity in Pay Bands : The chiefs claim the Committee of Secretaries (CoS) moved the Director rank into Pay Band 4 but retained Lt. Col and its equivalent in other services in Pay Band 3. Earlier, they claim, a Lt. Col got the same pay as an IAS Director and Rs 800 more than a non-IAS Director. Now he gets Rs 14000 less than an IAS director and Rs 11000 less than a non-IAS director.
• Disparity in Grade Pay : The CoS agreed to their demand to an increase in grade pay across middle-rank officers but also increased the grade pay of civil servants, thereby retaining disparity, the chiefs say. For example, he Pay Commission recommended Rs 6600 for a civil servant equivalent to a Major who was to get Rs 6100. After review, a Major will now get Rs 6600 but his equivalent in the civil service will get Rs 7600.
• Restricting elite list : The new category of HAG-plus (Higher Administrative Grade) includes all DGs and DGPs but only Army Commanders and their equivalents in other services, the chiefs complain. Their demand: all Lt. Gen officers be included in this category. The Defence Ministry is said to have conveyed that the objections are being looked into and a response will be given soon.

(Indian Express 02/09/08 Delhi edition)

Government notifies Pay Commission implementation

Government of India today finaly notified the implementation of Sixth Pay Commission recommendations. Most of the recommendations have been accepted and recommendations of three holiday, VRS for 15-20 years of service and flexible time are not accpeted. Grade Pay has been increase in case of PB-3 Band and decreased in case of PB-4 Band. PB-4 will now start from Rs.37400 in place of Rs.39200.

The Gazette Notification is available at following address in Hindi and English both. Kindly download it and study it. It has ready reconer for Fixation of the Pay :

• http://pib.nic.in/archieve/others/2008/aug/6th_paycom.asp

Also visit http://www.india.gov.in/govt/paycommission.php for Revised CSS Rules, DA, CCA details etc.

An Article by Arun Kumar in Tribune

As implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission is in its final stage, a good article is written by Mr. Arun Kumar in Tribune dated 27/08/08 on how low the Government is paying to the employees. It is available at http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080827/edit.htm#4. Give you opinion on the points he has raised.

Various States to implement CPC report

After Union Government its now the turn of various State Government. May states have annouced the implementation of 6th Pay Commission in their respective states. UP, Haryana, Tamilnadu, West Bengal have already announced the implementation. It is hoped the majority of the states will announce the implementation this month itself.

Update (27/08/08) : MP Govt. has also announced acceptance of Pay Commission report.

Cabinet approves pay commission report

The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved recommendations of Sixth Pay Commission. The pay panel recommendations will come into effect from January 1, 2006.

Arrears will be paid in cash in two instalments, 40 per cent will be paid this year and the rest next year.

Now, minimum basic pay of a government employee has been raised to Rs 7000.

All the details of new approval are available at http://pib.nic.in/archieve/others/2008/aug/r2008081405cab.pdf and/or at http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=41333

Original report is available at at http://www.india.gov.in/govt/paycommission.php.

Decks clear for CPC implementation

A wage hike higher than those recommended by the Sixth Pay Commission, marginal increase in annual increments and the payment of arrears in cash are some of the sweeteners incorporated in the proposal for Thursday's Cabinet meeting after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s intervention

The new pay package for the 55 lakh Central government employees, to be announced on August 15, proposes a 20 per cent raise over the pay bands suggested by the Commission. The panel in May suggested a gross 40 per cent hike, which means an effective 25 per cent after taxes. “The net jump in pay would be upwards of 30 per cent with the additional increase more for lower grade staff to narrow their difference with the (pay of) senior officials,” said sources.

This raise takes into account the Commission’s miscalculation of the dearness allowance - absorbed in the new basic pay—as 74 per cent whereas it should have been 83 per cent, they said. The proposed annual increment in the basic pay would also be a tad higher than the 2.5 per cent suggested by the Commission.

The Cabinet proposal talks of a uniform 3 per cent raise every year. The current norm is a Rs 500-increase in the basic pay annually within the grade scale.

But what would be music to the bureaucrats’ ears is that the PM has shot down Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s suggestion that the new wage be effective from January 2007 instead of January 2006 because of the heavy run on this year’s Budget. Chidambaram had also wanted that the past dues be parked in the General Provident Fund to be provided as pension after retirement of the employees so that this year’s outgo from the Budget would be limited to Rs 12,500 crore.

But the PM would have none of that. He has ensured that the new pay would be effective from January 2006, as recommended by the Commission, with 40 per cent of the arrears paid in the current fiscal and the remaining 60 per cent next year.

The actual pay-out would come in November after the monsoon session of Parliament in September passes the Finance Ministry’s supplementary Demand For Grant to fund the wage bill, said sources.

What has also been shot down, though by the Committee of Secretaries, is the inclusion of heads of other services in the rank of Cabinet Secretary. The CS will remain primus inter pares, the first among equals, and that position would not be granted to the head of Intelligence Bureau, the three service chiefs or the Chairman Railway Board—as had been demanded.

There would also be no scrapping of Group D personnel (peons in ministries and coolies in Indian Railways). The Commission had suggested that these posts be subsumed in Group C of clerks, fresh induction be stopped and jobs be outsourced.

As for the armed forces, the good news is that military service pay for persons below the officer rank (POBR) would be Rs 2,000 per month. The forces had demanded Rs 3,000 as against Rs 1,000 introduced by the commission.

There would also be a significant improvement in the salaries of Brigadiers as the government has agreed to put them in Pay Band 4 (Rs 39,200-67,000) as against the suggested pay band 3 (Rs 15,600 - 39,100).

For the Indian Police Service and Indian Forest Service, relief would come in the form of abolition of the Deputy Inspector General scale. There would also be no discrimination between Group B and Group A service officers in the form of a differential basic pay at the time of joining, as suggested by the Commission. They would both start at the same scale, as is prevalent now, said sources.

Key Points :

• A 20 % raise over the pay bands suggested by the Commission
• Uniform 3% raise in basic pay every year. The norm is a Rs 500-increase annually within grade scale
• New wages to be effective from January 2006
• No Cabinet Secretary rank for Intelligence Bureau chief, the three Service chiefs or the Chairman, Railway Board
• Group D personnel to stay (peons in ministries and porters in Railways)
• Military service pay for persons below the officer rank (POBR) would be Rs 2,000 per month
• Significant hike in salaries of Brigadiers: they move to Pay Band 4 (Rs 39,200-67,000) from the suggested Pay Band 3 (Rs 15,600-39,100)
• DIG-scale abolished in IPS and Indian Forest Service

(Indian Express 14/08/08 Delhi Edition)

DoPT preparing note for report approval

The Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) is working overtime to ensure that the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission are deliberated and approved by the Cabinet on Thursday so that the Prime Minister could announce it on Independence Day.

Sources said that DoPT officials were readying the note for the Cabinet which would retain the Commission’s recommendation of an average 25 per cent increase in the basic pay of the Central government employees, including the armed forces.

However, there would be minor changes from the panel’s advisory with the proposal to introduce the raise from January 2007, as is being pushed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, instead of January 2006 suggested by the panel.

The wage hike would be available in hard currency from April 2008 with past dues—or arrears—parked in the general Provident Fund to be provided as pension after retirement.

The aim of this exercise is to limit the outgo this year to Rs 12,500 crore, or else Chidambaram would have to shell out Rs 30,000 crore in one go, said sources.

The proposal would also incorporate the wish of the armed forces to improve the emoluments for jawans posted at frontiers by doubling the military special pay to Rs 2,000 per month.

The Indian Police Service and Indian Forest Service would get relief with the abolition of the Deputy Inspector General scale as this position was getting to become a resting place for them thereby delaying their promotion.

There is no mention of the retirement age being raised to 62 years from current 60 years as has been frequently reported in the media, said sources.

The ball was set rolling last Thursday when the Principal Secretary to the PM, TKA Nair, was shown a presentation on the Committee of Secretaries’ approvals on Pay Commission recommendations.

The timing matches with the likely monsoon session of Parliament in September when the Finance Ministry would have to move for a supplementary demand for grant to fund the wage bill.

Defence Minister A K Antony is meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday to take a final decision on the pay hike revision for the armed forces. The meeting, which will also be attended by the Finance Minister, will take a final call on salaries for the armed forces who have expressed their dissatisfaction with the Sixth Pay Commission Report.

Sources said while the main change would be doubling of the Military Service Pay (MSP) for soldiers to Rs 2,000 per month, the pay structure of officers will not be changed much. However, allowances for Lt Gen rank officers posted at Service Headquarters are expected to be increased and brought at par with Commander in Chiefs posted across the country.

Ministry sources said that Antony would also be pitching for an increase in pay over and above the recommendations of the Committee of Secretaries before the PM. The minister is expected to push for an MSP of Rs 3,000 for soldiers due to the hardships faced by them.

(Indian Express – dated 13/08/08 Delhi Edition)

Pay Comm. implementation soon

Over with the vote in Parliament, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday seems to have cleared the decks for the Union Cabinet to consider the recommendations of a Committee of Secretaries (COS) on the Sixth Pay Commission for Union government employees.

Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrashekhar made a presentation on the recommendations of the COS to Singh before the PM left for Gujarat.

It is learnt that the cabinet secretary has listed different alternatives on pay packages with indications on expected burden on pay on the government exchequer. To reduce the burden, the COS has recommended that the arrears to government servant be given from January 1, 2007 instead of 2006.

The government is reportedly keen to announce the new package before Independence Day.

(published in Hindustan Times, Delhi 29/07/08)

Scientist form body to oppose CPC recommendation

A group of scientists belonging to the Department of Atomic Energy and the Department of Space on friday said the revisions announced by the Sixth Pay Commission have fallen short of their expectations. To add insult to injury, their compatriots in the teaching line and bureaucracy have galloped past them in terms of gross monthly pay, they claimed, adding that this results in huge variations between the salaries between different professionals as they go up the hierarchy.

"While a babu can reach the highest tier, Pay Band IV, within 15 years of service, a scientist would have earned only two promotions after joining as a scientific officer," said S Joseph Winston, a senior scientist at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam.

Their growing discontent has prompted a group of scientists to band together to form the Confederation of Atomic and Space Scientists/Technologists (COAST), an umbrella organisation that has vowed to take up the issue to the higher authorities.

Both the departments come under the Prime Minister who had earlier assured the scientists of a hike of 40 per cent.

However, the actual revision has only been around 18 to 35 per cent, complained the scientists, adding that the highest hike was limited to the PB IV category.

"While about 50-60 per cent of the bureaucrats fallin the PB IV, the figure for us scientists is only 5 per cent. Most scientists slog in the labs for years together, and retire before they can ever reach the highest pay structure," said Winston, the president of COAST This disparity, said Winston and his colleagues, was a blow to the morale of the scientists who were working on projects of great strategic importance and symbolic value. "There are big investments in the fields of nuclear and space research. It is in these scientific fields where the country proved its might. But when it comes to managing human resources, these shortcomings could have serious consequences. If this situation continues, the country will face a dearth of serious researchers and scientists in the near future," warned Winston, who believes that the Sixth Pay Commission is precisely the sort of policy that causes "brain drain" from premier institutes.

"When there are avenues for them to go abroad and earn manifold of what the Government is offering, none of the 'creamy layer' from institutions like the IITswould come forward to join service here," said a scientist.

(Appeared in Indian Express 24/05/08)

MSP to be doubled to Rs 2000 for jawans

Jawans set to get a hike beyond Pay panel advice

In the face of mounting pressure from the Armed Forces, the Defence Ministry has asked the Committee of Secretaries looking into the Pay Commission recommendations to double the Military Service Pay (MSP) for soldiers from Rs 1000 to Rs 2000. The MSP will be merged with basic salary and form the basis on which other allowances will be calculated.

With Defence Minister A K Antony putting his weight behind the move, sources said, the suggestion is likely to be accepted as informal consultations have already happened among relevant officials. The issue will be elaborately discussed and firmed up when the three service chiefs meet Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrashekhar, who heads the CoS, over lunch on May 5.

While the Armed Forces were keen to treble the amount for certain categories among personnel below officer rank (PBOR), sources said, the hike in MSP along with other allowances will make up for a “healthy” salary. Moreover, the CoS will submit the report to the Cabinet which can consider further review in case finances permit.

The pay panel, it may be recalled, had suggested MSP of Rs 1000 for PBORs — there are 13 lakh PBORs — and Rs 6000 for officers up to the rank of Brigadier. Sources said there will be no revision in the MSP recommendation for officers even though the Armed Forces are keen on extending MSP to officers beyond the rank of Brigadier.

However, some of the other demands related to pay parity among senior officers and their counterparts in the civil is likely to get a favourable view. The pay panel recommendations have caused a strong protest from within and among the Armed Forces. Former Army Chief Gen N C Vij, who now heads the National Disaster Management Authority, even wrote to the Prime Minister expressing anguish and making demands for revising the suggestions.

(Appeared in the Indian Express on 01/05/08)

Saperate Pay Scales for Armed forces

Concerned over officers leaving armed forces for lucrative employment in private sector, the government is looking at delinking pay scales of defence forces with those of central government employees.

The demand for delinking payscales, raised by armed forces and lawmakers, ''will be looked into,'' Minister of State for Defence M M Pallam Raju said replying to supplementaries during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha.

Officers, particularly in the non-select rank who lead soldiers on the ground, leaving armed forces for lucrative employment in private sector was a matter of concern but not alarm, he said.

Committee of Secretaries to study CPC recommendations.

The government on Friday announced the constitution of a high-level official committee of secretaries to study and review the report of the Sixth Pay Commission.

The committee will be headed by the Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar and has been directed to submit its report to the Cabinet at the earliest possible.

The 12 member committe will comprise secretaries of ministries of home, defence, revenu and expenditure, department of post, security, deputy CAG and financial commissioner and member secretary of the Railway Board.

The committee will mainly function as a screening committee for the pay panel's report and submit its final recommendations to the Cabinet for approval.

The Government has already constituted a committee headed by Finance Secretary D Subbarao to look into the grievances of armed forces and IPS officers.

Government Assures Service Chiefs

Yielding to sustained pressure from the Armed Forces, the government on Friday assured the service chiefs that it was ready to look into their genuine grievances on pay scales recommended by the Sixth Pay Commission.

Following a meeting of the three service chiefs with the members of the Sixth Pay Commission on Friday, Defence Minister AK Antony asked the Army, Navy, and the Air Force to submit a list of their anomalies which can then be discussed with the Finance Ministry.

Antony was also present at the hour-long meeting, which was attended by Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major and Vice Chiefs of Army and Navy, besides Defence Secretary Vijay Singh.

The meeting, held at Antony's insistence, was the result of two rounds of presentations made by the armed forces before the Defence Minister pointing out anomalies in the pay commission report and demanding more salaries for soldiers and increase in allowances.

At the meeting, Air Chief Marshal Major, speaking on behalf of all three wings of armed forces, made a strong plea for increasing the special pay for soldiers below officer ranks to Rs 3,000 from Rs 1,000 as recommended by the pay commission.

Pay commission officials said the ‘‘existing edge’’ of armed forces personnel over their civilian counterparts had ‘‘not only been maintained, but also suitably enhanced’’. The concept of ‘‘military service pay’’ (MSP), under which Rs 6,000 per month will be given to officers up to Brigadiers and Rs 1,000 to jawans, NCOs and JCOs, for instance, will help in enhancing the edge. In fact, said the commission officials, 61% of the expenditure of the new recommendations will accrue to armed forces, which constitute 40% of the total number of central government employees, apart from the Railways.

Nonsense, say the armed forces. ‘‘We are not looking for an ‘edge’ over our civilian counterparts. We want compensation for the hardships of our service lives. Moreover, there should be parity of pay for the length of service between IAS and armed forces officers,’’ said an officer.

Added another, ‘‘We owe it to the soldiers we command that they be given at least Rs 3,000 as MSP. It’s actually unfair that officers will get Rs 6,000, while all the other ranks will get only Rs 1,000. The MSP should be graded.’’

Overall, the armed forces want at least a 40% hike over what has been proposed by the pay commission to ‘‘attract and retain talent’’ in their fold.

(Based on reports published in Times of India and Indian Express on 05/04/08)

Scientists want equal treatment

Now Scientists have come out in the open against the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission. A delegation of scientists, led by M K Bhan, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, on Wednesday met Cabinet Secretary to point out the anomalies in the pay panel recommendations.

Sources said the main concern of the scientists was that the commission had sought to perpetuate a disparity between the scientists working for DRDO, ISRO or Department of Atomic Energy and those with the Department of Science and Technology or Department of Biotechnology. "It is like saying that a physicist or a nuclear scientist is above those working in the area of vaccines," said a senior scientist, not wishing to be named.

The scientists said a favourable promotion policy in organisations like Indian Space Research Organisation has ensured that there are plenty of scientists in higher grades like G and H in these places. On the other hand, DST or DBT has very few scientists in grade H, which is equivalent to the rank of an additional secretary.

"ISRO has additional scales at the senior level with designations like distinguished scientist and outstanding scientist which are not available in DST or DBT," said another scientist.

"We had been asking for an equal treatment irrespective of institutions. But the Commission has not addressed these issues," he said, pointing out that scientists in Department of Atomic Energy were also entitled to additional perks.

(Indian Express 04/04/08)

CPC members to meet Service Chiefs

After making two rounds of presentations to Defence Minister A K Antony pointing out anomalies in the Pay Commission report, the service chiefs will now get a lowdown by the commission itself to "remove misgivings and doubts" about pay hike recommendations.

The service chiefs - who have drawn up a joint proposal demanding more salaries for soldiers, an increase in allowances and a better deal for middlerung officers - will meet key Commission officials on Friday for a detailed briefing. Besides the top Armed Forces brass, senior ministry officials are also ex pected to take part in the meeting.

Sources say the meeting has been called on Antony's insistence as he wants a clear view on the issue before taking up the Armed Forces' case for a "better deal".


"The meeting is being held to remove some misgivings about the Pay Commission to the service chiefs. Defence Ministry officials will also take part in the meeting," a senior official said.
On Tuesday, Antony was presented a joint memorandum, drawn up by the Chiefs of Staff Committee, pointing out "major anomalies" in the salary structure and seeking better salaries for soldiers and middle-rung officers and a rational hike in allowances.


The memorandum proposed major changes in the special Military Service Pay (MSP) introduced in the Sixth Pay Commission. The services have demanded that the special pay should be equated to the basic salary and be decreased progressively with seniority. The panel has fixed Rs 1,000 as MSP for all soldiers and Rs 6,000 for officers.


The other major issue was increases in special allowances for soldiers posted in harsh terrain, active field areas and on counter-insurgency duties. While the panel had recommended doubling of existing allowances for counter-insurgency areas, Siachen postings and high altitude duty, the services have asked for a rational view on the hikes in view of tough service conditions.

(Indian Express 04/04/08)

IPS Officers also unhappy

The perceived disparity between the Indian Police Service and other All India services, particularly the Indian Administrative Service, in the Pay Commission recommendations has found an echo at the highest levels of the Government.

A detailed presentation made by top IPS officers has pointed out that the IPS is no longer a Group A service by the looks of it. And the Sixth Central Pay Commission recommendations will create further stagnation at the middle level of the service that is at the forefront of the battle to tackle threats to internal security, they have claimed.

The message has been conveyed to the highest levels, including the Prime Minister's Office, the Union Home Ministry and the Department of Personnel and Training.

As per the proposed pay scales, an IPS officer will earn nearly Rs 65 lakh lesser than an IAS counterpart after 30 years of service, the presentation has argued.

The presentation has made the following points as well: An IAS officer will reach Joint Secretary scale at the Centre in 14 years; his IPS counterpart will reach the corresponding Inspector General level almost six years later; a Director General of Police in a state will need at least five to six years of residual service to reach the maximum scale of Rs 71,270. Moreover, not only has the "anomalous" post of the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) not been abolished, officers at this level will actually earn less than earlier - they have been put in the Rs 15,600 scale from the existing Rs 16,400.

Grade Pay is another anomaly that has been brought to the notice of the Government. In a district, the Superintendent of Police (SP) will be at a disadvantage not just in comparison to the District Magistrate but even the Additional District Magistrate in many cases, IPS officers point out.

The IPS group's disenchantment with the Pay Commission report does not end here. "Internal security is such a grave matter but it finds mention only three or four times in the report," a senior officer pointed out.

(Indian Express 04/04/08)

Services to make new Proposal

With resentment in the ranks over the pay panel recommendations, the armed forces have drawn up a joint proposal demanding more salaries for soldiers, an increase in allowances and pointing out "major anomalies" in the salary structure.

The joint memorandum, which will shortly be presented to Defence Minister A K Antony, has been drawn up by the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) and emphasises the need for better salaries for soldiers and middle-rung officers.

One of the key contentions is that in the new recommendations, almost all armed forces personnel have been shifted to a lower salary grade compared to civilian officers of comparable service and experience.

To address this, the forces have proposed major changes in the Military Service Pay (MSP) - a new concept introduced in the Sixth Pay Commission to give armed forces an edge over others.

While the panel has fixed Rs 1,000 as MSP for all soldiers and Rs 6,000 for officers, the services have demanded that the special pay should be equated to the basic salary and be decreased progressively with seniority.

For entry-level soldiers, the armed forces have asked an MSP of 60 per cent of the basic pay which would progressively decrease to 40 per cent of basic till the seniormost level. This, officials say, will give entry level personnel incentives as well as cater to the aspirations of mid-level officers.

Another major issue brought out in the proposal is increase in special allowances for soldiers posted in harsh terrain and operationally active areas. In all cases, including allowances for counter-insurgency areas, Siachen postings and high altitude duty, the pay panel has recommended doubling of existing scales.

This has been deemed unfair by the services and they have asked for a rational rather than ‘arithmetic' view on hikes considering tough service conditions.

The services have also demanded that their pay bands should be delinked from the civil services due to different promotion structures and shorter service period. Contending that majority of the personnel never reach the higher pay band in their career, the forces have asked for new pay bands.

The forces want to do away with the concept of a single pay band for personnel below officer's rank and two pay bands for officers and have demanded three pay bands each for officers and soldiers.

The joint proposal also flatly rejects a recommendation by the pay panel for the lateral movement of short service commission officers and Per sonnel Below Officer Rank (PBOR) to paramilitary organisations like CRPF and BSF.

Considering that the recommendations have not solved the officer retention problem of the forces - as many as 14 Colonel-level officers handed in premature retirement applications to Defence Hqs within five days of the report - the services have expressed their keenness on speedy amendments to arrest "demoralisation down the ranks".

(Published in Indian Express on 01/04/2008)

Service Chiefs to meet Minister

With anger mounting over the ‘‘raw deal’’ given to them by the Sixth Central Pay Commission, the armed forces are planning to petition the government to ensure officers and jawans get better pay packages than the ones recommended. The matter is likely to be raised when Admiral Sureesh Mehta, General Deepak Kapoor and Air Chief Marshal F H Major meet defence minister A K Antony on Thursday.

Admiral Mehta said, ‘‘There are always anomalies in the pay commissions, which need to be corrected. We will take it up directly with the pay commission.’’ General Kapoor, in turn, said, ‘‘We are studying the proposals... We will come out with cogent suggestions to the defence ministry. There is always scope for improvement in everything.’’

While the recommendation for a special ‘military service pay’ (MSP) has been welcomed, the huge difference between Rs 6,000 as MSP for officers and only Rs 1,000 for jawans, NCOs and JCOs has attracted sharp criticism.

(Based on News Paper reports)

Unions preparing demonstration

Two days after the Sixth Pay Commission submitted its report to the Finance Minister, employee unions organised demonstration and preparing for more demonstration against the recommendations.

The Confederation of Central Government Employees (CCGE) dubbed the report “totally unacceptable”, the CSSS Gazetted Officers’ Association (CSSSGOA) called for a review as “there are unreasonable differentiations made between the same running pay bands and even the instrument of grade pay has not been able to neutralise the impact”.

The Central Secretariate Non-Gazetted Employess Union organised a demonstration out side Krishi Bhawan on Wednesday terming the recommendations as betrayal of the right of the workers. "We are just getting 10.4 hike which is totally unjustified" said Dalip Singh, general Secretaty of the union.

“The alarming level of growing disparity can be seen between the recommended pay scales. After having a look at the minimum Rs 2,550 (total Rs 5,740) and the highest pay (Rs 90,000), we find that the minimum is only about 6.4% of the maximum,” CSSSGOA president R S Rawat said in a draft memorandum prepared for employees’ preview. “Therefore 1:12 (minimum-maximum pay ratio) is not a reasonable formula when tested on democratic principles of equity, justice and good governance.”

(Based on News Paper reports)

CPC report dissapoints employees

Now that the Sixth Pay Commission report is submitted to the Government and the complete report is available at http://www.india.gov.in/govt/paycommission.htm, at least wait time for report is over. Only implementation part is required. Now since every point is clear, reading the comments in this blog, it seems that most of Central Government Employees are not satisfied with the report. Most of the Group C & D employee are feeling let down. Only Senior class A officers got good pay, but even that is very small compared to corresponding Private Sector pay packaets of Senior Managers/MDs. There are many shocker in report for employess.


Even media, which till yesterday was making noise about increase in the pay in the range of 40%-60% is now realising that the actual increase is much less than that. Times of India , Dainik Jagran and Indian Express have come up with stories of this nature in today's edition.

Pay Commission Report Details

The Sixth Central Pay Commission submitted its Report to the Government on 24th March, 2008. The Report and main highlights can be viewed through the following links:

• Highlights of the Report
• Report of the Sixth Central Pay Commission
• Annex to the Report of the Sixth Central Pay Commission

Pay Commission Submits Report

Over 4 lakh central government employees are now a step closer to getting higher salaries.

The much-awaited report of the sixth Pay Commission has been submitted to the finance ministry by Justice Srikrishna who heads the commission.

Details are yet not available.

(Source : www.ndtv.com)

Times of India report

Like earlier reports and same salary prediction patterns, Times of India has also predicted upto 42% without HRA and upto 52% with HRA hike in the salary of Central Government Staff. It has predicted that the final report will be submitted on Tuesday. Read full report here.

42% hike in salary : Indian Express

There will be 42% hike in the salary, reported Indian Express Delhi edition today.  It has predicted report will be submitted tomorrow i.e. 20/03/08.

Key point of the Indian Express report:

• Number of salary grades will be pruned to 18 from the existing 33,
• Salary proposed is 35 to 42% higher than what each employee currently gets, inclusive of dearness pay and dearness allowance.
• The house rent allowance will become city-specific with those living in metros getting the full 30% of the basic salary. But for other towns, the HRA could be capped at 15% of the basic salary.

Read full report at http://www.indianexpress.com/story/286200.html

Report after Holi : Times of India

Time of India has predicted in its report that the final report of the CPC is ready and  will be out any day after Holi.

Lakhs of central government employees will know their new salary scales any day after Holi as the Sixth Pay Commission is almost ready with its final report, subject to some possible changes in the wake of formal or informal interactions with finance ministry. 
   Commission sources, however, remained tightlipped on the quantum of salary hike. “It is a closely guarded secret at our highest levels and may undergo last-minute changes,” they said. 
   The sources, however, indicated a “moderate” jump despite the soaring hopes of most government employees — ranging from 20% to 120% of their present gross emoluments — when corporate salaries are at an all-time high. “The finance minister has said that ‘legitimate expectations’ of government employees would be met. The commission, in consultation with the finance ministry, has to ensure that their definitions of ‘legitimate expectations’ do not clash. This, because the money, after all, will be provided by a tight-fisted finance ministry,” the sources said. 
   The new scales would also decide the emoluments of defence and paramilitary forces, besides post-retirement benefits of all employees and officers, including the pension they would draw. That the countdown has begun was indicated in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday when minister of state for finance, P K Bansal, said that no proposal for grant of interim relief to the employees was under government’s consideration. The government has recently hiked the employees’ DA from 41% to 47%, calculated on their basic pay taken with 50% (of basic) merged dearness pay. 
   Figures apart, the commission has taken the help of three leading institutes to work out exhaustive compensation and pension regimes. IIM-A has done a study on the feasibility of performancerelated pay (PRP) to government employees while XLRI-Jamshedpur has advised on the total cost incurred by government on its employees in all grades (equivalent of the corporate cost-to-company). 
   The third study, done by Institute of Social and Economic Change (Bangalore), has focused on the government’s oft-stated principle of reducing its post-retirement liabilities in the “long-term”.

(Published in Time of India dated 19/03/08 Delhi edition)

Interesting questions about efficiency

Lakhs of Government employees are waiting patiently for the final report of the Sixth Pay Commission as it's report is shortly going to handed over to the Government. Government employees are genuinely under paid and they are hoping for good increase in their wages. A reader of this blog has raised some quaetions about efficiency in the Government departments by commenting in an earlier post We must scrap Pay Commissions. The reader has send some interesting question, which I think should be discussed openly. Here is the comment send by reader :

I have few questions about payment to government servants and subsequent
increments including pay commissions.

What is in it for the end customer : the citizen of this country, who pays for these pay hikes and is sick of the government servants?

1. What is the out put of a government servant compared to a similarly paid person in private sector?
2. Why do we need so many government servants?
3. What value does a government servant provides to his/ her customer : the ordinary citizen on the street? Ask the customer and not the government servant.
4. Will VI pay commission implementation improve the quality of services and governance provided by government servants?
5. What is the present quality as perceived by a citizen?
6. What is the targeted quality? What is the time frame and what are the trends to be observed?
7. If the quality is not achieved with in the time frame, will the pays be rolled back and recoveries made from the pays of the government servants?
8. Who will be held responsible and punished for the fall, if the quality improvement fails?
   

I think these are intersting and important questions and should be discussed.

CPC report on 31 March 2008

Sixth Pay Commission will submit its report on 31st March 2008 as stated by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram in his Budget speech. He hoped that the pay commission report will fulfill the expactations of lacs of Central Government Employees.

He also proposed to change the Income Tax rate in view of the Sixth Pay Commission report. It will also benfit the employees. New rate of tax slabs are as follows:

1. 0 - 1.50 lac : Nill Tax (1.80 lac for woman)
2. 1.50 lac (1.80 lac for woman) to 3.00 lac : 10%
3. 3.00 lac to 5.00 lac : 20%
4. 5.00 and above : 30%

All eyes are on the Budget

Everybody is waiting to see the allocation of fund in this Budget towards additional liability to the Government for anticipated increase in the salary of Government employees after Sixth Pay Commission recommendations.

Earlier this week, the Railway Budget has made and ad hoc provision of Rs.5000/- crore for 2008-09 to meet the additional liability towards employees and pensioners in anticipation of the Pay Commission's recommendations.

Not much impact to State Governments

The Planning commission does not foresee any significant disruption on account of increase in salaries of state government employees.

'I don't think that this disruption is going to be all that cruicial,' Planning Commission Dy. Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said to the Hindustant Times on the possible impact of the adoption of the Sixth Pay Commission award by state government.

Pointing out that blind adoption of the Pay Commission's award by the state government was not a good idea, Ahluwalia said Pay Commission were constituted once in 10 years and the states can do many things to neutralise the impact.

The government, he said was made to effect a big increase in salaries of its employees at the end of 10 years as the dearness allowance does not adequately take care of inflation. 'So at the end of 10 years, the government will be benefitting from a squeeze in real pay because the DA was never enough, so you have a big increase,' he said.

Report soon says TOI

The long wait of lakhs of central government officers and staff is about to end as the Sixth Pay Commission is expected to finalize its report ‘‘very soon,’’ well before its term ends on April 4.

Even before the pay panel submits its recommendations to the government, the first indication of what is in store for officialdom could be available in 10 days’ time when finance minister P Chidambaram makes his Budget speech. Since the employees’ fortunes are almost certain to be touched upon, the commission is keeping its recommendations a closely guarded secret, although speculation on the quantum of salary hike have ranged from a moderate 30% to a highly optimistic 165%.


Apart from his speech itself, the actual allocation by the finance minister under the head: salaries and pensions, may well be another indicator of what is in store for employees. But even before the February 29 Budget, the Rail Budget, commission sources said, could come as an eyeopener as well as the ‘‘profitmaking’’ railways is looking for ways to meet its expected salary and pension bill of Rs 9,000 crore in the light of possible salary changes and a tight-fisted finance ministry.

A pre-Budget meeting of the commission is being awaited and this could be scheduled to consequently enable the finance minister to make a mention of possible hikes for lakhs of employees, including those in defence and paramilitary forces. Sooner or later, the state governments across the country revise salary structures of their employees in accordance with what is accepted at the Centre.

Commission sources did not rule out a pre-Budget formal presentation before Chidambaram but added that the panel was ‘‘unlikely’’ to make a mention of any change in the present retirement age of 60 years.

‘‘There are two distinct processes — the commission recommending a salary structure and the government accepting the proposals. The commission has interacted with a large range of players, held wide-ranging meetings, received petitions and paid visits to different parts of the country. The outcome of this prolonged process would be reflected in the recommendations,’’ the sources said.

‘‘There are two distinct processes — the commission recommending a salary structure and the government accepting the proposals. The commission has interacted with a large range of players, held wide-ranging meetings, received petitions and paid visits to different parts of the country. The outcome of this prolonged process would be reflected in the recommendations,’’ the sources said.

Appeared in the Time of India, Delhi edition on 20/02/08

No equality in allowance with Centre in UP

UP Government said on wednesday in the Vidhan sabha that allowances of the State government employees can not be equal to the Central Government employee in UP. Therefore, the question of merging 50% of DA in the basic day does not arise. Finance Minister Mr. Lalji Verma in a written reply to question of Mr. Sudhir kumar of Samajawadi Party said that the economic condition of the state is not in position to bear this additional burden and hence HRA, CCA etc. can not given equal to the central government employees.

Financial Express estimates 150% hike in pay

A news article of the Financial Express predicts 150% hike in the salary of Government Employee by Sixth Pay Commission.

Fine points of the reports are :

• Pay Commission expected to submit its report next week.
• Basic salaries are likely to rise by over 150%
• Section officers will get a starting basic salary of Rs 20000, while their department heads, joint secretaries, would get a fixed basic salary of Rs 60000 a month.
• Secretaries to the government would earn a fixed salary of Rs 75000 a month. A cabinet secretary’s monthly salary would also be fixed at Rs 80000.
• Government officials will continue to retire at 60 years and will now retire on December 31 of the year they reach age 60.

The points seem same as earlier published by Dainik Jagran. You can read full article here.

Voice of a concerned Employee

This is a comment appeared in the post How much increase do you expect? It has raises some issues. So I thought this comment should be used in post to draw your attention as it reflects a concern voice from within Government employee circle.

If the pay is low, there are several reasons - low performance, low accountability and high corruption. I'm a Gr.B officer in the (infamous) Central Excise and Customs Dept. and my personal experience is that on an average almost 90% of employees in the service - from Gr.A to Gr.D, are corrupt i.e. they have accepted some kind of illegal monetary or other gratification at some points of their service life, influencing their working or affecting revenue collection. What is most worrisome are the attitude of the new IRS officers. In a recent batch of IRS officers only two among the 24 or so new recruits posted in my area has any sort of integrity. A few of them in fact openly cite the high investment they had to do in order to make to this grade, to justify their actions. Direct recruit Inspectors are no better with 99% of them resorting to corruption within 5 years of their joining.

The second problem is the lack of performance. It is well known that in the govt. sector, the person who works better is made to work more. Ultimately this results in some people getting away without doing any work while others are over burdened. This is mostly the problem in the cadres of Group B and below. Among the Group A officers this problem exists, albeit in a different manner because it does not affect the fellow Gr. A officers but those below him/her. It is said that Gr.A officers get salary for taking decisions because they are not supposed to work in the field level. Often many officers actually shy away from taking decisions - either by dilatory tactics or by making the junior officers put up proposals and only countersigning the same. In case of trouble I have seen many Gr.A officers escape responsibility saying that the lower rank officer misled them. Giving verbal directions to lower level officers and juniors is another way of shrugging off responsibility. Some of them take particular exception if a lower ranking officer subsequently try to get a written order. Gradually this adversely affects the sincere workers, who get the impression that they are being penalized for working hard, particularly since there is no effective carrot and stick policy for good/bad work.

As always, the level of accountability in a govt.organization is much less for all grades of officers compared to their private counterpart. The ACRs have ceased to be an effective instrument, except perhaps at the Gr.A level where it is often used for vindictive purposes.

All these issues prevent a govt. dept from performing at its optimum level. More officers are required to do the job which could have been done with much less. The lack of performance means delay in fulfilling the targets and the sincere workers getting dejected due to work pressure and lack of any effective system of accountability, rewarding a good performance and penalizing bad performance.

Similarly, although internally everyone knows who is an honest officer and who is not, there is no effective mechanism to give boost to honesty and punish the corrupt. The present system of passive vigilance administration has lost its edge due to its misuse or inertness. The overall depressing scenario and all pervading corruption has led to many once-honest officers resorting to corruption after working many years of service with integrity.

Thus, it is not only the pay structure that is needed to be improved. Nor will a sole emphasis on pay boost the performance in the government sector. Instead of a pay commission, there is need to set up a Government Services Reforms Commission to investigate and address the core problems and find a long term solution and the pay related issues could be one of the terms of reference of such a Commission.

News in Hindi Paper 'Jagran'

Hindi Daily 'Dainik Jagran' has come up today with a news about probable increse in the pay of the Central Government employee. According to its news article increase will be around 3.2 to 3.3 times of the current pay. 6th CPC is going to give better pay and facilities to senior officers. Pay commission wants report to be implemented from January 2006.

News Paper reports suggests that the salary of the officers of Join Sec. will be around 60 thousand and for Additional Secretary it will be 70 thousand. Officers of the Secretary will get 75 thousand while Cabinat Secretary will get salary around 80 thousand. Apart from this increase HRA will be around 40% of the basic pay.

One more recommendation is to change of name of the junior level posts. Commission wants name of post of the LDC and UDC to be changed to Junior Executive and Executive respectively.
If this report is to be believed, one thing becomes sure that there will be no further increase in the pay of President, Vice President and Governers and Government is having inside news of these recommendations therefore Government increased salary of President to Rs.one Lac.

This news can be read in Hindi here.

Another pay hike for President?

Reports in the media suggest that there could be a second hike for the salary of President, Vice President and Governers etc. if the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission push the salary bar of the government officials above the President or Governers. It is to be recalled that President/ Vice President and Governers etc. got last week a good pay hike. This hike will come into force after the relevant law will be passed out by parliament. So the chances of getting salary more than a lakh for senior bureaucrats is doomed , because of the convention that since government officers serve on presidential pleasure, their salary cannot exceed that of the occupant of Rashtrapati Bhawan. Sources in the Reports suggests that this hike for the Presdient and Governers is an interim measure and once the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission comes, there may be another hike if needed.

This last week hike had sugggested that the salary of the Government Officials will not be much as was anticipated, so this proposal of another hike in salary of President, Vice President etc. will keep Babu's in good anticipation mood as they may expect a good hike in the salary around one lakh for the top posts and relative increase for lower cadres.

No increase in Retirement Age - Government

Government today denied that there is any proposal to increase the retirement of the Central Government Employees.

Following is the text of the Press Statement issued by the Department of Personnel & Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions today, to clarify that there is no proposal before the Government regarding raising the retirement age of Central Government employees from 60 years to 62 years :-

“Attention of the Government has been drawn to reports appearing in some
sections of the media regarding raising the retirement age of Central Government
employees from 60 to 62 years. In order to put at rest all such speculations, it
is clarified that there is no such proposal before the Government.”